Section 1033.30  Institution Approval Requirements

a)         Authorization to Participate

1)         Any degree-granting postsecondary institution, including public, private nonprofit and private for-profit institution, that desires to participate in SARA to offer distance education under the authority of the State of Illinois must:

A)        Be accredited as defined in Section 1032.20.

B)        Have Illinois as the designated home state, as defined in Section 1032.20, for postsecondary education offerings.

C)        Be financially stable, evidenced by being State supported, or, for private for-profit and private nonprofit institutions participating in federal student aid programs under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (PL 89-329), by meeting the following criteria: having a Federal Financial Responsibility Composite score of 1.5 or above;  having a financial responsibility score between 1 and 1.4 and providing additional financial evidence described in subsection (a)(2) to the Board to determine financial status of the institution; or, for private for-profit and private nonprofit institutions not participating in federal student aid programs and without a Federal Financial Responsibility Composite Score, providing additional financial evidence described in subsection (a)(2) to the Board to determine financial status of the institution. No institution with a Federal Financial Responsibility Score below 1.0 will be determined eligible by the Board to participate in SARA through this State, even if any such institution is cleared by the U.S. Department of Education to participate in Title IV student aid programs.

2)         The following shall be used by the Board staff to determine the financial status of institutions required to provide additional financial evidence:

A)        A written statement in the most recent fiscal year audited financial statement confirming that the institution is financially stable. The audited financial statement must show that the institution has adequate revenue to meet its financial obligations, including payment of unearned tuition.

B)        An irrevocable letter of credit from a bank or other similar financial institution in an amount equivalent to the estimated unearned tuition revenue from distance education students.

b)         Institutional participation shall be voluntary and, as such, institutions that choose not to participate will be governed by current Illinois statutes and regulations for distance education programs (the Board of Higher Education Act [110 ILCS 205], the Private College Act [110 ILCS 1005], the Academic Degree Act [110 ILCS 1010], and the Public Community College Act [110 ILCS 805], and 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1030, 1050 and 1051).

c)         Physical Presence

1)         Any institution that meets the requirements of subsection (a) that has Illinois as the home state, is located in Illinois and holds its principal institutional accreditation in Illinois must receive Board approval for operating and degree granting authority under the Private College Act, the Academic Degree Act, or the Board of Higher Education Act, or be exempt from approval requirements as specified in 23 Ill. Adm. Code 1030.

2)         Any Illinois public community college desiring to participate in SARA shall be reviewed and approved by ICCB.  This will not abrogate the Board of Higher Education's authority to request reviews of community colleges participating in the agreement.

3)         Any out-of-state institution from any SARA member state with physical presence as determined under this subsection (c)(3) must apply and obtain operating and degree granting authority from the Board.  In determining whether such out-of-state participating institution has a physical presence, the following shall apply (see Section 5 of the SARA Policies and Standards):

A)        The institution has a physical facility in this State, whether owned, operated or rented, for synchronous or asynchronous instruction;

B)        The institution requires students to physically meet in a location for instructional purposes more than twice per full-term (quarter or semester) course for a total of more than six hours;

C)        The institution offers a "short course" or seminars that require more than 20 contact hours;

D)        The institution establishes a physical facility, whether owned, rented or operated by, or on behalf of, the institution, to provide information for the purpose of enrolling students or providing student support services;

E)        The institution establishes an administrative office, including but not limited to office space for instructional or noninstructional staff;

F)         The institution maintains a mailing address or phone exchange in Illinois.

4)         Any out-of-state institution from a SARA member state that does not have physical presence in Illinois shall not be required by the Board to fulfill any additional Illinois requirements to operate under SARA if it does the following (see Section 5 of the SARA Policies and Standards):

A)        Offers distance learning courses that do not require students to gather in groups, except for the provisions in subsection (c)(3)(B);

B)        Holds recruitment activities or advertises to students, whether through print, billboard, direct mail, internet, radio, television or other media;

C)        Offers distance education courses on a military base if enrollment in those courses is limited to federal employees and family members;

D)        Maintains a server, router or similar electronic service device housed in a facility that otherwise would not constitute physical presence (the presence of a server or similar pass-through switching device does not by itself constitute the offering of a course or program in Illinois);

E)        Has faculty, adjunct faculty, mentors, tutors or other academic personnel residing in Illinois (the presence of instructional faculty in Illinois, when those faculty teach entirely via distance education and never meet their students in person, does not establish physical presence for purposes of the SARA);

F)         Holds proctored exams on behalf of the institution in Illinois;

G)        Has contractual arrangements with third-party providers to offer or support SARA eligible programs.  Any contact between a third-party provider of educational services and the State or SARA office must be made through the participating degree-granting institution.  A third-party provider may not represent a participating institution regarding any subject under SARA's operating policies to any SARA office or the State of Illinois;

H)        Offers educational field experiences for students, including an educational field trip arranged for a group of students that are normally in residence at an institution in another state, with the exception of full-scale residency programs such as a summer session at a field station;

I)         Operates limited supervised field experiences. For the purposes of the SARA, interstate supervised field experiences originating from any member state's distance learning or campus-based program will be considered distance education not triggering physical presence if those activities involve placing not more than 10 students from any academic program, who are physically present simultaneously, at a single clinical facility or site in Illinois.  Any out-of-state SARA member institution intending to have a larger pool of student placement must get approval from the Board to do so.  Any out-of-state SARA member institution that owns a supervised field experience, clinical or practicum site shall be exempted from the limitations on placement of its own students at that site.

5)         Any participating institution offering distance learning courses leading to professional licensure must keep students, applicants and prospective students aware of the licensing requirements of Illinois.  To comply with this requirement, participating institutions must do one of the following:

A)        Provide notification in writing that the institution has determined that the course or program meets the requirements for professional licensure in the state in which the student resides; or

B)        Provide notification in writing that the institution cannot confirm whether the course or program meets requirements for professional licensure in the state in which the student resides. The institution must provide the student with current contact information for any applicable licensing boards and advise the student to determine whether the program meets requirements for licensure.

6)         Out-of-state institutions that choose to participate outside the reciprocity agreement or are from nonmember states will be bound by other Illinois laws identified in subsection (b) for distance education programs.