State Authorization

Berkeley City College delivers post-secondary distance education programs in compliance with the laws and regulations of states, territories and jurisdictions that it operates within. Utilize the State-Specific Information resource to learn how the institution has gained approval to operate.

The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is a voluntary agreement among its member states and U.S. territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs.  Distance education, for the purpose of SARA, is defined as instruction offered by any means where the student and faculty member are in separate physical locations.  It includes, but is not limited to, online, virtual, and correspondence courses or programs.

State authorization, part of the Higher Education Act, requires institutions to be authorized in the state in which they are located as a condition for eligibility to receive Title IV federal student aid. The U.S. Department of Education continues to review and update the regulations for state authorization of online education. The current regulations are in effect as of July 1, 2021. Berkeley City College offers postsecondary distance education to students in a state in which it is not physically located or in which it is otherwise subject to state jurisdiction as determined by the State, the institution must meet any state requirements for it to legally offer distance education in that state.