What do We Know About State Approval of Distance Ed?

December 2, 2010

The U.S. Department of Education recently released new regulations regarding the state approval of out-of-state institutionsoperating in each state.  These regulations put some expectations both on states in regulating those out-of-state institutions and the institutions in meeting the regulations of each state in which it “operates.”

As representatives from the U.S. Department of Education observe, most of this is actually NOT NEW.  There has always been an expectation that institutions follow the state laws in which they operate.  What is new is that the U.S. Department of Education is putting institutions on notice that they could be asked for proof of being approved to operate in specific states.  Failure to provide the proof to operate in a state will put the federal financial aid eligibility of students residing in that state in jeopardy. […]