State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement
All U.S. states require post-secondary educational institutions to be authorized to provide post-secondary educational instruction in their states. Rust College desires to provide online education programs and courses to students in all states and territories. To facilitate this endeavor for out-of-state students, Rust participates in “the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), an agreement among member states, districts, and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary online education courses and programs. It is intended to make it easier for students to take online courses offered by postsecondary institutions based in another state. SARA is overseen by a National Council and administered by four regional education compacts.” Mississippi is a member of the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB).
The state of Mississippi became a member of SARA on January 1, 2016. Rust College received approval from the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation (MCCA) to participate in SARA in July 2023. MCCA is recognized by SREB as the State Portal Entity for Mississippi.
Colleges or universities in a SARA state only need their home state’s authorization to offer online education to any other SARA member state. While not every state has joined SARA, most have. A current list of member states can be found on the NC-SARA website. State authorization rules are subject to change. Please check back to this site for more information concerning Rust and the authorization of states for online education courses.
Professional Licensure Disclosures
SARA approval does not extend to programs that lead to professional licensure. If you live or plan to work outside the state of Mississippi and are considering a program that leads to licensure, then you should contact the appropriate licensing board in your home state before you apply to an online degree program at Rust College. While every attempt is made to stay abreast of the laws in each state, it is the student’s responsibility to contact the appropriate licensing board in his or her own state to confirm whether the program will meet that state’s licensure requirements.
The Professional Licensure Directory
NC-SARA also has created and maintained the Professional Licensure Directory, which provides contact information for five programs that lead to a professional license. These programs have the most enrollments per the data provided by SARA participating institutions.
- Counseling
- Nursing
- Psychology
- Social Work
- Teacher Education
This resource does not house regulations or requirements and is exclusively general contact information. Students may find this contact information helpful in their research on state licensure requirements in their locations. NC-SARA updates the contact information twice annually.
Rust College Licensure and Certification Programs
The following programs at Rust College lead to professional licensure or certification in the state of Mississippi. Below, find the disclosures and relevant webpages which provide specific licensure information and contact information for these programs.
If the program has not determined if it meets the educational requirements for licensure in other states, it may meet all or a portion of the educational requirements. We recommend that you contact the appropriate state licensing agency directly before beginning the program if you reside or work outside of the state of Mississippi.
