Opponents of SARA Point to For-Profit Educators. But 94% of SARA-Approved Institutions Are Non-Profits – ElearningInside News
In January, the Children’s Advocacy Institute (CAI) released a report titled “Failing U” which asked “Do state laws protect our veterans and other students from for-profit postsecondary predators?” Their answer was a resounding ‘No.’ The report graded each state for seven different factors which determined whether government policy placed sufficient protections against for-profit educators. These included the extent to which state laws provide for public oversight, require for-profits to disclose performance metrics, keep their advertising and recruitment in check, enforce these regulations, and more.
These measures were translated into a letter grade. A whopping 42 of 50 states got an F on CAI’s test. Seven others received a D. Only California received a B and no one received an A.
SARA and State Regulation
When the report came out, few failed to notice that California was unique for another reason: it’s the only state that has yet to sign on to the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). SARA is a state-level initiative that streamlines the process for institutions with online offerings or with campuses in numerous states to receive authorization.