Postsecondary State Authorizations and SARA
Grand Canyon University offers programs in compliance with the laws and regulations of the state in which it operates as defined by the jurisdiction’s laws. Grand Canyon University may be authorized, licensed, registered, exempt or not subject to approval depending upon the laws of the relevant state.
State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) Participant
The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is an agreement among member states and locations in the United States that is intended to simplify the process for students in one state to take online courses offered by a postsecondary institution based in another state. Grand Canyon University is a SARA approved institution. As a SARA participating institution operating within SARA guidelines, GCU may offer its programs to students living within SARA member states. For more information, visit nc-sara.org.
The following is a list of SARA member states and territories:
- Alabama – AL
- Alaska – AK
- Arizona – AZ
- Arkansas – AR
- Colorado – CO
- Connecticut – CT
- Delaware – DE
- Florida – FL
- Georgia – GA
- Hawaii – HI
- Idaho – ID
- Illinois – IL
- Indiana – IN
- Iowa – IA
- Kansas – KS
- Kentucky – KY
- Louisiana – LA
- Maine – ME
- Maryland – MD
- Massachusetts – MA
- Michigan – MI
- Minnesota – MN
- Mississippi – MS
- Missouri – MO
- Montana – MT
- Nebraska – NE
- Nevada – NV
- New Hampshire – NH
- New Jersey – NJ
- New Mexico – NM
- New York – NY
- North Carolina – NC
- North Dakota – ND
- Ohio – OH
- Oklahoma – OK
- Oregon – OR
- Pennsylvania – PA
- Puerto Rico – PR
- Rhode Island – RI
- South Carolina – SC
- South Dakota – SD
- Tennessee – TN
- Texas – TX
- U.S. Virgin Islands – VI
- Utah – UT
- Vermont – VT
- Virginia – VA
- Washington – WA
- West Virginia – WV
- Wisconsin – WI
- Wyoming – WY
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SARA Grievance Process
Grand Canyon University is a SARA participating institution. The Arizona SARA Council has jurisdiction over Arizona SARA-approved institutions in relation to non-instructional complaints. Instructional complaints, such as grade grievances, are not reviewed by the Council and should not be submitted for review. Distance education students who reside in SARA states (see list of SARA states at nc-sara.org), may file a non-instructional complaint with the Arizona SARA council. However, non-instructional complaints may only be filed with SARA after student’s have first utilized GCU's appeals process and the Arizona State Board for Private Postsecondary Education’s complaint process. Non-instructional complaints may be submitted to AZ-SARA via azsara.arizona.edu/complaint-process.
GCU Accreditation and Licensure
GCU is a fully accredited university, with regional and programmatic accreditations. To view GCU’s accreditation and licensure, please visit our University Accreditation page. For information on our licensure, visit our Professional Licensure and Certification page.