Postsecondary State Authorizations and SARA
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Authorizations

State Authorizations

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. GCU may be authorized, licensed, registered, exempt or not subject to approval depending upon the laws of the relevant state.

Participation

State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) Participant

GCU is an institutional participant in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) initiative. SARA is an agreement among member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance 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. For more information and a list of member states, please 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

SARA Grievance Process

GCU 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 students have first utilized GCU's appeals process (see University Policy Handbook - University Appeal Procedures) 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/complaints.

Accreditation

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.

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