California Proposal Would Widen Online College Options
Credit: Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times / Getty Images- California is currently the only state not participating in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement.
- A proposed bill would push the state to join the agreement.
- If passed, students would be able to more easily enroll in out-of-state, online colleges.
- Consumer protection advocates worry such a move would open the door to predatory institutions.
California students may soon be able to more easily enroll in out-of-state, online college programs.
State Sen. Christopher Cabaldon introduced a measure in February that would facilitate California joining the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which allows institutions to more easily enroll out-of-state students in online programs. California is currently the only state in the U.S. not already part of SARA.
Student advocates, however, worry that joining SARA would strip students’ access to the state’s robust consumer protection laws.
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“SARA does not have much in the way of consumer protection,” Carolyn Fast, director of higher education policy at the Century Foundation, told BestColleges. “It really relies on whatever the setup is in a particular state.”
Chris Madaio, senior advisor at The Institute for College Access & Success, told BestColleges that joining SARA could be a boon for California’s colleges and universities. These institutions would be able to more easily enroll students from outside California into online programs.
“This is an exercise favored by institutions to reduce what they see as burdensome regulations,” Madaio said.
Thus far, the proposal has floated through two state Senate committees without any “no” votes, but with amendments.
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What California’s Proposal Would Mean for Students
Cabaldon’s measure sets parameters for how California might join SARA.
It does not mandate that the state join the reciprocity agreement. Instead, it essentially sets conditions that must be met for the state to join SARA, Fast said.
“It’s not, ‘Hey, we’re passing a bill to join SARA,'” she explained. “It’s saying California will only join the agreement if they do x, y, and z.”
Currently, states that participate in SARA cannot enforce their own higher education-specific consumer protection laws, Madaio said. States can only enforce more general consumer protections like disclosures but not laws related to tuition recovery funds or transcript withholding bans.
Nearly all states have agreed to this concession, making it easier for institutions to offer online programs across state borders.
Madaio added that SARA enforces its own standards internally for participating institutions. These colleges and universities must be accredited and meet a minimum financial composite score to ward off schools at risk of closing abruptly for financial reasons.
“[A threshold] does exist, so I’m not going to say that every school can participate … but it is very low,” he said.
Without joining SARA, an institution must apply for recognition within each state individually. That often involves paying fees and agreeing to abide by all the state’s applicable laws.
Madaio said over 100 institutions already have agreements with California to offer online programs. This, plus the many programs offered by colleges and universities within the state, means students already have plenty of college options, which is why he and TICAS are opposed to the bill.
“We believe it’s a net loss for students,” he said.
Support for California Joining SARA
Colleges and universities, especially those based in California, are strong supporters of Cabaldon’s bill.
A Senate Committee on Education analysis of the bill listed over 40 institutions as being in favor of the proposal. That list includes:
- The California State University system
- The University of California
- Stanford University
Cabaldon stressed that expanding enrollment options for the state’s institutions is important for maximizing online enrollment, especially post-pandemic. He added that schools within the California State University system are “significantly under-enrolled.”
“Those online registrations can make the difference in whether a course is offered at all,” Cabaldon said in a statement.
He added that joining SARA would also save California institutions money they would have to pay to offer courses outside of the state.
Julie Greenwood, dean of continuing and professional education at the University of California, Davis, told the Senate Business, Professions, and Economic Development Committee that registration fees for just five programs can cost $250,000.
The Association of Independent California Colleges & Universities also supports the bill.
Notably, only one institution is listed as an opponent of the bill: The University of Phoenix.
Consumer Protection Concerns
Fast said she’d like to see a proposal that would allow California to enforce all of its higher education-specific laws if it joined SARA. While the current measure would allow the state to still enforce some disclosure requirements on institutions, she doesn’t believe it goes far enough.
A recently passed Washington law calls on the state to leave SARA if the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) does not amend its policy to allow the state to enforce its own consumer protection laws. If NC-SARA fails to do this by July 1, 2028, the state “may initiate alternative arrangements with individual states or groups of states.”
Fast said this is a sign that states may be beginning to sour on SARA’s policies.
She sees three suitable options for SARA to better protect students:
- SARA could improve its own internal standards for participating institutions.
- States could be allowed to enforce their own consumer protection laws.
- A new statewide reciprocity organization could emerge to address states’ concerns.
At one point, an alternative to SARA seemed unlikely, Fast said. However, if enough states keep pushing for reform without SARA making changes, it could become a reality.