State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA)
Alvernia University participates in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA). Current SARA member states are identified on this map.
SARA establishes a state-level reciprocity process that supports national efforts to increase the educational attainment by making state authorization of postsecondary institutions more efficient, effective, and uniform in regard to necessary and reasonable standards of practice across states; more effective in dealing with quality and integrity issues; and less costly for states and institutions and, thereby, the students they serve. The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) is a national organization responsible for coordinating the efforts of the four regional education compacts.
Participating in SARA enables Alvernia to engage in all activities covered by SARA in states that are members of SARA without having to obtain approval from each state individually. This agreement includes activities such as internships, clinical or field work that occur in other SARA states for students enrolled in the university’s distance education or campus-based academic programs.
SARA's policies help protect students and provide benefits to member states and institutions carrying out distance education in multiple states. Alvernia University is a SARA-participating institution, enabling the university to operate in all other SARA states without having to obtain approval from each state individually. This agreement includes on-ground activities such as internships, clinical or field work experiences that occur in other SARA states for students enrolled in Alvernia’s distance education or campus-based academic programs. A “Distance Education Student” at Alvernia is defined as a student who participates in education that uses one or more types of technology to deliver instruction to students who are separated from the instructor and to support regular and substantive interaction between the students and the instructor synchronously or asynchronously.
Professional Licensure and Certification Disclosures
Alvernia University is approved to offer programs that may lead to licensure or certification in Pennsylvania. However, licensure requirements vary from state to state. If you are planning on seeking licensure or certification outside of Pennsylvania, it is highly recommended you contact the appropriate licensing board where you plan to be licensed prior to starting the academic program.
Education, Master of Science in Nursing, and Master of Arts in Clinical Counseling: These programs will provide students enrolled in the program each semester a list of states for which we have reviewed licensure requirements based on Alvernia’s curriculum. The list of reviewed states does not include all states in which we meet the licensure requirements. States are only reviewed if a student enrolling in a distance education program is located in such state at the time of their enrollment.
Student Complaints
As a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), Alvernia follows the complaint resolution policies and procedures for distance education (online) students that can be found in the outlined within the SARA Policy Manual. Please note, this does not include complaints related to grades or student conduct violations, both of which are to be fully addressed via campus processes, not through the NC-SARA complaint resolution procedures. General concerns that are not covered elsewhere and are not addressed by NC-SARA can be submitted on our Concerns with the Alvernia Experience page.
