New Hampshire has been accepted as part of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) through the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE).

SARA is overseen by the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and administered by four regional education compacts, with the New England Board of Higher Education being the regional entity for New Hampshire. The SARA is an agreement among member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offerings 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.

New Hampshire-based institutions seeking to apply for approval must complete the Application and Approval Form for Institutional Participation in SARA and submit it to the Division address listed below.

Upon our review and preliminary acceptance of an application, the institution will be forwarded the link to the NC-SARA payment form.

NC-SARA payment obligation is as follows (please use most recent IPEDS data to determine FTE enrollment):

Enrolled FTE	Annual Fee
Under 2,500	$2,000
2,500 – 9,999	$4,000
10,000 or more	$6,000

A check will also be due to the Division of Higher Education – Higher Education Commission, made payable to the Treasurer, State of New Hampshire as stated below. Please use total out-of-state online head count for the most recent academic year to determine the appropriate fee.

Out-of-State Online Headcount	Annual Fee
Under 2,500	$2,500
2,500 -- 10,000	$10,000
10,001 – 20,000	$20,000
20,001 or more	$40,000

The check should be forwarded to: NH Department of Education, Division of Higher Education – Higher Education Commission, 101 Pleasant Street, Concord, NH 03301

Once payment is received, the institution will be listed on the nc-sara.org site.

Compliance/Allegation Procedures