SF 501 – SARA Higher Education Registration Agreements
FLOOR ACTION:
SF 501 addresses the issues preventing Iowa from participating in State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements. The bill language is agreed to by the Attorney General and Iowa Student Aid Commission to allow institutes of higher education to participate in the Midwest Higher Education Compact’s State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (SARA). It does not repeal consumer protection laws; it merely removes them from the chapter that governs Iowa’s participation in SARA.
The original participation was signed into law on April 3, 2014. The Iowa College Student Aid Commission submitted Iowa’s application to participate in SARA in October 2014, but the application was rejected because of the requirement that out-of-state, for-profit schools continue complying with Iowa Code Section 714.23, which deals with required tuition refunds for students who withdraw, and Iowa Code Section 714.25, which deals with required disclosures to students.
The Iowa Attorney General’s Office wanted to ensure that consumer protections for Iowa students are not diminished by proposed Iowa Code changes. Iowa’s higher education community is working to resolve the conflict so that Iowa qualifies for SARA participation.
If Iowa does not participate in SARA, our higher education institutions must continue to register in 54 states and territories in which they have students, including those in online programs and, in many cases, on-the-ground internships and other experiential learning activities. Registration fees paid to other states are significant.
Under SARA, however, Iowa educational institutions could choose to register and pay a single fee in Iowa and be covered in all other SARA-participating states, significantly reducing costs. Twenty states have signed agreements to participate in SARA, and 20 to 25 more are expected to join SARA in 2015. Under SARA, education institutions and states will track, monitor and identify institutions where there are student complaints. If problems are identified, the SARA organization will take action to rectify the issues. [5/11: 48-0 (Feenstra, Kraayenbrink excused)]