Responses Last Confirmed:

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

Agency Contact

Ms. Elizabeth Walker, Coordinator for Academic Affairs Administration
405.225.9154
lwalker@osrhe.edu

Additional Contact

Secretary of State Contact

Mr. Brian Bingman (https://www.sos.ok.gov/)
405.521.3912
Topic

1: Important Agency Information to Note

a.
Provide any important information about your agency.

The OSRHE is the coordinating board for public degree-granting institutions and the state authorization entity for all degree-granting institutions in Oklahoma. Non-degree granting institutions are licensed by the Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools.

Topic

2: Types of Educational Providers Authorized

a.
Indicate the types of institutions that your agency authorizes. Please provide a short explanation of any ambiguity in the comment section below.

__X__ Public, in-state degree granting institutions
__X__ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__ Religious institutions degree-granting, unless they are exempt as per Clarifying Comments below.
_____ Tribally-controlled institutions
_____ Federal Institutions
_____ Municipal institutions

b.
Does your agency authorize specific academic programs offered by institutions, only institutions themselves, or both?

__X__ Institution   _____ Program   _____ Both

c.
Clarifying comments:

Independent, degree-granting non-profit institutions domiciled in Oklahoma and participating in the Oklahoma Tuition Equalization Grant (OTEG) program (a state student scholarship program) are exempt from authorization statute (70 O.S. Section 4103; 70 O.S. Section 2632).

Topic

3: Accreditation

a.
Is accreditation required for an institution to be authorized in your state?

Yes

b.
If yes, please check all that apply as appropriate.

Accreditation Required for:
__X__ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
__X__ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
_____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
_____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
__X__ Religious institutions - degree granting
_____ Tribally-controlled institutions
_____ Federal Institutions
_____ Municipal institutions

c.
Clarifying comments:

State statute requires institutions to be accredited by a USDE-recognized institutional accreditor to conduct degree-related activity in Oklahoma.

Topic

4: Exemptions

a.
Are certain institutions or programs exempt by law or policy from your state authorization requirements?

Independent, degree-granting non-profit institutions domiciled in Oklahoma who participate in the OTEG program (see Topic 2 Clarifying Comments) are exempt. Out-of-state institutions offering online-only programs in the state do not require authorization. No degree-granting institution or activity is exempt from accreditation requirements.

Institutions offering non-degree programs are licensed separately by the Oklahoma Board of Private Vocational Schools. If an institution offers both degree- and non-degree programs, it must be authorized by both agencies.

b.
Web link for exemptions.

No response provided

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

5: Authorization of Distance Education

a.
Does your agency require purely online programs offered by out-of-state institutions to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

b.
If not, does your agency determine whether an institution must be authorized based on a physical presence (“operating”) standard?

Yes

c.
Does your agency require correspondence study programs to be authorized without regard to physical presence?

No

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

6: Physical Presence Policy

a.
If your agency uses a physical presence standard, how does your agency define physical presence?

1. The private or out-of-state public institution offers college level credit in the state that leads to an academic degree, including:

  • Establishing a physical location in the State of Oklahoma for students to receive synchronous or asynchronous instruction;
  • Requiring students to physically meet at a location in the State of Oklahoma for institutional purposes that comprise more than two (2) class periods equivalent to six (6) hours; or
  • Providing an offering in the nature of a short course or seminar, if instruction for the short course or seminar is greater than twenty (20) contact hours.

2. The private institution or out-of-state public institution establishes an administration office in the state including:

  • Maintaining an administrative office in the State of Oklahoma for the purpose of providing information to prospective students or the general public about the institution, enrolling students, or providing services to enrolled students;
  • Providing office space to instructional or non-instructional staff; or
  • Establishing an institutional mailing address, post-office box, street address, or phone number in the State of Oklahoma.

Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education Institutional Accreditation and State Authorization policy (3.1)

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

7: Student Complaints - SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about SARA participating Institutions.

Students can report complaints to the State Regents after exhausting the institutional complaint/appeal process.

b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

Complaints about institutions authorized by OSRHE are handled by OSRHE.

c.
Web link for student complaints – SARA participating institutions.
d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

The person who receives SARA-participating institution complaints:

Name: Ms. Elizabeth Walker

Title: Coordinator for Academic Affairs Administration

Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

Address: 655 Research Parkway, Suite 200, Oklahoma City OK 73104

Email:  lwalker@osrhe.edu

Phone: 405-225-9154

URL: https://www.okhighered.org/current-college-students/complaints.shtml

e.
Clarifying comments:

The person listed above is the resource only for complaints of students attending an institution under SARA. The person who handles non-SARA related complaints is listed below.

Topic

8: Student Complaints - Non-SARA Participating Institutions

a.
Please describe the process for handling complaints about out-of-state postsecondary institutions or programs?

Students can report complaints to the OSRHE after exhausting the institutional complaint/appeal process.

b.
Is the process handled all within your agency or do you divide consumer protection and student complaint duties dependent on the type of institution (Public, Private, Technical, etc.)?

Complaints about institutions authorized by OSRHE are handled by OSRHE.

c.
Does this complaint process extend to institutions not authorized by the agency that may enroll residents of the state (such as explicitly distance education programs with no physical presence or exempt institutions)?

No

d.
Who is the contact person at your agency for receiving complaints?

OSRHE contact for non-SARA related complaints:

Contact Name: Ms. Lindsay Echols

Title: Executive Director for Campus Compact and Director of Student Affairs and Diversity

Agency: Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education

Address: 655 Research Parkway, Suite 200, Oklahoma City, OK 73104

Email: lechols@osrhe.edu

Phone: 405-225-9128

URL: https://www.okhighered.org/current-college-students/complaints.shtml

e.
Web link for the complaint form.
f.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

9: Surety Bonds

a.
Does your state require a Surety Bond for authorized out-of-state institutions?

No

b.
Web link for surety bonds.

No response provided

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

10: Tuition Refund Policy

a.
Does your state have a Tuition Refund Policy Requirement?

Yes

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

All authorized institutions are required to have a tuition refund policy detailed in the student catalogue.

c.
Web link for tuition refund policy.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

11: Student Tuition Recovery Fund

a.
Does your state have a Student Tuition Recovery Fund (or similar fund for school closure)?

No

b.
If yes, for what types of institutions?

No response provided

c.
Web link for student tuition recovery fund.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

12: Reporting

a.
What kinds of information or data must an institution report to your agency as a condition for continued out-of-state authorization?

Institutions must report in-state enrollment information annually. Institutions must also comply with the reporting requirements found under section 3.1.E. of the OSRHE Institutional Accreditation and State Authorization policy.

b.
How frequently do institutions report data?

Annually

c.
Is this information published or shared publicly?

Yes

d.
Web link for reporting.

No response provided

e.
Clarifying comments:

This information is presented to the OSRHE at a public meeting and the presentation item is publicly available on the OSRHE website.

Topic

13: Enforcement

a.
What are possible consequences of institutional non-compliance?

The authorization to operate as a degree granting institution may be denied, revoked, or non-renewed when a private institution or out-of-state public institution fails to meet or comply with any portion of policy section 3.1.4. When State Regents’ staff recommends for an institution’s authorization to be denied, revoked, or non-renewed, its due process rights will be governed and limited by 75 O.S., §314 (2001), and any pertinent amendments. Those provisions of the Oklahoma Administrative Procedures Act (APA) pertaining to individual proceedings, 75 O.S. §309 (2001), et seq., are not applicable to State Regents' state authorization decisions.

c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

14: Application Process

a.
Please provide a short description of the application process to obtain state authorization.

Institutions must fill out an application for authorization.

c.
Clarifying comments:

To request more information on authorization of degree-granting institution or an application packet, contact Ms. Elizabeth Walker, lwalker@osrhe.edu.

Topic

15: Fees Associated with Authorization

a.
Application Fee – Is there an application fee to initiate the authorization process? If so, what is the fee or fee schedule? Please provide a web link if available.

No

b.
If yes, what is the fee or fee schedule?

No response provided

c.
Web link for fee information.

No response provided

d.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

16: Records Retention

a.
When a school closes, what is the process your state uses to ensure that transcripts/records are kept available?

N/A

b.
From what agency do students request their transcripts/records from a closed school?
c.
Clarifying comments:

No response provided

Topic

17: Additional Information

a.
Is there anything else about the authorization process in your state that we and others ought to know about?

OSRHE state authorization policy is subject to change; institutions offering online-only degree programs in Oklahoma should contact the OSRHE at least annually to ensure they are still operating within state law and OSRHE policy.

Contact:

Ms. Elizabeth Walker
Coordinator for Academic Affairs Administration
lwalker@osrhe.edu