NC-SARA Releases 10th Annual Data Report on Exclusively Distance Education Enrollment & Out-of-State Learning Placements

BOULDER, CO (SEPTEMBER 29, 2025) – The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) – a nonprofit dedicated to expanding access to education and promoting more efficient, consistent regulation of distance education – today released its 10th annual data report, which provides insights into trends in student enrollment in distance education across more than 2,400 SARA-participating institutions.

“NC-SARA’s research on annual enrollment in distance education programs and out-of-state learning experiences continues to shed light on the extent to which colleges and universities are leveraging distance learning to expand access, increase affordability, and reach learners,” said Marianne Boeke, President of NC-SARA. “This latest annual report affirms the importance of distance education in meeting the complex needs and aspirations of today’s learners.”

The report, titled “Technical Report for Fall 2024 Exclusively Distance Education Enrollment & 2024 Out-of-State Learning Placements,” reveals a slight year-over-year increase in the number of students enrolling in out-of-state institutions exclusively via distance education. Despite the overall increase in distance education participation stabilizing after pandemic peaks, the data still shows distance education remains a key component of higher education access.

Key Highlights from the Report:

  • Sector Breakdown: Public institutions represented 48.9% of the reporting institutions, followed by private nonprofit institutions at 43.2% and private for-profit institutions at 7.7%.
  • Exclusively Distance Education Enrollments: A total of 1,661,689 students from SARA member states attended out-of-state SARA-participating institutions through exclusively distance education in Fall 2024, a slight increase from 2023, highlighting continued interest in online education post-pandemic.
  • Out-of-State Learning Placements (OOSLP): The report also emphasizes an uptick in out-of-state learning placements, with 473,548 students participating in OOSLP in 2024 – an increase of 9.7% from 2023. These placements include internships, clinical rotations, and other hands-on experiences critical for professional development and degree completion.
  • OOSLP Fields: Healthcare-related programs accounted for 64.2% of out-of-state placements, followed by education (6.2%) and business (3.6%), reflecting the strong demand for professional skills in these fields.

NC-SARA’s data reporting is central to understanding the evolving trends in distance education and out-of-state learning placements. Read an executive summary of the data report and access full interactive data dashboards on the Annual Data Reports webpage.

To learn more about the process for SARA annual data reporting, colleges and universities can reference the NC-SARA Data Reporting Handbook for Institutions and other resources for data reporting on the Institution Directions for Data Reporting webpage.

About SARA: The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is a voluntary agreement among member states, districts, and territories that establishes standards for the reciprocal authorization of institutions providing distance education across state lines. As of 2025, 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have voluntarily joined SARA. More than 2,400 institutions have received approval from their home state to participate in the agreement. Learn more at www.nc-sara.org.

About NC-SARA: The National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) is a private nonprofit organization [501(c)(3)] that coordinates the implementation of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) in collaboration with the four regional, interstate education compacts:

  • Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC)
  • New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE)
  • Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)
  • Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education (WICHE)

NC-SARA supports the regional education compacts and states as they implement the agreement and carry out their SARA-related work. Additionally, NC-SARA facilitates information exchange among the regional compacts, member states, territories, the District of Columbia, and SARA institutions regarding participation and compliance.

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