After a month-long application process, Canisius College is officially a SARA school. The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) is a voluntary agreement among its member states and U.S. territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering 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.
In order to be a participant in SARA, institutions must first apply and be approved by their state, before applying and being approved by SARA. If they are not a SARA participant, higher education institutions across the U.S. have to apply to each institution they have students enrolled in. State authorization is a very complex process. Every state has their own application process and financial requirements. Being a member of SARA allows us to do business in all 49 member states without individual application.