Western Technical College has been approved to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements. SARA is an agreement among member states, districts, and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs. Western became a member of SARA on September 23, 2016.

SARA is overseen by a national council and administered by four regional education compacts. Western is part of the Midwestern Higher Education Compact. Colleges in a SARA state only need their home state authorization to offer distance education to students in other SARA member states.  

Not every state has joined SARA. A current list of member states can be found here.  State authorization rules are subject to change. Please check back to this site for more information or updates on authorization of states for distance education courses.  

As a member of SARA, any current or former student of a distance education program offered by Western Technical College may file a complaint with Wisconsin’s Distance Learning Authorization Board (DLAB) for Western Technical College distance education activity conducted across state lines under specific and limited circumstances.   For more information on the types of complaints handled by DLAB, steps to be taken before filing a complaint with DLAB, and the process to file a complaint with the DLAB, see DLAB’s student complaint process. 

If you have a question about Western’s State Authorization of Distance Education, please direct your inquiry to the Compliance Coordinator via email.