Section 12.03 - Institutional Eligibility Requirements for SARA(1) To be eligible for approval to operate under SARA, a Massachusetts institution shall: (a) be legally domiciled in Massachusetts;(b) be authorized by the Board or, for institutions chartered prior to 1943, authorized by the Massachusetts legislature or state constitution to offer degree programs in Massachusetts and confer postsecondary degrees in Massachusetts;(c) be in compliance with the requirements of 610 CMR 2.00: Degree-granting Regulations for Independent Institutions of Higher Education, where applicable;(d) meet and agree to comply with the C-RAC Guidelines;(e) possess and maintain institutional accreditation from an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education;(f) for nonpublic institutions only, demonstrate financial stability and responsibility by meeting the following criteria: 1. for federal Title IV participating institutions, having an institutional federal financial responsibility score of at least 1.5 (or 1.0 with justification acceptable to the Commissioner in his or her sole discretion);2. in the event that an institution does not participate in federal Title IV financial aid or for any other reason does not have a federal financial responsibility rating, retaining an independent auditor to calculate this rating or providing sufficient financial evidence to the Department to allow the calculation of this rating using the federal rules; or3. for institutions owned by a corporate parent, in accord with current U.S. Department of Education policies and procedures, providing the financial score for the corporate parent and said score being at least 1.5 (or 1.0 with justification acceptable to the Commissioner in his or her sole discretion).(g) agree to be bound by and comply with the SARA Manual and to be responsible for the actions of any third-party providers used by the institution to engage in operations under SARA;(h) make its SARA-related complaint policies and procedures readily available to studentsby posting them on its website and distributing copies to students upon enrollment, andinform students that they may appeal SARA-related complaints to the Department afterexhausting the institution's own complaint resolution procedures;(i) agree to provide the Department with any information requested that is relevant to astudent's complaint, including data, to the extent permitted by applicable law, in order toassist the Department with resolving the student complaint;(j) upon submission of an initial or renewal application, pay to the Department the state feesas required by 610 CMR 12.08 and as set forth in Board policy;(k) pay an annual SARA participation fee to NC-SARA as required by the SARA Manual;and(l) report any other information required by the SARA Manual, the Department, and/or 610 CMR 12.03 that may enable the Department to determine the suitability of the institution's operation under SARA.(2) In addition to other additional requirements established by federal or state laws outside of the Commonwealth, for any course or program designed to lead to, advertised as leading to, or potentially leading to professional licensure or certification, an institution, regardless of whether such institution participates in federal Title IV financial aid, must satisfy all federal requirements for disclosures regarding such professional licensure programs under 34 CFR § 668.43. Institutions that are unable, after all reasonable efforts, to determine whether a course or program will meet professional licensure requirements in other SARA states shall provide the student or applicant with current contact information for any applicable licensing boards and advise the student or applicant that they should determine whether the program meets requirements for licensure in the state where the student or applicant is located.(3) An institution seeking initial approval or renewal of its approval to operate under SARA must notify the Department of any adverse actions by its accreditor or of any negative changes to its accreditation status within 30 days of the institution's knowledge of said adverse action or negative change.(4) An institution seeking initial approval or renewal of its approval to operate under SARA must notify the Department, within 30 days of the institution's knowledge of said investigation or adverse action, of any of the circumstances that could lead to provisional status set forth in 610 CMR 12.05(5)(c).(5) An institution seeking initial approval or renewal of its approval to operate under SARA must notify the Department of any changes in its federal financial responsibility score, in the federal financial responsibility score of its corporate parent, or, for an institution that does not participate in Title IV financial aid, in its financial status that would result in its federal financial responsibility score being less than 1.5 within 30 days of the institution's knowledge of said changes.(6) Institutions approved to operate under SARA pursuant to 610 CMR 12.04 must maintain eligibility requirements throughout the participation period. Any institution that fails to maintain eligibility under these requirements may lose its eligibility to operate under SARA and be removed by the Board pursuant to 610 CMR 12.06.Adopted by Mass Register Issue 1361, eff. 3/23/2018.Amended by Mass Register Issue 1422, eff. 7/24/2020.