SMC State Authorization Policies and Procedures
Saint Mary’s College of California State Authorization Policies and Procedures
State Authorization
The US Department of Education oversees compliance with regulations governing the ability of institutions to offer online distance education programs to students located outside of California. Individual states also oversee the programming Saint Mary’s offers, and some states require authorization for having online distance education students in the state. Saint Mary’s is authorized to offer online distance education on a state-by-state basis.
Student Declaration of Current Physical Location
To comply with federal Title IV regulations governing distance education, Saint Mary’s is required to verify students’ current physical locations prior to engaging in financial transactions. Also, to comply with state authorization regulations governing distance education, Saint Mary’s is required to verify students’ locations prior to each semester of registration. Students are required to confirm their location before registering for courses throughout the year via GaelXpress 2.0 Self-Service to confirm their official address of record as the location in which they will be engaging in the online distance education coursework in the upcoming term. A student is required to report to the Registrar’s Office any change in their physical location during the semester; the change needs to be reported in advance of moving. If a student moves from their current authorized location to a state where Saint Mary’s is not authorized to provide online distance education, we will be unable to support their continued enrollment. If a student thinks they may relocate or have concerns about this, they should contact their program for an explanation of their options.
If a student’s current location is outside the state of California and the student is enrolled in a Saint Mary’s online distance education program, the student should also check the information below to verify that Saint Mary’s is authorized to offer distance education to students physically located in that state.
List of State Authorizations and Exemptions, and Related Admissions Restrictions
STATES WHERE SAINT MARY’S CAN ENROLL ONLINE DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENTS
- Arizona
- California
- Colorado
- Connecticut
- Florida
- Hawaii
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Jersey
- New York (authorized for the LEAP and MBA programs only)
- Ohio
- Oklahoma
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee
- Texas
- Washington
- West Virginia
STATES WHERE SAINT MARY’S CANNOT ENROLL ONLINE DISTANCE EDUCATION STUDENTS
- Alabama
- Alaska
- Arkansas
- Delaware
- District of Columbia (authorization application in process)
- Georgia
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Maine
- Maryland
- Massachusetts
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Hampshire
- New Mexico
- North Carolina (effective January 1, 2023 - applies to all applicants from the Spring 2023 admissions cycle and onward)
- North Dakota
- Oregon (authorization application in process)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island
- Utah
- Vermont
- Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
Complaints Process
Any individual may contact The Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education for review of a complaint. The bureau may be contacted at 2535 Capitol Oaks Drive, Suite 400, Sacramento, CA 95833, http://www.bppe.ca.gov, 916.431.6924 (phone), 916.263.1897 (fax).
Students residing outside California can also contact their local Office of Higher Education to submit a complaint. Please click here to download the Student Complaint Information by State and Agency.
Last Updated: October 2023