Washington Student Achievement Council

The Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC) is a nine-member council supported by a cabinet-level state agency. By statute, the Council provides strategic planning, oversight, advocacy, and program administration to support increased student success and higher levels of educational attainment in Washington.

____ Public, in-state degree granting institutions
_X__ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
_X__ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
_X__ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
_X__ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
_X__ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
_X__ Religious institutions
____ Tribally-controlled institutions
____ Federal Institutions
____ Municipal institutions

____ Institution __X__ Program _____ Both

Authorization is program and site specific.

We regulate degree-granting institutions only. Non-degree programs are regulated by different state agencies. We do not differentiate between for-profit and not-for-profit in our review process. We do not grant authorization to religious institutions, we grant exemptions, however they are the only type of exemption that has a regular reporting requirement at this time.

Yes

New institutions may submit a plan for accreditation in lieu of being accredited. For more details please see the regulations around accreditation at https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-085.

See answer above

Accreditation Required for:

____ Public, out-of-state degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, not-for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, in-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Private, out-of-state, for-profit degree granting institutions
____ Public, in-state, non-degree granting institutions
____ Public, out-of-state, non-degree granting institutions
____ Non-degree, not-for profit institutions
____ Non-degree, for-profit institutions
____ Religious institutions
____ Tribally-controlled institutions
____ Federal Institutions
____ Municipal institutions

Authorized institutions may seek accreditation from any accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and WSAC. You can find a list of recognized accreditation agencies on the WSAC website at https://wsac.wa.gov/degree-authorization toward the bottom of the page.

WAC 250-61-063 (https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-060) clearly lists all categories of institutions eligible for exemption.

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https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-060

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No, but they may need to contribute to the Tuition Recovery Trust Fund if they enroll WA residents.

Yes

No

If the online program includes a required field placement component, then field placement authorization is required.

If the correspondence study program includes a required field placement component, then field placement authorization is required.

We use “operate” interchangeably with “physical presence”. Per WAC 250-61-050(17): "Operate" means, but is not limited to, the following:

(a) Offering courses for academic credit at any Washington location or via distance learning from a Washington location.

(b) Granting or offering to grant degrees in Washington for credit obtained within or outside the state.

(c) Maintaining or advertising a Washington location, mailing address, or telecommunications number for any purpose other than contact with the institution's former students for any legitimate purpose related to their previous attendance.

(d) Maintaining or advertising an application for enrollment or a mechanism to collect prospective student data in any advertisement, publication, web site, software application, or other media, if the institution maintains a Washington location.

(e) Advertising, promoting, publicizing, soliciting or recruiting for the institution or its offerings that is targeted specifically at Washington citizens, excluding multi-institutional college fairs.

https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-050

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WSAC will not investigate student complaints until the student has exhausted the institution’s complaint/appeals process.

All SARA related complaints are handled by WSAC.

https://wsac.wa.gov/student-complaints

• Contact Name: Tivoli Sharp
• Title: Program Associate, Consumer Protection
• Agency: Washington Student Achievement Council
• Address: P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504-3430
• Email: tivolis@wsac.wa.gov
• Phone: 360-485-1080
• URL https://wsac.wa.gov/student-complaints

The complaint process is the same for SARA/non-SARA institutions regulated by WSAC.

WSAC will not investigate student complaints until the student has exhausted the institution’s complaint/appeals process.

• WSAC handles complaints for all authorized and most 4-year institutions
• Workforce Training and Education Coordinating Board (WTB) handles complaints for all non-degree private vocational schools
• WA Department of Licensing (DOL) handles complaints for cosmetology schools
• State Board of Community and Technical College (SBCTC) handles complaints for the 34 public community and technical colleges

The student complaint portal is now live and can be found at https://www.studentcomplaints.wa.gov/hc/en-us. Each agency’s individual complaint page includes a link to the portal.

No, complaints received for non-authorized institutions will be referred to the institution’s home state authorization agency.

• Contact Name: Tivoli Sharp
• Title: Program Associate, Consumer Protection
• Agency: Washington Student Achievement Council
• Address: P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504-3430
• Email: tivolis@wsac.wa.gov
• Phone: 360-485-1080
• URL https://wsac.wa.gov/student-complaints

https://wsac.wa.gov/student-complaints

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Yes

This information is found within the application for authorization.

ALL authorized institutions have a surety bond requirement.

No specific state requirements aside from the institution must develop, publish and abide by their tuition refund policy.

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Yes

All authorized non-public institutions and out-of-state 100% online non-SARA participant institutions who enroll WA residents.

https://app.leg.wa.gov/WAC/default.aspx?cite=250-61-145

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The following information is required in the initial application and biennially in the renewal application:                        

• Administrative Requirements (i.e. application fee, surety bond, etc.)
• General Institutional Requirements (i.e. contact information, mission statement, accreditation, legal operating status, ownership, administrative officers, etc.)
• Academic Requirements (i.e. program info, faculty, enrollments, mode of delivery, etc.)
• Instructional Resources and Support Services (i.e. facilities, library, student services, finances, etc.)
• Catalog (i.e. institutional policies)

Authorized institutions are required to report annual tuition and fee revenue from authorized activity in order to calculate Tuition Recovery Trust Fund contribution amounts which are invoiced annually for five years.

Biennially, except for annual tuition and fee revenue which are reported annually.

Data provided by institutions is subject to public records requests and all authorized institutions are listed on our website.

N/A, applications are submitted via email or hardcopy and annual tuition and fees are reported through a survey sent to institutions’ regulatory contact.

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Suspension or withdrawal of authorization: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28B.85.095

Fines: https://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=28B.85.100

At-Risk Designation:

https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-155

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Application review procedures: https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-180                                  180

Notes: The minimum comment period is 30 days. A site visit, external consultants, and comment period are not typically required for institutions seeking to advertise/recruit locally in WA or offer field placement components only.

The application must be requested from WSAC staff, it is not posted online at this time.

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Yes

Initial Standard Authorization: $2,000 plus $1,000 for each degree program

Standard Renewal: $1,000 plus $250 for each degree program

Initial Field Placement Authorization: $2,000

Field Placement Renewal: $1,000

Late Application Fee: $1,000

Fee information is listed in WAC 250-60-170 (https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-170

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Requirements for closed school records are outlined in WAC 250-61-160 (https://apps.leg.wa.gov/wac/default.aspx?cite=250-61-160)

Which require that schools provide WSAC with the following:

• Electronic copies of transcripts for all current and past students
• An account ledger for each student that includes, at a minimum, clear and correct information about student charges, payments, and the source for each payment
• A plan for the maintenance of student records

In the event it appears to the council that the official records of an institution discontinuing its operations are in danger of being destroyed, secreted, mislaid, or otherwise made unavailable to the students and the council, the council may seek a court order to take possession of the records and provide for their permanent maintenance.

• Agency Name: Washington Student Achievement Council
• Contact Person: Hannah Deck
• Contact Phone: 360-485-1199
• Contact Address: P.O. Box 43430, Olympia, WA 98504-3430
• Contact Email: degreeauthorization@wsac.wa.gov
• Contact web site: https://wsac.wa.gov/protecting-education-consumers

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Please contact WSAC staff if you have any questions or would like to request a copy of any applications for authorization