The Commission for Higher Education is charged with coordinating higher education in Indiana. The Indiana Board for Proprietary Education - which is administered, staffed, and led by the Commission for Higher Education - is a 7-member public body created in 2012. The Board is charged with authorizing all accredited Indiana proprietary institutions that grant degrees, and all accredited proprietary degree-granting, out-of-state institutions that offer instruction in Indiana. For a current list of authorized institutions, click here.
In addition, the Board is charged with protecting and informing the public at large. These functions are carried out by the Commission through a student complaint process and by providing information to the public about authorized institutions. For information about diploma mills, click here.
STATE AUTHORIZATION RECIPROCITY AGREEMENT (SARA).
Indiana has been accepted as part of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) through the Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC).
For a list of Indiana Institutions Approved by the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, the State Portal Agency, to Participate in SARA click here for the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (NC-SARA) website.
What is SARA? The State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement is an agreement among member states, districts, and 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. SARA is overseen by a National Council and administered by four regional education compacts.
How can my institution join SARA? Any Indiana public, private not-for-profit, or private for-profit degree-granting institution is eligible to join SARA, provided that its main campus or central unit is legally domiciled in the State of Indiana and accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education. To initiate the process for joining SARA, complete and submit the following application link
Questions regarding this process can be directed to:
Ken Sauer, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Indiana Board for Proprietary Education
Senior Associate Commissioner and Chief Academic Officer,
Indiana Commission for Higher Education
Ksauer@che.in.gov
Ross Miller
Director, State Authorization and Reciprocity
Indiana Commission for Higher Education
Rmiller@che.in.gov
Complaints to the Indiana Commission for Higher Education regarding Indiana degree-granting post-secondary institutions participating in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA) may be filed link
Indiana proprietary institutions that do not grant degrees - as well as all non-degree-granting, out-of-state institutions that offer instruction in Indiana - must be authorized by the Indiana Department of Workforce Development, Office for Career and Technical Schools (OCTS). For information concerning OCTS institutions, please email octs@dwd.in.gov.
All closed institution records will be housed at the Indiana State Archives. The Indiana Archives and Records Administration (IARA) link is here. For a transcript request form, click here. Please note that there is a fee for each copy of a transcript requested in the amount of fifteen dollars ($15.00). The fee must accompany the request and can either be a check or a money order to be paid to: The Indiana Archives and Records Administration. The form must be signed by the owner of the records (the former student). All fields must be completed for the request to be accepted. For any questions concerning transcript requests, please call 317.591.5222.
Further Information:
Indiana has been approved as the first state to join the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA)
Midwestern Higher Education Compact (MHEC) News Release click here.
Updated: 2024.03.18