State Authorizations

South Carolina is an affiliated member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), which supervises an agreement among member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary education courses and programs. SARA is overseen by the National Council and administered by one of four regional education compacts – in our case, it is the Southern Regional Education Board (www.sreb.org). Likewise, Coastal Carolina University is an institutional member of South Carolina-SARA through its designated portal agency, the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education. As such, CCU only needs its home state authorization to offer distance education in any other SARA member state. These states may be found at www.nc-sara.org, and are represented in the graphic below. 

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**Puerto Rico has affiliated with SREB and became an official SARA member June 6, 2018. Puerto Rico SARA website; Date institution applications will be accepted: Later this summer, date to be determined.

Please check this page regularly or contact our office if your state is not shown. If you have questions, complaints, or concerns about a particular state, you can contact Teresa Burns, Associate Provost for Faculty Affairs and Academic Programs, for additional support.

Coastal Carolina University students who reside outside the state of South Carolina who desire to resolve a grievance should first follow CCU’s complaint procedures described in University Policy STUD-330. Students may also seek resolution of a complaint through the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education at:

South Carolina Commission on Higher Education (SCCHE)
1122 Lady Street. Suite 300
Columbia, SC 29201
http://www.che.sc.gov

The Commission provides a full online explanation and support of its complaint process in CHE’s Student Complaint Procedures and form. Complaints regarding student grades or conduct violations are governed entirely by institutional policy and will not be considered by CHE.

Coastal Carolina University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award baccalaureate, master's, specialist, and doctoral degrees. Coastal Carolina University also may offer credentials such as certificates and diplomas at approved degree levels. Questions about the accreditation of Coastal Carolina University may be directed in writing to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, GA 30033-4097, by calling 404-679-4500, or by using information available on SACSCOC's website (www.sacscoc.org).