North+Dakota

North Dakota

Tom Braziunas, TBraziun@sccd.ctc.edu, of North Seattle CC, has volunteered to research North Dakota.


 * Good News (mostly, at least)! Public state-operated postsecondary institutions appear to be exempt. **


 * North Dakota State Board for Career and Technical Education appears to focus their regulation of distance education on private institutions. According to their Postsecondary Educational Authorization Act, I found the following exemption for institutions operated by any state under "Exemptions":**

//**15-20.4-02. Exemptions. The following education and educational institutions are exempted from the provisions of this chapter:**//

//**6. Postsecondary educational institutions established, operated, and governed by this or any other state or its political subdivisions, as determined by the board and any educational consortium that includes one or more of the institutions.**//


 * However, according to the document ****Criteria for Authorization to Operate Postsecondary Educational Institutions**, **it would appear that we may still need to explicitly request an exemption per this statement:**

//**2. Postsecondary educational institutions claiming to be exempt under North Dakota Century Code section 15-20.4-02 shall provide to the board, in writing, sufficient information supporting the exemption.**//
 * And, later in the same document, the short section on Distance Education states:**

//**106-06-01-02. Distance education. **// //**1. The board recognizes that requirements for facilities, equipment, and methods of instruction for **////**distance education programs differ from traditional programs delivered on-site. However, so far as **////**applicable, the institution will adhere to the basic standards as outlined in this chapter. **//

//**2. Institutions offering distance education programs seeking authorization to operate shall **////**include the following additional items in the application: **// //**a. The names and descriptions of programs of study intended for delivery by distance **////**education modalities, **// //**b. A complete description of the types of distance modalities to be used, **// //**c. The names and qualifications of those providing technical assistance or support **////**to students taking coursework via distance modalities. **//


 * Finally, apparently some of this is in flux, because a memo to online colleges states that the state legislature is considering a bill "broadening exemptions" and/or making other changes.**
 * So, the bottom line appears to be that state-operated postsecondary institutions from outside North Dakota probably do not need to seek authorization but may still need to officially request an exemption.**
 * I'll try to get more definite information. A very useful website with links to all the information above is: @http://www.nd.gov/cte/private-post-inst/ . Tom**