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State Authorization and Student Complaints

BYU-Idaho is required to be “authorized” to offer educational programs in its home state, as well as in any state in which it offers distance education programs. That authorization indicates that BYU-Idaho meets certain standards under the laws and regulations of those states.

See also State Authorization and Professional Licensure.
BYU-Idaho is an approved participant of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). Participation in SARA allows BYU-Idaho to offer online courses to students in the U.S. jurisdictions that have adopted SARA, including 49 states and the District of Columbia. California, the only state that currently does not participate in SARA, does not regulate distance learning by out-of-state institutions if they do not have a “physical presence” in the state. As a result, BYU-Idaho is authorized to offer distance learning courses to students in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. To learn more, visit SARA.

Complaints regarding online courses should be handled following the Student Grievance Policy. If a SARA student feels that a complaint was not resolved to his or her satisfaction, he or she may contact Idaho’s State Portal Entity: Idaho State Board of Education. Students may also file a complaint with their home jurisdiction’s SARA portal agency, using the current contact information available here. Complaints regarding grades or student conduct violations are governed by institution policy and Idaho state laws and may not be appealed under SARA.
Students residing in California (the only non-SARA state) may file a complaint on the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education Complaints website.
BYU-Idaho’s regional accrediting agency, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities, will consider complaints about BYU-Idaho after all institutional grievance policies have been exhausted, and if the complaint is directly related to accreditation eligibility requirements, standards, and procedures.

Please refer to our Office of Accreditation for more information.

Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities
8060 165th Ave. NE
Suite 100
Redmond, WA 98052
nwccu.org
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Compliance Hotline
BYU-Idaho has a campus-wide Compliance Hotline that may be used to submit reports of noncompliance.

Visit the Compliance Hotline Website
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BYU-Idaho Refund Policy
Find information regarding tuition refunds.

See the Refund Policy