State Authorization Compliance

State authorization is a legal mandate that requires compliance with the laws and regulations of the states, territories and nations (jurisdictions) outside of Arizona for institutions of higher education which have a “physical presence,” as defined by a jurisdiction’s laws. Each jurisdiction has a different definition of “physical presence,” and it can include a number of activities such as: teaching online to residents of the jurisdiction, experiential activities by NAU students in that jurisdiction, hiring online faculty living in that jurisdiction, marketing, recruiting, etc.

There are significant consequences for lack of compliance, including loss of federal funding, loss of accreditation, as well as civil and criminal penalties. NAU takes this regulatory requirement, as well as all other compliance requirements, very seriously. To determine where activities are ongoing outside of Arizona is challenging, and various methods have been used to gather that data. In a collaborative arrangement with ITS, we gather student location data using the NAU CAS System.

Any requests from NAU for this information that will be used only for official compliance purposes, so students and faculty should not be concerned about the validity of the inquiry.

When a registered student logs on to any service at NAU, the student may be requested to indicate which state/territory/nation for which they are physically located in that semester. If the student is enrolled in a course identified by the institution as “experiential,” they will be asked the same question regarding their physical location while completing that course. Once a student successfully completes the questions, they will not receive the message again for the remainder of the semester unless there is a relevant schedule change. The entire process should take a student less than 30 seconds to complete.

For technical questions, please contact:

Student Technology Center
(928) 523-9294
(888) 520-7215
Ask-STC@nau.edu

For questions about state authorization compliance, please contact:

academicaffairs.compliance@nau.edu