NC-SARA Certification

NC-SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement) Professional Licensure: “Federal regulations have been adopted that create disclosure requirements for Professional Licensure programs regardless of the mode of delivery in that the rules apply to both face-to-face and distance education programs. Per the rules, institutions are required to determine the states in which a student and prospective student is located for the purpose of disclosing state-specific Professional Licensure information to students based on the state in which a student is located. “

Currently, 46 of the 50 United States participate in NC-SARA, excluding California; also excluded are Puerto Rico, the US Virgin Islands, and other U.S. territories. From the NC-SARA website:

A college or university that has been approved to participate in SARA may offer distance education programs to students in other SARA member states. Importantly, these institutions have met several requirements that help ensure their quality and student consumer protections, including:

- The institution is a degree-granting institution, appropriately authorized (by Congress, a U.S. state, territory or district, or a federally recognized Indian tribe) to award associate degrees or higher.
- The institution is institutionally accredited by an accrediting body recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and whose scope of recognition, as specified by the U.S. Department of Education, includes distance education.
- The institution agrees that, in cases where the institution cannot fully deliver the instruction for which a student has contracted, it will provide a reasonable alternative for delivering the instruction or reasonable financial compensation for the education the student did not receive.

Meets Requirements

States where Dragon Rises’ program is recognized in accordance with NC-SARA guidelines:

State	MS in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine	NCCAOM Certification	Foundations	Acupuncture	Biomedicine	Herbs	Notes
Alaska	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Arizona	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Arkansas	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
California	✗	✔					Accepts 100% credits; California has its own examinations.
Colorado	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗	A special requirement for Acupuncturists employing Injection Therapy (see Note below)
Conneticut	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Deleware	✔	✔*	✔	✔	✔	✔*	* - Option for the license of Acupuncture & Eastern Medicine Practitioner
Florida	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✔	Need additional training: 15 hours Supervised Instruction in Universal Precautions Applicable to Needling Techniques; 20 hours Florida Laws and Rules; 60 hours injection therapy course
Georgia	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Hawaii	✔	✗	✔	✔	✗	✗
Idaho	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Illinois	✔*	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔*	* Optional
Indiana	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Iowa	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Kansas	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✔	Based on NCCAOM information. The corresponding rule will be promulgated by the State.
Kentucky	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✗
Lousiana	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗	Shall affirm to establish and maintain a relationship with a physician at all times while engaged in the practice of acupuncture.
Maine	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗	Proof of completion of a Baccalaureate Degree required
Maryland	✔	✔	✔*	✔*	✔*	✗	* - Either graduated from an accredited program or NCCAOM certificate in Acupuncture
Massachusetts	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔*	* - NCCAOM Chinese Herbology or Oriental Medicine certification is required to practice herbs
Michigan	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Minnesota	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Mississippi	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Missouri	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Montana	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Nebraska	✔	✗	✔	✔	✗	✗
Nevada	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔
New Hampshire	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗	Baccalaureate or higher degree required
New Jersey	✔*	✗	✔	✔	✔	✔*	Requires a baccalaureate degree; Requires completing the New Jersey Acupuncture Safety and Jurisprudence Examination. * - NCCAOM Chinese Herbology or Oriental Medicine certification is required to practice herbs.
New Mexico	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✔	Requires board-administered jurisprudence examination, and the clinical skills examination
New York	✔	✗	✔	✔	✗	✗
North Carolina	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✗
North Dakota	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✗
Ohio	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Oregon	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Pennsylvania	✔*	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔*	* - Required for licensure as a practitioner of Oriental medicine
Rhode Island	✔*	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔*	* - Required for an Approval for the Use of Herbal Therapy
South Carolina	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Tennessee	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Texas	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✔	Required to pass the Texas Jurisprudence (JP) exam
Utah	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Vermont	✔*	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔**	Requires 800 hours of clinical practice * Required for those who intend to employ nonprescription remedies and herbal therapies
Virginia	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔	✗
Washington	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✗
District of Columbia (DC)	✔*	✔	✔	✔	✔	✔*	* - NCCAOM Chinese Herbology or Oriental Medicine certification is required to practice herbs
West Virginia	✔*	✔*	✔*	✔*	✔*	✔*	* - Either graduated from an accredited Acupuncture or OM program or NCCAOM certificate in Acupuncture or Oriental Medicine
Wisconsin	✔	✗	✔	✔	✗	✗
Wyoming	✔	✗	✔	✔	✔	✗

Note regarding Colorado:
(Colorado) shall use only those substances and techniques for which they have received training. Required Educational Coursework shall include:

Anatomy and Physiology
Acupuncture physical exam and differential diagnosis
Acupuncture point location, including underlying anatomy
Acupuncture needling technique
General injection safety
Acupuncture point injection therapy
Pharmacology
Clean Needle Technique (For the use of injectable substances prepared from oriental herbs, completion of training in Chinese herbology and injection of Chinese herbal injectables is required. To demonstrate satisfying the training requirements in Chinese herbology and injection of Chinese herbal injectables, the Director will accept NCCAOM, or a successor organization’s, certification in Chinese herbology and/or certification in Oriental Medicine.)
For the use of substances listed in (E)(3)(a)(12-17), instruction on the use of inhaled O2 and IM epinephrine for emergency use is required.

Does Not Meet Requirements

States where Dragon Rises’ program is not recognized in accordance with NC-SARA regulations:

State	MS in Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine	Eligibility	NCCAOM Certification	Foundations	Acupuncture	Biomedicine	Herbs	Notes
Alabama		✗						No Practice Act
Oklahoma		✗						No Practice Act
South Dakota		✗						No Practice Act
Regions where NC-SARA regulation compliance are unknown:	American Samoa Guam Northern Mariana Islands Puerto Rico US Virgin Islands	?

Student Grievances

Students are advised to begin the complaint process at the institutional level. Standard inquiries or concerns such as those involving admission requirements, financial aid, educational programs, etc. should be addressed directly to the appropriate office at Dragon Rises College.

In communicating specific concerns, complaints, and grievances, students should follow the established policies and procedures outlined in the Academic Catalog (p. 25, link) and the Student Handbook (p. 16, you may request a copy from Student Services).

Grievance Resolution

A student with a complaint regarding any member of the college community is encouraged to first discuss the concern with the involved party directly, be it a fellow student, Faculty, Staff, or Administration. If the student is not comfortable talking about the concern directly with the other party, or if the issue is not resolved through informal discussion, the student should contact the Director of Student Services (Christina McNiel) as quickly as reasonably possible. Contact Information:

Christina McNiel
Director of Admissions & Student Services
1000 NE 16th Avenue, Building F
Gainesville, FL. 32601
(352) 371-2833
admissions@dragonrises.edu

The college’s policy on student grievances outlines the process for resolving a complaint within the college. Please refer to the policy for next steps and timelines.

If a student has exhausted the college’s Grievance Procedure and does not consider the grievance resolved, the student may submit a complaint to the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Herbal Medicine (ACAHM) after reviewing the Formal Grievance Process (link) and using the available form (link).