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, 49 of the 50 United States participate in NC-SARA, excluding California; also excluded are Washington DC, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. 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.

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
cmcniel@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 (ACAOM) after reviewing the Formal Grievance Process (link) and using the available form (link).