Physician Assistant Laws and Guidelines

State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement

The New York State Board of Regents unanimously approved regulations allowing New York higher education institutions to participate in the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA). SARA is an “agreement among member states, districts and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary distance education courses and programs.” The agreement is meant to ease the process for offering online courses across state lines.

Higher education institutions within SARA member states are able to offer their distance education programs to students in other member states without having to undergo the lengthy, expensive process of receiving approval in each state in which they want to operate. As long as an institution in a SARA member state has authorization to operate in its “home state” and agrees to meet SARA requirements, it can operate distance education programs in other SARA member states.

Out-of-State Fieldwork Experience

Clarkson’s Graduate Health Science Programs have relationships with fieldwork sites across the US. If an enrolled student is requesting to complete any fieldwork experience outside of New York State, authorization within the specific state may be required prior to completion of the educational activity.

Clarkson University is proud to be a member of the New England Board of Higher Education Regional Education Compact, a subset of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and an approved SARA Institution.

Please refer to the following links for additional information:

National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements: http://nc-sara.org/sara-states-institutions

New England Board of Higher Education Regional Education Compact: http://www.nebhe.org/

Professional Licensure

SARA has no effect on state professional licensing requirements. However, students and program applicants are responsible for ensuring Clarkson’s academic program meets the requirements for professional licensure in the state they are located, or the state they plan to practice following graduation. Please be aware information concerning professional licensure for individual student or applicant residence, or anticipated residence, has not been determined by Clarkson University.  

Please refer to the Clarkson Graduate Health Science Program Department for more information on how to explore and determine professional licensure requirements for States of interest.