State Authorization Status & Compliance

State authorization is a federal regulation (34 CFR § 600.9(c)) of the Department of Education that mandates institutions obtain approvals from each state where it conducts educational activities. Each state’s regulations determine which educational activities require approval. These activities can include offering distance education or online courses, advertising in local media, marketing and recruiting, employing faculty, and conducting experiential learning. Experiential learning encompasses activities that are part of a program’s curriculum and occurs in person. Examples include fieldwork, clinicals, externships, internships, clerkships, practicums, independent studies, mentoring, advising and proctoring.

University of San Diego is currently authorized to enroll students from every U.S. state except the following:

Franciscan School of Theology at USD is currently authorized to enroll students from every U.S. state except the following:

Notice To Students Who Relocate

If, while enrolled in an online degree program with the University of San Diego, you relocate to a state in which we have no authorization, you may lose eligibility to remain enrolled in your course of study. Please speak with your program coordinator if you anticipate relocating while you are completing your degree. Prospective students who have not yet enrolled should consider this regulation prior to applying, especially if there is a possibility of relocating to a restricted state prior to degree completion.

Complaints

We are also required to provide all prospective and current students with the contact information for the state agency, or agencies, that handle complaints against postsecondary education institutions offering online (distance) learning within that state. While we always hope that you will first seek to resolve your concerns with us directly, if you also wish to file a complaint in your home state, you can find the contact information for your state’s agency on our Filing a Complaint in Your State page.

State of California Complaint Procedure

An individual may contact the Bureau for Private Postsecondary Education for review of a complaint. The bureau also may be contacted at P.O. Box 980818, West Sacramento, CA 95798-0818, (916) 574-8900 or (888) 370-7589 (phone), (916) 263-1897 (fax).

University Accreditor WSCUC – WASC Senior College and University Commission

The University of San Diego is actively evaluating and complying with the regulations of each state. Note that California is not a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). For more information about NC-SARA, please visit NC-SARA.