The Office of Digital Learning works with FSU colleges to report data on online programs and courses, distance learning activities, and programs that lead to professional licensure. Reported data helps meet our institutional obligations to accreditors, the Florida Board of Governors, state and federal regulators, SARA, and university administrators. Working alongside departments offering online programs, our staff also coordinate and report online program data for U.S. News & World Report's annual college rankings.
Professional Licensure Programs
Colleges offering programs designed to lead to professional licensure are responsible for determining if their programs meet educational requirements for licensing in each state and for reporting licensure data to the Office of Digital Learning. The reported data, which helps ensure FSU’s compliance with federal regulations, is published on the FSU Professional Licensure & Certification website and used to generate required student notifications as well as to determine enrollment eligibility for out-of-state distance learners.
Research State Requirements
Regularly research educational requirements for licensing in each US state and territory, comparing requirements with your program's current curriculum and noting any changes. You may find Professional Licensure Programs: Conducting Research and the FSU Licensure Template to be helpful tools for conducting and documenting your research.
Obtain Program Approval
Some state boards require approval of the program curriculum and content before a graduate of that program is considered eligible for licensing in that state. Be sure to obtain program approval in states where it is required. Institutions that fail to seek approval of their educational programs face penalties from the professional boards, which can be serious and costly.
Report Determinations
After conducting research, determine if your program meets, does not meet, or you are unable to determine if it meets the educational requirements for licensing in each state and territory. Use the Licensure Program Management tool to update licensure information for your program and associated licenses. Please note that access to the data reporting tool is for authorized users only. To request access, complete and submit an access request form.
Licensure Program Management Tool
Out-of-State Learning Placements
Because placement of students in other states is considered distance learning, tracking it meets our institutional requirement for participation in SARA. Each spring, ODL contacts colleges and departments to get data on out-of-state learning placements for both face-to-face and distance programs. Use the Placement Data spreadsheet to record your data. These data are assembled in our annual report. For more information on what's required of your college or department, review our Learning Placement Reporting Quick Guide presentation below.
Learning Placement Reporting Quick Guide: Downloadable PDF
You can also contact ODL's SARA liaison for personalized assistance. If you're not sure we have the latest contact information for you, use our contact update form to update our records. We'll be sure to keep you in the loop!
Course Coding
ODL program specialists provide assistance to departments who are building and offering distance learning courses in the Student Central course registration system. In addition to regularly checking course entries for accuracy, program specialists attach distance learning fees and are available to answer questions during the course building process.
Departments must notify our staff of all online courses they plan to offer by entering course details in the DL Courses Application (see link below). This ensures that students can find courses, enroll in the correct locations and majors, and pay the correct tuition and fees. Course builders who do not already have access can request it by filling out a DL Courses Application Access Request form.
DL Courses Application User Guide