The Office of Digital Learning (ODL) works with FSU colleges to report data on online programs and courses, distance learning activities, and programs that lead to professional licensure. These data help meet university, SARA, state, and federal requirements regarding FSU's distance learning activities, student disclosures, and enrollment in programs leading to licensure.
Professional Licensure Programs | Out-of-State Learning Placements | Course Coding
Professional Licensure Programs
Update your program data and review applicants for eligibility:
Licensure Program Management
Programs that lead to professional licensure are subject to federal regulations intended to protect students from investing in a program only to learn after graduating it didn't provide the coursework needed for them to practice their profession. Colleges play a critical role in ensuring FSU's compliance, a requirement for the university's participation in Title IV Federal Financial Aid. ODL uses these data to provide enrollment staff with a list of applications that require licensure review, publish states where programs meet and do not meet licensing requirements, and send written notifications to students per federal regulations and SARA requirements. Not sure if the regulations apply to your program? See How to Know if Your Program Leads to Licensure.
Responsibilities of Offering Colleges
Colleges are responsible for determining if their programs meet educational requirements for licensing in each state, reporting licensure data to ODL, determining eligibility prior to enrollment, and obtaining and documenting attestations where applicable:
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.
Determine Enrollment Eligibility
During the application process, applicants to programs leading to licensure are flagged for further review by the college. Colleges determine enrollment eligibility, obtain attestations where applicable, and "clear" eligible applicants in the university's Slate application system. Log into the Licensure Review & Clearance page for details on reviewing applicants flagged during the application process.
Review Change-of-Major Requests
Any time a student initiates a change of major request for a program that leads to licensure, the offering college needs to determine if the student is eligible for enrollment prior to approving the request. If the student indicates their intent to practice in a state where the program satisfies requirements, the college is responsible for obtaining an attestation from the student. See Reviewing Change of Major Requests for instructions (FSU login required).
Obtain Attestations
Colleges who wish to make use of the attestation option provided in the regulations will need to obtain attestations from students who have expressed their intent to pursue licensing in a state where their selected program satisfies requirements. Attestations must be emailed to the Registrar for imaging and upload into the student records system. See Obtaining & Documenting Attestations for instructions and access to attestation forms.
Highlights of the Federal Regulations*
- All FSU programs that lead to licensure must satisfy educational requirements for licensing in Florida.
- FSU may not enroll a distance learning student in a program that does not satisfy (or that has not been determined to satisfy) educational requirements for licensing where the student is located at initial time of enrollment unless the student attests their intent to pursue licensing in a state where the program satisfies requirements.
- FSU is required to publish states where programs do and do not meet educational requirements and send notifications to prospective and enrolled students if a program does not meet (or it hasn't been determined if it meets) educational requirements in their state.
*For additional resources, see the Professional Licensure page on WCET's State Authorization Network (SAN) website.
Out-of-State Learning Placements
Because placement of students in other states is considered distance learning, tracking it meets requirements for the university's participation in SARA (State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements), which provides oversight of postsecondary distance education at a national level and authorizes institutions like FSU to offer distance learning programs in other states.
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. You can also contact ODL's SARA liaison for personalized assistance.
Learning Placement Reporting Quick Guide: Downloadable PDF
Course Coding
ODL provides 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, ODL is responsible for attaching distance learning fees to online course listings and is available to answer questions throughout the course building process.
Departments must notify ODL 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
How to Know if Your Program Leads to Licensure
For purposes of the regulations, if your program is eligible for Title IV Federal Financial Aid and is designed to meet (or advertised as meeting) educational requirements for a specific license that is required for employment in an occupation, it is subject to the regulations. The FSU Professional Licensure & Certification database lists all FSU programs currently identified as leading to professional licensure, along with information on states where the program does or does not satisfy educational requirements for a particular license or certification.