Kansas State University

MANHATTAN -- Sue Maes, dean of continuing education at Kansas State University, has been selected to serve on the Midwestern State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement, or M-SARA, steering committee.

The project is the regional component of a larger national initiative that works to make distance education courses more accessible to students across state lines. It also works to make it easier for states to regulate and institutions to participate in interstate distance education.

"I'm honored to be asked to be a member of the Midwestern State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement executive committee," Maes said. "The backbone of SARA is a system of interstate reciprocity based on the voluntary participation of states and institutions to govern the regulation of distance education programs. As online programs continue to proliferate across the nation, it is important to have a system in place that ensures institutional quality, consumer protection and institutional financial responsibility."

The SARA national initiative is led by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education, the Midwestern Higher Education Compact, the New England Board of Higher Education, the Southern Regional Education Board, the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities, the Council of State Governments, the Presidents' Forum and the State Higher Education Executive Offices Association. The SARA initiative has received a $2.3 million grant from Lumina Foundation, an independent private foundation committed to increasing the number of Americans with high-quality degrees, certificates and other credentials to 60 percent by 2025.

Maes will join other steering committee members including Gretchen Bartelson, dean, extended learning services, Northwest Iowa Community College; Stephanie Davidson, vice chancellor, academic affairs, Ohio Board of Regents; Patricia Farrell-Cole, director, university relations and policy research, Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan; and Ken Sauer, senior associate commissioner for research and academic affairs, Indiana Commission for Higher Education.

The Midwestern Higher Education Compact is a nonprofit regional organization assisting Midwestern states in advancing higher education through interstate cooperation and resource sharing. Member states are Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.