State Authorization for Online Education
If you are a Pearl River Community College (PRCC) student or a prospective student who will not reside in Mississippi while enrolled in PRCC online classes, be aware that all U.S. states require post-secondary educational institutions to be legally authorized to provide online education courses to students in all states and territories. PRCC participates in the “National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA), an agreement among member states, districts, and territories that establishes comparable national standards for interstate offering of postsecondary online education courses and programs. It is intended to make it easier for students to take online courses offered by postsecondary institutions based in another state. SARA is overseen by a National Council and administered by four regional educational compacts.”
Colleges and universities in a SARA state only need their home state authorization to offer online education to any other SARA member state. A current list of member states can be found here.
Online Education Complaint Process
For PRCC’s Out-of-State Students
Pearl River Community College seeks to resolve concerns and complaints in a fair and timely manner. Students who have a complaint may submit their concerns to the Office of eLearning at elearning@prcc.edu. Complaints regarding student grades or student conduct violations are governed entirely by the PRCC policy. PRCC online students with academic concerns are encouraged to contact the Office of eLearning. View entire complaints/grievances policy here. Students should exhaust PRCC’s internal complaint process before pursuing external options.
If a complaint cannot be resolved through the Pearl River Community College student complaints process, students may file a complaint with the Mississippi Commission on College Accreditation by visiting their site. Students may also contact the appropriate agency in their state of residency. A current list of agencies can be found here.
Note: This process is not applicable to matters related to student grades or discipline/conduct matters.
Professional Licensure
If you live outside the state of Mississippi and are considering a program that leads to licensure, it is highly recommended that you should contact the appropriate licensing board in your home state before beginning an academic program at PRCC. While every attempt is made to stay informed of the laws in each state, it is the responsibility of the student to contact the appropriate licensing board in his or her home state to confirm whether or not the PRCC program will meet the state’s licensure requirements.
Licensure requirements for the program you are considering can be found here.