Issue/Question
What is the definition of a licensure-track program?
What is the process for determining whether a program’s educational requirements meet prerequisites for professional licensure?
Environment
Cause
USD can accurately provide prospective and current students with the required disclosure notifications regarding licensure-track programs in their state.
In accordance with South Dakota Board of Regents Policy 2.3.8: Distance Education, for academic programs that lead to licensure and certification, personnel with direct oversight of the academic program are responsible for assessing compliance with the licensure and certification requirements for states outside of South Dakota. Alignment of program requirements to states outside South Dakota shall be shared by program personnel with USD’s Division of Continuing and Distance Education.
Resolution
What is the definition of a licensure-track program?
- To determine which USD programs lead to professional licensure, USD is using the two elements contained in Federal regulation 34 CFR §668.43(a)(5)(v):
- An educational program that is
- [1] designed to meet educational requirements for a specific professional license or certification that is required for employment in an occupation or is
- [2] advertised as meeting such requirements
- Each state has its own list of professions/occupations that require licensure, and the list can be quite extensive
- Even though a program may not lead to professional licensure in South Dakota, that profession may be licensed in other states where students may want to seek employment (i.e., Medical Laboratory Sciences, Addiction Counseling & Prevention, etc.)
- Each state’s licensure entity, not the educational institution (USD), determines a person's eligibility and grants licensure. ‘Licensure’ includes any sort of barrier to enter that profession and includes pre- or post-licensure, certification, endorsement, eligibility to sit for an exam, or anything for which a state entity has authorization jurisdiction
- A profession that has a national exam, accreditation, or certification, must still be researched and a formal determination made because a state may still have additional requirements
- A national body cannot force a state to recognize someone who has passed an examination; it is still a state requirement and subject to the disclosure requirements
- If a profession has a compact, interstate licensure agreement, or reciprocity agreement (i.e., Nursing, Teacher Ed), we must still provide information on whether the program meets initial licensure in individual states
- A determination is made about the program curriculum, not the ability to transfer a license to another state after the student obtains a license in the home state of the institution
What is the process for determining whether a program’s educational requirements meet prerequisites for professional licensure?
- Program personnel are to complete a Google Sheet (please request it from LaDonna Rodvold) which contains questions from which to make a formal determination whether a program:
- Meets that state’s educational prerequisites for licensure/certification/endorsement/etc.
- Does not meet that state’s educational prerequisites for licensure/certification/endorsement/etc.
- Additional information is needed to make a determination
- After one of the above determinations is made, USD’s Division of Continuing and Distance Education (CDE) will route the form via DocuSign to secure the appropriate signatures and work with Department personnel to provide the required disclosure notifications to prospective and current students
Note: Academic Departments will be provided a spreadsheet listing their licensure-track programs and the formal determinations that have been made regarding licensure in each U.S. State and Territory. If a licensure-track program is not listed on the spreadsheet, please contact USD’s Division of Continuing and Distance Education