State Authorization

South Dakota Mines has been approved by South Dakota to participate in the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements. NC-SARA is a voluntary, regional approach to state oversight of postsecondary distance education. 

Currently South Dakota Mines has approval to offer courses in the following locations: 
Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California*, Colorado**, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, Washington, D.C., West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming 

Complaints

Before filing a complaint with the South Dakota Board of Regents, please submit the South Dakota Mines complaint form. Students who are unable to find satisfaction with South Dakota Mines' complaint process, may file a complaint below.

Program Integrity Complaint Information

Any person may file a complaint with the Executive Director of the South Dakota Board of Regents to obtain a review and appropriate action on allegations that an institution governed by the Board:

  • Violated South Dakota consumer protection laws;
  • Engaged in fraud or false advertising;
  • Violated South Dakota laws relating to the licensure of postsecondary institutions or programs;
  • Failed to provide an educational program meeting contemporary standards for content and rigor;
  • Failed to assign qualified instructors; or
  • Violated one or more accreditation requirements.

Where the institution has not already considered and acted upon the complaint, the Executive Director will refer the matter to the institutional president for review and action. If the complainant challenges an institutional disposition of the complaint, the Executive Director will provide for an independent review and disposition of the allegations. The Executive Director may be contacted at:

The Office of the Executive Director of the South Dakota Board of Regents
306 East Capitol Avenue, Suite 200
Pierre, SD 57501-2545
Phone: 605-773-3455
Information Email

Out-of-state Distance Education Student Complaint Information

Pursuant to the United States Department of Education's Program Integrity Rule, South Dakota Mines is required to provide all prospective and current students with the contact information of the state agency or agencies that handle complaints against postsecondary education institutions offering distance learning or correspondence education within that state.

California is not a SARA state; for students residing in California who have a complaint, please contact the California Bureau of Private Postsecondary Education.

For students residing in a SARA state, the complaint must first go through the institutional complaint process. If the complaint is not resolved at the institutional level, student complaints may be appealed to the institution's home state SARA portal entity, which in South Dakota is the South Dakota Board of Regents.

*California is not a member of NC-SARA. The California Bureau For Private Postsecondary Education (CBPPE) regulates distance education offerings of private institutions to residents of California.  As a public institution, South Dakota Mines is exempt from approval by the CBPPE.

**Due to Colorado's Workers' Compensation Act, students who are enrolling in an internship or co-op course with South Dakota Mines are unable to participate in an unpaid internship, co-op, or similar experience in the state of Colorado. 

NC-SARA Participating Institution 

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