Policy Author:
Academic Affairs
Responsible Office-Department:
Academic Affairs, Registrar’s Office
Effective Date of Policy:
March 26, 2026
Purpose of this Policy
The purpose of this policy is to establish consistent institutional procedures for identifying, recording, maintaining, and updating the physical location of prospective and enrolled students. Maintaining accurate location information supports professional licensure disclosures, consumer protection, state authorization reporting, and compliance with regulations. These regulations include NC-SARA policies, New York State Education Department’s guidance for SARA-participating institutions, and Federal Title IV disclosure requirements (34 CFR § 668.43).
Policy Narrative
Student location is defined as the location where a student is physically present while participating in an educational activity. A student’s location is initially determined using the address provided during admission and maintained in the University’s student information system. Students are responsible for keeping their address information current.
The University must determine the state or country in which a student is physically located while participating in coursework or other academic activities, particularly when instruction occurs through distance education or when students participate in off-site educational experiences.
The University uses student location information to determine whether additional state authorization or licensure disclosures are required.
Scope and Applicability of this Policy
This policy applies to all students at the University. Prospective students will be provided disclosures based on location and program of interest prior to matriculation.
Procedures for Policy Implementation
If a student’s physical location changes while enrolled, the student must update their address with the University within 10 business days. The University relies on the accuracy of the address information provided by the student when determining the student’s physical location for compliance and reporting purposes. Reminders will be sent to students during advisement periods.
Students will utilize the change of address form through the Registrar’s Office. The Registrar will determine, in consultation with Institutional Research and applicable department chairs, if additional disclosures are required when processing student location changes into the student information system.
For experiential or field-based placements that occur outside the student’s home state, the location of the placement site is considered the student’s location for purposes of compliance and reporting. Academic programs that place students in these learning environments are responsible for collecting information on placement locations and submitting that information annually to the Director of Institutional Research.