Degree-Granting Institutional Registration

Degree-Granting Institutional Registration is required if you are a private college or university or an out-of-state public postsecondary educational institution that offers postsecondary degree programs to Minnesota residents. This includes any:

Institutions located in Minnesota that seek to offer distance education degree programs to non-Minnesota residents
Institutions located in Minnesota that seek to offer degree programs to Minnesota residents
Institutions located outside of Minnesota that seek to offer distance education programs to Minnesota residents*
Businesses that offer career training must have approval to use "academy", "college", "institute", or "university" in your name.

Out-of-state institutions that seek to send students to Minnesota for an internship, externship, clinical placement, or field experience do not need to seek approval from our office.

Degree-Granting Institutional Registration requires institutions to have:

academic degrees meet state standards
financial resources sufficient to meet the school's financial obligations
appropriate faculty
sound institutional policies and practices
accurate and useful information about programs, tuition and fees, admissions, evaluation, dismissal, and refunds for students
a plan for preservation of student records

* Note: A number of out-of-state institutions offering online/distance education programs to Minnesota residents are doing so through the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which Minnesota participates in. These institutions are not required to have approval from our office and may not meet the above requirements. A list of states participating in SARA and institutions in those states authorized to offer online/distance education programs to Minnesota residents is posted on the SARA website.

Rules & Statutes

How do I apply for Degree-Granting Institutional Registration for my Institution?

The Institutional Licensing and Registration division at the Minnesota Office of Higher Education is currently in the process of rolling out a new online portal. The database is currently under construction at this time. If you are a NEW INSTITUTION seeking initial approval or an initial exemption, please click the link below to submit an Initial Inquiry application. Currently approved/exempt institutions will receive updates on the status of the new portal as they are available.

Proceed to MN SAS
For Institutions without a user account:
- Complete the Initial Inquiry form
- If the Initial Inquiry form is approved, follow the email prompts to register a user account.
For Institutions with a user account:
- Login to the portal
- Complete all the required documents indicated in the portal.
- Once all required documents are marked as complete, submit your registration.

The information required for registration can be found on this checklist and on the submission requirements for degrees and programs.