The University is also approved by the Louisiana Higher Education Board, the Wisconsin Educational Approval Board, and the Iowa Department of Education (for teacher education in Iowa only). Programs offered are approved by the states of Iowa, Kansas (restricted), Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Wisconsin for veterans’ benefits.

Complaints Against an Affiliated Institution

Each year, the Commission receives a number of complaints about institutions from faculty, students and other parties. The Commission has established a clear distinction between individual grievances and complaints that appear to involve broad institutional practices. Where a complaint does raise issues regarding the institution’s ongoing ability to meet the Criteria of Accreditation, the Commission forwards the complaint to the institution and requests a formal response.

Complainants with specific claims related to the Americans with Disabilities Act or employment discrimination should seek prior review of such claims by the appropriate federal agencies. The Commission may ask for the report or record of such review in determining whether it can proceed to consider the claim as a complaint related to compliance with the Criteria for Accreditation.

Instructions for filing a complaint via the Higher Learning Commission are available at https://www.hlcommission.org/HLC-Institutions/complaints.html.

Program Accreditation/Approvals

Program	Accrediting Agency	Last Renewal	Next Renewal	Approval Documents
Business	Association of Collegiate Business Schools and Programs – (ACBSP)	In Candidacy	In Candidacy
Nursing	Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE)	11/14/2022	2033	CCNE Approval Letter
Nursing	Iowa Board of Nursing	02/05/2020	2026	Iowa Board Nursing Approval Letter
Teacher Preparation Program	Iowa State Board of Education	2/1/2018	2023-2024	Iowa Board Education Approval Letter

State Approvals

Notes

• Upper Iowa University is currently licensed by the Board of Regents of the State of Louisiana. Licenses are renewed by the State Board of Regents every two years. Licensed institutions have met minimal operational standards set forth by the state, but licensure does not constitute accreditation, guarantee the transferability of credit, nor signify that programs are certifiable by any professional agency or organization.
• Upper Iowa University has membership in the National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration (NASPAA).
• Upper Iowa University is a nonprofit organization founded in 1857. It has no shareholders or private ownership but is controlled by a board of trustees.

State Authorization for Distance Learning

Every U.S. state has enacted laws and regulations governing activities by educational providers in their jurisdiction, and each individual state has its own standards of when an educational provider has crossed a statutory threshold into regulation. Many of these state laws and regulations also apply to online, distance and correspondence educational instruction offered in that state.

UIU’s Office of the Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Upper Iowa University is actively monitoring the status of federal and state regulations pertaining to the delivery of distance education and is coordinating UIU’s efforts to work with state agencies where authorization is required to ensure compliance with relevant distance education regulations. Applicants who reside outside Iowa will only be admitted to online degree completion programs, certificate programs or individual online courses offered by Upper Iowa University if the university has secured authorization from the applicant’s state of residence, when required.

In September 2016 Upper Iowa University was approved by the Iowa College Student Aid Commission (ICSAC) 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; it allows UIU to offer programs and courses to residents of member states without seeking state-by-state approval, and is intended to make it easier for students to take distance education courses offered by postsecondary institutions based in another state. A list of participating states and institutions can be found at National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements.

Persons seeking to enroll in an Upper Iowa University distance education program residing outside the state of Iowa, but within the United States, District of Columbia, or U.S. Territories, should check the University’s authorization status below or contact Distance Education at [email protected] or 1-800-553-4150 regarding enrollment.  UIU continues to serve out-of-state students while working with individual state agencies to meet and maintain institutional authorization requirements, unless otherwise indicated.

The table below indicates state authorization status for each state in relation to online and self-paced programs offered by UIU’s Distance Education.

• A = approved/authorized
• E = exempt (authorization not required)
• IP = In Process (authorization or exemption is being sought; applications currently accepted)
• N = NOT approved/authorized (applications not accepted)
• S = NC-SARA member state

SAA Approvals

Memberships

Upper Iowa University is a member of the following educational organizations:

• American Library Association
• Council for the Advancement and Support of Education
• Council of Independent Colleges
• Iowa Association of Colleges for Teacher Education
• Iowa College Foundation
• National Collegiate Athletic Association
• University Continuing Education Association