New York State takes pride in the high quality of its licensed and certified professionals. For the protection of its citizens, each license and certificate has requirements that individuals must meet in order to be licensed or certified in New York State. SUNY’s academic programs leading to licensure or certification are carefully designed to meet and exceed these State requirements and those of related accrediting agencies. This is a role SUNY plays in protecting the public.

Effective July 1, 2024, federal regulation requires institutions of higher education to make a determination whether a Title IV-eligible academic program that leads to professional licensure or certification meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification in:

  • the U.S. State where the institution is located and
  • the U.S. States where “distance education” students are located at the time of initial enrollment in the program, as well as
  • U.S. States where the program is advertised as meeting such educational requirements and
  • if applicable, the U.S. State where students attest they intend to be licensed/certified.

SUNY New Paltz's licensure/certification programs are registered by the New York State Education Department and thus meet the educational requirements for licensure/certification in New York State. Through a good faith effort, and for the purpose of complying with the federal regulation, we have prepared individual program listings on the University website that indicate the states/territories where New Paltz's programs “meet” or “do not meet” educational requirements for licensure/certification. The information presented there will be updated as we receive additional guidance regarding such requirements. It is important to note that SUNY New Paltz is not the licensure or certification authority in any U.S. States/Territories and cannot assess whether an individual candidate will be issued a license/certificate in any U.S. States/Territories.

When our programs do not meet another state's/territory's educational requirements for licensure/certification, SUNY New Paltz may not enroll a student physically located in that state/territory unless:

  • the student signs a written attestation verifying their intent to seek licensure/certification in New York State or another state whose educational requirements are met by New Paltz's academic program, or
  • New Paltz determines that its academic program meets the educational requirements for licensure/certification in the state/territory in which the student is located.

SUNY New Paltz's Student Location Policy explains how the university determines student location for the purpose of compliance with federal regulations for professional licensure disclosures.

Consumer Protection: Student Complaint Resolution

SUNY New Paltz is a member of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA) and follows the complaint resolution policies and procedures outlined within the SARA Policy Manual and summarized on their SARA Student Complaints page. Consumer protection complaints resulting from distance education courses, activities, and operations may be submitted to Kathryn Bohan (bohank@newpaltz.edu), Director of the Office of Instructional Technology, EIT Accessibility Officer, for investigation and resolution. If a student is dissatisfied with the campus-based resolution, a concern may be submitted to System Administration of the State University of New York as outlined at Student Concerns. And, if still not satisfied, a complaint may be submitted, within two years of the incident about which the complaint is made, to the New York State Education Department as outlined on their SARA-Student Complaint Process webpage. Effective July 1, 2026, a student may submit a complaint to the SARA State Portal Entity of the state in which the student is located and this entity will provide to the student the contact information of the SARA office at the New York State Education Department.

Please note: This process is only for consumer protection issues (for examples, see section 4 of the SARA Policy Manual) and does not include complaints related to grades or student conduct violations, both of which are to be addressed via non-SARA processes. (For complaints related to grades, consult the Undergraduate Catalog or Graduate Catalog. For complaints related to student conduct violations, consult the Student Handbook.) Additionally, this process is only for distance-education students located in another SARA-participating state (as of January 1, 2026, this includes all states except California), whereas other distance education students, including those located in New York State, should follow non-SARA processes. See Online Learning: FAQ & Support.