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Title: Degree-Granting Institutional Registration
Alternate Title:
Description:

A degree granting institution must have approval from the Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE) to use "academy", "college", "institute" or "university" in its name and to grant degrees for programs offered in Minnesota. Minnesota Office of Higher Education (OHE)

Subject: Schools
Creation Date: 9/11/2008 2:16:24 PM
Modification Date: 9/1/2026 8:45:08 AM
Audience: Hold Application URL: https://mnsas.ohe.state.mn.us/initial-inquiry/
Renewal URL: https://gcc02.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmnoheb2c.b2clogin.com%2F1adc09f5-410b-4762-af6e-3e68c7364fce%2Fb2c_1_signupsignin%2Foauth2%2Fv2.0%2Fauthorize%3Fclient_id%3Dc431f76b-8725-4f53-864d-d47662e164ee%26redirect_uri%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fmnsas.ohe.state.mn.us%252Fsignin%26response_type%3Dcode%2520id_token%26scope%3Dopenid%26state%3DOpenIdConnect.AuthenticationProperties%253DFhX3BUNMEZ9agTKfCXrKcQ2f1GPsVQK0CozBhhr_HU5thwDDXykoUZ8WnfNWrQoOTdfi1RMfp9m_Yh3L8ZV3PEjhxH5UxOKgDOt3ZLmcPN3hGm_-RuBxclD_7wCehWAQbjF41sfKKEGpS65uIkFThnyMieHzH9krTSW999tCEXHCJdZ1eQuXC4lRp7gTrWCMax8DMP6pAUF2gdLsipSitBXUN58ys8usMOigi-idzgd1B-UwIcecaMcg9Cow31m_TNJWRsqZ9fR5ORjuPRAw1ndcfvStwG0XqLcQkNKH2JUJhe2cuY861Pu01hKuKXNZxhH1KTDGd2NoZ_6zSPs1pooOdHPgaZczC5jiC9IYwbKFadnj9jZEH6qGqK0byzgoXg_lMt5LEMx-v3i4SiE8GurXf-vRw-WjHe6wf8zxJlYi4IatQmlh7zJ2akJKrMvVIrWTciIIPd0dAcPlw3yNZKksuyXOJEL_aN-8tbSv6h9D2dHhn22XUV2nCmL_1owvPH1G5PgYVc3WQXMBsVfaNxSqlIfFBvYBU1K8Ut1nyl0a_tkMR2e_qGKSWvvqa538%26response_mode%3Dform_post%26nonce%3D638836204593595373.ZDcxMTgwNWEtZTRiNi00ZWUwLTgwN2UtNDQ3NzhhYTdiYTQ4YWFmZTg1MDUtNGI3Yi00MzQ1LThmNWUtOTZmNTc1MDYxODVm%26ui_locales%3Den-US%26x-client-SKU%3DID_NET472%26x-client-ver%3D6.35.0.0&data=05%7C02%7CKeith.Hovis%40state.mn.us%7Cd3d3a8f82b7044d29bd008dd9a2d1e30%7Ceb14b04624c445198f26b89c2159828c%7C0%7C0%7C638836240746597817%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=PwtL%2FmhJvEEyTLi1pCTUDlFxFvRcsCNZyDczlXhRFag%3D&reserved=0
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Requirements: Review:
School Licensure and Registration
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 OHE.

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.

 
Minnesota Degree Standards


Minnesota has standards for both associate and baccalaureate degrees. These standards apply to institutions that are registered with the state as degree-granting institutions.

Minnesota Academic Program Standards (2026)

Minnesota Academic Program Standards were updated in January 2026.
Changes include the criteria for reduced‑credit bachelor’s degrees. 

These reduced‑credit programs provide an alternative pathway that maintains the rigor and breadth of traditional bachelor’s degrees while allowing completion with a minimum of 135 quarter credits or 90 semester credits. Institutions may offer these programs in emerging fields or alongside traditional‑length degrees within the same discipline.


Institutional Registration Portal
The portal will facilitate the needs of the following constituents:

1) New and renewing institutions that fall under the jurisdiction of the Minnesota Private and Out-Of-State Public Postsecondary Education Act (Registration) Minn. Stat. § 136A.61 - .81.

2) Institutions seeking an exemption from OHE's regulation of registration statutes.

Institutions should complete the following documents in the portal:

- Initial Inquiry document (For first-time users)
- Initial Application document (which will be made available after the Initial Inquiry has been approved by OHE)
- New Location document
- New Program documents for each proposed degree program
Rules: 4840.0100 - .1100

Statutes: 136A.61 - .71

Forms:

Refer to Degree-Granting Institutional Registration

Fees:
Period of Issuance:

One year.

Length of Determination: