Connecticut Office of Higher Education

**About Us** The Office of Higher Education seeks to advance the promise of postsecondary education for all state residents, and to advocate on behalf of students, taxpayers, and the postsecondary schools and colleges which fall under its purview. The Office carries out its mission by assuring that students have access to postsecondary institutions which meet the highest standards of academic quality, by administering the state’s student financial aid programs, and by serving as an information and consumer protection resource. Key state responsibilities, in addition to student financial aid administration, include the licensure and accreditation of Connecticut’s independent colleges and universities (programmatic and institutional; non-profit and for-profit), licensure of in-state academic programs offered by out-of-state institutions, regulation of more than 150 postsecondary career schools and operation of the Alternate Route to Certification. The Office also serves as the portal agency in the administration of CT-SARA. Major federal responsibilities include AmeriCorps and Veterans Program Approval.