Sara Appel (MHEC)

Sara Appel is the director of the Midwestern Regional State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (M-SARA). Sara develops, implements, manages, and supervises M-SARA, which enables states in the MHEC region to enter into a voluntary reciprocity agreement for the purpose of authorizing colleges and universities to provide online and other distance-based courses and programs to students living in other states. She began working with SARA in its infancy as it developed into what is now the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA). Sara began working for the Compact in January 2016 as the coordinator for the Multi-State Collaborative on Military Credit. She has been advocating for military-connected students and adult learners in higher education for over 20 years and has experience in grant writing, program management, and policy analysis. Prior to her working for the Compact, Sara was the academic programs manager at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education. She has an undergraduate degree in Secondary Education and a master’s degree in History with an emphasis on Research. Both degrees are from Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau.