In spite of all its realized and potential benefits, the rapid and extensive expansion of distance education requires renewed and strengthened attention to student consumer protection. Ensuring quality in distance education requires the careful and deliberate collaboration of many, including states, the federal government, accreditors, higher education organizations, and institutions themselves. This article discusses the following: (1) Distance education oversight provided by the federal government, accreditors, and state government requires new attention to consumer protection; (2) State variation in approaches to quality assurance of distance education has largely been solved by the creation of the National Council for State Authorization Reciprocity Agreements (NC-SARA); (3) NC-SARA provides protection for student consumers through its required policy adherence; and (4) As new technologies, educational pathways, and credentialing systems emerge, protections for students as consumers must continue to be embedded in policies and practices.