Notice2023-09362
Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for the Purpose of Recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education
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Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
May 3, 2023
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
This notice provides information to members of the public on submitting written comments for accrediting agencies currently undergoing review for the purpose of recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27876-27877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09362]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for the Purpose
of Recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education
AGENCY: Accreditation Group, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S.
Department of Education.
ACTION: Call for written third-party comments.
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SUMMARY: This notice provides information to members of the public on
submitting written comments for accrediting agencies currently
undergoing review for the purpose of recognition by the U.S. Secretary
of Education.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herman Bounds, Director, Accreditation
Group, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education,
400 Maryland Avenue SW, fifth floor, Washington, DC 20202, telephone:
(202) 453-7615, or email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c14190e111d12521e130912180f3c1918521b130a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="422a27302f232c6c202d372c26310227266c252d34">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This request for written third-party
comments concerning the performance of accrediting agencies under
review by the Secretary of Education is required by 496(n)(1)(A) of the
Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended, and pertains to the
summer 2024 meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional
Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). The meeting date and location have not
been determined but will be announced in a later Federal Register
notice. In addition, a later Federal Register notice will describe how
to register to provide oral comments at the meeting. Note: Written
comments about the specific agencies identified below will not be
accepted or provided to NACIQI members if those comments are submitted
after the deadline provided in this Federal Register notice, which is
June 5, 2023. Written comments must be submitted to the mailbox
identified below. Do not submit written comments directly to Department
officials or to NACIQI members.
Agencies Under Review and Evaluation: The Department requests
written comments from the public on the following accrediting agencies,
which are currently undergoing review and evaluation by the
Accreditation Group, and which will be reviewed at the summer 2024
NACIQI meeting.
The agencies are listed by the type of application each agency has
submitted. Please note, each agency's current scope of recognition is
indicated below. If any agency requested to expand its scope of
recognition, identified are both the current scope of recognition and
the requested scope of recognition.
Applications for Renewal of Recognition
1. WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and pre-accreditation
(``Candidate for Accreditation'') of community and other colleges which
have as a primary mission the granting of associate degrees, but which
may also award certificates and other credentials, not to exceed the
bachelor degree level, where the provision of such credentials is
within the institution's mission and, if applicable, is authorized by
their governmental authorities, and the accreditation of such programs
offered via distance education and correspondence education at these
colleges. This recognition also extends to the Committee on Substantive
Change of the Commission, for decisions on substantive changes, and the
Appeals Panel. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout
the United States.
2. American Veterinary Medical Association, Council on Education.
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation
(``Provisional Accreditation'') in the United States of
[[Page 27877]]
programs leading to professional degrees (D.V.M. or V.M.D.) in
veterinary medicine. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities:
Throughout the United States.
3. Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training. Scope
of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the United States of
institutions of higher education that offer continuing education and
vocational programs that confer certificates or occupational associate
degrees, including those programs offered via distance education.
Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United
States.
4. Council on Education for Public Health. Scope of Recognition:
The accreditation of schools of public health and public health
programs outside schools of public health, at the baccalaureate and
graduate degree levels, including those offered via distance education.
Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United
States.
5. National Association of Schools of Dance, Commission on
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the
United States of freestanding institutions that offer dance and dance-
related programs (both degree and non-degree-granting), including those
offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting
Activities: Throughout the United States.
6. National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the
United States of freestanding institutions that offer music and music
related programs (both degree and non-degree-granting) including those
offered via distance. This recognition also extends to the Commission
on Community College Accreditation. Geographic Area of Accrediting
Activities: Throughout the United States.
7. National Association of Schools of Theatre, Commission on
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the
United States of freestanding institutions that offer theatre and
theatre-related programs (both degree and non-degree-granting),
including those offered via distance education. Geographic Area of
Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
8. Puerto Rico State Agency for the Approval of Public
Postsecondary Vocational, Technical Institutions and Programs. Scope of
Recognition: State agency for the approval of vocational education.
9. Maryland State Board of Nursing. Scope of Recognition: State
agency for the approval of nursing education.
10.New York State Board of Regents (nursing education).
Scope of Recognition: State approval agency for nursing education.
Submission of Written Comments Regarding a Specific Accrediting Agency
Under Review
Written comments about the recognition of any of the accrediting
agencies listed above must be received by June 5, 2023, in the
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#35615d5c4751655447414c765a5858505b41467550511b525a43"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="26724e4f5442764754525f65494b4b4348525566434208414950">[email protected]</span></a> mailbox. Please include in the subject line
``Written Comments: (agency name).'' The electronic mail (email) must
include the name(s), title, organization/affiliation, mailing address,
email address, and telephone number of the person(s) making the
comment. Comments should be submitted as a PDF, Microsoft Word document
or in a medium compatible with Microsoft Word that is attached to an
email or provided in the body of an email message. Comments about an
agency that has submitted a petition for initial recognition, renewal
of recognition, or an expansion of scope must relate to the agency's
compliance with the Criteria for the recognition of Accrediting
Agencies or the Criteria for the recognition of state agencies, which
are available at: <a href="https://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html">https://www2.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html</a>.
Only written materials submitted by the deadline to the email
address listed in this notice, and in accordance with these
instructions, become part of the official record concerning agencies
scheduled for review and are considered by the Department and NACIQI in
their deliberations. Written comments about the specific agencies
identified in this Federal Register notice that are submitted after the
deadline will not be considered by the Department or provided to NACIQI
for purposes of the current cycle review. However, comments may be
provided orally at the summer 2024 NACIQI meeting, which has not yet
been scheduled, but which will be announced in a future Federal
Register notice.
Electronic Access to this Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free
internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the
Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System
at: <a href="http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys">www.gpo.gov/fdsys</a>. At this site, you can view this document, as
well as all other documents of the Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF,
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the
site. You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at:
<a href="http://www.federalregister.gov">www.federalregister.gov</a>. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1011c; 20 U.S.C. 1099b.
Annmarie Weisman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Innovation, Office
of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2023-09362 Filed 5-2-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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