Notice2025-20599
Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for the Purpose of Recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education
Primary source
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
November 21, 2025
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 Secretary of Education.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 223 (Friday, November 21, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 223 (Friday, November 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 52650-52652]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-20599]
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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: U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary
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 Secretary of
Education.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before 30 days from publication
of this notice in the Federal Register.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elizabeth Daggett, 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#21444d485b40434455490f454046464455556144450f464e57"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="d9bcb5b0a3b8bbbcadb1f7bdb8bebebcadad99bcbdf7beb6af">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This request for written third-party
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comments concerning the performance of accrediting agencies under
review by the Secretary of Education is required by Section
496(n)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C.
1001, et seq. (HEA), and pertains to the first meeting in 2027 of the
National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity
(NACIQI). The meeting date will be announced in a later Federal
Register notice and will describe how to register to provide oral
comments at the meeting. Written comments submitted in response to this
Federal Register notice must be submitted to the electronic mail
address identified below on or before the comment due date.
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 first 2027
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, both the current scope of recognition and the requested
scope of recognition are identified below.
Applications for Renewal of Recognition
1. American Podiatric Medical Association, Council on Podiatric
Medical Education. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and
preaccreditation of freestanding colleges of podiatric medicine and
programs of podiatric medicine, including first professional programs
leading to the degree of Doctor of Podiatric Medicine and education
offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting
Activities: Throughout the United States.
2. Commission on English Language Program Accreditation. Scope of
Recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary, non-degree-granting
English language programs and institutions including those programs
offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting
Activities: Throughout the United States.
3. Council on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation.
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of programs leading to the
Doctor of Chiropractic degree, including those programs offered via
distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities:
Throughout the United States.
4. Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology.
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of educational programs in
radiography, magnetic resonance, radiation therapy, and medical
dosimetry, including those offered via distance education, at the
certificate, associate, and baccalaureate levels. Geographic Area of
Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
Compliance Reports
1. Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training. Scope
of Recognition: The accreditation 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.
2. American Veterinary Medical Association, Council on Education.
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation
(``Provisional Accreditation'') of programs leading to professional
degrees (D.V.M. or V.M.D.) in veterinary medicine, including those
offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting
Activities: Throughout the United States.
3. National Association of Schools of Dance, Commission on
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation 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.
4. National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation 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.
5. National Association of Schools of Theatre, Commission on
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation 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.
Submission of Written Comments Regarding a Specific Accrediting Agency
or State Agency Under Review
Written comments in response to this Federal Register notice about
the recognition of any of the accrediting agencies listed above must be
received on or before the comment due date, in the
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#f1a599988395a190838588b29e9c9c949f8582b19495df969e87"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="34605c5d4650645546404d775b5959515a40477451501a535b42">[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 compliance report
scheduled for review by the Department must relate to the criteria for
recognition cited in the senior Department official's letter that
requested the report, or in the Secretary's appeal decision, if any.
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, 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. Comments about the agencies listed in this Federal
Register notice may also be provided orally at the first 2027 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
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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. 1099b; 20 U.S.C. 1011c.
David Barker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2025-20599 Filed 11-20-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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