Notice2026-05692
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
March 24, 2026
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 91 Issue 56 (Tuesday, March 24, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 56 (Tuesday, March 24, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14005-14006]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-05692]
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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#37525b5e4d565552435f195356505052434377525319505841"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="781d141102191a1d0c10561c191f1f1d0c0c381d1c561f170e">[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 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 second 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 second 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. Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Scope of
Recognition. The accreditation and preaccreditation of professional
degree programs in pharmacy leading to the degree of Doctor of
Pharmacy, including those programs offered via distance education.
Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United
States.
2. American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation.
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of predoctoral dental education
programs (leading to the D.D.S. or D.M.D. degree), advanced dental
education programs, and allied dental education programs that are fully
operational or have attained ``Initial Accreditation'' status,
including programs offered via distance education. Geographic Area of
Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
3. American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council
for
[[Page 14006]]
Occupational Therapy Education. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation
and preaccreditation of occupational therapy educational programs
offering the professional master's degree and occupational therapy
doctorate (OTD) degree; the accreditation of occupational therapy
assistant programs offering a baccalaureate degree and associate
degree; and the accreditation of these programs offered via distance
education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the
United States.
4. Association for Biblical Higher Education, Commission on
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and
preaccreditation (``Candidate Status'') of institutions of biblical
higher education offering undergraduate certificates, associate
degrees, baccalaureate degrees, graduate certificates, and master's
degrees, including the accreditation of educational programs offered
via distance education and direct assessment. Geographic Area of
Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States. Requested Scope
of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate
Status'') of institutions of biblical higher education offering
undergraduate certificates, associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees,
graduate certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees,
including the accreditation of educational programs offered via
distance education and direct assessment. Geographic Area of
Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
5. Distance Education Accrediting Commission. Scope of Recognition:
The accreditation of postsecondary institutions that offer degree and/
or non-degree programs primarily by the distance or correspondence
education method, including through direct assessment, up to and
including the professional doctoral degree, including those
institutions that are specifically certified by the Agency as
accredited for Title IV purposes. Geographic Area of Accrediting
Activities: Throughout the United States.
6. Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools. Scope of
recognition: The accreditation of institutions with postsecondary, non-
degree granting career and technology programs to include the
accreditation of postsecondary, non-degree granting institutions that
offer all or part of their educational programs via distance education
modalities. 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#4e1a26273c2a1e2f3c3a370d2123232b203a3d0e2b2a60292138"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="62360a0b1006320310161b210d0f0f070c16112207064c050d14">[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, which are available at: <a href="https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/subtitle-B/chapter-VI/part-602?toc=1">https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-34/subtitle-B/chapter-VI/part-602?toc=1</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 second 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="https://www.govinfo.gov/">https://www.govinfo.gov/</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. 1099b; 20 U.S.C. 1011c.
David Barker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2026-05692 Filed 3-23-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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