Notice2026-09432
Accrediting Agency 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
May 12, 2026
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
This notice provides information to members of the public on submitting written comments for an accrediting agency 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 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 91 (Tuesday, May 12, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Page 25871]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-09432]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Accrediting Agency Currently Undergoing Review for the Purpose of
Recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education
AGENCY: 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 an accrediting agency currently
undergoing review for the purpose of recognition by the Secretary of
Education.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before 14 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, Washington, DC 20202, telephone:
(202) 453-7615, or email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d0b5bcb9aab1b2b5a4b8feb4b1b7b7b5a4a490b5b4feb7bfa6"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="fc999095869d9e998894d2989d9b9b998888bc9998d29b938a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This request for written third-party
comments concerning the performance of an accrediting agency 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 third meeting in 2026 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.
Agency Under Review and Evaluation: The Department requests written
comments from the public on the following accrediting agency, which is
currently undergoing review and evaluation by the Accreditation Group,
and which will be reviewed at the third 2026 NACIQI meeting. The agency
is listed by the type of application it has submitted. Please note, the
agency's current scope of recognition is indicated below.
Compliance Report:
1. Commission on Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education. Scope
of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate for
Accreditation'') of physical therapist education programs leading to
the first professional degree at the master's or doctoral level and
physical therapist assistant education programs at the associate degree
level and for its accreditation of such programs offered via distance
education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the
United States.
Submission of Written Comments Regarding a Specific Accrediting
Agency Under Review: Written comments in response to this Federal
Register notice about the recognition of the accrediting agency listed
above must be received on or before the comment due date, in the
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#297d41405b4d79485b5d506a4644444c475d5a694c4d074e465f"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9ecaf6f7ecfaceffeceae7ddf1f3f3fbf0eaeddefbfab0f9f1e8">[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, which is available at: <a href="https://surveys.ope.ed.gov/erecognition/#/public-documents">https://surveys.ope.ed.gov/erecognition/#/public-documents</a>. The Criteria 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 the agency
scheduled for review and are considered by the Department and NACIQI in
their deliberations. Comments about the agency listed in this Federal
Register notice may also be provided orally at the third 2026 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. 2026-09432 Filed 5-11-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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