[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 204 (Monday, October 23, 1995)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 54301-54303]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-26039]



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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

32 CFR Part 67

[DoD Instruction 1215.aa]


Educational Requirements for Appointment of Reserve Component 
Officers to a Grade Above First Lieutenant or Lieutenant (Junior Grade)

agency: Department of Defense.

action: Interim final rule.

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summary: This rule adds criteria by which a post-secondary educational 
institution that is not accredited by an agency recognized by the 
Secretary of Education can obtain recognition by the Department of 
Defense as a qualifying educational institution. This is necessary to 
determine those unaccredited educational institutions whose 
baccalaureate degrees the Department of Defense will recognize for the 
purpose of meeting the military officer educational requirement for 
promotion in the Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or 
Marine Corps Reserve, or for federal recognition in the Army National 
Guard or Air National Guard.

dates: This rule is effective October 1, 1995. Comments must be 
received by December 22, 1995.

addresses: Forward comments to Office of the Assistant Secretary of 
Defense for Reserve Affairs, Attn: DASD(M&P), 1500 Defense Pentagon, 
Washington, DC 20311-1500.

for further information contact: T. Bush, 703-695-7429.

supplementary information: It has been determined that this amendment 
is not a significant regulatory action. It has also been determined 
that this amendment is not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
and does not impose any reporting or recordkeeping requirements under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 32 CFR Part 67

    Education, Military personnel.

    Accordingly, title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, chapter 
1, subchapter C, is amended to add part 67 to read as follows:

[[Page 54302]]


PART 67--EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENT OF RESERVE 
COMPONENT OFFICERS TO A GRADE ABOVE FIRST LIEUTENANT OR LIEUTENANT 
(JUNIOR GRADE)

Sec.
67.1  Purpose.
67.2  Applicability.
67.3  Definitions.
67.4  Policy.
67.5  Responsibilities.
67.6  Procedures.

    Authority: 10 U.S.C. 12205.


Sec. 67.1  Purpose.

    This part implements policy, assigns responsibilities, and 
prescribes procedures under 10 U.S.C. 12205 for determining educational 
institutions that award baccalaureate degrees that satisfy the 
educational requirement for appointment of officers to a grade above 
First Lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Marine 
Corps Reserve, or Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in the Naval Reserve, or 
for officers to be federally recognized in a grade above First 
Lieutenant as a member of the Army National Guard or Air National 
Guard.


Sec. 67.2  Applicability.

    This part applies to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and 
the Military Departments. The term ``Military Department,'' as used 
herein, refers to the Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air 
Force. The term ``Reserve components'' refers to the Army Reserve, Army 
National Guard of the United States, Air Force Reserve, Air National 
Guard of the United States, Naval Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve.


Sec. 67.3  Definitions.

    (a) Accredited educational institution. An educational institution 
accredited by an agency recognized by the Secretary of Education.
    (b) Qualifying educational institution. An educational institution 
that is accredited, or an unaccredited educational institution that the 
Secretary of Defense designates pursuant to Sec. 67.5 (a) and (b).
    (c) Unaccredited educational institution. An educational 
institution not accredited by an agency recognized by the Secretary of 
Education.


Sec. 67.4  Policy.

    (a) It is Department of Defense policy under 10 U.S.C. 12205 to 
require Reserve component officers to have been awarded at least a 
baccalaureate degree from a qualifying educational institution before 
appointment to a grade above First Lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Air 
Force Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve, or Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in 
the Naval Reserve, or for officers to be federally recognized in a 
grade above First Lieutenant as a member of the Army National Guard or 
Air National Guard.
    (b) Exempt from this policy is any officer who was:
    (1) Appointed to or recognized in a higher grade for service in a 
health profession for which a baccalaureate degree is not a condition 
of original appointment or assignment.
    (2) Appointed in the Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve as a 
limited duty officer.
    (3) Appointed in the Naval Reserve for service under the Naval 
Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD) program.
    (4) Appointed to or recognized in a higher grade if appointed to, 
or federally recognized in, the grade of captain or, in the case of the 
Navy, lieutenant before October 1, 1995.
    (5) Recognized in the grade of captain or major in the Alaska Army 
National Guard, who resides permanently at a location in Alaska that is 
more than 50 miles from each of the cities of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and 
Juneau, Alaska, by paved road, and who is serving in a Scout unit or a 
Scout support unit.
    (c) The Department of Defense will designate an unaccredited 
educational institution as a qualifying educational institution for the 
purpose of meeting this educational requirement if that institution 
meets the criteria established in this part.


Sec. 67.5  Responsibilities.

    (a) The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, under 
the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, shall:
    (1) Establish procedures in which an unaccredited educational 
institution can apply for DoD designation as a qualifying educational 
institution.
    (2) Publish in the Federal Register DoD requirements and procedures 
for an unaccredited educational institution to apply for designation as 
a qualifying educational institution.
    (3) Annually, provide to the Secretaries of the Military Department 
a list of those unaccredited educational institutions that have been 
approved by the Department of Defense as a qualifying educational 
institution. This list shall include the year or years for which 
unaccredited educational institutions are designated as qualifying 
educational institutions.
    (b) The Secretaries of the Military Departments shall establish 
procedures to ensure that after September 30, 1995, those Reserve 
component officers selected for appointment to a grade above First 
Lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve or Marine Corps 
Reserve, or Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in the Naval Reserve, or for 
officers to be federally recognized in a grade above First Lieutenant 
as a member of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard, who are 
required to hold a baccalaureate degree, were awarded their degree 
before appointment to the next higher grade. For a degree from an 
unaccredited educational institution that has been recognized as a 
qualifying educational institution by the Department of Defense to 
satisfy this educational requirements of 10 U.S.C. 12205, the degree 
must not have been awarded more than three years before the date the 
officer is to be appointed, or federally recognized, in the grade of 
Captain or above in the Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Air Force 
Reserve, Air National Guard, or Marine Corps Reserve, or in the grade 
of Lieutenant or above in the Naval Reserve.


Sec. 67.6  Procedures.

    (a) An unaccredited educational institution may obtain designation 
as a qualifying educational institution for a specific Reserve 
component officer who graduated from that educational institution by 
providing certification from registrars at three accredited educational 
institutions that maintain ROTC programs that their educational 
institutions would accept at least 90 percent of the credit hours 
earned by that officer at the unaccredited educational institution, as 
of the year of graduation.
    (b) For an unaccredited educational institution to be designated as 
a qualifying educational institution for a specific year, that 
educational institution must provide the Office of the Assistant 
Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs certification from the 
registrars at three different accredited educational institutions that 
maintain ROTC programs listing the major field(s) of study in which 
those educational institutions would accept at least 90 percent of the 
credit hours earned by a student who was awarded a baccalaureate degree 
in that major field of study at the unaccredited educational 
institution.
    (c) For an unaccredited educational institution to be considered 
for designation as a qualifying educational institution, the 
unaccredited educational institution must submit the required 
documentation no later than January 1 of the year for which the 

[[Page 54303]]
unaccredited educational institution seeks to be designated a 
qualifying educational institution.
    (d) The required documentation must be sent to the following 
address: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve 
Affairs, Attn: DASD(M&P), 1500 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-
1500.
    (e) Applications containing the required documentation may also be 
submitted at any time from unaccredited educational institutions 
requesting designation as qualifying educational institutions for prior 
school years.

    Dated: October 16, 1995.
L.M. Bynum,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 95-26039 Filed 10-20-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5000-04-M