[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 127 (Wednesday, July 2, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 35790-35792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-17082]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, State Agencies for Approval 
of Public Postsecondary Vocational Education

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Request for comments on agencies applying to the Secretary for 
renewal of recognition.

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DATES: Commenters should submit their written comments by August 18, 
1997 to the address below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
 Karen W. Kershenstein, Director, Accreditation and Eligibility 
Determination Division, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence 
Avenue, SW., Room 3915 ROB-3, Washington, DC 20202-5244, telephone: 
(202) 708-7417. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the 
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-
8339 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUBMISSION OF THIRD-PARTY COMMENTS: The Secretary of Education 
recognizes, as reliable authorities as to the quality of education 
offered by institutions or programs within their scope, accrediting 
agencies and State approval agencies for public postsecondary 
vocational education and nurse education that meet certain criteria for 
recognition. The purpose of this notice is to invite interested third 
parties to present written comments on the agencies listed in this 
notice that have applied for initial or continued recognition. A 
subsequent Federal Register notice will announce the meeting and invite 
individuals and/or groups to submit requests for oral presentation 
before the Advisory Committee on the agencies being reviewed. That 
notice, however, does not constitute another call for written comment. 
This notice is the only call for written comment.
    All comments received in response to this notice will be reviewed 
by Department staff as part of its evaluation of the agencies' 
compliance with the Secretary's Criteria for Recognition. In order for 
Department staff to give full consideration to the comments received 
and to address them in the staff analyses that will be presented to the 
Advisory Committee at its November 1997 meeting, the comments must 
arrive at the address listed above not later than August 18, 1997. 
Comments received after the deadline will be reviewed by Department 
staff, which will take action, as appropriate, either before or after 
the meeting, should the comments suggest that an accrediting agency is 
not acting in accordance with the Secretary's Criteria for Recognition.
    All comments must relate to the Secretary's Criteria for the 
Recognition of Accrediting Agencies. Comments pertaining to agencies 
whose interim reports will be reviewed must be restricted to the 
concerns raised in the Secretary's letter for which the report is 
requested.
    The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and 
Integrity (the ``Advisory Committee'') advises the Secretary of 
Education on the recognition of accrediting agencies and State approval 
agencies. The Advisory Committee is scheduled to meet November 19-21, 
1997 in Washington, DC. All written comments in response to this notice 
that are received by the Department by the deadline will be considered 
by both the Advisory Committee and the Secretary. Comments received 
after the deadline, as indicated previously, will be reviewed by 
Department staff, which will take follow-up action, as appropriate, 
either before or after the meeting. Commenters whose comments are 
received after the deadline will be notified by staff of the 
disposition of those comments.
    The following agencies will be reviewed during the November 1997 
meeting of the Advisory Committee:

Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies and Associations

Petitons for Renewal of Recognition

    1. Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology, Inc. (Scope 
of recognition: the accreditation of basic (baccalaureate) and advanced 
(master's) level programs in engineering, associate and baccalaureate 
degree programs in engineering technology, and engineering-related 
programs at the baccalaureate and advanced degree level)
    2. Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training (Scope 
of recognition: The accreditation of institutions of higher education 
that offer non-collegiate continuing vocational education programs and 
higher education programs of non-collegiate continuing vocational 
education)
    3. American Optometric Association, Council on Optometric Education

[[Page 35791]]

(Scope of recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
(``Reasonable Assurance/Preliminary Approval'' {for professional degree 
programs} and ``Candidacy Pending'' {for optometric residency programs 
in facilities of Veterans' Administration}) of professional optometric 
degree programs, optometric residency programs, and optometric 
technician programs)
    4. Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc., Accreditation 
Commission (Scope of recognition: The accreditation and 
preaccreditation (``Candidacy for Accredited Membership'') of basic, 
advanced, and supervisory clinical pastoral education programs)
    5. Commission on Opticianry Accreditation (Scope of recognition: 
The accreditation of two-year programs for the ophthalmic dispenser and 
one-year programs for the ophthalmic laboratory technician)
    6. National Association of Schools of Art and Design, Commission on 
Accreditation (Scope of recognition: The accreditation of institutions 
and units within institutions offering degree-granting and non-degree-
granting programs in art, design, and art/design-related disciplines)
    7. National Association of Schools of Dance, Commission on 
Accreditation (Scope of recognition: The accreditation of institutions 
and units within institutions offering degree-granting and non-degree-
granting programs in dance and dance-related disciplines)
    8. National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on 
Accreditation, Commission on Non-Degree-Granting Accreditation, and 
Commission on Community/Junior College Accreditation (Scope of 
recognition: the accreditation of institutions and units within 
institutions offering degree-granting and non-degree-granting programs 
in music and music-related disciplines, including community/junior 
colleges and independent degree-granting and non-degree-granting 
institutions)
    9. National Association of Schools of Theatre, Commission on 
Accreditation (Scope of recognition: The accreditation of institutions 
and units within institutions offering degree-granting and non-degree-
granting programs in theatre and theatre-related disciplines)
    10. New England Association of Schools and Colleges (Scope of 
recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate for 
Accreditation'') of non-degree granting postsecondary vocation, 
technical and career institutions and degree-granting institutions of 
higher education awarding an associate degree in Connecticut, Maine, 
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont)
    11. North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission 
on Institutions of Higher Education (Scope of recognition: The 
accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate for Accreditation'') of 
institutions of higher education in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, 
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, 
Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, West 
Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming)
    12. Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges, Commission on 
Colleges (Scope of recognition: the accreditation and preaccreditation 
(``Candidate for Accreditation'') of institutions of higher education 
in Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, and Washington)
    13. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting 
Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (Scope of recognition: The 
accredition and preaccreditation (``Candidate for Accreditation'') of 
community and junior colleges in California, Hawaii, American Samoa, 
Guam, the Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and 
the Republic of the Marshall Islands)

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition and Expansion of Scope

    1. American Psychological Association, Committee on Accreditation 
(Current scope of recognition: The accreditation of doctoral programs 
in clinical, counseling, school, and combined professional-scientific 
psychology, and predoctoral internship training programs in 
professional psychology). (Requested expansion of scope: The 
accreditation of post-doctoral residency programs in professional 
psychology)
    2. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (Current scope of 
recognition: The accreditation of Master's degree programs in speech-
language pathology and audiology). (Requested expansion of scope: The 
accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidacy'') of graduate 
educational programs that provide for entry-level professional 
preparation with a major emphasis in audiology and/or speech-language 
pathology)
    3. Council on Occupational Education (Current scope of recognition: 
The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate for 
Accreditation'') of non-degree granting postsecondary occupational/
vocational institutions and those postsecondary occupational/vocational 
education institutions currently accredited by the Council that either 
have state authorization to grant the applied associate degree in 
specific vocational/occupational fields or that receive such 
authorization during the Council's current recognition period). 
(Requested expansion of scope: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
(``Candidate for Accreditation'') of postsecondary, prebaccalaureate, 
degree-granting and non-degree-granting vocational education 
institutions nationwide)

Interim Reports (An interim report is a follow-up report on an 
accrediting agency's compliance with specific criteria for recognition 
that was requested by the Secretary when the Secretary granted 
recognition to the agency)

    1. American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal 
Education and Admissions to the Bar
    2. Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on 
Higher Education
    3. National Environmental Health Science and Protection 
Accreditation Council
    4. New York State Board of Regents
    5. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on 
Colleges
    6. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting 
Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities

Request for an Expansion of Scope

    1. Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools (Current scope of 
recognition: the accreditation of private, postsecondary allied health 
education institutions, private medical assistant programs, public and 
private medical laboratory technician programs, and allied health 
programs leading to the Associate of Applied Science and the Associate 
of Occupational Science degree). (Requested expansion of scope: the 
accreditation of institutions offering predominantly allied health 
education programs. ``Predominantly'' is defined by the agency as at 
least 70 percent of one of the following: (1) Students enrolled in 
allied health programs (2) revenues received from allied health 
programs enrollments (3) programs offered in allied health, or (4) 
courses offered in allied health)

State Agency Recognized for the Approval of Public Postsecondary 
Vocational Education

Interim Report

    1. New York State Board of Regents, Vocational Education

[[Page 35792]]

State Agency Recognized for the Approval of Nurse Education

Interim Report

    1. New York State Board of Regents, Nursing Education Unit

Federal Agency Seeking Degree-Granting Authority

    In accordance with the Federal policy governing the granting of 
academic degrees by Federal agencies (approved by a letter from the 
Director, Bureau of the Budget, to the Secretary, Health, Education, 
and Welfare, dated December 23, 1954), the Secretary is required to 
establish a review committee to advise the Secretary concerning any 
legislation that may be proposed that would authorize the granting of 
degrees by a Federal agency. The review committee forwards its 
recommendation concerning a Federal agency's proposed degree-granting 
authority to the Secretary, who then forwards the committee's 
recommendation and the Secretary's recommendation to the Office of 
Management and Budget for review and transmittal to the Congress. The 
Secretary uses the Advisory Committee as the review committee required 
for this purpose. Accordingly, the Advisory Committee will review the 
following institution at this meeting:

Proposed Master's Degree-Granting Authority

    1. U.S. Army War, Carlisle, PA (request to award a master's degree 
in Strategic Studies)

Public Inspection of Petitions and Third-Party Comments

    Al petitions and interim reports, and those third-party comments 
received in advance of the meeting, will be available for public 
inspection and copying at the U.S. Department of Education, ROB-3, Room 
3915, 7th and D Street, SW., Washington, DC 20202-5244, telephone (202) 
708-7417 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, until November 3, 1997. They will be available again after the 
November 19-21 Advisory Committee meeting. It is preferred that an 
appointment be made in advance of such inspection or copying.

    Dated: June 27, 1997.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 97-17082 Filed 7-1-97; 8:45 am]
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