[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 12 (Thursday, January 18, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4801-4803]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-1473]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


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

AGENCY: National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and 
Integrity, Department of Education (The Advisory Committee).

What Is the Purpose of This Notice?

    The purpose of this notice is to invite written comments on 
accrediting agencies whose applications to the Secretary for initial or 
renewed recognition will be reviewed at the Advisory Committee meeting 
to be held on May 23-25, 2001. The notice also invites written comments 
on agencies submitting interim reports that will be reviewed at the May 
meeting. Further, the notice invites written comments on one Federal 
agency seeking degree-granting authority.

Where Should I Submit My Comments?

    Please submit your written comments by March 5, 2001 to Carol 
Griffiths, Chief, Accrediting Agency Evaluation, Accreditation and 
State Liaison. You may contact her at the U.S. Department of Education, 
1990 K Street, NW, 7th Floor, Room 7105, Washington, DC 20006-8509, 
telephone: (202) 219-7011. Individuals who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339.

What Is the Authority for the Advisory Committee?

    The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and 
Integrity is established under Section 114 of the Higher Education Act 
(HEA), as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1011c. One of the purposes of the Advisory 
Committee is to advise the Secretary of Education on the recognition of 
accrediting agencies and State approval agencies.

Will This Be My Only Opportunity To Submit Written Comments?

    Yes, this notice announces the only opportunity you will have to 
submit written comments. However, a subsequent Federal Register notice 
will announce the meeting and invite individuals and/or groups to 
submit requests to make oral presentations before the Advisory 
Committee on the agencies that the Committee will review. That notice, 
however, does not offer a second opportunity to submit written comment.

What Happens to the Comments That I Submit?

    We will review your comments, in response to this notice, as part 
of our evaluation of the agencies' compliance with the Secretary's 
Criteria for Recognition of Accrediting Agencies. The Criteria are 
regulations found in 34 CFR part 602 (for accrediting agencies) and in 
34 CFR part 603 (for State approval agencies).
    We will also respond to your comments, as appropriate, in the staff 
analyses we present to the Advisory Committee at its May 2001 meeting. 
Therefore, in order for us to give full consideration to your comments, 
it is important that we receive them by March 5, 2001. In all 
instances, your comments about agencies seeking initial

[[Page 4802]]

or continued recognition must relate to the Criteria for the 
Recognition. In addition, your comments for any agency whose interim 
report is scheduled for review must relate to the issues raised and the 
Criteria for Recognition cited in the Secretary's letter that requested 
the interim report. You may obtain a copy of the Secretary's letter by 
calling (202) 219-7011.

What Happens to Comments Received After the Deadline?

    We will treat any negative comments received after the deadline as 
complaints. If such comments, upon investigation, reveal that the 
accrediting agency is not acting in accordance with the Criteria for 
Recognition, we will take action either before or after the meeting, as 
appropriate. We will also notify the commentors of the disposition of 
those comments.

What Agencies Are on the Agenda for the Meeting?

    The Secretary of Education recognizes accrediting agencies and 
State approval agencies for public postsecondary vocational education 
and nurse education if the Secretary determines that they meet the 
Criteria for Recognition. Recognition means that the Secretary 
considers the agency to be a reliable authority as to the quality of 
education offered by institutions or programs that are encompassed 
within the scope of recognition he grants to the agency. The following 
agencies will be reviewed during the May 2001 meeting of the Advisory 
Committee:

Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies

Petition for Initial Recognition

    1. Teacher Education Accreditation Council (Requested scope of 
recognition: The accreditation of professional education programs in 
institutions offering baccalaureate and graduate degrees for the 
preparation of teachers and other professional personnel for elementary 
and secondary schools).

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition

    1. Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools 
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of private 
postsecondary institutions offering business and business-related 
programs and the accreditation and preaccreditation (``Recognized 
Candidate'') of junior and senior colleges of business (including 
senior colleges with master's degree programs), as well as independent, 
freestanding institutions offering only graduate business and business-
related programs at the master's degree level).
    2. American College of Nurse-Midwives, Division of Accreditation 
(Current scope of recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
(``Preaccreditation'') of basic certificate and graduate nurse-
midwifery education programs for registered nurses, as well as the 
accreditation and preaccreditation of pre-certification nurse-midwifery 
education programs) (Requested scope of recognition: The current scope 
of recognition plus the accreditation of midwifery education programs 
for non-nurses at the post-baccalaureate or higher academic level that 
lead to certificates or graduate degrees).
    3. American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (Requested scope of 
recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Precandidate'' 
and ``Candidate'') of professional degree programs in pharmacy leading 
to the degrees of Baccalaureate in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy).
    4. Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc., Accreditation 
Commission (Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of 
clinical pastoral education (CPE) centers and CPE and supervisory CPE 
programs).
    5. American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation 
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of predoctoral 
dental education programs (programs leading to the D.D.S. or D.M.D. 
degree); dental auxiliary education programs (dental assisting, dental 
hygiene and dental laboratory technology); and advanced dental 
educational programs (general practices residency, advanced general 
dentistry, and the specialties of dental public health, endodontics, 
oral pathology, orthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery, 
pedodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics)).
    6. American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council 
for Occupational Therapy Education (Current scope of recognition: The 
accreditation of entry-level professional occupational therapy 
educational programs awarding baccalaureate degrees, post-baccalaureate 
certificates, professional master's degrees, and combined 
baccalaureate/master's degrees, and also for the accreditation of 
occupational therapy assistant programs leading to an associate degree 
or certificate) (Requested scope of recognition: The current scope of 
recognition plus the accreditation of entry-level doctoral degree 
professional occupational therapy educational programs and the 
accreditation of programs offered principally through distance 
education).
    7. Council on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation 
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of Doctor of 
Chiropractic programs and single-purpose institutions offering the 
Doctor of Chiropractic program).
    8. Commission on Opticianry Accreditation (Requested scope of 
recognition: The accreditation of two-year programs for the ophthalmic 
dispenser and one-year programs for the ophthalmic laboratory 
technician).
    9. Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology 
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of educational 
programs for radiographers and radiation therapists).
    10. Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear 
Medicine Technology (Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation 
of higher education programs for the nuclear medicine technologist).
    11. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on 
Colleges (Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation and 
preaccreditation (``Candidate for Accreditation'') of degree-granting 
institutions of higher education in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia).
    12. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting 
Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (Requested scope of 
recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate for 
Accreditation'') of senior colleges and universities in California, 
Hawaii, the United States territories of Guam and American Samoa, the 
Republic of Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth 
of the Northern Marianna Islands, and the Republic of the Marshall 
Islands).
    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 renewed 
recognition to the agency.)
    1. American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on 
Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.
    2. American Psychological Association, Committee on Accreditation.
    3. Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
    4. National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and 
Sciences.

[[Page 4803]]

    5. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health, 
Council on Accreditation.
    6. Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, 
Accreditation Commission.

State Agencies Recognized for the Approval of Public Postsecondary 
Vocational Education

Interim Report

    1. Kansas Board of Regents.

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. Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA (request to award a 
master's degree in Strategic Studies).

Where Can I Inspect Petitions and Third-Party Comments Before and 
After the Meeting?

    Subject to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 522, petitions, interim 
reports, and those third-party comments received in advance of the 
meeting, will, upon written request, be made available, on appointment, 
for inspection and copying at the U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 
Street, NW., 7th Floor, Room 7105, Washington, DC 20006-8509, telephone 
(202) 219-7011 until May 4, 2001. They will be available again after 
the May 23-25 Advisory Committee meeting.

    Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2.


    Dated: January 11, 2001.
A. Lee Fritschler,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 01-1473 Filed 1-17-01; 8:45 am]
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