[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 24 (Monday, February 6, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6059-6061]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-1549]


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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 and State approval agencies whose applications to 
the Secretary for renewed recognition, requests for an expansion of the 
scope of recognition, or reports will be reviewed at the Advisory 
Committee meeting to be held on June 5-7, 2006, at the Hilton Arlington 
Hotel, 950 North Stafford Street, Arlington, Virginia.

Where Should I Submit My Comments?

    Please submit your written comments by mail, fax, or e-mail no 
later than March 8, 2006 to Ms. Robin Greathouse, Accreditation and 
State Liaison. You may contact her at the U.S. Department of Education, 
Room 7105, MS 8509, 1990 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006, 
telephone: (202) 219-7011, fax: (202) 219-7005, or e-mail: 
[email protected]. Individuals who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay 
Service at 1-800-877-8339.

[[Page 6060]]

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. 011c. 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 
comments.

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 Section 496 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, and the Secretary's Criteria 
for Recognition of Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies. 
The Criteria are regulations found in 34 CFR part 602 (for accrediting 
agencies) and in 34 CFR part 603 (for State approval agencies) and are 
found at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. We will also include your comments with the staff analyses 
we present to the Advisory Committee at its June 2006 meeting. 
Therefore, in order for us to give full consideration to your comments, 
it is important that we receive them by March 8, 2006.
    In all instances, your comments about agencies seeking continued 
recognition and/or an expansion of an agency's scope of recognition 
must relate to the Criteria for Recognition. In addition, your comments 
for any agency whose interim report or progress 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.

What Happens to Comments Received After the Deadline?

    We will review any comments received after the deadline. If such 
comments, upon investigation, reveal that the accrediting agency or 
State approval agency is not acting in accordance with the Criteria for 
Recognition, we will take action either before or after the meeting, as 
appropriate.

What Agencies Will the Advisory Committee Review at 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 it accredits that are 
encompassed within the scope of recognition she grants to the agency.
    The following agencies will be reviewed during the June 2006 
meeting of the Advisory Committee:

Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies

Petition for Initial Recognition

    1. National Oriental Medicine Accreditation Agency (Requested scope 
of recognition: The accreditation of freestanding educational 
institutions of Oriental Medicine and programs that offer entry-level 
professional doctoral degrees in Oriental Medicine.)

Petition for Renewal of Recognition That Include an Expansion of the 
Scope of Recognition

    1. Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools 
(Current scope of recognition: The accreditation of private 
postsecondary institutions offering certificates or diplomas and 
postsecondary institutions offering associate's, bachelor's, or 
master's degrees in programs that are designed to train and educate 
persons for careers or professions where business applications or 
doctrines, supervisory or management techniques, professional or 
paraprofessional applications, and other business-related applications 
support or constitute the career.) (Requested scope of recognition: The 
accreditation of private postsecondary institutions offering 
certificates or diplomas, and postsecondary institutions offering 
associate, bachelors, or master's degrees in programs designed to 
educate students for professional, technical, or occupational careers 
including those that offer those programs via distance education.)
    2. American College of Nurse-Midwives, Division of Accreditation 
(Current scope of recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
of basic certificate and basic graduate nurse-midwifery education 
programs for registered nurses, the pre-accreditation and accreditation 
of pre-certification nurse-midwifery education programs and the 
accreditation and pre-accreditation of direct-entry midwifery programs 
for the non-nurse.) (Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation 
and preaccreditation of basic certificate, basic graduate nurse-
midwifery, direct-entry midwifery, and pre-certification nurse-
midwifery education programs. The accreditation and pre-accreditation 
of freestanding institutions of midwifery education that may offer 
other related health care programs to include nurse practitioner 
programs, and including those institutions and programs that offer 
distance education.)
    3. Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology 
(Current scope of recognition: The accreditation of educational 
programs for radiographers and radiation therapists.) (Requested scope 
of recognition: The accreditation of educational programs in 
radiography, including magnetic resonance; radiation therapy; and 
medical dosimetry at the certificate and the associate, baccalaureate, 
and graduate levels, including programs using distance education 
methodology.)
    4. National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (Current 
scope of recognition: The accreditation throughout the United States of 
professional education units providing baccalaureate and graduate 
degree programs for the preparation of teachers and other professional 
personnel for elementary and secondary schools.) (Requested scope of 
recognition: The accreditation throughout the United States of 
professional education units providing baccalaureate and graduate 
degree programs for the preparation of teachers and other professional 
personnel for elementary and secondary schools including programs 
offering distance education.)

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition That Include a Contraction of the 
Scope of Recognition

    1. Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (Current scope of 
recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation of professional 
degree programs in pharmacy leading to the degrees of Baccalaureate in 
Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy.) (Requested scope of recognition: The 
accreditation and preaccreditation of professional degree programs in 
pharmacy leading to the Doctor of Pharmacy degree.)

[[Page 6061]]

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition

    1. American Bar Association, Council of the Section of Legal 
Education and Admissions to the Bar (Current and requested scope of 
recognition: The accreditation throughout the United States of programs 
in legal education that lead to the first professional degree in law, 
as well as freestanding law schools offering such programs.)
    2. American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation 
(Current and requested 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 ``accreditation 
eligible'' status, and for its accreditation of programs offered via 
distance education.)
    3. Council on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation 
(Current and requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of 
programs leading to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and single-
purpose institutions offering the Doctor of Chiropractic program.)
    4. Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear 
Medicine Technology (Current and requested scope of recognition: The 
accreditation of higher education programs for the nuclear medicine 
technologist.)
    5. National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and Sciences 
(Current and requested scope of recognition: The accreditation 
throughout the United States of postsecondary schools and departments 
of cosmetology arts and sciences and massage therapy.)
    6. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on 
Colleges (Current and 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, including distance education programs 
offered at those institutions.)
    7. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting 
Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (Current and 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 Mariana Islands and the 
Republic of the Marshall Islands, including distance education programs 
offered at those institutions.)
    Interim Report (An interim report is a follow-up report on an 
accrediting agency's compliance with specific criteria for 
recognition.)
    1. Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools.
    2. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on 
Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech--Language Pathology.
    3. Distance Education and Training Council, Accrediting Commission.
    Progress Report (A report describing the agency's progress in 
implementing new accreditation processes/or procedures.)
    1. Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education, 
Commission on Accreditation

State Agencies Recognized For the Approval of Public Postsecondary 
Vocational Education

Interim Report

    1. Puerto Rico State Agency for the Approval of Public 
Postsecondary Vocational, Technical Institutions and Programs.

Progress Report

    1. Oklahoma State Regents for Higher Education.

State Agency Recognized For the Approval of Nurse Education

Petition for Renewal of Recognition

    1. New York State Board of Regents, State Education Department, 
Office of the Professions (Nursing Education).

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

    All petitions and those third-party comments received in advance of 
the meeting, will be available for public inspection at the U.S. 
Department of Education, Room 7105, MS 8509, 1990 K Street, NW., 
Washington, DC 20006, telephone (202) 219-7011 between the hours of 8 
a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Friday, until May 8, 2006. They will be 
available again after the June 5-7, 2006 Advisory Committee meeting. An 
appointment must be made in advance of such inspection.

How May I Obtain Electronic Access to This Document?

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister. To use PDF you must have 
Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at this site. If you have 
questions about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office 
(GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at 
(202) 512-1530.


    Note: 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 on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/index.html.


    Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2

    Dated: January 31, 2006.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E6-1549 Filed 2-3-06; 8:45 am]
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