[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 11, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18299-18301]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-5252]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and 
Integrity (National Advisory Committee); Meeting

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

What Is the Purpose of This Notice?

    The purpose of this notice is to announce the public meeting of the 
National Advisory Committee and invite third-party oral presentations 
before the Committee. This notice also presents the proposed agenda and 
informs the public of its opportunity to attend this meeting. The 
notice of this meeting is required under section 10(a)(2) of the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act.

When and Where Will the Meeting Take Place?

    We will hold the public meeting on Monday, June 5, 2006, from 9:30 
a.m. until approximately 5:30 p.m.; on Tuesday, June 6, 2006, from 8:30 
a.m. until approximately 5:30 p.m., and on Wednesday, June 7, 2006, 
from 8:30 a.m. until approximately 3:30 p.m. in the Gallery I and II 
Meeting Rooms at the Hilton Arlington Hotel, 950 North Stafford Street, 
Arlington, VA 22203. You may call the hotel at (703) 528-6000 to 
inquire about rooms.

What Assistance Will Be Provided to Individuals With Disabilities?

    The meeting site is accessible to individuals with disabilities. If 
you will need an auxiliary aid or service to participate in the meeting 
(e.g., interpreting service, assistive listening device, or materials 
in an alternate format), notify the contact person listed in this 
notice at least two weeks before the scheduled meeting date. Although 
we will attempt to meet a request received after that date, we may not 
be able to make available the requested auxiliary aid or service 
because of insufficient time to arrange it.

Who Is the Contact Person for the Meeting?

    Please contact Ms. Francesca Paris-Albertson, Executive Director of 
the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, 
if you have questions about the meeting. You may contact her at the 
U.S. Department of Education, Room 7110, 1990 K St., NW., Washington, 
DC 20006; telephone: (202) 219-7009; fax: (202) 219-7008; 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.

What Is the Authority for the National 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.

What Are the Functions of the National Advisory Committee?

    The Committee advises the Secretary of Education about:
     The establishment and enforcement of the Criteria for 
Recognition of accrediting agencies or associations under subpart 2 of 
part H of Title IV, HEA.
     The recognition of specific accrediting agencies or 
associations.
     The preparation and publication of the list of nationally 
recognized accrediting agencies and associations.
     The eligibility and certification process for institutions 
of higher education under Title IV, HEA.
     The development of standards and criteria for specific 
categories of vocational training institutions and institutions of 
higher education for which there are no recognized accrediting 
agencies, associations, or State agencies in order to establish the 
interim eligibility of those institutions

[[Page 18300]]

to participate in Federally funded programs.
     The relationship between: (1) Accreditation of 
institutions of higher education and the certification and eligibility 
of such institutions, and (2) State licensing responsibilities with 
respect to such institutions.
     Any other advisory functions relating to accreditation and 
institutional eligibility that the Secretary may prescribe.

What Items Will Be on the Agenda for Discussion at the Meeting?

    Agenda topics will include the review of agencies that have 
submitted petitions for renewal of recognition and/or an expansion of 
an agency's scope of recognition, and the review of agencies that have 
submitted an interim report or a progress report.

What Agencies Will the National Advisory Committee Review at the 
Meeting?

    The following agencies will be reviewed during the June 5-7, 2006 
meeting of the National 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.)

Petitions 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, bachelor's, 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, associate degree, and 
baccalaureate degree levels, including programs using distance 
education methodology.) (Note: The agency has revised its requested 
scope of recognition from that which was published in the February 6, 
2006 Federal Register notice. The agency's original request included 
the accreditation of programs at the graduate level.)
    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.)

Petition for Renewal of Recognition That Includes 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.)

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition

    1. American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation 
(Current 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.) 
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of predoctoral 
dental education programs (leading to the DDS or DMD degree), advanced 
dental education programs, and allied dental education programs that 
are fully operational or have attained ``Initial Accreditation'' 
status, and for accreditation of its programs offered via distance 
education.) (Note: The requested scope of recognition reflects no 
change in scope but instead the agency's change in nomenclature from 
``Accreditation Eligible'' to ``Initial Accreditation.'')
    2. 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.)
    3. 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.)
    4. 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.)
    5. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on 
Colleges (Current and requested scope of recognition: The accreditation 
and

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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.)
    6. 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 
that was requested by the Secretary when the Secretary granted renewed 
recognition to the agency.)
    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 and/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)

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The agency listed below, which was scheduled 
for review during the National Advisory Committee's June 2006 meeting, 
will be postponed for review until the Fall 2006 meeting.
    1. The petition for renewal of recognition submitted by the 
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.)

Who Can Make Third-Party Oral Presentations at This Meeting?

    We invite you to make a third-party oral presentation before the 
National Advisory Committee concerning the recognition of any agency 
published in this notice.

How Do I Request To Make an Oral Presentation?

    You must submit a written request to make an oral presentation 
concerning an agency listed in this notice to the contact person 
identified earlier in this notice so that the request is received via 
mail, fax, or e-mail no later than May 12, 2006.
    Your request (no more than 6 pages maximum) must include:
    1. The names, addresses, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail 
addresses of all persons seeking an appearance,
    2. The organization they represent, and
    3. A brief summary of the principal points to be made during the 
oral presentation.
    If you wish, you may attach documents illustrating the main points 
of your oral testimony. Please keep in mind, however, that any 
attachments are included in the 6-page limit. Please do not send 
materials directly to Committee members. Only materials submitted by 
the deadline to the contact person listed in this notice and in 
accordance with these instructions become part of the official record 
and are considered by the Committee in its deliberations. Documents 
received after the May 12, 2006 deadline will not be distributed to the 
National Advisory Committee for their consideration. Individuals making 
oral presentations may not distribute written materials at the meeting.

If I Cannot Attend the Meeting, Can I Submit Written Comments Regarding 
an Accrediting Agency in Lieu of Making an Oral Presentation?

    This notice requests third-party oral testimony, not written 
comment. Requests for written comments on agencies that are being 
reviewed during this meeting were published in the Federal Register on 
February 6, 2006. The National Advisory Committee will receive and 
consider only written comments submitted by the deadline specified in 
the above-referenced Federal Register notice.

How Do I Request To Present Comments Regarding General Issues Rather 
Than Specific Accrediting Agencies?

    At the conclusion of the meeting, the National Advisory Committee, 
at its discretion, may invite attendees to address the Committee 
briefly on issues pertaining to the functions of the Committee, which 
are listed earlier in this notice. If you are interested in making such 
comments, you should inform Ms. Paris-Albertson before or during the 
meeting.

How May I Obtain Access to the Records of the Meeting?

    We will record the meeting and make a transcript available for 
public inspection at the U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K St., NW., 
Washington, DC 20006 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday 
through Friday, except Federal holidays. It is preferred that an 
appointment 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: April 5, 2006.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
 [FR Doc. E6-5252 Filed 4-10-06; 8:45 am]
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