[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 199 (Friday, October 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71089-71090]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-24893]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Postsecondary Education


Accrediting Agencies Under Review for Recognition by the U.S. 
Secretary of Education

AGENCY: Accreditation Group, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. 
Department of Education.

ACTION: Call for written third-party comments.

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SUMMARY: This notice provides information to members of the public on 
submitting written comments for accrediting agencies currently 
undergoing review for purposes of recognition by the U.S. Secretary of 
Education. This solicitation of third-party comments concerning the 
performance of accrediting agencies under review by the Secretary is 
required by Sec.  496(n)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 
1965, as amended.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herman Bounds, Director, Accreditation 
Group, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 
400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 6C115, Washington, DC 20202, telephone: 
(202) 453-7615, or email: [email protected].
    Agencies Under Review and Evaluation: Below is a list of agencies 
currently undergoing review and evaluation by the Accreditation Group, 
including their current and requested scopes of recognition:

Applications for Renewal of Recognition

    1. American Podiatric Medical Association Scope of Recognition: The 
accreditation and preaccreditation (``Provisional Accreditation'') 
throughout the United States of freestanding colleges of podiatric 
medicine and programs of podiatric medicine, including first 
professional programs leading to the degree of Doctor of Podiatric 
Medicine.
    2. Commission on English Language Program Accreditation Scope of 
Recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary, non-degree-granting 
English language programs and institutions in the United States.
    3. The Council on Chiropractic Education 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 Education in Radiologic Technology 
Scope of recognition: The accreditation of education programs in 
radiography, magnetic resonance, radiation therapy, and medical 
dosimetry, including those offered via distance education, at the 
certificate, associate, and baccalaureate levels.

Compliance Report

    Western Association for Schools and Colleges, Accrediting 
Commission for Community and Junior Colleges (ACCJC) Compliance report 
includes the following: (1) Findings identified in the

[[Page 71090]]

April 5, 2016 letter from the senior Department official following the 
December 2015 NACIQI meeting available at: https://opeweb.ed.gov/aslweb/finalstaffreports.cfm, (2) Findings identified in the January 4, 
2016 Secretary's appeal decision available at: http://oha.ed.gov/secretarycases/2014-10-O.pdf
    (3) The limitation on ACCJC's authority to approve single 
baccalaureate programs within the scope of accreditation of previously 
accredited institutions, as outlined in the April 5, 2016 letter from 
the senior Department official, (4) Review under 34 CFR 602.33.
    Scope of recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
(``Candidate for Accreditation'') of community and other colleges with 
a primarily pre-baccalaureate mission located 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, 
which offer certificates, associate degrees, and the first 
baccalaureate degree by means of a substantive change review offered by 
institutions that are already accredited by the agency, and such 
programs offered via distance education and correspondence education at 
these colleges. This recognition also extends to the Committee on 
Substantive Change of the Commission, for decisions on substantive 
changes, and the Appeals Panel.

Application for an Expansion of Scope

    Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools Scope of 
recognition: The accreditation of private, postsecondary institutions 
in the United States offering predominantly allied health education 
programs and the programmatic accreditation of medical assistant, 
medical laboratory technician and surgical technology programs, leading 
to a certificate, diploma, Associate of Applied Science, Associate of 
Occupational Science, Academic Associate degree, or Baccalaureate 
degree, including those offered via distance education. This scope 
extends to the Substantive Change Committee, jointly with the 
Commission, for decisions on substantive changes.
    Requested Scope: The accreditation of private, postsecondary 
institutions in the United States offering predominantly allied health 
education programs and the programmatic accreditation of medical 
assistant, medical laboratory technician and surgical technology 
programs, leading to a certificate, diploma, Associate of Applied 
Science, Associate of Occupational Science, Academic Associate degree, 
Baccalaureate degree and Master's degree, including those offered via 
distance education. The scope extends to the Substantive Change 
Committee, jointly with the Commission, for decisions on substantive 
change.

Application for Renewal of Recognition--State Agency for the Approval 
of Nurse Education

    Missouri State Board of Nursing.
    Submission of written comments regarding a specific accrediting 
agency or state approval agency under review: Written comments about 
the recognition of a specific accrediting or State agency must be 
received by November 14, 2016, in the [email protected] mailbox 
and include the subject line ``Written Comments: (agency name).'' The 
email must include the name(s), title, organization/affiliation, 
mailing address, email address, and telephone number of the person(s) 
making the comment. Comments should be submitted as a Microsoft Word 
document or in a medium compatible with Microsoft Word (not a PDF file) 
that is attached to an electronic mail message (email) or provided in 
the body of an email message. Comments about an agency's recognition 
after review of a compliance report must relate to issues identified in 
the compliance report and the criteria for recognition cited in the 
senior Department official's letter that requested the report, or in 
the Secretary's appeal decision, if any. Comments about the renewal of 
an agency's recognition based on a review of the agency's petition must 
relate to its compliance with the Criteria for the Recognition of 
Accrediting Agencies, or the Criteria and Procedures for Recognition of 
State Agencies for Approval of Nurse Education as appropriate, which 
are available at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.
    Only material submitted by the deadline to the email address listed 
in this notice, and in accordance with these instructions, become part 
of the official record concerning agencies scheduled for review and are 
considered by the Department and NACIQI in their deliberations.
    Electronic Access to this Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well 
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF, 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
site. You may also access documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register by using the article search feature at: 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1099b.

Lynn B. Mahaffie,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Policy, and Innovation, 
delegated the duties of Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 2016-24893 Filed 10-13-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P