[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 171 (Tuesday, September 4, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44869-44870]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-19003]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Call for Written Third-Party 
Comments

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

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Herman Bounds, Director, Accreditation 
Group, Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 
400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 270-01, Washington, DC 20202, telephone: 
(202) 453-7615, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This solicitation of third-party comments 
concerning the performance of accrediting agencies under review by the 
Secretary of Education is required by Sec.  496(n)(1)(A) of the Higher 
Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended. These accrediting agencies 
will be on the agenda for the Winter 2019 National Advisory Committee 
on Institutional Quality and Integrity meeting. The meeting date has 
not been determined, but will be announced in a separate Federal 
Register notice.
    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. Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training. Scope 
of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the United States of 
institutions of higher education that offer continuing education and 
vocational programs that confer certificates or occupational associate 
degrees, including those programs offered via distance education.
    2. American Veterinary Medical Association, Council on Education. 
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
(``Provisional Accreditation'') in the United States of programs 
leading to professional degrees (D.V.M. or D.M.D.) in veterinary 
medicine.
    3. Council on Education for Public Health. Scope of Recognition: 
The accreditation within the United States of schools of public health 
and public health programs outside schools of public health, at the 
baccalaureate and graduate degree levels, including those offered via 
distance education.
    4. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting 
Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. 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.

Compliance Report

    1. The Council on Chiropractic Education compliance report includes 
the following: finding identified in the May 25, 2017 letter from the 
senior Department official following the February 22, 2017 NACIQI 
meeting available at: https://opeweb.ed.gov/aslweb/finalstaffreports.cfm, with respect to recognition requirements found 
at 34 CFR 602.20(a). Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of

[[Page 44870]]

programs leading to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and single-
purpose institutions offering the Doctor of Chiropractic program.
    2. Commission on English Language Program Accreditation Compliance 
report includes the following: Finding identified in the May 25, 2017 
letter from the senior Department official following the February 22, 
2017 NACIQI meeting available at: https://opeweb.ed.gov/aslweb/finalstaffreports.cfm, with respect to recognition requirements found 
at 34 CFR 602.20(b). Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of 
postsecondary, non-degree-granting English language programs and 
institutions in the United States.

Application for an Expansion of Scope

    1. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting 
Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. 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.

Requested Scope of Recognition

    The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate for 
Accreditation'') of community and other colleges 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 Marianas, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands, which have 
as a primary mission the granting of associate degrees, but which may 
also award certificates and other credentials, including bachelor's 
degrees, where the provision of such credentials is within the 
institution's mission and, if applicable, is authorized by their 
governmental authorities, and the accreditation of 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.

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 September 30, 2018, 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 that has submitted a compliance 
report scheduled for review by the Department must relate to 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 an agency that has submitted a 
petition for renewal of recognition must relate to the agency's 
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 written 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.
    A later Federal Register notice will describe how to register to 
provide oral comments at the meeting regarding the recognition of a 
specific accrediting agency or State approval agency.
    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. 1011c.

Lynn B. Mahaffie,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Planning, Policy, and Innovation.
[FR Doc. 2018-19003 Filed 8-31-18; 8:45 am]
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