[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 16 (Friday, January 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4313-4314]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-01190]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and 
Integrity Meeting

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education, National Advisory Committee on 
Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI), Office of Postsecondary 
Education.

ACTION: Announcement of an open meeting.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the agenda, time, and location for the 
February 27, 2020 meeting of the National Advisory Committee on 
Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and provides information 
to members of the public regarding the meeting, including requesting to 
make oral comments. The notice of this meeting is required under the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) and the Higher Education Act 
(HEA).

DATES: The NACIQI meeting will be held on February 27, 2020, from 8:30 
a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Embassy Suites by Hilton Alexandria Old Town, Virginia 
Ballroom, 1900 Diagonal Road, Alexandria, VA 22314.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George Alan Smith, Acting Executive 
Director/Designated Federal Official, NACIQI, U.S. Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 271-03, Washington, DC 20202, 
telephone: (202) 453-7757, or email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    NACIQI's Statutory Authority and Function: NACIQI is established 
under section 114 of the HEA. NACIQI advises the Secretary of Education 
with respect to:
     The establishment and enforcement of the standards of 
accrediting agencies or associations under subpart 2, part G, Title IV 
of the HEA, as amended.
     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 of the HEA and part C, subchapter I, 
chapter 34, Title 42, together with recommendations for improvement in 
such process.
     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 function relating to accreditation and 
institutional eligibility that the Secretary of Education may prescribe 
by regulation.
    Meeting Agenda: Agenda items for the February 27, 2020 meeting are 
below.

Application for Initial Recognition

    1. National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Training 
Consortium. Requested Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of 
postgraduate residency and fellowship nurse practitioner (NP) 
postgraduate training programs in the United States. This recognition 
also extends to the agency's Appeal Panel.

Application for Renewal of Recognition

    1. New York State Board of Regents, State Education Department, 
Office of the Professions (Public Postsecondary Vocational Education, 
Practical Nursing).
    2. Pennsylvania State Board of Vocational Education, Bureau of 
Career and Technical Education.
    3. Kansas State Board of Nursing.
    4. Maryland Board of Nursing.

Application for an Expansion of Scope

    1. The Association for Biblical Higher Education, Commission on 
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and 
preaccreditation (``Candidate for Accreditation''), at the 
undergraduate level, of institutions of biblical higher education in 
the United States offering both campus-based and distance education 
instructional programs. Requested Scope of Recognition: The 
accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate Status'') of 
institutions of biblical higher education in the United States offering 
undergraduate certificates, associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, 
graduate certificates, master's degrees, including the accreditation of 
educational programs offered via distance education.

Compliance Report

    1. The Oklahoma Board of Career and Technology Education (OBCTE) 
compliance report includes findings of noncompliance with the criteria 
in 34 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) Sec.  [thinsp]603 identified in 
the May 9, 2018 letter from the senior Department official following 
the February 7, 2018 NACIQI meeting available at: https://opeweb.ed.gov/aslweb/finalstaffreports.cfm.

Subcommittee on Governance

    The subcommittee will provide an update on its research of 
accreditor and state/gubernatorial relations.

[[Page 4314]]

Accreditation Regulations

    Diane Auer Jones, Principal Deputy Under Secretary delegated the 
duties of Under Secretary, will provide an update on the 
Administration's implementation of regulations under 34 CFR 602. The 
Department amended the rules governing the Secretary's recognition 
process, which were published November 1, 2019 and will take effect on 
July 1, 2020.

Committee Chair and Vice Chair Election

    The Designated Federal Official will facilitate the election of a 
new chair and new vice chair for the Committee.
    Submission of requests to make an oral comment regarding a specific 
accrediting agency under review, or to make an oral comment or written 
statement regarding other issues within the scope of NACIQI's 
authority: Opportunity to submit a written statement regarding a 
specific accrediting agency under review was solicited by a previous 
Federal Register notice published on September 4, 2019 (Vol. 84, No. 
171). The period for submission of such statements are now closed. 
Additional written comments regarding a specific agency or state 
approval agency under review will not be accepted at this time. 
However, members of the public may submit written statements regarding 
other issues within the scope of NACIQI's authority (``Written 
Statements'') for consideration by NACIQI in the manner described 
below. No individual in attendance or making oral comments may 
distribute written materials at the meeting. Oral comments may not 
exceed three minutes.
    Oral comments about an agency's recognition after review of a 
compliance report must relate to issues identified in the senior 
Department official's letter that requested the report, or in the 
Secretary's appeal decision, if any, and the criteria for recognition 
cited in the senior Department official's letter, or in the Secretary's 
appeal decision. Oral comments about an agency seeking expansion of 
scope must be directed to the agency's ability to serve as a recognized 
accrediting agency with respect to the kinds of institutions or 
programs requested to be added. Oral comments about the renewal of an 
agency's recognition must relate to its compliance with the Criteria 
for the Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, which are available at 
http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html. Written Statements 
and oral comments concerning NACIQI's work outside of a specific 
accrediting agency under review must be limited to the scope of 
NACIQI's authority as outlined under section 114 of the HEA.
    To request to make a third-party oral comment of three minutes or 
less at the February 27, 2020 meeting, please follow either Method One 
or Method Two noted below. To submit a Written Statement to NACIQI 
concerning its work outside a specific accrediting agency under review, 
please follow Method One.
    Method One: Submit a request by email to the 
[email protected] mailbox. Please do not send material directly 
to NACIQI members. Written Statements and requests to make oral comment 
must be received by February 14,2020. Include in the subject line 
``Oral Comment Request: (agency name),'' ``Oral Comment Request: 
(subject)'' or ``Written Statement: (subject).'' The email must include 
the name(s), title, organization/affiliation, mailing address, email 
address, telephone number, of the person(s) submitting a Written 
Statement or requesting to speak, and a brief summary (not to exceed 
one page) of the principal points to be made during the oral 
presentation, if applicable. All individuals submitting an advance 
request in accordance with this notice will be afforded an opportunity 
to speak.
    Method Two: Register at the meeting location on February 27, 2020, 
from 7:30 a.m.-8:30 a.m., to make an oral comment during NACIQI's 
deliberations. The requestor must provide the subject on which he or 
she wishes to comment, in addition to his or her name, title, 
organization/affiliation, mailing address, email address, and telephone 
number. A total of up to fifteen minutes for each agenda item will be 
allotted for oral commenters who register on February 27, 2020, by 8:30 
a.m. Individuals will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. 
If selected, each commenter may not exceed three minutes.
    Access to Records of the Meeting: The Department will post the 
official report of the meeting on the NACIQI website within 90 days 
after the meeting. In addition, pursuant to the FACA, the public may 
request to inspect records of the meeting at 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC, by emailing [email protected] or by calling 
(202) 453-7415 to schedule an appointment.
    Reasonable Accommodations: 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.
    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.

Robert L. King,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-01190 Filed 1-23-20; 8:45 am]
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