[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 103 (Thursday, May 28, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32031-32032]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-11372]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for Purposes of 
Recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education; Request for 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 request for written third-party 
comments concerning the performance of accrediting agencies under 
review by the Secretary of Education is required by section 
496(n)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended, and 
pertains to the Winter 2021 meeting of the National Advisory Committee 
on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). The meeting date and 
location have not been determined, but will be announced in a later 
Federal Register notice. In addition, a later Federal Register notice 
will describe how to register to provide oral comments at the meeting.
    Agencies under Review and Evaluation: The Department requests 
written comments from the public on the following accrediting agencies, 
which are currently undergoing review and evaluation by the 
Accreditation Group, and which will be reviewed at the Winter 2021 
NACIQI meeting.
    The agencies are listed by the type of application each has 
submitted. We have also indicated each agency's current scope of 
recognition. If any agency requests a change to its scope of 
recognition, we have identified both the current scope of recognition 
and the requested scope of recognition.

Applications for Renewal of Recognition

    1. Association of Institutions of Jewish Studies. Scope of 
Recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary institutions of Jewish 
Studies within the United States exclusively offering educational 
programs leading to a certificate, associate degree, baccalaureate 
degree or their equivalent credential in Jewish Studies or Classical 
Torah Studies.
    2. American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, Council on 
Academic Accreditation in Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology. 
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
(Accreditation Candidate) throughout the United States of education 
programs in audiology and speech-language pathology leading to the 
first professional or clinical degree at the master's or doctoral 
level, and the accreditation of these programs offered via distance 
education.
    3. American Board of Funeral Service Education, Committee on 
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of institutions 
and programs within the United States awarding diplomas, associate 
degrees and bachelor's degrees in funeral service or mortuary science, 
including the accreditation of distance learning courses and programs 
offered by these programs and institutions.
    4. Council on Naturopathic Medical Education. Scope of Recognition: 
The accreditation and preaccreditation throughout the United States of 
graduate-level, four-year naturopathic medical education programs 
leading to the Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (NMD) or Doctor of 
Naturopathy (ND).
    5. Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. Scope of 
Recognition: The accreditation of institutions and programs in the 
United States that award postsecondary certificates,

[[Page 32032]]

postsecondary diplomas, academic Associate degrees and occupational 
Associate degrees, in the practice of massage therapy, bodywork, and 
aesthetics/esthetics and skin care.
    6. Montessori Accreditation Council for Teacher Education. Scope of 
Recognition: The accreditation of Montessori teacher education 
institutions and programs throughout the United States, including those 
offered via distance education.
    7. Midwifery Education Accreditation Council. Scope of Recognition: 
The accreditation and pre-accreditation throughout the United States of 
direct-entry midwifery educational institutions and programs conferring 
degrees and certificates, including the accreditation of such programs 
offered via distance education.
    8. National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences, 
Inc. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of institutions and 
programs in the United States that award postsecondary certificates, 
postsecondary diplomas, academic Associate degrees and occupational 
Associate degrees, in the practice of massage therapy, bodywork, and 
aesthetics/esthetics and skin care.

Application for Granting of Academic (Masters and Doctoral) Degrees by 
Federal Agencies and Institutions

    1. U.S. Army Command and General Staff College: Undergoing 
Substantive Change (Curriculum Change).

Submission of Written Comments Regarding a Specific Accrediting Agency 
Under Review

    Written comments about the recognition of any of the accrediting 
listed above must be received by June 23, 2020 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 petition 
for initial recognition, renewal of recognition, or an expansion of 
scope must relate to the agency's compliance with the Criteria for the 
Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, which are available at http://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/accred/index.html.
    Only written materials 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 the 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 for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-11372 Filed 5-27-20; 8:45 am]
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