[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 130 (Monday, July 12, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36532-36533]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-14741]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for the Purposes 
of 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.

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 Sec.  496(n)(1)(A) 
of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended, and pertains to 
the summer 2022 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 summer 2022 
NACIQI meeting.
    The agencies are listed by the type of application each agency has 
submitted. Please note, each agency's current scope of recognition is 
indicated below. If any agency requests a change to its scope of 
recognition, identified are both the current scope of recognition and 
the requested scope of recognition.

Applications for Renewal of Recognition

    1. Association for Biblical Higher Education, Commission on 
Accreditation. Scope of recognition: The accreditation and pre-
accreditation (``Candidate Status'') of institutions of biblical higher 
education in the United States offering undergraduate certificates, 
associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, graduate certificates, and 
master's degrees, including the accreditation of educational programs 
offered via distance education.
    2. American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council 
for Occupational Therapy Education. Scope of recognition: The 
accreditation of occupational therapy educational programs offering the 
professional master's degree, combined baccalaureate/master's degree, 
and occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) degree; the accreditation of 
occupational therapy assistant programs offering the associate degree 
or a certificate; and the accreditation of these programs offered via 
distance education. Requested scope of recognition: The pre-
accreditation and accreditation throughout the United States of 
occupational therapy education programs offering the professional 
master's degree, combined baccalaureate/master's degree, and 
occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) degree; and occupational therapy 
assistant programs offering the baccalaureate degree, associate degree, 
or a certificate; including those programs offered via distance 
education.
    3. Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Scope of 
recognition: The accreditation and pre-accreditation within the United 
States of professional degree programs in pharmacy leading to the 
degree of Doctor of Pharmacy, including those programs offered via 
distance education.
    4. Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc., Accreditation 
Commission. Scope of recognition: The pre-accreditation (provisional) 
and accreditation of both clinical pastoral education (CPE) centers and 
Certified Educator CPE programs within the United States, including 
those that offer those programs via distance education.
    5. American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation. 
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 ``Initial Accreditation'' status, 
including programs offered via distance education.
    6. Distance Education Accrediting Commission. Scope of recognition: 
The accreditation of postsecondary institutions in the United States 
that offer degree and/or non-degree programs primarily by the distance 
or correspondence education method up to

[[Page 36533]]

and including the professional doctoral degree, including those 
institutions that are specifically certified by the agency as 
accredited for Title IV purposes.
    7. Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools. Scope of 
recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary, non-degree granting 
institutions that offer all or part of their educational programs via 
distance education modalities in the United States.
    8. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on 
Colleges (``SACSCOC''). Scope of recognition: The accreditation and 
pre-accreditation (``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 the accreditation of programs 
offered via distance and correspondence education within these 
institutions. This recognition extends to the SACSCOC Board of Trustees 
and the Appeals Committee of the College Delegate Assembly on cases of 
initial candidacy or initial accreditation and for continued 
accreditation or candidacy.

Compliance Reports

    1. New York State Board of Regents, State Education Department, 
Office of the Professions (Public Postsecondary Vocational Education, 
Practical Nursing). Scope of Recognition: State agency for the approval 
of public postsecondary vocational education in the field of practical 
nursing offered by a Board of Cooperative Educational Services, an 
Educational Opportunity Center, City School Districts, and County 
Boards of Supervisors to prepare persons for licensed practical nursing 
careers in the State of New York. The compliance report includes 
findings of noncompliance with Criteria in 34 CFR 603 as referenced in 
the SDO decision letter dated May 27, 2020 available under NACIQI 
meeting date 02/27/2020 at https://surveys.ope.ed.gov/erecognition/PublicDocuments.

Submission of Written Comments Regarding a Specific Accrediting Agency 
Under Review

    Written comments about the recognition of any of the accrediting 
agencies listed above must be received by August 15, 2021, in the 
[email protected] mailbox. Please include in the subject line 
``Written Comments: (agency name).'' The electronic mail (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 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 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; 20 U.S.C. 1099b.

Annmarie Weisman,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Innovation, Office 
of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2021-14741 Filed 7-9-21; 8:45 am]
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