[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 3, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27876-27877]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-09362]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for the Purpose 
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 the purpose 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, fifth floor, 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 496(n)(1)(A) of the 
Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended, and pertains to the 
summer 2024 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. Note: Written 
comments about the specific agencies identified below will not be 
accepted or provided to NACIQI members if those comments are submitted 
after the deadline provided in this Federal Register notice, which is 
June 5, 2023. Written comments must be submitted to the mailbox 
identified below. Do not submit written comments directly to Department 
officials or to NACIQI members.
    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 2024 
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 requested to expand its scope of 
recognition, identified are both the current scope of recognition and 
the requested scope of recognition.

Applications for Renewal of Recognition

    1. WASC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges. 
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and pre-accreditation 
(``Candidate for Accreditation'') of community and other colleges which 
have as a primary mission the granting of associate degrees, but which 
may also award certificates and other credentials, not to exceed the 
bachelor degree level, 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, and the 
Appeals Panel. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout 
the United States.
    2. American Veterinary Medical Association, Council on Education. 
Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation 
(``Provisional Accreditation'') in the United States of

[[Page 27877]]

programs leading to professional degrees (D.V.M. or V.M.D.) in 
veterinary medicine. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: 
Throughout the United States.
    3. 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. 
Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United 
States.
    4. Council on Education for Public Health. Scope of Recognition: 
The accreditation 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. 
Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United 
States.
    5. National Association of Schools of Dance, Commission on 
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the 
United States of freestanding institutions that offer dance and dance-
related programs (both degree and non-degree-granting), including those 
offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting 
Activities: Throughout the United States.
    6. National Association of Schools of Music, Commission on 
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the 
United States of freestanding institutions that offer music and music 
related programs (both degree and non-degree-granting) including those 
offered via distance. This recognition also extends to the Commission 
on Community College Accreditation. Geographic Area of Accrediting 
Activities: Throughout the United States.
    7. National Association of Schools of Theatre, Commission on 
Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation throughout the 
United States of freestanding institutions that offer theatre and 
theatre-related programs (both degree and non-degree-granting), 
including those offered via distance education. Geographic Area of 
Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
    8. Puerto Rico State Agency for the Approval of Public 
Postsecondary Vocational, Technical Institutions and Programs. Scope of 
Recognition: State agency for the approval of vocational education.
    9. Maryland State Board of Nursing. Scope of Recognition: State 
agency for the approval of nursing education.
    10.New York State Board of Regents (nursing education).
    Scope of Recognition: State approval agency for nursing education.

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 June 5, 2023, 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 PDF, Microsoft Word document 
or in a medium compatible with Microsoft Word that is attached to an 
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 or the Criteria for the recognition of state agencies, which 
are available at: https://www2.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. Written comments about the specific agencies 
identified in this Federal Register notice that are submitted after the 
deadline will not be considered by the Department or provided to NACIQI 
for purposes of the current cycle review. However, comments may be 
provided orally at the summer 2024 NACIQI meeting, which has not yet 
been scheduled, but which will be announced in a future Federal 
Register notice.
    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. 2023-09362 Filed 5-2-23; 8:45 am]
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