[Federal Register: January 18, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 12)]
[Notices]
[Page 4801-4803]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18ja01-50]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Recognition of Accrediting Agencies, State Agencies for the
Approval of Public Postsecondary Vocational Education, and State
Agencies for the Approval of Nurse Education
AGENCY: National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and
Integrity, Department of Education (The Advisory Committee).
What Is the Purpose of This Notice?
The purpose of this notice is to invite written comments on
accrediting agencies whose applications to the Secretary for initial or
renewed recognition will be reviewed at the Advisory Committee meeting
to be held on May 23-25, 2001. The notice also invites written comments
on agencies submitting interim reports that will be reviewed at the May
meeting. Further, the notice invites written comments on one Federal
agency seeking degree-granting authority.
Where Should I Submit My Comments?
Please submit your written comments by March 5, 2001 to Carol
Griffiths, Chief, Accrediting Agency Evaluation, Accreditation and
State Liaison. You may contact her at the U.S. Department of Education,
1990 K Street, NW, 7th Floor, Room 7105, Washington, DC 20006-8509,
telephone: (202) 219-7011. Individuals who use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay
Service at 1-800-877-8339.
What Is the Authority for the Advisory Committee?
The National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and
Integrity is established under Section 114 of the Higher Education Act
(HEA), as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1011c. One of the purposes of the Advisory
Committee is to advise the Secretary of Education on the recognition of
accrediting agencies and State approval agencies.
Will This Be My Only Opportunity To Submit Written Comments?
Yes, this notice announces the only opportunity you will have to
submit written comments. However, a subsequent Federal Register notice
will announce the meeting and invite individuals and/or groups to
submit requests to make oral presentations before the Advisory
Committee on the agencies that the Committee will review. That notice,
however, does not offer a second opportunity to submit written comment.
What Happens to the Comments That I Submit?
We will review your comments, in response to this notice, as part
of our evaluation of the agencies' compliance with the Secretary's
Criteria for Recognition of Accrediting Agencies. The Criteria are
regulations found in 34 CFR part 602 (for accrediting agencies) and in
34 CFR part 603 (for State approval agencies).
We will also respond to your comments, as appropriate, in the staff
analyses we present to the Advisory Committee at its May 2001 meeting.
Therefore, in order for us to give full consideration to your comments,
it is important that we receive them by March 5, 2001. In all
instances, your comments about agencies seeking initial
[[Page 4802]]
or continued recognition must relate to the Criteria for the
Recognition. In addition, your comments for any agency whose interim
report is scheduled for review must relate to the issues raised and the
Criteria for Recognition cited in the Secretary's letter that requested
the interim report. You may obtain a copy of the Secretary's letter by
calling (202) 219-7011.
What Happens to Comments Received After the Deadline?
We will treat any negative comments received after the deadline as
complaints. If such comments, upon investigation, reveal that the
accrediting agency is not acting in accordance with the Criteria for
Recognition, we will take action either before or after the meeting, as
appropriate. We will also notify the commentors of the disposition of
those comments.
What Agencies Are on the Agenda for the Meeting?
The Secretary of Education recognizes accrediting agencies and
State approval agencies for public postsecondary vocational education
and nurse education if the Secretary determines that they meet the
Criteria for Recognition. Recognition means that the Secretary
considers the agency to be a reliable authority as to the quality of
education offered by institutions or programs that are encompassed
within the scope of recognition he grants to the agency. The following
agencies will be reviewed during the May 2001 meeting of the Advisory
Committee:
Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies
Petition for Initial Recognition
1. Teacher Education Accreditation Council (Requested scope of
recognition: The accreditation of professional education programs in
institutions offering baccalaureate and graduate degrees for the
preparation of teachers and other professional personnel for elementary
and secondary schools).
Petitions for Renewal of Recognition
1. Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of private
postsecondary institutions offering business and business-related
programs and the accreditation and preaccreditation (``Recognized
Candidate'') of junior and senior colleges of business (including
senior colleges with master's degree programs), as well as independent,
freestanding institutions offering only graduate business and business-
related programs at the master's degree level).
2. American College of Nurse-Midwives, Division of Accreditation
(Current scope of recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation
(``Preaccreditation'') of basic certificate and graduate nurse-
midwifery education programs for registered nurses, as well as the
accreditation and preaccreditation of pre-certification nurse-midwifery
education programs) (Requested scope of recognition: The current scope
of recognition plus the accreditation of midwifery education programs
for non-nurses at the post-baccalaureate or higher academic level that
lead to certificates or graduate degrees).
3. American Council on Pharmaceutical Education (Requested scope of
recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Precandidate''
and ``Candidate'') of professional degree programs in pharmacy leading
to the degrees of Baccalaureate in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy).
4. Association for Clinical Pastoral Education, Inc., Accreditation
Commission (Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of
clinical pastoral education (CPE) centers and CPE and supervisory CPE
programs).
5. American Dental Association, Commission on Dental Accreditation
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of predoctoral
dental education programs (programs leading to the D.D.S. or D.M.D.
degree); dental auxiliary education programs (dental assisting, dental
hygiene and dental laboratory technology); and advanced dental
educational programs (general practices residency, advanced general
dentistry, and the specialties of dental public health, endodontics,
oral pathology, orthodontics, oral and maxillofacial surgery,
pedodontics, periodontics, and prosthodontics)).
6. American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council
for Occupational Therapy Education (Current scope of recognition: The
accreditation of entry-level professional occupational therapy
educational programs awarding baccalaureate degrees, post-baccalaureate
certificates, professional master's degrees, and combined
baccalaureate/master's degrees, and also for the accreditation of
occupational therapy assistant programs leading to an associate degree
or certificate) (Requested scope of recognition: The current scope of
recognition plus the accreditation of entry-level doctoral degree
professional occupational therapy educational programs and the
accreditation of programs offered principally through distance
education).
7. Council on Chiropractic Education, Commission on Accreditation
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of Doctor of
Chiropractic programs and single-purpose institutions offering the
Doctor of Chiropractic program).
8. Commission on Opticianry Accreditation (Requested scope of
recognition: The accreditation of two-year programs for the ophthalmic
dispenser and one-year programs for the ophthalmic laboratory
technician).
9. Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology
(Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation of educational
programs for radiographers and radiation therapists).
10. Joint Review Committee on Educational Programs in Nuclear
Medicine Technology (Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation
of higher education programs for the nuclear medicine technologist).
11. Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on
Colleges (Requested scope of recognition: The accreditation and
preaccreditation (``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).
12. Western Association of Schools and Colleges, Accrediting
Commission for Senior Colleges and Universities (Requested scope of
recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (``Candidate for
Accreditation'') of senior colleges and universities 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 Marianna Islands, and the Republic of the Marshall
Islands).
Interim Reports (An interim report is a follow-up report on an
accrediting agency's compliance with specific criteria for recognition
that was requested by the Secretary when the Secretary granted renewed
recognition to the agency.)
1. American Physical Therapy Association, Commission on
Accreditation in Physical Therapy Education.
2. American Psychological Association, Committee on Accreditation.
3. Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
4. National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts and
Sciences.
[[Page 4803]]
5. National Association of Nurse Practitioners in Women's Health,
Council on Accreditation.
6. Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools,
Accreditation Commission.
State Agencies Recognized for the Approval of Public Postsecondary
Vocational Education
Interim Report
1. Kansas Board of Regents.
Federal Agency Seeking Degree-Granting Authority
In accordance with the Federal policy governing the granting of
academic degrees by Federal agencies (approved by a letter from the
Director, Bureau of the Budget, to the Secretary, Health, Education,
and Welfare, dated December 23, 1954), the Secretary is required to
establish a review committee to advise the Secretary concerning any
legislation that may be proposed that would authorize the granting of
degrees by a Federal agency. The review committee forwards its
recommendation concerning a Federal agency's proposed degree-granting
authority to the Secretary, who then forwards the committee's
recommendation and the Secretary's recommendation to the Office of
Management and Budget for review and transmittal to the Congress. The
Secretary uses the Advisory Committee as the review committee required
for this purpose. Accordingly, the Advisory Committee will review the
following institution at this meeting:
Proposed Master's Degree-Granting Authority
1. U.S. Marine Corps University, Quantico, VA (request to award a
master's degree in Strategic Studies).
Where Can I Inspect Petitions and Third-Party Comments Before and
After the Meeting?
Subject to the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 522, petitions, interim
reports, and those third-party comments received in advance of the
meeting, will, upon written request, be made available, on appointment,
for inspection and copying at the U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K
Street, NW., 7th Floor, Room 7105, Washington, DC 20006-8509, telephone
(202) 219-7011 until May 4, 2001. They will be available again after
the May 23-25 Advisory Committee meeting.
Authority: 5 U.S.C. Appendix 2.
Dated: January 11, 2001.
A. Lee Fritschler,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 01-1473 Filed 1-17-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P