2021-01357. Accrediting Agencies Currently Undergoing Review for the Purposes of Recognition by the U.S. Secretary of Education

AGENCY:

Office of Postsecondary Education, Accreditation Group, U.S. Department of Education.

ACTION:

Call for written third-party comments.

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: [phone], or email: [e-mail].

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 winter 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 winter 2022 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. American Podiatric Medical Association, Council on Podiatric Medical Education. Scope of recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (“Provisional Accreditation”) throughout the United States of freestanding colleges of podiatric medicine and programs of podiatric medicine, including first professional programs leading to the degree of Doctor of Podiatric Medicine.

2. The Council on Chiropractic Education. Scope of recognition: The accreditation of programs leading to the Doctor of Chiropractic degree and single-purpose institutions offering the Doctor of Chiropractic program.

3. Commission on English Language Program Accreditation. Scope of recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary, non-degree-granting English language programs and institutions in the United States including those programs offered via distance education.

4. Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology. Scope of recognition: The accreditation of educational programs in radiography, magnetic resonance, radiation therapy, and medical dosimetry, including those offered via distance education, at the certificate, associate, and baccalaureate levels.

5. North Dakota Board of Nursing. Scope of Recognition: Recognized for the Approval of Nurse Education in the State of North Dakota.

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 February 19, 2021 in the [e-mail] 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 https://www.ed.gov/​accreditation?​src=​rn.

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

Christopher McCaghren,

Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.