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 of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1001, et seq. (HEA), and pertains to the second meeting in 2027 of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI). The meeting date will be announced in a later Federal Register notice and will describe how to register to provide oral comments at the meeting. Written comments submitted in response to this Federal Register notice must be submitted to the electronic mail address identified below on or before the comment due date.

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 second 2027 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, both the current scope of recognition and the requested scope of recognition are identified below.

Applications for Renewal of Recognition

1. Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Scope of Recognition. The accreditation and preaccreditation of professional degree programs in pharmacy leading to the degree of Doctor of Pharmacy, including those programs offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.

2. 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. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.

3. American Occupational Therapy Association, Accreditation Council for ( printed page 14006) Occupational Therapy Education. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation of occupational therapy educational programs offering the professional master's degree and occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) degree; the accreditation of occupational therapy assistant programs offering a baccalaureate degree and associate degree; and the accreditation of these programs offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.

4. Association for Biblical Higher Education, Commission on Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (“Candidate Status”) of institutions of biblical higher education offering undergraduate certificates, associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, graduate certificates, and master's degrees, including the accreditation of educational programs offered via distance education and direct assessment. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States. Requested Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (“Candidate Status”) of institutions of biblical higher education offering undergraduate certificates, associate degrees, baccalaureate degrees, graduate certificates, master's degrees, and doctoral degrees, including the accreditation of educational programs offered via distance education and direct assessment. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.

5. Distance Education Accrediting Commission. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary institutions that offer degree and/or non-degree programs primarily by the distance or correspondence education method, including through direct assessment, up to and including the professional doctoral degree, including those institutions that are specifically certified by the Agency as accredited for Title IV purposes. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.

6. Middle States Commission on Secondary Schools. Scope of recognition: The accreditation of institutions with postsecondary, non-degree granting career and technology programs to include the accreditation of postsecondary, non-degree granting institutions that offer all or part of their educational programs via distance education modalities. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.

Submission of Written Comments Regarding a Specific Accrediting Agency or State Agency Under Review

Written comments in response to this Federal Register notice about the recognition of any of the accrediting agencies listed above must be received on or before the comment due date, in the ThirdPartyComments@ed.gov 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, which are available at: https://www.ecfr.gov/​current/​title-34/​subtitle-B/​chapter-VI/​part-602?​toc=​1.

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. Comments about the agencies listed in this Federal Register notice may also be provided orally at the second 2027 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: https://www.govinfo.gov/​. 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. 1099b; 20 U.S.C. 1011c.