National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity; Notice of Meeting
This notice sets forth the agenda, time, and instructions to access or participate in the July 22 & 23, 2026, meeting of NACIQI, and provides information to members of the publi...
National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI or Committee), Office of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education.
ACTION:
Announcement of an open meeting.
SUMMARY:
This notice sets forth the agenda, time, and instructions to access or participate in the July 22 & 23, 2026, meeting of NACIQI, and provides information to members of the public regarding the meeting, including requesting to make written or oral comments. Committee members will meet in-person. Agency representatives have the option to meet in-person or virtually, and public attendees will participate virtually. The notice of this meeting is required under 5 U.S.C. Chapter 10 (commonly known as the Federal Advisory Committee Act) and Section 114(d)(1)(B) of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended.
DATES:
The NACIQI meeting will be held on July 22 & 23, 2026, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
ADDRESSES:
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Barnard Auditorium, Washington, DC 20202 [Only NACIQI members, accrediting agency representatives, and Department of Education staff will participate in the meeting at this address].
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
George Alan Smith, Executive Director/Designated Federal Official (DFO), NACIQI, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202, telephone: (202) 453-7757, or email:
George.Alan.Smith@ed.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Statutory Authority and Function:
NACIQI is established under Section 114 of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1011c). NACIQI advises the Secretary of Education with respect to:
The establishment and enforcement of the standards of accrediting agencies or associations under subpart 2, part H, title IV of the HEA, as amended;
The recognition of specific accrediting agencies or associations;
The preparation and publication of the list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations;
The eligibility and certification process for institutions of higher education under title IV of the HEA,
( printed page 34814)
together with recommendations for improvement in such process;
The relationship between (1) accreditation of institutions of higher education and the certification and eligibility of such institutions, and (2) State licensing responsibilities with respect to such institutions; and
Any other advisory function relating to accreditation and institutional eligibility that the Secretary of Education may prescribe by regulation.
Meeting Agenda
The purpose of the meeting is to conduct a review of applications for renewal of recognition submitted by seven accrediting agencies and one compliance report submitted by a State agency.
Applications for Renewal of Recognition
1. Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary, nondegree-granting institutions and degree-granting institutions, including those granting associate, baccalaureate and master's degrees, that are predominantly organized to educate students for occupational, trade and technical careers, and including institutions that offer programs via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
2. American Osteopathic Association, Commission on Osteopathic College Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (“Provisional Accreditation”) of freestanding institutions of osteopathic medicine and of osteopathic medical programs leading to the degree of Doctor of Osteopathy or Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
3. Commission on Massage Therapy Accreditation. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of institutions and programs that award postsecondary certificates, postsecondary diplomas, academic associate degrees and occupational associate degrees, in the practice of massage therapy, bodywork, and aesthetics/esthetics and skin care, including those offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
4. Council on Occupational Education. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation (“Candidacy Status”) of postsecondary occupational education institutions offering non-degree and applied associate degree programs in specific career and technical education fields, including institutions that offer programs via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
5. Midwifery Education Accreditation Council. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation and preaccreditation of direct-entry midwifery educational institutions and programs conferring degrees and certificates, including the accreditation of such programs offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
6. National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences, Inc. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of postsecondary schools and departments of cosmetology arts and sciences and massage therapy, leading to a certificate, diploma, or occupational associate degree, including those offered via distance education. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
7. National Nurse Practitioner Residency and Fellowship Training Consortium. Scope of Recognition: The accreditation of nurse practitioner (NP) and joint nurse practitioner and physician assistant/associate postgraduate residency and fellowship training programs. This recognition also extends to the agency's Appeals Panel. Geographic Area of Accrediting Activities: Throughout the United States.
Compliance Report
1. Kansas State Board of Nursing. Scope of Recognition: State agency for the approval of nurse education. The compliance report includes findings of noncompliance with the criterion found at 34 FR 587644 (Jan. 16, 1969) identified in the May 28, 2024, letter from the senior Department official following the February 27, 2024, NACIQI meeting, available at:
https://surveys.ope.ed.gov/erecognition/#/public-documents.
To ensure sufficient time for all agency reviews, including NACIQI questions and discussion, the Department requests that the agencies limit their opening statements to 10 minutes (total for one or more statements), and that the agencies avoid extended discussions about agency representatives and their backgrounds. Following the brief opening statement, the agency's presentation should focus on the regulatory criteria, and in particular, responses to areas where Department staff has recommended a finding of noncompliance or substantial compliance, or where other concerns have been raised that the agency would like to address. However, the agency should expect that questions from NACIQI members may focus on other areas.
Instructions for Accessing the Meeting Registration
You may register for the meeting on your computer using the link below. After you register, you will receive a confirmation email containing personalized participation links for the meeting no later than 8:30 a.m. Eastern Standard Time on July 22, 2026.
Submission of requests to make an oral comment regarding a specific accrediting agency under review, or to make an oral comment or written statement regarding other issues within the scope of NACIQI's authority:
Opportunity to submit a written statement regarding a specific accrediting agency under review was solicited by previous
Federal Register
notices published on November 06, 2024 (89 FR 88046; Document Number 2024-25785), April 04, 2025 (90 FR 14815; Document Number 2025-05853) and September 29, 2025 (90 FR 46583; Document Number 2025-18865). The period for submission of such statements is now closed. Additional written statements regarding a specific accrediting agency or State approval agency under review will not be accepted at this time. However, members of the public may submit written statements regarding other issues within the scope of NACIQI's authority, as outlined under Section 114 of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1011c).
Members of the public may make oral comments regarding a specific accrediting agency under review or other issues within the scope of NACIQI's authority. Oral comments may not exceed three minutes. Oral comments about an agency's recognition when a compliance report has been required by the senior Department official or the Secretary 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. Oral comments about an agency seeking expansion of scope must be directed to the agency's ability to serve as a recognized accrediting agency with respect to the kinds of institutions or programs requested to be added. Oral comments about the renewal of an
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agency's recognition must relate to its 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.
Instructions on Requesting To Make Public Comment
To request to make oral comments of three minutes or less
or
to submit a written statement to NACIQI concerning its work outside of a specific accrediting agency under review during the July 22 & 23, 2026, meeting, please follow the instructions below.
Submit an email to the
ThirdPartyComments@ed.gov
mailbox. Please do not send material directly to NACIQI members. To be considered for the current cycle review, written statements and requests to make oral comment must be received by July 15, 2026, and include the subject line “Oral Comment Request: (agency name),” “Oral Comment Request: (subject)” or “Written Statement: (subject).” The email must include the name(s), title, organization/affiliation, mailing address, email address, and telephone number, of the person(s) submitting a written statement or requesting to speak. All individuals submitting an advance request in accordance with this notice will be afforded an opportunity to speak.
Reasonable Accommodations:
The dial-in information and weblink access to the meeting are accessible to individuals with disabilities. If you will need an auxiliary aid or service to participate in the meeting (
e.g.,
interpreting service, assistive listening device, or materials in an alternate format), notify the contact person listed in this notice at least two weeks before the scheduled meeting date. Although we will attempt to meet a request received after that date, we may not be able to make available the requested auxiliary aid or service because of insufficient time to arrange it.
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 also may 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:
Section 114 of the HEA of 1964, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1011c).