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Citations: (R)602.26
AsOfDate: 12/31/95

Required accreditation standards.

(a)(1) To be listed by the Secretary as a nationally

recognized accrediting agency, an accrediting agency must
demonstrate to the Secretary that its accreditation or
preaccreditation standards, or both, are sufficiently rigorous to
ensure that the agency is a reliable authority as to the quality of
the education or training provided by the institutions or programs
it accredits.

(2) For a programmatic accrediting agency that does

not serve as an institutional accrediting agency for any of the
programs it accredits, the standards must address the areas
contained in paragraph (b) of this section in terms of the type and
level of the program rather than in terms of the institution.

(3) If none of the institutions an agency accredits

participates in any Title IV, HEA program, or if the agency only
accredits programs within institutions accredited by an institutional
accrediting agency recognized by the Secretary, the accrediting
agency is not required to have the standards described in
paragraphs (b)(7), (b)(8), (b)(10), and (b)(12) of this section.

(b) In order to assure that an accrediting agency is a

reliable authority as to the quality of the education or training
provided by an institution or program it accredits, the agency must
have standards that effectively address the quality of an institution
or program in the following areas:

(1) Curricula.

(2) Faculty.

(3) Facilities, equipment, and supplies.

(4) Fiscal and administrative capacity as appropriate to

the specified scale of operations.

(5) Student support services.

(6) Recruiting and admissions practices, academic

calendars, catalogs, publications, grading, and advertising.

(7) Program length and tuition and fees in relation to the

subject matters taught and the objectives of the degrees or
credentials offered.

(8) Measures of program length in clock hours or credit

hours.

(9) Success with respect to student achievement in

relation to mission, including, as appropriate, consideration of
course completion, State licensing examination, and job
placement rates.

(10) Default rates in the student loan programs under

Title IV of the Act, based on the most recent data provided by the
Secretary.

(11) Record of student complaints received by, or

available to, the agency.

(12) Compliance with the institution's program

responsibilities under Title IV of the Act, including any results of
financial or compliance audits, program reviews, and such other
information as the Secretary may provide to the agency.

(c)(1) An accrediting agency shall take appropriate

action if its review of an institution or program under any standard
indicates that the institution or program is not in compliance with
that standard.

(2) If the agency believes that the institution or program

is not in compliance with the standards, the agency shall--

(i) Take prompt adverse action against the institution or

program; or

(ii) Require the institution or program to take appropriate

action to bring itself into compliance with the agency's standards
within a time frame specified by the agency.

(3) The accrediting agency has sole discretion to

determine the course of action it chooses under paragraph (c)(2)
of this section and, if it selects the option specified in paragraph
(c)(2)(ii) of this section, the time frame for the institution or
program to bring itself into compliance with agency standards.
However, except as indicated in paragraph (c)(4) of this section,
the specified period may not exceed--

(i) Twelve months, if the program is less than one year

in length;

(ii) Eighteen months, if the program is at least one year,

but less than two years, in length; or

(iii) Two years, if the program is at least two years in

length.

(4) If the institution or program does not bring itself into

compliance within the specified period, the agency must take
adverse action unless the agency extends the period for
achieving compliance for good cause.

(d) An accrediting agency shall have a reasonable basis

for determining that the information it relies on for making the
assessments described in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section
is accurate.

(e) An accrediting agency that has established and

applies the standards in paragraph (b) of this section may
establish any additional accreditation standards as it deems
appropriate.