Functional Statements > Office of Postsecondary Education > OPE Functions and Responsibilities

Accreditation

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Accreditation serves as the principal advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education in accreditation policy development and implementation of the Secretary’s criteria for accreditation agency recognition. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Accreditation provides overall leadership for all accreditation activities, including overseeing the Executive Director of National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (NACIQI) and the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation (NCFMEA).

The Immediate Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Accreditation also manages the operating budget and human resources allocated to Accreditation, including salaries and expenses, budget development and management, human resources and performance management, employee development and training, staff and workload allocations.

Accreditation administers the Department's review process, in coordination with the Office of the General Counsel, of accrediting agencies and State approval agencies for postsecondary vocational education and nurse education seeking to obtain initial and continued recognition by the Secretary. Accreditation carries out the Secretary’s responsibility to publish a list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations that the Secretary determines to be reliable authorities as to the quality of education and training offered by postsecondary institutions and programs. In addition, Accreditation reviews the standards that foreign countries use to accredit their medical schools and the applications of Federal agencies and institutions seeking degree-granting authority. Additionally, accreditation does the following:

• Implements statutory and regulatory criteria governing the recognition of State approval agencies and of national and regional institutional and specialized accrediting associations and agencies, as reliable authorities concerning the quality of education and training offered by postsecondary institutions or programs within their respective scopes of operation.
• Evaluates petitions for initial recognition, renewal of recognition, and scope of recognition by accrediting bodies and State approval agencies.
• Conducts on-site reviews of accrediting agencies; observing agencies in the process of conducting on-site accreditation visits of institutions and programs; and observing accrediting agencies' decision-making activities.
• Reviews annual reports of recognized agencies and interim reports required by agencies.
• Monitors recognized accrediting agencies for continued compliance with the Criteria for Recognition and investigates third-party complaints.
• Evaluates the standards and processes used by foreign countries to accredit/approve medical schools for comparability to standards used to accredit medical schools in the United States and presents the analyses to the National Committee on Foreign Medical Education and Accreditation for review and decision.
• Analyzes applications of Federal agencies and institutions seeking degree-granting authority.
• Maintains a close liaison with accrediting agencies to obtain information on institutional and program eligibility, and provides this information to the Office of Federal Student Aid.
• Provides consultative services and general information to accrediting agencies and associations, state higher education agencies, individual institutions, and other Federal agencies.
• Maintains a close relationship with the state higher education agencies to foster information sharing about State authorization, licensing, and other state-level functions related to postsecondary education.
• Publishes the official list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies.

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