RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIATION.

SEC. 495. RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCY OR ASSOCIATION. Section 496 (20 U.S.C. 1099b) is amended—(1) in subsection (a)—(A) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the following:“(4)(A) such agency or association consistently applies and enforces standards that respect the stated mission of the institution of higher education, including religious missions, and that ensure that the courses or programs of instruction, training, or study offered by the institution of higher education, including distance education or correspondence courses or programs, are of sufficient quality to achieve, for the duration of the accreditation period, the stated objective for which the courses or the programs are offered; and“(B) if such agency or association has or seeks to include within its scope of recognition the evaluation of the quality of institutions or programs offering distance education or correspondence education, such agency or association shall, in addition to meeting the other requirements of this subpart, demonstrate to the Secretary that—“(i) the agency or association’s standards effectively address the quality of an institution’s distance education 122 STAT. 3325 or correspondence education in the areas identified in paragraph (5), except that—“(I) the agency or association shall not be required to have separate standards, procedures, or policies for the evaluation of distance education or correspondence education institutions or programs in order to meet the requirements of this subparagraph; and“(II) in the case that the agency or association is recognized by the Secretary, the agency or association shall not be required to obtain the approval of the Secretary to expand its scope of accreditation to include distance education or correspondence education, provided that the agency or association notifies the Secretary in writing of the change in scope; and“(ii) the agency or association requires an institution that offers distance education or correspondence education to have processes through which the institution establishes that the student who registers in a distance education or correspondence education course or program is the same student who participates in and completes the program and receives the academic credit;”;(B) in paragraph (5), by amending subparagraph (A) to read as follows:“(A) success with respect to student achievement in relation to the institution’s mission, which may include different standards for different institutions or programs, as established by the institution, including, as appropriate, consideration of State licensing examinations, consideration of course completion, and job placement rates;”;(C) by striking paragraph (6) and inserting the following:“(6) such an agency or association shall establish and apply review procedures throughout the accrediting process, including evaluation and withdrawal proceedings, which comply with due process procedures that provide—“(A) for adequate written specification of—“(i) requirements, including clear standards for an institution of higher education or program to be accredited; and“(ii) identified deficiencies at the institution or program examined;“(B) for sufficient opportunity for a written response, by an institution or program, regarding any deficiencies identified by the agency or association to be considered by the agency or association—“(i) within a timeframe determined by the agency or association; and“(ii) prior to final action in the evaluation and withdrawal proceedings;“(C) upon the written request of an institution or program, for an opportunity for the institution or program to appeal any adverse action under this section, including denial, withdrawal, suspension, or termination of accreditation, taken against the institution or program, prior to such action becoming final at a hearing before an appeals panel that—122 STAT. 3326“(i) shall not include current members of the agency’s or association’s underlying decisionmaking body that made the adverse decision; and“(ii) is subject to a conflict of interest policy;“(D) for the right to representation and participation by counsel for an institution or program during an appeal of the adverse action;“(E) for a process, in accordance with written procedures developed by the agency or association, through which an institution or program, before a final adverse action based solely upon a failure to meet a standard or criterion pertaining to finances, may on one occasion seek review of significant financial information that was unavailable to the institution or program prior to the determination of the adverse action, and that bears materially on the financial deficiencies identified by the agency or association;“(F) in the case that the agency or association determines that the new financial information submitted by the institution or program under subparagraph (E) meets the criteria of significance and materiality described in such subparagraph, for consideration by the agency or association of the new financial information prior to the adverse action described in such subparagraph becoming final; and“(G) that any determination by the agency or association made with respect to the new financial information described in subparagraph (E) shall not be separately appealable by the institution or program.”;(2) in subsection (c)—(A) in paragraph (1), by inserting “, including those regarding distance education” after “their responsibilities”;(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) through (6) as paragraphs (4) through (8);(C) by inserting after paragraph (1) (as amended by subparagraph (A)) the following:“(2) monitors the growth of programs at institutions that are experiencing significant enrollment growth;“(3) requires an institution to submit for approval to the accrediting agency a teach-out plan upon the occurrence of any of the following events:“(A) the Department notifies the accrediting agency of an action against the institution pursuant to section 487(f);“(B) the accrediting agency acts to withdraw, terminate, or suspend the accreditation of the institution; or“(C) the institution notifies the accrediting agency that the institution intends to cease operations;”;(D) by striking paragraph (7) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)) and inserting the following:“(7) makes available to the public and the State licensing or authorizing agency, and submits to the Secretary, a summary of agency or association actions, including—“(A) the award of accreditation or reaccreditation of an institution;“(B) final denial, withdrawal, suspension, or termination of accreditation of an institution, and any findings 122 STAT. 3327 made in connection with the action taken, together with the official comments of the affected institution; and“(C) any other adverse action taken with respect to an institution or placement on probation of an institution;”;(E) in paragraph (8) (as redesignated by subparagraph (B)), by striking the period and inserting “; and”; and(F) by adding at the end the following:“(9) confirms, as a part of the agency’s or association’s review for accreditation or reaccreditation, that the institution has transfer of credit policies—“(A) that are publicly disclosed; and“(B) that include a statement of the criteria established by the institution regarding the transfer of credit earned at another institution of higher education.”;(3) in subsection (g), by adding at the end the following: “Nothing in this section shall be construed to permit the Secretary to establish any criteria that specifies, defines, or prescribes the standards that accrediting agencies or associations shall use to assess any institution’s success with respect to student achievement.”;(4) in subsection (o), by adding at the end the following: “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary shall not promulgate any regulation with respect to the standards of an accreditation agency or association described in subsection (a)(5).”; and(5) by adding at the end the following new subsection:“(p) Rule of Construction.—Nothing in subsection (a)(5) shall be construed to restrict the ability of—“(1) an accrediting agency or association to set, with the involvement of its members, and to apply, accreditation standards for or to institutions or programs that seek review by the agency or association; or“(2) an institution to develop and use institutional standards to show its success with respect to student achievement, which achievement may be considered as part of any accreditation review.“(q) Review of Scope Changes.—The Secretary shall require a review, at the next available meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity, of any change in scope undertaken by an agency or association under subsection (a)(4)(B)(i)(II) if the enrollment of an institution that offers distance education or correspondence education that is accredited by such agency or association increases by 50 percent or more within any one institutional fiscal year.”.