[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 34, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 34CFR602.21]

[Page 201-202]
 
                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION
 
             CHAPTER VI--OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION,
                         DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 
PART 602--THE SECRETARY'S RECOGNITION OF ACCREDITING AGENCIES--Table of Contents
 
                 Subpart B--The Criteria for Recognition
 
Sec. 602.21  Review of standards.

    (a) The agency must maintain a systematic program of review that 
demonstrates that its standards are adequate to evaluate the quality of 
the education or training provided by the institutions and programs it 
accredits and relevant to the educational or training needs of students.
    (b) The agency determines the specific procedures it follows in 
evaluating its standards, but the agency must ensure that its program of 
review--
    (1) Is comprehensive;

[[Page 202]]

    (2) Occurs at regular, yet reasonable, intervals or on an ongoing 
basis;
    (3) Examines each of the agency's standards and the standards as a 
whole; and
    (4) Involves all of the agency's relevant constituencies in the 
review and affords them a meaningful opportunity to provide input into 
the review.
    (c) If the agency determines, at any point during its systematic 
program of review, that it needs to make changes to its standards, the 
agency must initiate action within 12 months to make the changes and 
must complete that action within a reasonable period of time. Before 
finalizing any changes to its standards, the agency must--
    (1) Provide notice to all of the agency's relevant constituencies, 
and other parties who have made their interest known to the agency, of 
the changes the agency proposes to make;
    (2) Give the constituencies and other interested parties adequate 
opportunity to comment on the proposed changes; and
    (3) Take into account any comments on the proposed changes submitted 
timely by the relevant constituencies and by other interested parties.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1099b)

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