Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 118 / Friday, June 19, 1998 / Notices 33637

in a timely manner, (3) is the estimate

of burden accurate; (4) how might the

Department enhance the quality, utility,

and clarity of the information to be

collected, and (5) how might the

Department minimize the burden of this

collection on the respondents, including

through the use of information

technology.

Dated: June 15, 1998.

Hazel Fiers,

Acting Deputy Chief Information Officer,

Office of the Chief Information Officer.

Office of Postsecondary Education

Type of Review: New.

Title: Year 2000 Survey of the Direct

Loan Schools.

Abstract: In order to facilitate decison

making, the Department will survey

Direct Loan Institutions to learn their

Year 2000 compliance situations.

Additional Information: Direct Loan

Schools or their third party servicers

will be asked five survey questions.

Frequency: One time.

Affected Public: Businesses or other

for-profits; Not-for-profit institutions.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour

Burden:

Responses: 1,739.

Burden Hours: 290.

[FR Doc. 98–16324 Filed 6–18–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Recognition of Accrediting Agencies,

State Agencies for Approval of Public

Postsecondary Vocational Education,

and State Agencies for Approval of

Nurse Education

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Request for comments on

agencies applying to the Secretary for

initial or renewed recognition.

DATES: Commenters should submit their

written comments by August 3, 1998 to

the address below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Karen W. Kershenstein, Director,

Accreditation and Eligibility

Determination Division, U.S.

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue, SW., Room 3915

ROB–3, Washington, DC 20202–5244,

telephone: (202) 708–7417. Individuals

who use a telecommunications device

for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service at 1–800–

877–8399 between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m.,

Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUBMISSION OF THIRD-PARTY COMMENTS:

The Secretary of Education recognizes,

as reliable authorities as to the quality

of education offered by institutions or

programs within their scope, accrediting

agencies and State approval agencies for

public postsecondary vocational

education and nurse education that

meet certain criteria for recognition. The

purpose of this notice is to invite

interested third parties to present

written comments on the agencies listed

in this notice that have applied for

initial or continued recognition. A

subsequent Federal Register notice will

announce the meeting and invite

individuals and/or groups to submit

requests for oral presentation before the

National Advisory Committee on

Institutional Quality and Integrity (the

‘‘Advisory Committee’’) on the agencies

being reviewed. That notice, however,

does not constitute another call for

written comment. This notice is the

only call for written comment.

All comments received in response to

this notice will be reviewed by

Department staff as part of its evaluation

of the agencies’ compliance with the

Secretary’s Criteria for Recognition. In

order for Department staff to give full

consideration to the comments received

and to address them in the staff analyses

that will be presented to the Advisory

Committee at its December 1998

meeting, the comments must arrive at

the address listed above not later than

August 3, 1998. Comments received

after the deadline will be reviewed by

Department staff, which will take

action, as appropriate, either before or

after the meeting, should the comments

suggest that an accrediting agency is not

acting in accordance with the

Secretary’s Criteria for Recognition.

All comments must related to the

Secretary’s Criteria for the Recognition

of Accrediting Agencies. Comments

pertaining to the agencies whose interim

reports will be reviewed must be

restricted to the concerns raised in the

Secretary’s letter for which the report is

requested.

The Advisory Committee advises the

Secretary of Education on the

recognition of accrediting agencies and

State approval agencies. The Advisory

Committee is scheduled to meet

December 7–9, 1998 in Washington, DC.

All written comments in response to

this notice that are received by the

Department by the deadline will be

considered by both the Advisory

Committee and the Secretary.

Comments received after the deadline,

as indicated previously, will be

reviewed by Department staff, which

will take follow-up action, as

appropriate, either before or after the

meeting. Commenters whose comments

are received after the deadline will be

notified by staff of the disposition of

those comments.

The following agencies will be

reviewed during the December 1998

meeting of the Advisory Committee:

Nationally Recognized Accrediting

Agencies

Petition for Initial Recognition

1. Northwestern Association of

Schools and Colleges, Commission on

Schools (requested scope of recognition:

The accreditation and preaccreditation

(‘‘Candidate for Accreditation’’) of

schools offering non-degree,

postsecondary education in Alaska,

Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Utah,

and Washington)

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition

1. Accrediting Bureau of Health

Education Schools (Current scope of

recognition: The accreditation of

private, postsecondary allied health

education institutions, private medical

assistant programs, public and private

medical laboratory technician programs,

and allied health programs leading to

the Associate of Applied Science and

the Associate of Occupational Science

degree. Requested expansion of scope:

The accreditation of institutions offering

predominantly allied health education

programs. ‘‘Predominantly’’ is defined

by the agency as follows: At least 70

percent of the number of active

programs offered are in the allied health

area, and the number of students

enrolled in those programs exceeds 50

percent of the institution’s full-time

equivalent (FTE) students, or at least 70

percent of the FTE students enrolled at

the institution are in allied health

programs)

2. National Environmental Health

Science and Protection Accreditation

Council (requested scope of recognition:

the accreditation and preaccreditation

(‘‘Preaccreditation’’) of baccalaureate

programs in environmental health

science and protection)

3. National League for Nursing

Accrediting Commission (requested

scope of recognition: The accreditation

of programs in practical nursing, and

diploma, associate, baccalaureate and

higher degree nurse education

programs)

4. New York State Board of Regents

(requested scope of recognition: The

accreditation (registration) of collegiate

degree-granting programs or curricula

offered by institutions of higher

education in the state of New York and

of credit-bearing certificate and diploma

programs offered by degree-granting

institutions of higher education in the

state of New York)
33638 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 118 / Friday, June 19, 1998 / Notices

Interim Reports

(An interim report is a follow-up

report on an accrediting agency’s

compliance with specific criteria for

recognition that was requested by the

Secretary when the Secretary granted

initial or renewed recognition to the

agency)—

1. Accrediting Commission of Career

Schools and Colleges of Technology

2. American Academy for Liberal

Education

3. American Bar Association, Council

of the Section of Legal Education and

Admissions to the Bar

4. American Board of Funeral Service

Education, Committee on Accreditation

5. American Dental Association,

Commission on Dental Accreditation

6. American Psychological

Association, Committee on

Accreditation

7. American Veterinary Medical

Association, Council on Education

8. Association of Advanced

Rabbinical and Talmudic Schools,

Accreditation Commission

9. The Council on Chiropractic

Education, Commission on

Accreditation

10. Council on Education or Public

Health

11. Liaison Committee on Medical

Education

12. Montessori Accreditation Council

for Teacher Education, Commission on

Accreditation

13. Western Association of Schools

and Colleges, Accrediting Commission

for Schools

State Agencies Recognized for the

Approval of Public Postsecondary

Vocational Education

Petitions for Renewal of Recognition

1. Oklahoma State Board of

Vocational and Technical Education

2. Utah State Board for Vocational

Education

State Agency Recognized for the

Approval of Nurse Education

Petition for Renewal of Recognition

1. Iowa Board of Nursing

2. Maryland Board of Nursing

Federal Agencies Seeking DegreeGranting Authority

In accordance with the Federal policy

governing the granting of academic

degrees by Federal agencies (approved

by a letter from the Director, Bureau of

the Budget, to the Secretary, Health

Education, and Welfare, dated

December 23, 1954), the Secretary is

required to establish a review committee

to advise the Secretary concerning any

legislation that maybe proposed that

would authorize the granting of degrees

by a Federal agency. The review

committee forwards its recommendation

concerning a Federal agency’s proposed

degree-granting authority to the

Secretary, who then forwards the

committee’s recommendation and the

Secretary’s recommendation to the

Office of Management and Budget for

review and transmittal to the Congress.

The Secretary uses the Advisory

Committee as the review committee

required for his purpose. Accordingly,

the Advisory Committee will review the

following institution at this meeting:

Proposed Master’s Degree-Granting

Authority

1. Air University Montgomery, AL;

Air War College (request to award the

master’s degree in Strategic Studies) and

Air Command and Staff College (request

to award the master’s degree in

Operational Military Arts and Science)

2. Department of Defense Polygraph

Institute, Anniston AL (request to award

the master’s of science in Forensic

Psychophysiology)

Public Inspection of Petitions and

Third-Party Comments

All petitions and interim reports, and

those third-party comments received in

advance of the meeting, will be

available for public inspection and copy

at the U.S. Department of Education,

ROB–3, Room 3915, 7th and D Streets,

SW., Washington, DC 20202–5244,

telephone (202) 708–7417 between the

hours of 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday

through Friday, until November 15,

1998. They will be available again after

the December 7–9 Advisory Committee

meeting. It is preferred that an

appointment be made in advance of

such inspection or copying.

Dated: June 16, 1998.

David A. Longanecker,

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary

Education.

[FR Doc. 98–16395 Filed 6–18–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Energy Information Administration

Agency Information Collection

Activities: Proposed Collection;

Comment Request

AGENCY: Energy Information

Administration, DOE.

ACTION: Agency information collection

activities: Proposed collection; comment

request.

SUMMARY: The Energy Information

Administration (EIA) is soliciting

comments concerning the proposed

revision, and extension of the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB)

expiration date of the form RW–859,

‘‘Nuclear Fuel Data Survey’’, and the

termination of RW–859S ‘‘Nuclear Fuel

Data Supplement’’.

DATES: Written comments must be

submitted on or before August 18, 1998.

If you anticipate that you will be

submitting comments, but find it

difficult to do so within the period of

time allowed by this notice, you should

advise the contact listed below of your

intention to do so as soon as possible.

ADDRESSES: Send comments to Jim

Finucane, Office of Coal, Nuclear,

Electric and Alternate Fuels, EI–52,

Forrestal Building, U.S. Department of

Energy, Washington, DC 20585–0650,

telephone: (202) 426–1960, e-mail:

jim.finucane@eia.doe.gov, and fax

(202)–426–1280.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Requests for additional information or

copies of the form and instructions

should be directed to Jim Finucane at

the address listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

II. Current Actions

III. Request for Comments

I. Background

In order to fulfill its responsibilities

under the Federal Energy

Administration Act of 1974 (Pub. L. 93–

275) and the Department of Energy

Organization Act (Pub. L. 95–91), the

Energy Information Administration

(EIA) is obliged to carry out a central,

comprehensive, and unified energy data

and information program. As part of this

program, EIA collects, evaluates,

assembles, analyzes, and disseminates

data and information related to energy

resource reserves, production, demand,

and technology, and related economic

and statistical information relevant to

the adequacy of energy resources to

meet demands in the near and longer

term future for the Nation’s economic

and social needs.

The EIA, as part of its continuing

effort to reduce paperwork and

respondent burden required by section

3506(c)(2)(A)g of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–13),

conducts a presurvey consultation

program to provide the general public

and other Federal agencies with an

opportunity to comment on proposed

and/or continuing reporting forms. This

program helps to prepare data requests

in the desired format, minimize

reporting burden, develop clearly