Prepared statements, letters, supplemental materials, et cetra-Continued "Advisory Committee on Accreditation and Institutional Eligi- Page Letter to Senator Edward W. Brooke, dated May 8, 1974. Nationally Recognized Accrediting Agencies and Associations.. Orlans, Harold, senior research associate, National Academy of Public Commissioner's Recognition Procedures for National Accrediting Pettis, Hon. Jerry L., a Representative in Congress from the State of 35 206 Letter To Whom it May Concern, dated June 17, 1971. Letter from George J. Holgate, president, Riverside Uni- versity, Riverside, Calif., dated January 21, 1971. Letter to Congressman Pettis, dated September 6, 1972- Letter to Betty Cullen, Student Loan Department, Life Savings and Loan Association, dated June 14, 1971. Letter from Terry Bridges, Best, Best, Krieger, law offices, Riverside, Calif., dated November 2, 1972- "Proprietary and Public Vocational Students," an article by Wellford "Private Vocational Schools, Their Emerging Role in Postsecondary Edu- Accreditation and Institutional Eligibility Staff, U.S. Office of Education: Institutions eligible for the guaranteed student loan program---- Review of complaints in the proprietary field in which AÏEs requested a review and "Report of Finding" from accrediting agencies recog- 238 Select ed listing of AIE Staff On-Site Investigations of School Practices 265 Miner, Francis, chairman, Board of Trustees, American College in Paris, letter to Chairman O'Hara, dated July 19, 1974, enclosing background "Model State Legislation for Approval of Postsecondary Educational "Model State Legislation," a report.. Clark, Joseph A., president, National Association of State Administrators and Supervisors of Private Schools: Letter to Chairman O'Hara, dated August 19, 1974. Letter to Congressman Ralph S. Regula, dated August 15, 1974. "Operating Criteria for Accredited Institutions," a publication-- "Supplement to Operating Criteria for Accredited Institutions," The National Home Study Council: "Correspondence Courses Often Perfect for Adults," an article.. The Knowledge Hustlers, a series of newspaper articles, from the Washing- "Folding Schools Increase Loan Defaults," a newspaper article_----- "For Thousands, Accreditation Has Spelled Deception," a newspaper FEDERAL HIGHER EDUCATION PROGRAMS INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY THURSDAY, JULY 18, 1974 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SPECIAL SUBCOMMITTEE ON EDUCATION OF THE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION AND LABOR, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met at 9:15 A.M., pursuant to notice in room 2175, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C., Hon. James G. O'Hara presiding. Present: Representatives O'Hara, Brademas, Dellenback and Bell. Staff present: William F. Gaul, associate general counsel; Webb Buell, counsel; Robert Andringa, minority staff director; John Lee, minority staff; Elnora Teets, clerk. Mr. O'HARA. The subcommittee will come to order. We have been holding public hearings throughout this session of Congress with a view to the development of a new title IV of the Higher Education Act. Today we turn to a question which crosses program lines. The basic question to be raised in these next few days is: "How do we decide when an institution of higher education and its students are qualified to participate in Federal education programs?" I am not referring, of course, to the financial or intellectual qualifications of the individual students. I am looking at the kinds of education we are trying to provide to the American people and the kinds of institutions in which we want to see them get that education. In statutory provision, and in regulation-and I have directed the staff to insert such statutory provisions and regulations in the record of this hearing at the conclusion of these remarks-institutions of higher education are defined as those which have been accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting organization, or which the Commissioner has reason to believe will be accredited. The law and the regulations, then, provide significant leeway for the exercise of judgment by accrediting organizations and by the Commissioner of Education himself. In the case of the guaranteed loan program, the Commissioner of Education has the authority under section 438 of the act to establish "reasonable standards of financial responsibility and appropriate institutional capability," and he is given further authority to limit, suspend, or terminate the eligibility of institutions which have violated or failed to carry out any regulation under the loan program. That same section gives the Commissioner the duty of publishing a list of State agencies which he determines to be reliable authority as to the quality of public postsecondary vocational education in their respective States for the purpose of determining eligibility for all Federal student assistance programs. The authority provided by law may be, and I am advised that some Federal officials so consider it, inadequate to deal with the question of deciding institutional eligibility for participation in these programs, or some of them at least. One of the issues we will explore in these hearings is the adequacy of the law and regulations on that subject. When we complete these hearings we will know more about accreditation, what it means, what it implies, what it does not mean and whether additional or alternative means of deciding upon the eligibility of institutions are required and should be provided for in the law. [The documents referred to follow:] HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965 AS AMENDED, TITLE IV, PART A SUBPART 1-BASIC EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS BASIC EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY GRANTS: AMOUNT AND DETERMINATIONS; APPLICATIONS SEC. 411. (a) (1) The Commissioner shall, during the period beginning July 1, 1972, and ending June 30, 1975, pay to each student who has been accepted for enrollment in, or is in good standing at, an institution of higher education (according to the prescribed standards, regulations, and practices of that institution) for each academic year during which that student is in attendance at that institution, as an undergraduate, a basic grant in the amount for which that student is eligible, as determined pursuant to paragraph (2). BEOG Regulations 45 C.F.R. 190.2 (i) "Institution of higher education" means an educational institution in any State which (1) admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate, (2) is legally authorized within such State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education, (3) provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree or provides not less than a two-year program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, (4) is a public or other nonprofit institution, and (5) is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association or, if not so accredited, (i) is an institution with respect to which the Commissioner has determined that there is satisfactory assurance, considering the resources available to the institution, the period of time, if any, during which it has operated, the effort it is making to meet accreditation standards, and the purpose for which this determination is being made, that the institution will meet the accreditation standards of such an agency or association within a reasonable time, or (ii) is an institution whose credits are accepted, on transfer, by not less than three institutions which are so accredited, for credit on the same basis as if transferred from an institution so accredited. Such term also includes any school which provides not less than a one-year program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation and which meets the provision of paragraph (i) (1), (2), (4), and (5) of this section, and any proprietary institution of higher education as defined in paragraph (j) of this section, which has an agreement with the Commissioner containing such terms and conditions as the Commissioner determines to be necessary to insure that the availability of assistance to students at the |