(a) Establishment There is established in the Department a National Advisory Committee on Institutional Quality and Integrity (hereafter in this section referred to as the Committee), which shall be composed of 15 members appointed by the Secretary from among individuals who are representatives of, or knowledgeable concerning, education and training beyond secondary education, including representatives of all sectors and types of institutions of higher education (as defined in section
1002 of this title), to assess the process of eligibility and certification of such institutions under subchapter IV of this chapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter
34 of title
42 and the provision of financial aid under subchapter IV of this chapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter
34 of title
42.
(b) Terms of members
Terms of office of each member of the Committee shall be 3 years, except that any member appointed to fill a vacancy occurring prior to the expiration of the term for which the members predecessor was appointed shall be appointed for the remainder of such term.
(c) Public notice The Secretary shall
(1) annually publish in the Federal Register a list containing the name of each member of the Committee and the date of the expiration of the term of office of the member; and
(2) publicly solicit nominations for each vacant position or expiring term of office on the Committee.
(d) Functions The Committee shall
(1) advise the Secretary with respect to establishment and enforcement of the standards of accrediting agencies or associations under subpart 2 of part G of subchapter IV of this chapter;
(2) advise the Secretary with respect to the recognition of a specific accrediting agency or association;
(3) advise the Secretary with respect to the preparation and publication of the list of nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations;
(4) develop and recommend to the Secretary standards and criteria for specific categories of vocational training institutions and institutions of higher education for which there are no recognized accrediting agencies, associations, or State agencies, in order to establish the eligibility of such institutions on an interim basis for participation in federally funded programs;
(5) advise the Secretary with respect to the eligibility and certification process for institutions of higher education under subchapter IV of this chapter and part C of subchapter I of chapter
34 of title
42, together with recommendations for improvements in such process;
(6) advise the Secretary with respect to the relationship between
(A) accreditation of institutions of higher education and the certification and eligibility of such institutions; and
(B) State licensing responsibilities with respect to such institutions; and
(7) carry out such other advisory functions relating to accreditation and institutional eligibility as the Secretary may prescribe.
(e) Meeting procedures
The Committee shall meet not less than twice each year at the call of the Chairperson. The date of, and agenda for, each meeting of the Committee shall be submitted in advance to the Secretary for approval. A representative of the Secretary shall be present at all meetings of the Committee.
(f) Report Not later than November 30 of each year, the Committee shall make an annual report through the Secretary to Congress. The annual report shall contain
(1) a list of the members of the Committee and their addresses;
(2) a list of the functions of the Committee;
(3) a list of dates and places of each meeting during the preceding fiscal year; and
(4) a summary of the activities, findings and recommendations made by the Committee during the preceding fiscal year.
(g) Termination
The Committee shall cease to exist on September 30, 2004.
