Educational Requirements for Appointment of Reserve Component Officers to a Grade Above First Lieutenant or Lieutenant (Junior Grade)

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary

32 CFR Part 67

[DoD Instruction 1215.aa]

Educational Requirements for Appointment of Reserve Component

Officers to a Grade Above First Lieutenant or Lieutenant (Junior Grade)

agency: Department of Defense.

action: Interim final rule.

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summary: This rule adds criteria by which a post-secondary educational

institution that is not accredited by an agency recognized by the

Secretary of Education can obtain recognition by the Department of

Defense as a qualifying educational institution. This is necessary to

determine those unaccredited educational institutions whose

baccalaureate degrees the Department of Defense will recognize for the

purpose of meeting the military officer educational requirement for

promotion in the Army Reserve, Naval Reserve, Air Force Reserve, or

Marine Corps Reserve, or for federal recognition in the Army National

Guard or Air National Guard.

dates: This rule is effective October 1, 1995. Comments must be

received by December 22, 1995.

addresses: Forward comments to Office of the Assistant Secretary of

Defense for Reserve Affairs, Attn: DASD(M&P), 1500 Defense Pentagon,

Washington, DC 20311-1500.

for further information contact: T. Bush, 703-695-7429.

supplementary information: It has been determined that this amendment

is not a significant regulatory action. It has also been determined

that this amendment is not subject to the Regulatory Flexibility Act

and does not impose any reporting or recordkeeping requirements under

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

List of Subjects in 32 CFR Part 67

Education, Military personnel.

Accordingly, title 32 of the Code of Federal Regulations, chapter

1, subchapter C, is amended to add part 67 to read as follows:

[[Page 54302]]

PART 67--EDUCATIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR APPOINTMENT OF RESERVE

COMPONENT OFFICERS TO A GRADE ABOVE FIRST LIEUTENANT OR LIEUTENANT

(JUNIOR GRADE)

Sec.

67.1 Purpose.

67.2 Applicability.

67.3 Definitions.

67.4 Policy.

67.5 Responsibilities.

67.6 Procedures.

Authority: 10 U.S.C. 12205.

Sec. 67.1 Purpose.

This part implements policy, assigns responsibilities, and

prescribes procedures under 10 U.S.C. 12205 for determining educational

institutions that award baccalaureate degrees that satisfy the

educational requirement for appointment of officers to a grade above

First Lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve, and Marine

Corps Reserve, or Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in the Naval Reserve, or

for officers to be federally recognized in a grade above First

Lieutenant as a member of the Army National Guard or Air National

Guard.

Sec. 67.2 Applicability.

This part applies to the Office of the Secretary of Defense, and

the Military Departments. The term ``Military Department,'' as used

herein, refers to the Departments of the Army, the Navy, and the Air

Force. The term ``Reserve components'' refers to the Army Reserve, Army

National Guard of the United States, Air Force Reserve, Air National

Guard of the United States, Naval Reserve, and Marine Corps Reserve.

Sec. 67.3 Definitions.

(a) Accredited educational institution. An educational institution

accredited by an agency recognized by the Secretary of Education.

(b) Qualifying educational institution. An educational institution

that is accredited, or an unaccredited educational institution that the

Secretary of Defense designates pursuant to Sec. 67.5 (a) and (b).

(c) Unaccredited educational institution. An educational

institution not accredited by an agency recognized by the Secretary of

Education.

Sec. 67.4 Policy.

(a) It is Department of Defense policy under 10 U.S.C. 12205 to

require Reserve component officers to have been awarded at least a

baccalaureate degree from a qualifying educational institution before

appointment to a grade above First Lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Air

Force Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve, or Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in

the Naval Reserve, or for officers to be federally recognized in a

grade above First Lieutenant as a member of the Army National Guard or

Air National Guard.

(b) Exempt from this policy is any officer who was:

(1) Appointed to or recognized in a higher grade for service in a

health profession for which a baccalaureate degree is not a condition

of original appointment or assignment.

(2) Appointed in the Naval Reserve or Marine Corps Reserve as a

limited duty officer.

(3) Appointed in the Naval Reserve for service under the Naval

Aviation Cadet (NAVCAD) program.

(4) Appointed to or recognized in a higher grade if appointed to,

or federally recognized in, the grade of captain or, in the case of the

Navy, lieutenant before October 1, 1995.

(5) Recognized in the grade of captain or major in the Alaska Army

National Guard, who resides permanently at a location in Alaska that is

more than 50 miles from each of the cities of Anchorage, Fairbanks, and

Juneau, Alaska, by paved road, and who is serving in a Scout unit or a

Scout support unit.

(c) The Department of Defense will designate an unaccredited

educational institution as a qualifying educational institution for the

purpose of meeting this educational requirement if that institution

meets the criteria established in this part.

Sec. 67.5 Responsibilities.

(a) The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, under

the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, shall:

(1) Establish procedures in which an unaccredited educational

institution can apply for DoD designation as a qualifying educational

institution.

(2) Publish in the Federal Register DoD requirements and procedures

for an unaccredited educational institution to apply for designation as

a qualifying educational institution.

(3) Annually, provide to the Secretaries of the Military Department

a list of those unaccredited educational institutions that have been

approved by the Department of Defense as a qualifying educational

institution. This list shall include the year or years for which

unaccredited educational institutions are designated as qualifying

educational institutions.

(b) The Secretaries of the Military Departments shall establish

procedures to ensure that after September 30, 1995, those Reserve

component officers selected for appointment to a grade above First

Lieutenant in the Army Reserve, Air Force Reserve or Marine Corps

Reserve, or Lieutenant (Junior Grade) in the Naval Reserve, or for

officers to be federally recognized in a grade above First Lieutenant

as a member of the Army National Guard or Air National Guard, who are

required to hold a baccalaureate degree, were awarded their degree

before appointment to the next higher grade. For a degree from an

unaccredited educational institution that has been recognized as a

qualifying educational institution by the Department of Defense to

satisfy this educational requirements of 10 U.S.C. 12205, the degree

must not have been awarded more than three years before the date the

officer is to be appointed, or federally recognized, in the grade of

Captain or above in the Army Reserve, Army National Guard, Air Force

Reserve, Air National Guard, or Marine Corps Reserve, or in the grade

of Lieutenant or above in the Naval Reserve.

Sec. 67.6 Procedures.

(a) An unaccredited educational institution may obtain designation

as a qualifying educational institution for a specific Reserve

component officer who graduated from that educational institution by

providing certification from registrars at three accredited educational

institutions that maintain ROTC programs that their educational

institutions would accept at least 90 percent of the credit hours

earned by that officer at the unaccredited educational institution, as

of the year of graduation.

(b) For an unaccredited educational institution to be designated as

a qualifying educational institution for a specific year, that

educational institution must provide the Office of the Assistant

Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs certification from the

registrars at three different accredited educational institutions that

maintain ROTC programs listing the major field(s) of study in which

those educational institutions would accept at least 90 percent of the

credit hours earned by a student who was awarded a baccalaureate degree

in that major field of study at the unaccredited educational

institution.

(c) For an unaccredited educational institution to be considered

for designation as a qualifying educational institution, the

unaccredited educational institution must submit the required

documentation no later than January 1 of the year for which the

[[Page 54303]]

unaccredited educational institution seeks to be designated a

qualifying educational institution.

(d) The required documentation must be sent to the following

address: Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve

Affairs, Attn: DASD(M&P), 1500 Defense Pentagon, Washington, DC 20301-

1500.

(e) Applications containing the required documentation may also be

submitted at any time from unaccredited educational institutions

requesting designation as qualifying educational institutions for prior

school years.

Dated: October 16, 1995.

L.M. Bynum,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.

[FR Doc. 95-26039 Filed 10-20-95; 8:45 am]

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