[Federal Register: December 30, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 250)]
[Notices]
[Page 73527-73529]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30de99-63]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA NO.: 84.031H]
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible
Institutions for fiscal year (FY) 2000 for the Strengthening
Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and
Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions
and Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs
Purpose of These Programs: Under the Strengthening Institutions,
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs
authorized under Part A of Title III of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended (HEA), institutions of higher education are eligible
to apply for grants if they meet specific statutory and regulatory
eligibility requirements. Similarly, Hispanic-Serving Institutions are
eligible to apply for grants under the HSI Program, now authorized
under Title V of the HEA, if they meet specific statutory and
regulatory requirements.
In addition, an institution that is designated as an eligible
institution under those programs may also receive a waiver of certain
non-Federal share requirements under the Federal Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal Work Study (FWS), and
Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Programs
(UISFLP). These first two programs are student financial assistance
programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA; the third program is
authorized under Title VI of the HEA. Qualified institutions may
receive these waivers even if they are not recipients of grant funds
under the Title III Part A or Title V programs.
Special Note: Two of the criteria that each eligible institution
must satisfy relate to enrollment of needy students and Education and
General (E&G) expenditures. However, we changed the collection
processes for determining the thresholds for these criteria, and as a
result, base year data beyond 1996-1997 is currently unavailable.
In order to award FY 2000 grants in a timely manner, we will use
1996-1997 base year data to determine eligibility. Moreover, for FY
2000, we will extend the eligibility status an additional year for all
institutions designated as eligible in FY 1999, with one exception--
Title III and Title V institutions whose grant expired on September 30,
1999. These institutions must apply for FY 2000 eligibility using 1996-
1997 base year data. Of course, institutions that were not designated
as eligible institutions in fiscal year 1999 must apply under this
notice for that designation for fiscal year 2000.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:
February 4, 2000 for applicant institutions that wish to
apply for fiscal year 2000 grants under the Strengthening Institutions,
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska
Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, and HSI Programs.
May 26, 2000 for applicant institutions that wish to apply
only for waivers under the FSEOG, FWS, or UISFLP Programs.
Thus, if an applicant institution wishes to apply for a grant and a
waiver, the deadline date is February 4, 2000.
Electronic Submission of applications: For FY 2000, we are offering
applicant institutions the option of submitting their Designation of
Eligibility applications electronically. Moreover, institutions that
are unable to meet the needy student enrollment or the E&:G expenditure
requirement may also submit their waiver requests electronically.
Eligibility Applications Available: January 5, 2000.
Eligibility Information: To qualify as an eligible institution
under any of the programs included in this notice, an accredited
institution must, among other things, have a high enrollment of needy
students, and its education and general (E&G) expenditures per full-
time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student must be low in comparison
with the average E&G expenditures per FTE undergraduate student of
institutions that offer similar instruction. The complete eligibility
requirements for HSI Program institutions are found in the 34 CFR
606.2-606.5, which was published in the Federal Register of December
15, 1999, 64 FR 70146-70153. The complete eligibility requirements for
the remaining programs are found in 34 CFR 607.2-607.5, a portion of
which was also amended in the Federal
[[Page 73528]]
Register of December 15, 1999, 64 FR 70146, 70153-70155. The
regulations may also be accessed by visiting the following Department
of Education web site on the World Wide Web: http://www.ed.gov/offices/
OPE/OHEP
Enrollment of Needy Students: Under 34 CFR 606.3(a) and 607.3(a),
an institution is considered to have a high enrollment of needy
students if--(1) At least 50 percent of its degree students received
financial assistance under one or more of the following programs:
Federal Pell Grant, FSEOG, FWS, and Federal Perkins Loan Programs; or
(2) the percentage of its undergraduate degree students who were
enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell Grants
exceeded the median percentage of undergraduate degree students who
were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell
Grants at comparable institutions that offered similar instruction.
To qualify under this latter criterion, an institution's Federal
Pell Grant percentage for base (award) year 1996-1997 must be more than
the median for its category of comparable institutions provided in the
table set forth below in this notice.
Educational and General Expenditures per Full-Time Equivalent
Student: An institution should compare its 1996-1997 average E&G
expenditures per FTE student to the average E&G expenditure per FTE
student for its category of comparable institutions contained in the
table set forth below in this notice. If the institution's E&G
expenditure for the 1996-1997 base year are less than the average for
its category of comparable institutions, it meets this eligibility
requirement.
An institution's E&G expenditures are the total amount it expended
during the base year for instruction, research, public service,
academic support, student services, institutional support, operation
and maintenance, scholarships and fellowships, and mandatory transfers.
The following table identifies the relevant median Federal Pell
Grant percentages and the relevant average E&G expenditures per FTE
student for the base year for the four categories of comparable
institutions:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Median Pell
Student Grant Average E &
percentage G FTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-year Public Institutions.................... 26.9 $8,132
2-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........ 39.1 12,322
4-year Public Institutions.................... 28.7 17,067
4-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........ 27.1 24,756
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Waiver Information: Institutions of higher education that are
unable to meet the needy student enrollment requirement or the E&G
expenditure requirement may apply to the Secretary for waivers of these
requirements, as described in 34 CFR 606.3(b), 606.4(c) and (d),
607.3(b), and 607.4(c) and (d). Institutions requesting a waiver of the
needy student requirement must include the detailed information as set
forth in the instructions for completing the application.
The waiver authority provided in 34 CFR 606.3(b)(2) and (3) and
607.3(b)(2) and (3) refers to ``low-income'' students and families. The
regulations define ``low-income'' as an amount that does not exceed 150
percent of the amount equal to the poverty level in the 1996-97 base
year as established by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 34 CFR 606.3(c)
and 607.3(c). For the purposes of this waiver provision, the following
table sets forth the low-income levels for the various sizes of
families:
FY 1996-97 Annual Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous 48
States, the
District of
Size of family unit Columbia and Alaska Hawaii
outlying
jurisdictions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.............................. $11,610 $14,490 $13,365
2.............................. 15,540 19,410 17,880
3.............................. 19,470 24,330 22,395
4.............................. 23,400 29,250 26,910
5.............................. 27,330 34,170 31,425
6.............................. 31,260 39,090 35,940
7.............................. 35,190 44,010 40,455
8.............................. 39,120 48,930 44,970
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than eight members, add the following
amount for each additional family member: $3,930 for the contiguous 48
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $4,920 for
Alaska; and $4,515 for Hawaii.
The figures shown as low-income levels represent amounts equal to
150 percent of the family income levels established by the U.S. Bureau
of the Census for determining poverty status. The Census levels were
published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the
Federal Register on March 18, 1999 (64 FR 13428-13430).
In reference to the waiver option specified in 606.3(b)(4) and
607.3(b)(4) of the regulations, information about ``metropolitan
statistical areas'' may be obtained by requesting the Metropolitan
Statistical Areas, 1999, order number PB99-501538, from the National
Technical Information Services, Document Sales, 5285 Port Royal Road,
Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone number 1-800-553-6847. There is
a charge for this publication.
Applicable Regulations: Regulations applicable to the eligibility
process include the Strengthening Institutions Program Regulations in
34 CFR part 607, HSI Program regulations in 34 CFR part 606, and the
Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts
74, 75, 77, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.
For Applications or Information Contact: Ellen M. Sealey, Margaret
A. Wheeler or Anne S. Young, Institutional Development and
Undergraduate Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K
Street, N.W., 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20006-8513. Telephone (202)
502-7777. Individuals
[[Page 73529]]
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audio tape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternate format by contacting that person.
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternate format
the standard forms included in the application package.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg/htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC
area at (202) 572-1530.
Note: The official version of a document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at http://www.access.gpo.gov/
nara/index/html.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1057, 1059c and 1065a.
Dated: December 23, 1999.
Claudio R. Prieto,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-33959 Filed 12-29-99; 8:45 am]
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