[Federal Register: May 16, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 95)] [Notice] [Page 27129-27130] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr16my97-151] [[Page 27129]] _______________________________________________________________________ Part V Department of Education _______________________________________________________________________ Reopening of Closing Date for Receipt of Application for Designation as an Eligible Institution for Fiscal Year 1997; Eligibility for the Strengthening Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Endowment Challenge Grant Program; Notice [[Page 27130]] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA No. 84.031A, CFDA No. 84.031G] Reopening of Closing Date for Receipt of Applications for Designation as an Eligible Institution for Fiscal Year 1997; Eligibility for the Strengthening Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Endowment Challenge Grant Programs SUMMARY: On November 27, 1996 and January 13, 1997, notices were published in the Federal Register (61 FR 60254-60265 and 62 FR 1739- 1740) that established closing dates for transmittal of applications for the FY 1997 designation of eligible institutions for the Strengthening Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Endowment Challenge Grant programs. The purpose of this notice is to reopen the closing date for the transmittal of applications and to notify applicants of an error in the application package. This action is taken to give institutions additional time to apply for the first time for designation as an eligible institution under these programs in FY 1997 or to correct any previous application based on the erroneous information in the application package. DEADLINE DATE FOR TRANSMITTAL OF NEW APPLICATIONS: June 6, 1997. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: One criterion that an institution must satisfy to qualify as an eligible institution under the Strengthening Institutions, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, and Endowment Challenge Grant Programs is the needy student requirement set forth in section 312 (b)(1)(A) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. However, an institution may request a waiver of that requirement if at least 30 percent of its enrollment consisted of students from low- income families. Appendix 1 on page 6 of the application booklet contained incorrect Base Year Low-Income Levels. The correct levels are as follows: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Contiguous 48 states, the District of Size of family unit Columbia, and Hawaii Alaska outlying jurisdictions ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1........................... $11,040 $13,800 $12,705 2........................... 14,760 18,450 16,980 3........................... 18,480 23,100 21,255 4........................... 22,200 27,750 25,530 5........................... 25,920 32,400 29,805 6........................... 29,640 37,050 34,080 7........................... 33,360 41,700 38,355 8........................... 37,080 46,350 42,360 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ * The figures shown under family income represent amounts equal to 150% of the family income levels established by the U.S. Bureau of the Census for determining poverty status. These levels were published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in the Federal Register on February 10, 1994 (59 FR 6277-6278). For family units with more than eight members, add the following amount for each additional family member: 3,720 for the contiguous 48 states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; 4,650 for Alaska; and 4,275 for Hawaii. As a result of the inaccurate table, institutions may have been discouraged from applying for a waiver, or institutions may have applied for and been denied a waiver based upon that inaccurate table. Under the reopened application period, these institutions may apply or reapply for a waiver of the needy student criterion based on the corrected low-income levels table. In addition, any institution that seeks for the first time to be designated as eligible in FY 1997 may apply under this reopening of the closing date. Institutions should base any application for a waiver of the needy student criterion on the corrected Base Year Low-Income Levels table in this notice. FOR APPLICATIONS OR INFORMATION CONTACT: Strengthening Institutions Program, Institutional Development and Undergraduate Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., (Suite CY- 80, Portals Building), Washington, DC 20202-5335. Telephone: (202) 708- 8816 or 708-8839. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Information about the Department's funding opportunities, including copies of application notices for discretionary grant competitions, can be viewed on the Department's electronic bulletin board (ED Board), telephone (202) 260-9950; on the Internet Gopher Server (at gopher://gcs.ed.gov/); or on the World Wide Web (at http:// gcs.ed.gov). However, the official application notice for a discretionary grant competition is the notice published in the Federal Register. Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1057, 1059c and 1065a. Dated: May 9, 1997. David A. Longanecker, Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education. [FR Doc. 97-12878 Filed 5-15-97; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P