[Federal Register: November 27, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 230)]
[Notices]
[Page 60264-60265]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[[Page 60264]]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.031A, CFDA No. 84.031G]
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as an Eligible
Institution for Fiscal Year 1997 for the Strengthening Institutions,
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs), and Endowment Challenge Grant
Programs
Purpose
Institutions of higher education must meet specific statutory and
regulatory requirements to be designated eligible to receive funds
under the Strengthening Institutions, HSI, and Endowment Challenge
Grant Programs, authorized, respectively, under Part A, Section 316,
and Part C of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA).
The Department has made no decision as to whether it will hold
grant competitions for new awards under Parts A, Section 316, and Part
C of Title III. The Department must review the available funding for
the program before determining whether to hold competitions for new
awards in Fiscal Year 1997.
Institutions that wish to be considered for waivers of certain non-
Federal share requirements under the Federal Work-Study (FWS) of
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) Programs
authorized under Title IV of the HEA must submit a Title III
eligibility application to the Department by the deadline dates set
forth in this notice and must qualify as an eligible institution under
this notice. Qualified institutions may receive these waivers even if
they are not recipients of grants funds under Title III.
If an institution is interested in obtaining eligibility for
purposes of receiving a new grant under the Strengthening Institutions
or HSI Programs, applying for a new grant under the Endowment Challenge
Grant Program, or receiving a waiver of the non-Federal share under FWS
or FSEOG Programs, it must submit its application to the Department by
March 13, 1997. However if an institution submits its application by
February 13, 1997, the Department will notify the applicant of its
eligibility status by March 17, 1997. Any of these applicants that
believe it failed to be designated as an eligible institution because
of errors in its application or insufficient information in its waiver
request may submit an amended application to the Department no later
than April 14, 1997.
If an applicant submits its initial application after February 13,
1997 but on or before March 13, 1997, the Department does not guarantee
that it can review this delayed application and notify the applicant in
time to allow revisions to the application by April 14, 1997 deadline
date for amended applications.
An institution that misses the April 14, 1997 deadline for
submission of a revised application will not be designated as eligible
for fiscal year 1997.
Because of the direct benefits to institutions that are able to
revise unapproved applications, the Department strongly recommends that
institutions apply by the February 13, 1997 deadline.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications
February 13, 1997 for early applications, March 13, 1997 for all
initial applications, and April 14, 1997 for amended applications.
Applications Available
January 6, 1997.
Eligibility Information
To qualify as an eligible institution under the Strengthening
Institutions and Endowment Challenge Grant Programs, an applicant must
(1) be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency; (2) be legally authorized by the State in which it
is located to be a junior or community college or to provide a
bachelor's degree program; and (3) have a high enrollment of needy
students. In addition, its educational 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 are found in the Strengthening Institutions
Program regulations, 34 CFR 607.2-607.5, as revised in the Federal
Register on August 15, 1994 (59 FR 41914, 41922).
Enrollment of Needy Students
Under 34 CFR Sec. 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: Pell Grant, Supplemental Educational Opportunity
Grant, College Work Study, or Perkins Loan Program; or (2) the
percentage of its undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at
least a half-time basis and received Pell Grants exceeded the median
percentage of undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at
least a half-time basis and received Pell Grants at comparable
institutions that offer similar instruction. To qualify under this
latter criterion, an institution's Pell Grant percentage for base year
1994-95 must be more than the median for its category of comparable
institutions provided on the table in this notice.
E&G Expenditures per FTE Student
An institution should compare its average E&G expenditure/FTE
student to the average E&G expenditure/FTE student for its category of
comparable institutions contained in the table in this notice. If the
institution's average E&G expenditure for the 1994-95 base year is less
than the average for its category of comparable institutions, it meets
this eligibility requirement.
The 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 Pell Grant
percentages and the average E&G expenditures per FTE student for the
1994-95 base year for the four categories of comparable institutions:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Median Pell Average E&G
Grant per FTE
percentage student
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-year Public Institutions.................... 29.57 $6,025
2-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........ 31.43 9,075
4-year Public Institutions.................... 28.83 14,735
4-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........ 28.68 21,062
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Secs. 607.3(b) and 607.4 (c) and (d). As discussed in the
preamble to the final regulations published in the Federal Register on
August 15, 1994 (59 FR 41914-41917), the Secretary has developed a set
of more specific instructions relating to the waiver provisions for
institutions unable to meet the needy student enrollment requirement.
Institutions requesting a wavier of this requirement must include
detailed information as set forth in the
[[Page 60265]]
instructions for completing the application.
Under specific waiver options provided under the authority in 34
CFR Sec. 607.3(b) (2), (3) and (6), an institution must provide
evidence related to the number of students from low-income families
that it served in base year 1994-95. The regulations define ``low-
income'' as an amount that does not exceed 150 percent of the amount
equal to the poverty level as established by the U.S. Bureau of the
Census, 34 CFR 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:
Base Year Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous 48
States, the
District of
Size of family unit Columbia, and Alaska Hawaii
outlying
jurisdictions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1................................... $7,360 $9,200 $8,470
2................................... 9,840 12,300 11,320
3................................... 12,320 15,400 14,170
4................................... 14,800 18,500 17,020
5................................... 17,280 21,600 19,870
6................................... 19,760 24,700 22,720
7................................... 22,240 27,800 25,570
8................................... 24,720 30,900 28,420
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than eight members add the following
amount for each additional family member: $2,480 for the contiguous 48
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $3,100 for
Alaska; and $2,850 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 February 10, 1994 (59 FR 6277-6278).
In reference to the waiver option specified in Sec. 607.3(b)(4) of
the regulations, information about ``metropolitan statistical areas''
may be obtained by requesting the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 1993,
order number PB93-192664, from the National Technical Information
Services, Document sales, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia
22161, telephone number (703) 487-4650. There is a charge for this
publication. For general information about ``metropolitan statistical
areas'', institutions of higher education may contact the Strengthening
Institutions Program Branch.
Applicable Regulations
Regulations applicable to the eligibility process include: (a) the
Strengthening Institutions Program Regulations in 34 CFR Part 607, as
revised in the Federal Register on August 15, 1994 (59 FR 41914); (b)
the Endowment Challenge Grant Program Regulations in 34 CFR Part 628;
and (c) the Education Department General Administrative Regulations in
34 CFR Parts 74, 75, 77, 82, 85, and 86.
For Applications or Information Contact
Strengthening Institutions Program Branch, Division of
Institutional Development, U.S. Department of Education, 600
Independence Avenue, SW., (Suite 600-C, Portals Building), Washington,
DC 20202-5335. Telephone: (202) 708-8839 or 708-8857. 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; or 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.
Program Authority
20 U.S.C. 1057, 1059c and 1065a.
Dated: November 21, 1996.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 96-30225 Filed 11-26-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P-M