[Federal Register: September 23, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 184)]
[Notices]
[Page 50959-50961]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr23se98-120]
[[Page 50959]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part II
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Applications Invitation for Designation as Eligible Institutions for
Fiscal Year 1999 for the Part A Strengthening Institutions and
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Programs; Notice
[[Page 50960]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA NO.: 84.031H]
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible
Institutions for Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 for the Part A Strengthening
Institutions and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Programs
Purpose of Program
Institutions of higher education must meet specific statutory and
regulatory requirements to be designated eligible to receive funds
under the Strengthening Institutions and HSI Programs authorized,
respectively, under Part A of Title III of the Higher Education Act of
1965, as amended (HEA). An institution that is designated as an
eligible institution under those programs may apply for grants under
those programs, and may also receive a waiver of certain non-Federal
share requirements under the Federal Supplemental Educational
Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Work Study (FWS) Programs. These
latter two programs are student financial assistance programs
authorized under Title IV of the HEA. Qualified institutions may
receive these waivers even if they are not recipients of grant funds
under the Strengthening Institutions or HSI Program.
If an institution is interested in obtaining eligibility for
purposes of receiving a new grant under the Strengthening Institutions
or HSI Program, it must submit its application to the Department by
February 15, 1999. If an institution is interested solely in obtaining
a waiver under the FSEOG and FWS Programs, it must submit its
application by May 28, 1999. Accordingly, if an institution is
interested in applying both for a grant and a waiver, it must submit
its application by February 15, 1999 to be eligible for the grant
competition.
Early Applications
If an institution submits its application to the Department by
December 11, 1998, the Department will notify the applicant of its
eligibility status by January 20, 1999. An applicant that believes it
failed to be designated as an eligible institution because of errors in
its application or because it submitted insufficient information may
submit an amended application to the Department. The applicant must
submit that application by February 15, 1999 to be eligible for the
grant competition. It has until May 28, 1999 to submit an amended
application for a FSEOG or FWS waiver request.
If an applicant submits its initial application after December 11,
1998 but before January 20, 1999, the Department does not guarantee
that it will be able to review that application and notify the
applicant in time to allow revisions to the application by the February
15, 1999 deadline.
Because of the direct benefits to institutions that are able to
revise unapproved applications, the Department strongly recommends that
institutions apply by the December 11, 1998 deadline.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 15, 1999 for
applicants who wish to compete for new grants under the Strengthening
Institutions and HSI Programs; May 28, 1999 for applicants who wish to
apply only for FSEOG and FWS waivers; and December 11, 1998 for early
application reviews.
Applications Available: October 30, 1999.
Eligibility Information: To qualify as an eligible institution
under the HSI Program, an institution must first qualify as an eligible
institution under the Strengthening Institutions Program. To qualify as
an eligible institution under the Strengthening Institutions Program,
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 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 are found in the Strengthening
Institutions Program regulations, 34 CFR 607.2-607.5. 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 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 year 1996-97 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 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 average E&G expenditure for
the 1996-1997 base year is 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.
Table
The following table identifies the relevant median Federal Pell
Grant percentages and the average E&G expenditures per FTE student for
the 1996-97 base year for the four categories of comparable
institutions:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Median
Student Pell Grant Average
percentage E&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
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 607.3(b) and 607.4(c) and (d).
Institutions requesting a waiver of the needy student requirement must
include the detailed information described in the instructions for
completing the application.
The waiver authority provided in 34 CFR 607.3(b)(2) and (3), refers
to ``low-income'' students and families. The regulations define ``low-
income'' as an
[[Page 50961]]
amount that does not exceed 150 percent of the amount equal to the
poverty level in 1996-97 base year 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:
1997-98 Base Year Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous 48
States, the
District of
Size of family unit Columbia, and Alaska Hawaii
outlying
jurisdictions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.................................... 12,075 15,105 13,890
2.................................... 16,275 20,355 18,720
3.................................... 20,475 25,605 23,550
4.................................... 24,675 30,855 28,380
5.................................... 28,875 36,105 33,210
6.................................... 33,075 41,355 38,040
7.................................... 37,275 46,605 42,870
8.................................... 41,475 51,855 47,700
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than eight members, add the following
amount for each additional family member: $2,800 for the contiguous 48
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $3,500 for
Alaska; and $3,220 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 24, 1998 (63 FR 9235-9238).
In reference to the waiver option specified in 34 CFR 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.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 82, 85,
and 86; and the regulations applicable to the eligibility process
include the Strengthening Institutions Program regulations in 34 CFR
part 607.
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, 600
Independence Avenue, SW, (Portals CY-80) Washington, DC 20202-5335.
Telephone (202) 708-8866, 708-9926, and 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.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternate format, also, by contacting the FIRS. 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
Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web 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 at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
Anyone may also view these documents in text copy on an electronic
bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 or, toll
free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents located under Option G--Files/
Announcements, Bulletins, and Press Releases.
Note: The official version of a document is the document
published in the Federal Register.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1057, 1059c, and 1065a.
Dated: September 14, 1998.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-25366 Filed 9-22-98; 8:45 am]
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