[Federal Register: October 31, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 66390-66392]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr31oc02-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA NO. 84.031H]
Office of Postsecondary Education; Strengthening Institutions
(SIP), American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities
(TCCU), Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH)
and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs; Notice Inviting
Applications for Designation as Eligible Institutions for Fiscal Year
(FY) 2003
Purpose of Programs: Under the SIP, TCCU, and ANNH 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, HSIs are eligible to apply for
grants under the HSI Program, 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), the Federal Work Study (FWS), the Student Support
Services (SSS) and the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign
Language (UISFL) Programs. The FSEOG, FWS and SSS Programs are
authorized under Title IV of the HEA; the UISFL 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: To become eligible, your institution must satisfy
a criterion related to needy student enrollment and one related to
Educational and General (E&G) expenditures for a particular base
year. Because we changed the collection processes for determining
the thresholds for these criteria, we do not have base year data
beyond 1999-2000. In order to award FY 2003 grants in a timely
manner, we will use threshold data from base year 1999-2000 rather
than a later base year. In completing your eligibility application,
therefore, you are to use data from the base year 1999-2000.
Eligible Applicants: To qualify as an eligible institution under
the Title III Part A or Title V Programs, an accredited institution
must, among other requirements, have a high enrollment of needy
students, and its 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 the HSI
Program are found in 34 CFR 606.2-606.5. The complete eligibility
requirements for the Title III Part A Programs are found in 34 CFR
607.2-607.5. The regulations may also be accessed by visiting the
following Department of Education Web site: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/1999-4/121599a.html.
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 year 1999-2000 must be more than the
median for its category of comparable institutions provided in the
table in this notice.
Educational and Expenditures per Full-Time Equivalent Student: An
institution should compare its 1999-2000 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 in this notice. If
the institution's E&G expenditures for the 1999-2000 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.
[[Page 66391]]
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, 1999-2000, for the four categories of
comparable institutions:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Median Pell
Type of institution grant Average E&G per
percentage FTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-year Public Institutions............ 18.9 $8,348
2-year Non-Profit Private Institutions 31.0 20,101
4-year Public Institutions............ 23.5 19,516
4-year Non-Profit Private Institutions 23.4 30,152
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 or the E&G expenditures requirement must include the
detailed information as described in the instructions for completing
the application.
The needy student requirement 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 1999-2000 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
provides the low-income levels for the various sizes of families:
1999 Annual Low-Income Levels
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous 48
States, the
Size of family unit District of Alaska Hawaii
Columbia and
Outlying
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1............................................................ $12,360 $15,480 $14,235
2............................................................ 16,590 20,760 19,095
3............................................................ 20,820 26,040 23,955
4............................................................ 25,050 31,320 28,815
5............................................................ 29,280 36,600 33,675
6............................................................ 33,510 41,880 38,535
7............................................................ 37,740 47,160 43,395
8............................................................ 41,970 52,440 48,255
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For family units with more than eight members, add the following
amount for each additional family member: $4,230 for the contiguous 48
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $5,280 for
Alaska; and $4,860 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 Service, Document Sales, 5285 Port Royal Road,
Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone number 1-800-553-6847. There is
a charge for this publication.
Applications Available: November 1, 2002.
Deadline for Transmittal of Eligibility Applications: January 31,
2003 for institutions that wish to apply for FY 2003 new grants under
the Title III Part A or the Title V Programs; May 23, 2003 for
institutions that wish to apply only for cost-sharing waivers under the
FSEOG, FWS, SSS or UISFL Programs; January 31, 2003 for institutions
that wish to apply for both a grant under the Title III Part A Programs
or the Title V Program and a waiver of the cost sharing requirements
under the FSEOG, FWS, SSS or UISFL Programs.
Electronic Submission of Applications: For FY 2003, we are again
offering institutions the option of submitting their Designation of
Eligibility application in hard copy or sending it electronically to
our eligibility Web site at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://webprod.cbmiweb.com/Title3and5/index.html.
To enter the Web site, you must use your institution's unique 8-
digit identifier, i.e., your Office of Postsecondary Education
Identification Number (OPE ID number). If you receive a hard copy of
the eligibility application and instructions from us in the mail, look
for the OPE ID number on the address label. Otherwise, your business
office or student financial aid office should have the OPE ID number.
If your business office or student financial aid office does not have
that OPE ID number, contact a Department of Education staff member
using the e-mail address located at the end of the web page or the
contact persons' telephone numbers or e-mail addresses included in this
notice.
You will find detailed instructions for completing the form
electronically under the ``eligibility 2003'' link at either of the
following Web sites: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/title3a.html or http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ed.gov/hsi.
We encourage applicants to complete their form electronically and
to complete it as soon as possible. For institutions of higher
education that are unable to meet the needy student enrollment
requirement or the E&G expenditure requirement and wish to request a
waiver of one or both of those
[[Page 66392]]
requirements, you may complete your designation application form on-
line, print the form, and attach your narrative waiver request(s) to
the printed form and mail both to the address in the next paragraph.
Mail your Designation of Eligibility application request to: Ms.
Darlene B. Collins, Team Leader, Institutional Development and
Undergraduate Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K
Street, NW., Room 6032, Request for Eligibility Designation,
Washington, DC 20202-8513.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 85, 86,
97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for the Title III Part A Programs
in 34 CFR part 607, and for the Title V Program in 34 CFR part 606.
For Applications and Further Information Contact: Thomas M. Keyes,
Margaret A. Wheeler or Ellen Sealey, Institutional Development and
Undergraduate Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K
Street, Room 6049, Request for Eligibility Designation, Washington, DC
20202-8513. Mr. Keyes' telephone number is (202) 502-7577. Ms.
Wheeler's telephone number is (202) 502-7583. Ms. Sealey's telephone
number is (202) 502-7580. Mr. Keyes, Ms. Wheeler and Ms. Sealey may be
reached via Internet: thomas.keyes@ed.gov, margaret.wheeler@ed.gov,
ellen.sealey@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audio tape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact persons listed under For
Applications and Further Information Contact.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format by contacting those persons. However,
the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 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 the following site:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. 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) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this 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. 1057-1059d, 1101-1103g.
Dated: October 28, 2002.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-27697 Filed 10-30-02; 8:45 am]
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