[Federal Register: December 26, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 247)]
[Notices]
[Page 66407-66409]
>From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26de01-55]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA NO. 84.031H]
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) 2002
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. These first three
programs are authorized under Title IV of the HEA; the fourth 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
1998-99. In order to award FY 2002 grants in a timely manner, we will
use threshold data from base year 1998-99 rather than a later base
year. In completing your eligibility application, therefore, you are to
use data from the base year 1998-99.
Eligible Applicants: To qualify as an eligible institution under
any of the programs included in this notice, 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
[[Page 66408]]
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 remaining 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 on the World Wide Web:
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 1998-1999 must be more than the
median for its category of comparable institutions provided in the
table in this notice.
Educational and General Expenditures per Full-Time Equivalent
Student: An institution should compare its 1998-1999 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 1998-1999 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, 1998-1999, for the four categories of
comparable institutions:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Median Pell
Type of institution grant Average E&G
percentage FTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-year Public Institutions.................... 19.1 $7,948
2-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........ 30.6 25,358
4-year Public Institutions.................... 25.0 18,732
4-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........ 25.2 27,143
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 1998-99 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:
1998 Annual Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous
48 States,
the
Size of family unit District of Alaska Hawaii
Columbia
and
Outlying
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: $4,200 for the contiguous 48
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $5,250 for
Alaska; and $4,830 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 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: January 4, 2002.
Deadline for Transmittal of Eligibility Applications:
March 29, 2002 for applicant institutions that wish to
apply for fiscal year 2002 new grants under the Title III SIP, TCCU,
and ANNH Programs or the Title V HSI Program.
[[Page 66409]]
May 24, 2002 for applicant institutions that wish to apply
only for cost-sharing waivers under the FSEOG, FWS, SSS or UISFL
Programs.
March 29, 2002 for applicant institutions that wish to
apply for both a grant under the Title III SIP, TCCU, and ANNH Programs
or the Title V HSI Program and a waiver of the cost-sharing
requirements under the FSEOG, FWS, SSS or UISFL Programs.
Electronic Submission of Applications: For FY 2002, we are again
offering applicant institutions the option of submitting their
Designation of Eligibility application in hard copy or sending it
electronically to our eligibility web site at: 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 2002'' link at either of the
following web sites:
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/title3a.html
or
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 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: U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW, 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 SIP, TCCU and ANNH Programs
in 34 CFR part 607, and for the HSI Program in 34 CFR 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, 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 by e-mail
at: 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:
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: December 19, 2001.
Maureen A. McLaughlin,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Innovation, Office
of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 01-31654 Filed 12-21-01; 8:45 am]
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