[Federal Register: January 4, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 1)]
[Notices]
[Page 347-349]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr04ja99-125]
[[Page 347]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part IX
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible Institutions
for Fiscal Year 1999 for the Strengthening Institutions and Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs; Notice
[[Page 348]]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA NO.: 84.031H]
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible
Institutions for Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 for the Strengthening
Institutions and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs
Purpose of This Notice: This notice supersedes the institutional
eligibility notice published in the Federal Register of September 23,
1998 (63 FR 50960-50961) for the Strengthening Institutions and
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs. This notice incorporates
statutory changes to the institutional eligibility provisions in those
programs that were made by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998,
Public Law 105-244, and became effective on October 1, 1998. Those
changes include, for example, the addition of a waiver option for
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities. This
notice also replaces the low-income table set forth in the September
23, 1998 notice with a Base Year 1996-97 Low-Income Levels Table.
Because the statutory changes made by the Higher Education
Amendments of 1998 to the Strengthening and HSI Programs became
effective on October 1, 1998, the Department will not have adequate
time to implement the ``early application procedures'' contained in the
September 23, 1998 notice for this year. Therefore, the Department will
not use those early application procedures for this fiscal year. As a
result, the Department will not accept amended or corrected
applications after the deadline dates set forth in this notice.
For the reader's convenience, this notice repeats all the relevant
application information contained in the September 23, 1998 Federal
Register notice in order to provide a single reference point for
information about the institutional eligibility application process.
Purpose of These Programs
Under the Strengthening Institutions Program authorized under Part
A of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA),
institutions of higher education, including American Indian Tribally
Controlled Colleges and Universities and Alaska Native and Native
Hawaiian--Serving Institutions, are eligible to receive funds if they
meet specific statutory and regulatory requirements. Similarly,
Hispanic-Serving Institutions may receive funds under the HSI Program,
now authorized under Title V of the HEA, if they meet specific
statutory and regulatory requirements.
An institution that is designated as an eligible institution under
those programs may receive a grant under those programs, and may also
receive a waiver of certain non-Federal share requirements under the
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal
Work Study (FWS), and Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign
Language Programs (UISFLP). These first two programs are student
financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA; the
third 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 or Title V programs.
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, FWS, or UISFLP waivers. Accordingly, if an
institution is interested in applying both for a grant and a waiver, it
must submit its application by February 15, 1999.
Applications Available: January 15, 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, including an American Indian Tribally Controlled College
or University or an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian Serving
Institution, 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 junior or community colleges (except that
an American Indian Tribally Controlled College or University merely
must qualify as a junior or community college) or 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 1996-1997 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 institutions'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.
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Table
[The following table identifies the relevant median Federal Pell Grant
percentages and the average E&G expenditures per FTE student for the
1996-1997 base year for the four categories of comparable institutions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Median Pell
Student Grant Average E & G
percentage 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 as set forth 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 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:
FY 1996-97 Annual Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Contiguous
48 States,
the
District
Size of family unit of Alaska Hawaii
Columbia
and
outlying
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1..................................... 11,610 14,490 13,365
2..................................... 15,540 19,410 17,880
3..................................... 19,470 24,330 22,395
4..................................... 23,400 29,250 26,910
5..................................... 27,330 34,170 31,425
6..................................... 31,260 39,090 35,940
7..................................... 35,190 44,010 40,455
8..................................... 39,120 48,930 44,970
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than eight members, add the following
amount for each additional family member: $3,930 for the contiguous 48
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $4,920 for
Alaska; and $4,515 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 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.
Applicable Regulations: Regulations applicable to the eligibility
process include the Strengthening Institutions Program Regulations in
34 CFR part 607, and the Education Department General Administrative
Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 82, 85, and 86.
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, S.W., (Portals CY-80) Washington, D.C. 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, audio tape, 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 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: December 28, 1998.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-34751 Filed 12-31-98; 8:45 am]
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