To be eligible to receive a grant under the Strengthening HBCU program, an institution must be designated by the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education as a Historically Black College or University. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as an institution established prior to 1964 whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and must --

1. Satisfy Section 322 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA);
2. Be legally authorized by the State in which it is located --
   1. To be a junior or community college; or
   2. To provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree; and,
3. Be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.

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