Note
On Feb. 7, 2022, the U.S. Department of Education published in the Federal Register a new application deadline for designation as a Title III or Title V institution. The application deadline is now Friday, Feb. 18, 2022.
We provide the following information regarding the designation of Title III or Title V status for institutions and the resulting waiver of the non-federal share requirements for the Federal Work-Study (FWS) and Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) programs.
Campus-Based Programs Title III or Title V Non-Federal Share Requirement Waiver
Institutions participating in the FWS and FSEOG programs are normally required to provide a non-federal share under each program. Certain institutions, however, are eligible for a waiver of those requirements under 34 CFR 675.26(d) of the FWS regulations and 34 CFR 676.21(b) of the FSEOG regulations. To receive this waiver of the FWS and FSEOG non-federal share requirement, an institution must be designated by the Department of Education’s Office of Postsecondary Education Institutional Service (OPE/IS) as an eligible Title III or Title V institution under the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA).
If an institution is designated as a Title III or Title V institution for federal fiscal year 2022 under the process described below, it will receive a waiver of the requirement for the non-federal share of earned compensation paid to students under the FWS Program and of FSEOG funds awarded to students for the 2022–23 award year. Federal Student Aid will send a notice to the financial aid administrator indicating that the waiver of the non-federal share matching requirement has been granted.
Institutions that receive the waiver may choose to continue to provide a non-federal share and to determine the amount of that share for one or both programs.
It is important to note that the 50% federal share limitation for FWS wages paid to students employed by a private, for-profit organization, and the 80% federal share limitation for the administration of the Job Location and Development (JLD) Program are not waived under the Title III or Title V designations.
Designation as an Eligible Institution for Title III or Title V Programs
OPE/IS uses an automated designation process by reviewing existing data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to assess eligibility for Title III and Title V programs.
Note
A notice announcing the availability of the 2022 “Application for Designation as an Eligible Institution” and the application deadline has been published in the Federal Register.
Institutions must check their eligibility status by going to the “Application for Designation as an Eligible Institution” on the OPE/IS website (https://hepis.ed.gov/title3and5/).
Institutions that are determined to be eligible for a Title III or Title V program automatically receive the waiver of the non-federal share requirement for the Campus-Based Programs for the 2022–23 award year. No further action is required.
Institutions that are not designated as eligible for a Title III and Title V program must complete the “Application for Designation as an Eligible Institution” by the Friday, Jan. 21, 2022, deadline stated in the Federal Register Notice if they wish to be considered for Title III or Title V eligibility and the resulting waiver of the non-federal share requirement for FWS and FSEOG.
Note: Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCUs), and institutions with an active Title III or Title V grant (current throughout federal fiscal year 2022) automatically qualify for the waiver of the Campus-Based non-federal share requirement. These waivers are granted unless Federal Student Aid’s Grants and Campus-Based Programs Division receives information from OPE/IS that the institution has lost its grant funding and/or HBCU or TCCU status. Institutions with a current Title III or Title V grant should still check their eligibility should they wish to apply for an additional Title III or Title V grant in 2022.
Single Institutional Applications
To qualify for a Title III or Title V waiver of the FWS/FSEOG non-federal share requirement, any institution with a unique 6-digit OPEID (with a 2-digit extension of “00”) must submit its own annual Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP). Its FISAP cannot be submitted as part of an affiliated institution’s FISAP.
Eligibility for Title III and Title V programs is determined by OPE/IS at the 8-digit OPEID level for branch campuses, but not additional locations. Campus-Based funds are awarded at the main campus level (6-digit OPEID) only. If a main campus has received the waiver of the non-federal share requirement, it may extend the waiver to any of its additional locations that are not eligible to apply for Title III or Title V designation independently. However, the waiver may not be extended to any branch campuses unless those branch campuses have also been designated by OPE as eligible to participate in a Title III or Title V program. The institutional match must be provided for any portion of an institution’s FSEOG and/or FWS funds expended at a branch campus that has not been designated as Title III or Title V-eligible.
Contact Information
For questions about Title III or Title V eligibility, contact:
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Postsecondary Education
Institutional Service
400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 250
Washington, DC 20202
Christopher Smith
Email: christopher.smith@ed.gov
Tel: 202-453-7946
or
Jason Cottrell
Email: jason.cottrell@ed.gov
Tel: 202-453-7530
For questions about the Title III or Title V waiver of the non-federal share requirement for the FWS and FSEOG programs, contact the COD School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.