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Subject: Application for Title III and Title V Designation, including waivers of the FWS and FSEOG Matching Requirements

Publication Date: November 3, 2014

Posted Date: November 3, 2014

Subject: Application for Title III and Title V Designation, including waivers of the FWS and FSEOG Matching Requirements

FR Type: Notice


[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 212 (Monday, November 3, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65197-65200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-26075]
 
 
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 
 
Applications for Eligibility Designation; Programs under Parts A 
and F of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended 
(HEA), and Programs under Title V of the HEA
 
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
 
ACTION: Notice.
 
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    Overview Information:
    This notice applies to the following programs:
    1. Programs authorized under Part A, Title III of the HEA: 
Strengthening Institutions Program (Part A SIP), Alaska Native and 
Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Part A ANNH), Predominantly Black 
Institutions (Part A PBI), Native American-Serving Nontribal 
Institutions (Part A NASNTI), and Asian American and Native American 
Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (Part A AANAPISI).
    2. Programs authorized under Part F, Title III of the HEA: 
Hispanic-Serving Institutions STEM and Articulation (Part F, HSI STEM 
and Articulation), Predominantly Black Institutions (Part F PBI), 
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (Part F ANNH), 
Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions (Part F NASNTI) and 
Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving 
Institutions (Part F AANAPISI).
    3. Programs authorized under Title V of the HEA: Developing 
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) and Promoting Postbaccalaureate 
Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA). Notice inviting 
applications for designation as an eligible institution for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2015.
 
DATES: Application Available: November 3, 2014.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: December 18, 2014.
 
    Special Note: Section 312 of the HEA and 34 CFR 607.2-607.5 
include most of the basic eligibility requirements for grant 
programs authorized under Titles III and V of the HEA. Section 
312(b)(1)(B) of the HEA provides that, to be eligible for these 
programs, an institution of higher education's average ``educational 
and general expenditures'' (E&G) per full-time equivalent (FTE) 
undergraduate student must be less than the average E&G expenditures 
per FTE undergraduate student of institutions that offer similar 
instruction in that year. 34 CFR 607.4(a). Since 2004, the National 
Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has calculated core expenses 
(Core Expenses) per FTE of postsecondary institutions, a statistic 
similar to E&G per FTE. Both E&G per FTE and Core Expenses per FTE 
are based on regular operational expenditures of postsecondary 
institutions (excluding auxiliary enterprises, independent 
operations, and hospital expenses). They differ only in that E&G per 
FTE is based on fall undergraduate enrollment, while Core Expenses 
per FTE is based on 12-month undergraduate enrollment for the 
academic year. To avoid inconsistency in the data submitted to and 
produced by the Department, for the purpose of section 312(b)(1)(B) 
of the HEA, E&G per FTE will now be calculated using the same 
methodology as Core Expenses per FTE. Accordingly, with regard to 
this and future notices inviting applications, to calculate E&G per 
FTE for the purpose of determining institutional eligibility for 
programs under Part A and Part F of Title III and Title V of the 
HEA, the Department will apply the NCES methodology for calculating 
Core Expenses per FTE. Institutions applying for eligibility must 
use the Core Expenses per FTE data reported to NCES's Integrated 
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for the most currently 
available academic year, in this case 2012-2013.
 
Full Text of Announcement
 
I. Funding Opportunity Description
 
    Purpose of Programs:
    The Part A SIP, Part A ANNH, Part A PBI, Part A NASNTI, and Part A 
AANAPISI programs are authorized under Title III, Part A, of the HEA. 
The HSI and PPOHA programs are authorized under Title V of the HEA. The 
Part F, HSI STEM and Articulation, Part F PBI, Part F AANAPISI, Part F 
ANNH, and Part F NASNTI programs are authorized under Title III, Part F 
of the HEA. Please note that certain programs in this notice have the 
same or a similar name as another program that falls under a different 
statutory authority. For this reason, we specify the statutory 
authority as part of the acronym for certain programs.
    Under the programs discussed above, institutions of higher 
education (``IHEs'' or ``institutions'') are eligible to apply for 
grants if they meet specific statutory and regulatory eligibility 
requirements. An IHE that submits an application and is designated as 
an eligible institution may also receive a waiver of certain non-
Federal cost-sharing requirements for one year under the Federal 
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (FSEOG) program authorized 
by Part A, Title IV of the HEA and the Federal Work-Study Program (FWS) 
program authorized by section 443 of the HEA. Qualified institutions 
may receive the FWS and FSEOG waivers for one year even if they do not 
receive a grant under the Title III or Title V Programs. An applicant 
that receives a grant from the Student Support Services (SSS) program 
that is authorized under section 402D of the HEA, 20 U.S.C. 1070a-14, 
may receive a waiver of the required non-Federal share for institutions 
for the duration of the grant. An applicant that receives a grant from 
the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) 
program that is authorized under section 604 of the HEA, 20 U.S.C. 
1124, may receive a waiver or reduction of the required non-Federal 
share for institutions for the duration of the grant.
 
    Special Note: To qualify as an eligible institution under the 
grant programs listed in this notice, your institution must satisfy 
several criteria. For most of these programs, these criteria include 
those that relate to the enrollment of needy students and to Core 
Expenses per FTE for a specified base year. The most recent data 
available for Core Expenses per FTE are for base year 2012-2013. In 
order to award FY 2015 grants in a timely manner, we will use this 
data to evaluate eligibility. Therefore, in completing your 
eligibility application, please use Core Expenses per FTE reported 
to IPEDS for academic year 2012-2013.
 
    Accordingly, all institutions interested in applying for a new 
grant under the Title III or Title V programs addressed in this notice 
or in requesting a waiver of the non-Federal cost share, must apply for 
eligibility designation for FY 2015. Under the HEA, any IHE interested 
in applying for a grant under any of these programs must first be 
designated as an eligible institution. (34 CFR 606.5 and 607.5).
    Eligible Applicants:
    The eligibility requirements for the programs authorized under Part 
A of Title III of the HEA are in Sections 312 and 317-320 of the HEA 
(20 U.S.C. 1058, 1059d-1059g) and in the Department's implementing 
regulations at 34 CFR 607.2 through 607.5. The regulations may be 
accessed at:
 
www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2001-title34-vol3/xml/CFR-2001-title34-vol3-part607.xml.
    The eligibility requirements for the programs authorized by Part F 
of Title III of the HEA are in Section 371 of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 
1067q). We are developing regulations for these programs; there are 
currently no specific program regulations.
    The eligibility requirements for the Title V HSI Program are in 
Part A of Title V of the HEA and in 34 CFR 606.2 through 34 CFR 606.5. 
The regulations may be accessed at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CFR-2001-title34-vol3/xml/CFR-2001-title34-vol3-part606.xml.
    The requirements for the PPOHA Program are in Part B of Title V of 
the HEA and in the notice of final requirements published in the 
Federal Register on July 27, 2010 (75 FR 44055), and in 34 CFR 606.2(a) 
and (b), and 606.3 through 606.5.
    Enrollment of Needy Students: For the Title III, Part A SIP; Part A 
ANNH; Part A NASNTI; Part A AANAPISI Part A PBI; Title III, Part F HSI 
STEM and Articulation; Part F AANAPISI; Part F NASNTI; Part F ANNH; 
Part F PBI; HSI and PPOHA programs, an institution is considered to 
have an enrollment of needy students if: (1) At least 50 percent of its 
degree students received financial assistance under: The Federal Pell 
Grant, FSEOG, FWS, or the 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 offer similar instruction.
    To qualify under this latter criterion, an institution's Federal 
Pell Grant percentage for base year 2012-2013 must be more than the 
median for its category of comparable institutions provided in the 
2012-2013 Median Pell Grant and Core Expenses per FTE Student Table in 
this notice.
    For the definition of ``Enrollment of Needy Students'' for purposes 
of the Part A PBI Program, see section 318(b)(2) of the HEA, and for 
purposes of the Part F PBI program see section 371(c)(9)of the HEA.
    Core Expenses Per FTE Student: For the Title III, Part A SIP; Part 
A ANNH; Part A PBI; Part A NASNTI; Part A AANAPISI; Title III, Part F 
HSI STEM and Articulation; Part F PBI; Part F AANAPISI; Part F ANNH; 
Part F NASNTI; HSI and PPOHA programs, an institution should compare 
its base year 2012-2013 Core Expenses per FTE student to the average 
Core Expenses per FTE student for its category of comparable 
institutions in the base year 2012-2013 Median Pell Grant and Average 
Core Expenses per FTE Student Table in this notice. The institution 
meets this eligibility requirement under these programs if its Core 
Expenses for the 2012-2013 base year are less than the average for its 
category of comparable institutions.