Publication Date: November 25, 2016
Posted Date: December 6, 2016
Subject: Application for Waiver of Institutional Match for Campus Based Programs
FR Type: Notice
[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 227 (Friday, November 25, 2016)] [Notices] [Pages 85210-85214] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2016-28400] ==================================================================== ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Eligibility Designations and Applications for Waiver of Eligibility Requirements; 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 (Department). ACTION: Notice. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Overview Information: Notice announcing process for designation of eligible institutions, and inviting applications for waiver of eligibility requirements for fiscal year (FY) 2017. 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 [[Page 85211]] 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). DATES: Applications Available: December 1, 2016. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: January 9, 2017. 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 (IHE's or institution'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. Since 2004, the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) has calculated Core Expenses per FTE of 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 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 is calculated using the same methodology as Core Expenses per FTE. Accordingly, with regard to this and future notices inviting applications for waivers of eligibility requirements, to calculate E&G per FTE for the purpose of determining institutional eligibility for programs under Title V and Part A and Part F of Title III of the HEA, the Department will apply the NCES methodology for calculating Core Expenses per FTE. Institutions requesting an eligibility waiver determination must use the Core Expenses per FTE data reported to NCES' Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) for the most currently available academic year, in this case academic year 2014- 2015.