[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 184 (Wednesday, September 23, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50960-50961]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-25366]



[[Page 50959]]

_______________________________________________________________________

Part II





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



Applications Invitation for Designation as Eligible Institutions for 
Fiscal Year 1999 for the Part A Strengthening Institutions and 
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Programs; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 184 / Wednesday, September 23, 1998 / 
Notices  

[[Page 50960]]



DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA NO.: 84.031H]


Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for Fiscal Year (FY) 1999 for the Part A Strengthening 
Institutions and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Programs

Purpose of Program

    Institutions of higher education must meet specific statutory and 
regulatory requirements to be designated eligible to receive funds 
under the Strengthening Institutions and HSI Programs authorized, 
respectively, under Part A of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 
1965, as amended (HEA). An institution that is designated as an 
eligible institution under those programs may apply for grants under 
those programs, and may also receive a waiver of certain non-Federal 
share requirements under the Federal Supplemental Educational 
Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) and Federal Work Study (FWS) Programs. These 
latter two programs are student financial assistance programs 
authorized under Title IV of the HEA. Qualified institutions may 
receive these waivers even if they are not recipients of grant funds 
under the Strengthening Institutions or HSI Program.
    If an institution is interested in obtaining eligibility for 
purposes of receiving a new grant under the Strengthening Institutions 
or HSI Program, it must submit its application to the Department by 
February 15, 1999. If an institution is interested solely in obtaining 
a waiver under the FSEOG and FWS Programs, it must submit its 
application by May 28, 1999. Accordingly, if an institution is 
interested in applying both for a grant and a waiver, it must submit 
its application by February 15, 1999 to be eligible for the grant 
competition.

Early Applications

    If an institution submits its application to the Department by 
December 11, 1998, the Department will notify the applicant of its 
eligibility status by January 20, 1999. An applicant that believes it 
failed to be designated as an eligible institution because of errors in 
its application or because it submitted insufficient information may 
submit an amended application to the Department. The applicant must 
submit that application by February 15, 1999 to be eligible for the 
grant competition. It has until May 28, 1999 to submit an amended 
application for a FSEOG or FWS waiver request.
    If an applicant submits its initial application after December 11, 
1998 but before January 20, 1999, the Department does not guarantee 
that it will be able to review that application and notify the 
applicant in time to allow revisions to the application by the February 
15, 1999 deadline.
    Because of the direct benefits to institutions that are able to 
revise unapproved applications, the Department strongly recommends that 
institutions apply by the December 11, 1998 deadline.
    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 and FWS waivers; and December 11, 1998 for early 
application reviews.
    Applications Available: October 30, 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 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 a junior or community college or to 
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 1996-97 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 institution'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.

Table

    The following table identifies the relevant median Federal Pell 
Grant percentages and the average E&G expenditures per FTE student for 
the 1996-97 base year for the four categories of comparable 
institutions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Median
                      Student                       Pell Grant   Average
                                                    percentage   E&G 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 described 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

[[Page 50961]]

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:

                   1997-98 Base Year Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                       Contiguous 48
                                        States, the
                                        District of
         Size of family unit           Columbia, and   Alaska    Hawaii
                                          outlying
                                       jurisdictions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1....................................       12,075      15,105    13,890
2....................................       16,275      20,355    18,720
3....................................       20,475      25,605    23,550
4....................................       24,675      30,855    28,380
5....................................       28,875      36,105    33,210
6....................................       33,075      41,355    38,040
7....................................       37,275      46,605    42,870
8....................................       41,475      51,855    47,700
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For family units with more than eight members, add the following 
amount for each additional family member: $2,800 for the contiguous 48 
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $3,500 for 
Alaska; and $3,220 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 34 CFR 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: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 82, 85, 
and 86; and the regulations applicable to the eligibility process 
include the Strengthening Institutions Program regulations in 34 CFR 
part 607.
    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, SW, (Portals CY-80) Washington, DC 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, audiotape, 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 at (202) 512-1530 or, 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: September 14, 1998.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-25366 Filed 9-22-98; 8:45 am]
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