[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 348-349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-34751]



[[Page 347]]

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Part IX





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible Institutions 
for Fiscal Year 1999 for the Strengthening Institutions and Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 64, No. 1 / Monday, January 4, 1999 / 
Notices  

[[Page 348]]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA NO.: 84.031H]


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

    Purpose of This Notice: This notice supersedes the institutional 
eligibility notice published in the Federal Register of September 23, 
1998 (63 FR 50960-50961) for the Strengthening Institutions and 
Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs. This notice incorporates 
statutory changes to the institutional eligibility provisions in those 
programs that were made by the Higher Education Amendments of 1998, 
Public Law 105-244, and became effective on October 1, 1998. Those 
changes include, for example, the addition of a waiver option for 
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities. This 
notice also replaces the low-income table set forth in the September 
23, 1998 notice with a Base Year 1996-97 Low-Income Levels Table.
    Because the statutory changes made by the Higher Education 
Amendments of 1998 to the Strengthening and HSI Programs became 
effective on October 1, 1998, the Department will not have adequate 
time to implement the ``early application procedures'' contained in the 
September 23, 1998 notice for this year. Therefore, the Department will 
not use those early application procedures for this fiscal year. As a 
result, the Department will not accept amended or corrected 
applications after the deadline dates set forth in this notice.
    For the reader's convenience, this notice repeats all the relevant 
application information contained in the September 23, 1998 Federal 
Register notice in order to provide a single reference point for 
information about the institutional eligibility application process.

Purpose of These Programs

    Under the Strengthening Institutions Program authorized under Part 
A of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), 
institutions of higher education, including American Indian Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities and Alaska Native and Native 
Hawaiian--Serving Institutions, are eligible to receive funds if they 
meet specific statutory and regulatory requirements. Similarly, 
Hispanic-Serving Institutions may receive funds under the HSI Program, 
now authorized under Title V of the HEA, if they meet specific 
statutory and regulatory requirements.
    An institution that is designated as an eligible institution under 
those programs may receive a grant under those programs, and may also 
receive a waiver of certain non-Federal share requirements under the 
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG), Federal 
Work Study (FWS), and Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign 
Language Programs (UISFLP). These first two programs are student 
financial assistance programs authorized under Title IV of the HEA; the 
third program is authorized under Title VI of the HEA. Qualified 
institutions may receive these waivers even if they are not recipients 
of grant funds under the Title III or Title V programs.
    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, FWS, or UISFLP waivers. Accordingly, if an 
institution is interested in applying both for a grant and a waiver, it 
must submit its application by February 15, 1999.
    Applications Available: January 15, 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, including an American Indian Tribally Controlled College 
or University or an Alaska Native or Native Hawaiian Serving 
Institution, 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 junior or community colleges (except that 
an American Indian Tribally Controlled College or University merely 
must qualify as a junior or community college) or 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 1996-1997 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 institutions'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.

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                                  Table
 [The following table identifies the relevant median Federal Pell Grant
  percentages and the average E&G expenditures per FTE student for the
 1996-1997 base year for the four categories of comparable institutions]
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Median Pell
                 Student                       Grant       Average E & G
                                            percentage          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 as set forth 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 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:

                   FY 1996-97 Annual Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Contiguous
                                        48 States,
                                            the
                                         District
          Size of family unit               of        Alaska     Hawaii
                                         Columbia
                                            and
                                         outlying
------------------------------------------------------------------------
1.....................................      11,610     14,490     13,365
2.....................................      15,540     19,410     17,880
3.....................................      19,470     24,330     22,395
4.....................................      23,400     29,250     26,910
5.....................................      27,330     34,170     31,425
6.....................................      31,260     39,090     35,940
7.....................................      35,190     44,010     40,455
8.....................................      39,120     48,930     44,970
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For family units with more than eight members, add the following 
amount for each additional family member: $3,930 for the contiguous 48 
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $4,920 for 
Alaska; and $4,515 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 Sec. 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: Regulations applicable to the eligibility 
process include the Strengthening Institutions Program Regulations in 
34 CFR part 607, and the Education Department General Administrative 
Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 82, 85, and 86.
    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, S.W., (Portals CY-80) Washington, D.C. 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, audio tape, 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 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: December 28, 1998.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-34751 Filed 12-31-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-P