[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 250 (Thursday, December 30, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73527-73529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-33959]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA NO.: 84.031H]


Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for fiscal year (FY) 2000 for the Strengthening 
Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and 
Universities, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions 
and Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Programs

    Purpose of These Programs: Under the Strengthening Institutions, 
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and 
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs 
authorized under Part A of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 
1965, as amended (HEA), institutions of higher education are eligible 
to apply for grants if they meet specific statutory and regulatory 
eligibility requirements. Similarly, Hispanic-Serving Institutions are 
eligible to apply for grants under the HSI Program, now authorized 
under Title V of the HEA, if they meet specific statutory and 
regulatory requirements.
    In addition, an institution that is designated as an eligible 
institution under those programs 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 Part A or Title V programs.
    Special Note: Two of the criteria that each eligible institution 
must satisfy relate to enrollment of needy students and Education and 
General (E&G) expenditures. However, we changed the collection 
processes for determining the thresholds for these criteria, and as a 
result, base year data beyond 1996-1997 is currently unavailable.
    In order to award FY 2000 grants in a timely manner, we will use 
1996-1997 base year data to determine eligibility. Moreover, for FY 
2000, we will extend the eligibility status an additional year for all 
institutions designated as eligible in FY 1999, with one exception--
Title III and Title V institutions whose grant expired on September 30, 
1999. These institutions must apply for FY 2000 eligibility using 1996-
1997 base year data. Of course, institutions that were not designated 
as eligible institutions in fiscal year 1999 must apply under this 
notice for that designation for fiscal year 2000.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:
     February 4, 2000 for applicant institutions that wish to 
apply for fiscal year 2000 grants under the Strengthening Institutions, 
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska 
Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, and HSI Programs.
     May 26, 2000 for applicant institutions that wish to apply 
only for waivers under the FSEOG, FWS, or UISFLP Programs.
    Thus, if an applicant institution wishes to apply for a grant and a 
waiver, the deadline date is February 4, 2000.
    Electronic Submission of applications: For FY 2000, we are offering 
applicant institutions the option of submitting their Designation of 
Eligibility applications electronically. Moreover, institutions that 
are unable to meet the needy student enrollment or the E&G expenditure 
requirement may also submit their waiver requests electronically.
    Eligibility Applications Available: January 5, 2000.
    Eligibility Information: To qualify as an eligible institution 
under any of the programs included in this notice, an accredited 
institution must, among other things, have a high enrollment of needy 
students, and 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 for HSI Program institutions are found in the 34 CFR 
606.2-606.5, which was published in the Federal Register of December 
15, 1999, 64 FR 70146-70153. The complete eligibility requirements for 
the remaining programs are found in 34 CFR 607.2-607.5, a portion of 
which was also amended in the Federal

[[Page 73528]]

Register of December 15, 1999, 64 FR 70146, 70153-70155. 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 606.3(a) and 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 (award) 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 1996-1997 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 E&G 
expenditure for the 1996-1997 base year are 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.
    The following table identifies the relevant median Federal Pell 
Grant percentages and the relevant average E&G expenditures per FTE 
student for the base year for the four categories of comparable 
institutions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Median Pell
                    Student                        Grant     Average E &
                                                 percentage     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 606.3(b), 606.4(c) and (d), 
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 606.3(b)(2) and (3) and 
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 the 1996-97 base 
year as established by the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 34 CFR 606.3(c) 
and 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 of
      Size of family unit         Columbia and     Alaska       Hawaii
                                    outlying
                                 jurisdictions
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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 March 18, 1999 (64 FR 13428-13430).
    In reference to the waiver option specified in 606.3(b)(4) and 
607.3(b)(4) of the regulations, information about ``metropolitan 
statistical areas'' may be obtained by requesting the Metropolitan 
Statistical Areas, 1999, order number PB99-501538, from the National 
Technical Information Services, Document Sales, 5285 Port Royal Road, 
Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone number 1-800-553-6847. 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, HSI Program regulations in 34 CFR part 606, and the 
Education Department General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 
74, 75, 77, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.
    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, 1990 K 
Street, N.W., 6th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20006-8513. Telephone (202) 
502-7777. Individuals

[[Page 73529]]

who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    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 also may obtain a copy of the 
application package in an alternate format by contacting that person. 
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

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet 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 (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington, DC 
area at (202) 572-1530.

    Note: The official version of a document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at http://www.access.gpo.gov/
nara/index/html.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1057, 1059c and 1065a.

    Dated: December 23, 1999.
Claudio R. Prieto,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-33959 Filed 12-29-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P