[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 222 (Thursday, November 16, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69291-69293]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29302]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA NO.: 84.031H]


Strengthening Institutions (SIP), American Indian Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCU), Alaska Native and Native 
Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNH) and Developing Hispanic-Serving 
Institutions (HSI) Programs; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Designation as Eligible Institutions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001

    Purpose of 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, HSIs are eligible to apply for grants under the HSI Program, 
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: To become eligible, your institution must satisfy 
a criterion related to needy student enrollment and one related to 
Educational and General (E&G) expenditures for a particular base 
year. Because we changed the collection processes for determining 
the thresholds for these criteria, we do not have base year data 
beyond 1997-98. In order to award FY 2001 grants in a timely manner, 
we will use threshold data from base year 1997-98 rather than a 
later base year. In completing your eligibility application, 
therefore, you are to use data from the base year 1997-98.

    Eligible Applicants: To qualify as an eligible institution under 
any of the programs included in this notice, an accredited institution 
must, among other requirements, have a high enrollment of needy 
students, and its 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 the HSI 
Program are found in 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 
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/legislation/FedRegister/finrule/1999-4/121599a.html

    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

[[Page 69292]]

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 1997-1998 must be more than the 
median for its category of comparable institutions provided in the 
table in this notice.
    Educational and General Expenditures Per Full-Time Equivalent 
Student: An institution should compare its 1997-1998 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 in this notice. If the applicant institution's E&G expenditures 
for the 1997-1998 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, 1997-98, for the four categories of 
comparable institutions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                            Median Pell
           Type of institution                 Grant        Average E&G
                                            percentage          FTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-year Public Institutions..............           18.0%          $7,092
2-year Non-Profit Private Institutions..            29.9          20,392
4-year Public Institutions..............            24.8          17,715
4-year Non-Profit Private Institutions..            24.5          23,162
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Waiver Information: Institutions of higher education that are 
unable to meet the needy student enrollment requirement or the E&G 
expenditures 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 or the E&G expenditures requirement must include the 
detailed information as set forth in the instructions for completing 
the application.
    The needy student requirement 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 1997-1998 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:

                                      Annual Low-Income Levels for 1997-98
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                           Contiguous 48
                                                            States, the
                  Size of family unit                       District of           Alaska             Hawaii
                                                            Columbia and
                                                              Outlying
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1......................................................            $11,835            $14,805            $13,605
2......................................................             15,915             19,905             18,300
3......................................................             19,995             25,005             22,995
4......................................................             24,075             30,105             27,690
5......................................................             28,155             35,205             32,385
6......................................................             32,235             40,305             37,080
7......................................................             36,315             45,405             41,775
8......................................................             40,395             50,505             46,470
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    For family units with more than eight members, add the following 
amount for each additional family member: $4,080 for the contiguous 48 
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $5,100 for 
Alaska; and $4,695 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 10, 1997 (62 FR 10856-10859).
    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.
    Applications Available: November 30, 2000.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications:
     February 2, 2001 for applicant institutions that wish to 
apply for fiscal year 2001 grants under the Strengthening Institutions, 
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska 
Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions, or the HSI Programs.
     May 25, 2001 for applicant institutions that wish to apply 
only for cost-sharing waivers under the FSEOG, FWS, or UISFLP Programs.
     February 2, 2001 for applicant institutions that wish to 
apply for both a grant and a waiver of the cost-sharing requirements.
    Electronic Submission of Applications: For FY 2001, we are again 
offering applicant institutions the option of submitting their 
Designation of Eligibility application in hard copy or sending it 
electronically to our eligibility web site:

http://webprod.cbmiweb.com/title3and5/index.html


[[Page 69293]]


    To enter the web site, you must use your institution's unique 8-
digit identifier, i.e. your OPE ID number. Your business office or 
student financial aid office should have the OPE ID number. If your 
business office or student financial aid office does not have that OPE 
ID number, contact a Department of Education staff member using the e-
mail address located at the end of the Web page or the contact persons' 
telephone numbers or e-mail addresses included in this notice.
    You may find more detailed instructions for completing the form 
electronically under the ``eligibility 2001'' link at either of the 
following web sites:

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/title3a.html
http://www.ed.gov/hsi

    We encourage applicants to complete their form electronically and 
to complete it as soon as possible. For institutions of higher 
education that are unable to meet the needy student enrollment 
requirement or the E&G expenditure requirement and wish to request a 
waiver of one or both of those requirements, you may complete your 
designation application form on-line, print the form, and attach your 
narrative waiver request(s) to the printed form and mail both to the 
address in the next paragraph.
    Mail your Designation of Eligibility application request to: U.S. 
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW, Request for Eligibility 
Designation, Washington, DC 20006-8513.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 82, 85, 86, 97, 
98 and 99 and (b) The regulations for the SIP in 34 CFR part 607, and 
the HSI Program in 34 CFR part 606.
    For Applications and Further Information Contact: Thomas M. Keyes 
or Margaret A. Wheeler, Institutional Development and Undergraduate 
Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 
Request for Eligibility Designation, Washington, DC 20006-8513. Mr. 
Keyes' telephone number is (202) 502-7577. Ms. Wheeler's telephone 
number is (202) 502-7583. Mr. Keyes and Ms. Wheeler may be reached by 
e-mail at:

[email protected]
[email protected]

    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audio-tape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the program contact persons listed under FOR 
APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format by contacting those persons. However, 
the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 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 PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available 
free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions about using 
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 this 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: November 9, 2000.
A. Lee Fritschler,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 00-29302 Filed 11-15-00; 8:45 am]
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