[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 247 (Wednesday, December 26, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66407-66409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-31654]


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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 Hispanic Serving Institutions 
(HSI) Programs; Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as 
Eligible Institutions for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002

    Purpose of Programs: Under the SIP, TCCU, and ANNH 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), the Federal Work Study (FWS), 
the Student Support Services (SSS) and the Undergraduate International 
Studies and Foreign Language (UISFL) Programs. These first three 
programs are authorized under Title IV of the HEA; the fourth 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 
1998-99. In order to award FY 2002 grants in a timely manner, we will 
use threshold data from base year 1998-99 rather than a later base 
year. In completing your eligibility application, therefore, you are to 
use data from the base year 1998-99.
    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

[[Page 66408]]

that offer similar instruction. The complete eligibility requirements 
for the HSI Program are found in 34 CFR 606.2-606.5. The complete 
eligibility requirements for the remaining programs are found in 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/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 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 1998-1999 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 1998-1999 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 institution's E&G expenditures for the 1998-1999 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, 1998-1999, for the four categories of 
comparable institutions:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                Median Pell
              Type of institution                  grant     Average E&G
                                                 percentage      FTE
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-year Public Institutions....................         19.1       $7,948
2-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........         30.6       25,358
4-year Public Institutions....................         25.0       18,732
4-year Non-Profit Private Institutions........         25.2       27,143
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    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 or the E&G expenditures requirement must include the 
detailed information as described 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 1998-99 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:

                      1998 Annual Low-Income Levels
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Contiguous
                                    48 States,
                                       the
       Size of family unit         District of     Alaska       Hawaii
                                     Columbia
                                       and
                                     Outlying
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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: $4,200 for the contiguous 48 
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $5,250 for 
Alaska; and $4,830 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 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 Service, Document Sales, 5285 Port Royal Road, 
Springfield, Virginia 22161, telephone number 1-800-553-6847. There is 
a charge for this publication.
    Applications Available: January 4, 2002.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Eligibility Applications:
     March 29, 2002 for applicant institutions that wish to 
apply for fiscal year 2002 new grants under the Title III SIP, TCCU, 
and ANNH Programs or the Title V HSI Program.

[[Page 66409]]

     May 24, 2002 for applicant institutions that wish to apply 
only for cost-sharing waivers under the FSEOG, FWS, SSS or UISFL 
Programs.
     March 29, 2002 for applicant institutions that wish to 
apply for both a grant under the Title III SIP, TCCU, and ANNH Programs 
or the Title V HSI Program and a waiver of the cost-sharing 
requirements under the FSEOG, FWS, SSS or UISFL Programs.
    Electronic Submission of Applications: For FY 2002, 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 at: http://webprod.cbmiweb.com/Title3and5/index.html
    To enter the web site, you must use your institution's unique 8-
digit identifier, i.e., your Office of Postsecondary Education 
Identification Number (OPE ID number). If you receive a hard copy of 
the eligibility application and instructions from us in the mail, look 
for the OPE ID number on the address label. Otherwise, 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 will find detailed instructions for completing the form 
electronically under the ``eligibility 2002'' link at either of the 
following web sites:

http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/title3a.html
      or
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 20202-8513.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 85, 86, 
97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for the SIP, TCCU and ANNH Programs 
in 34 CFR part 607, and for the HSI Program in 34 CFR 606.
    For Applications and Further Information Contact: Thomas M. Keyes, 
Margaret A. Wheeler or Ellen Sealey, Institutional Development and 
Undergraduate Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 
Street, Request for Eligibility Designation, Washington, DC 20202-8513. 
Mr. Keyes' telephone number is (202) 502-7577. Ms. Wheeler's telephone 
number is (202) 502-7583. Ms. Sealey's telephone number is (202) 502-
7580. Mr. Keyes, Ms. Wheeler and Ms. Sealey may be reached by e-mail 
at: [email protected], [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 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 the following site: 
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister
    To use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. 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) 512-1530.

    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. 1057-1059d, 1101-1103g.

    Dated: December 19, 2001.
Maureen A. McLaughlin,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Innovation, Office 
of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 01-31654 Filed 12-21-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-U