[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21677-21679]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09415]


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DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

National Institute of Food and Agriculture

7 CFR Part 3434

RIN 0524-AA39


Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities

AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This rule updates the list of institutions that are granted 
Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) 
certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for 
the period starting October 1, 2016, and ending September 30, 2017.

DATES: This rule is effective May 10, 2017 and applicable beginning 
October 1, 2016.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Read; Policy Analyst; National 
Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 
2272, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-2272; Voice: 
202-731-1366; Fax: 202-401-7752; Email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

HSACU Institutions for Fiscal Year 2017

    This rule makes changes to the existing list of institutions in 
Appendix B of 7 CFR part 3434. The list of institutions is amended to 
reflect the institutions that are granted HSACU certification by the 
Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting 
October 1, 2016, and ending September 30, 2017.

Certification Process

    As stated in 7 CFR 3434.4, an institution must meet the following 
criteria to receive HSACU certification: (1) Be a Hispanic-Serving 
Institution (HSI), (2) offer agriculture-related degrees, (3) not 
appear on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), (4) be accredited, 
and (5) award at least 15% of agriculture-related degrees to Hispanic 
students over the two most recent academic years.
    NIFA obtained the latest report from the U.S. Department of 
Education's

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National Center for Education Statistics that lists all HSIs and the 
degrees conferred by these institutions (completion data) during the 
2014-15 academic year. NIFA used this report to identify HSIs that 
conferred a degree in an instructional program that appears in Appendix 
A of 7 CFR part 3434 and to confirm that over the 2013-14 and 2014-15 
academic years at least 15% of the degrees in agriculture-related 
fields were awarded to Hispanic students. NIFA further confirmed that 
these institutions were nationally accredited and were not on the 
exclusions listing in the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/##11).
    The updated list of HSACUs is based on (1) completions data from 
2013-14 and 2014-15, and (2) enrollment data from Fall 2015. NIFA 
identified 104 institutions that met the eligibility criteria to 
receive HSACU certification for FY 2017 (October 1, 2016 to September 
30, 2017).

Declaration of Intent To Apply for NLGCA Designation

    As set forth in Section 7101 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Pub. 
L. 113-79), which amends 7 U.S.C. 3103, an institution that is eligible 
to be designated as an HSACU may notify the Secretary of its intent not 
to be considered an HSACU. To opt out of designation as an HSACU, an 
authorized official at the institution must submit a declaration of 
intent not to be considered an HSACU to NIFA by email at 
[email protected]. In accordance with Section 7101, a 
declaration by an institution not to be considered an HSACU shall 
remain in effect until September 30, 2018. Institutions that opt out of 
HSACU designation will have the option to apply for designation as a 
Non-Land Grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA) institution. To be 
eligible for NLGCA designation, institutions must be public colleges or 
universities offering baccalaureate or higher degrees in the study of 
food and agricultural sciences, as defined in 7 U.S.C. 3103. An online 
form to request NLGCA designation is available at http://nifa.usda.gov/webform/request-non-land-grant-college-agriculture-designation.
    In FYs 2015, 2016 and 2017 five institutions opted out of their 
HSACU designation and received NLGCA designation, hence they are 
excluded from the FY 2017 HSACU list.

Appeal Process

    As set forth in 7 CFR 3434.8, NIFA will permit HSIs that are not 
granted HSACU certification to submit an appeal within 30 days of the 
publication of this notice.

Classification

    This rule relates to internal agency management. Accordingly, 
pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, notice of proposed rulemaking and opportunity 
for comment are not required, and this rule may be made effective less 
than 30 days after publication in the Federal Register. This rule also 
is exempt from the provisions of Executive Order 12866. This action is 
not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended by 
the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 
U.S.C. 601 et seq., or the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et 
seq., and thus is exempt from the provisions of those Acts. This rule 
contains no information collection or recordkeeping requirements under 
the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).

List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 3434

    Administrative practice and procedure; Agricultural research, 
Education, Extension; Hispanic-Serving Institutions; Federal 
assistance.

    Accordingly, part 3434 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations is amended as set forth below:

PART 3434--HISPANIC-SERVING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES 
CERTIFICATION PROCESS

0
 1. The authority citation for part 3434 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 3103.

0
2. Revise appendix B to part 3434 to read as follows:

Appendix B to Part 3434--List of HSACU Institutions, 2016-2017

    The institutions listed in this appendix are granted HSACU 
certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs 
for the period starting October 1, 2016, and ending September 30, 
2017. Institutions are listed alphabetically under the state of the 
school's location, with the campus indicated where applicable.

Arizona (5)

Arizona Western College
Central Arizona College
Cochise County Community College
Phoenix College
Pima Community College

California (40)

Allan Hancock College
Antioch University--Los Angeles
Bakersfield College
California Baptist University
California Lutheran University
Chaffey College
College of the Desert
College of the Sequoias
Cuyamaca College
El Camino Community College District
Fullerton College
Golden West College
Hartnell College
Imperial Valley College
Long Beach City College
Los Angeles Pierce College
Merced College
MiraCosta College
Modesto Junior College
Mt San Antonio College
Mt San Jacinto Community College District
National University
Orange Coast College
Pacific Union College
Porterville College
Reedley College
Santa Ana College
San Bernardino Valley College
San Diego City College
San Diego Mesa College
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University
Saint Mary's College of California
Southwestern College
University of La Verne
Victor Valley College
West Hills College--Coalinga
Whittier College
Woodland Community College

Colorado (2)

Community College of Denver
Trinidad State Junior College

Florida (3)

Broward College
Florida International University
Miami Dade College

Illinois (1)

Dominican University

Kansas (2)

Dodge City Community College
Seward County Community College and Area Technical School

Massachusetts (1)

Springfield Technical Community College

Nevada (1)

Truckee Meadows Community College

New Jersey (3)

Essex County College
Montclair State University
Saint Peter's University

New Mexico (10)

Central New Mexico Community College
Eastern New Mexico University--Main Campus
Eastern New Mexico University--Ruidoso Campus
Mesalands Community College
New Mexico Highlands University
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Northern New Mexico College
Santa Fe Community College
Western New Mexico University
University of New Mexico--Los Alamos Campus

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New York (4)

CUNY City College
CUNY LaGuardia Community College
Mercy College
SUNY Westchester Community College

Oregon (1)

Chemeketa Community College

Puerto Rico (10)

Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico--Recinto de Manati
Inter American University of Puerto Rico--Aguadilla
Inter American University of Puerto Rico--Bayamon
Inter American University of Puerto Rico--Metro
Inter American University of Puerto Rico--San German
Inter American University of Puerto Rico--Ponce
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico--Ponce
Universidad Del Este
Universidad Del Turabo
Universidad Metropolitana

Texas (18)

Houston Community College
Palo Alto College
Saint Edwards's University
San Antonio College
Southwest Texas Junior College
St. Mary's University
Texas State Technical College
Texas State University
The University of Texas--Pan American
The University of Texas at Brownsville
The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
The University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Houston
University of Houston--Clear Lake
University of the Incarnate Word
University of St. Thomas
Western Texas College

Washington (3)

Heritage University
Wenatchee Valley College
Yakima Valley Community College

    Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of May 2017.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2017-09415 Filed 5-9-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3410-22-P