[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 110 (Friday, June 7, 2019)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 26544-26546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-12021]


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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 (HSACU) 
Certification Process

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

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: This amendment to NIFA regulations 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, 2018, 
and ending September 30, 2019.

DATES: This rule is effective June 7, 2019 and applicable from October 
1, 2018-September 30, 2019.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanna Moore; Senior Policy 
Specialist; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department 
of Agriculture; STOP 2272; 1400 Independence Avenue SW; Washington, DC 
20250-2272; Voice: 202-690-6011; Fax: 202-401-7752; Email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

HSACU Institutions for Fiscal Year 2019

    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, 2018, and ending September 30, 2019.

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 National Center for Education Statistics that lists all 
HSIs and the degrees conferred by these institutions

[[Page 26545]]

(completion data) during the 2016-17 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 2015-16 and 2016-17 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/SAM/pages/public/searchRecords/search.jsf).
    The updated list of HSACUs is based on (1) completions data from 
2015-16 and 2016-17, and (2) enrollment data from Fall 2017. NIFA 
identified 158 institutions that met the eligibility criteria to 
receive HSACU certification for FY 2019 (October 1, 2018 to September 
30, 2019).
    Section 7102 of the Agriculture Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334) 
amended Section 1404(14) of the National Agricultural Research, 
Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(14)) to 
remove the opt-in, opt-out language for Hispanic Serving Agricultural 
Colleges and Universities (HSACU) in order to apply for Non Land-Grant 
College of Agriculture (NLGCA) designation.

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.

    Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended accordingly 
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 read as follows:

Appendix B to Part 3434--List of HSACU institutions, 2018-2019

    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, 2018, and ending September 30, 
2019. Institutions are listed alphabetically under the state of the 
school's location, with the campus indicated where applicable.

Arizona (4)

Arizona Western College
Cochise County Community College
Mesa Community College
Pima Community College

California (67)

Allan Hancock College
Bakersfield College
Cabrillo College
California Baptist University
California State University--San Bernardino
California State University--Long Beach
California State University--Los Angeles
California State University--East Bay
California State University--Fullerton
California State University--Fresno
California State University--Chico
California State University--Bakersfield
California State University--Stanislaus
California State University--San Marcos
California State University--Monterey Bay
California State University--Channel Islands
California State Polytechnic--Pomona
Chaffey College
City College of San Francisco
Crafton Hills College
College of the Desert
College of the Sequoias
Cosumnes River College
Cuesta College
Cuyamaca College
El Camino Community College District
Foothill College
Fresno Pacific University
Fullerton College
Golden West College
Hartnell College
Humboldt State University
Imperial Valley College
Las Positas College
Long Beach City College
Los Angeles Pierce College
Mendocino College
Merced College
Mills College
Modesto Junior College
Mt San Antonio College
Mt San Jacinto Community College District
Napa Valley College
National University
Orange Coast College
Pacific Union College
Porterville College
Reedley College
Saddleback College
Santa Barbara City College
Santa Monica College
San Bernardino Valley College
San Diego City College
San Diego Mesa College
San Diego State University
San Joaquin State University
San Jose State University
Saint Mary's College of California
Southwestern College
University of California--Irvine
University of California--Riverside
University of California--Santa Barbara
University of California--Santa Cruz
Victor Valley College
West Hills College--Coalinga
Whittier College
Yuba College

Connecticut (1)

Norwalk Community College

Colorado (2)

Aims Community College
Community College of Denver

Florida (7)

Broward College
City College--Hollywood
Florida International University
Hillsborough Community College
Miami Dade College
South Florida State College
Valencia College

Illinois (3)

College of Lake County
Dominican University
Triton College

Kansas (2)

Dodge City Community College
Garden City Community College

Nevada (3)

College of Southern Nevada
Nevada State College
Truckee Meadows Community College

New Jersey (4)

Essex County College
Montclair State University
Saint Peter's University
William Paterson University of New Jersey

New Mexico (9)

Central New Mexico Community College
Eastern New Mexico University--Main Campus
Mesalands Community College
New Mexico Highlands University
Northern New Mexico College
Santa Fe Community College
Western New Mexico University
University of New Mexico--Los Alamos Campus
University of New Mexico--Main Campus

[[Page 26546]]

New York (8)

CUNY Hunter College
CUNY LaGuardia Community College
CUNY Lehman College
CUNY Queens College
CUNY Queensborough Community College
Mercy College
Nassau Community College
SUNY Westchester Community College

Puerto Rico (16)

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--Arecibo
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico--Ponce
Universidad Del Turabo
Universidad Metropolitana
University of Puerto Rico--Humacao
University of Puerto Rico--Utuado
University of Puerto Rico--Mayaquez
University of Puerto Rico--Medical Sciences
University of Puerto Rico--Rio Piedras

Texas (28)

Angelo State University
Concordia University--Texas
Houston Community College
Frank Phillips College
Lee College
Odessa College
Palo Alto College
Saint Edwards's University
San Antonio College
Southwest Texas Junior College
St. Mary's University
Sul Ross University
Texas State University
Texas State Technical College
Texas A & M International University
Texas A & M University--Corpus Christi
Texas A & M University--Kingsville
The University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
The University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at Arlington
Texas Woman's University
University of Houston
University of Houston--Clear Lake
University of the Incarnate Word
University of St. Thomas
Western Texas College
Wayland Baptist University

Washington (4)

Big Bend Community College
Columbia Basin College
Wenatchee Valley College
Yakima Valley Community College

    Done in Washington, DC, this 21 day of May 2019.
Steve Censky,
Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture.
[FR Doc. 2019-12021 Filed 6-6-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P