[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 233 (Tuesday, December 6, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29969]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: December 6, 1994]
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Part VI
Department of Education
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Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as an Eligible Institution
for Fiscal Year 1995 for the Strengthening Institutions and Endowment
Challenge Grant Programs; Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.031A, CFDA No. 84.031G]
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as an Eligible
Institution for fiscal year 1995 for the Strengthening Institutions and
Endowment Challenge Grant Programs
PURPOSE: Institutions of higher education must meet specific statutory
and regulatory requirements to be designated eligible to receive funds
under the Strengthening Institutions and Endowment Challenge Grant
Programs authorized, respectively, under Parts A and C of Title III of
the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).
In addition, section 316 of Title III of the HEA authorizes grants
to Hispanic-serving institutions to enable them to improve and expand
their capacity to serve Hispanic and other low-income students. Since
Congress has provided funding for section 316 grants, the Department
will hold a competition for new awards in Fiscal Year 1995. Hispanic-
serving institutions should note that to receive a grant under section
316, a Hispanic-serving institution must satisfy the institutional
eligibility requirements for the Strengthening Institutions and
Endowment Challenge Grant Programs, as well as additional statutory
eligibility criteria.
For Fiscal Years 1995 and 1996, the Department will conduct
biennial grant award competitions under the Strengthening Institutions
Program and under section 316 of the HEA for Hispanic-serving
institutions. Under a biennial grant award competition, an institution
submits a grant application that may be considered for funding under
two successive fiscal year grant award competitions. Applications are
evaluated and ranked by field readers for the first competition. If the
institution's application is not selected for funding under the first
fiscal year's award competition, it will be considered for funding
under the second fiscal year's award competition for new awards based
upon the score it received in the first competition. As part of this
scheme, no new applications will be accepted for the second fiscal year
competition for new awards. Accordingly, if an institution wishes to
apply for a new grant award under the Strengthening Institutions
Program for Fiscal Year 1995 or Fiscal Year 1996, it must submit an
application for Fiscal Year 1995; and if an institution wishes to apply
for a grant award under section 316 of the HEA, it must submit an
application for Fiscal Year 1995. The Department will publish a
separate closing date notice for those grant applications.
In making awards under the Strengthening Institutions Program,
under section 313(b) of the HEA, the Secretary gives priority in
funding to institutions that are not already receiving funding under a
Strengthening Institutions Program grant. Therefore, in awarding grants
in Fiscal Year 1995, the Secretary will fund in rank-order from those
applicants that have a funding priority in Fiscal Year 1995. In
awarding grants in Fiscal Year 1996, the Secretary will fund in rank-
order from those applicants that have a funding priority in Fiscal Year
1996.
The biennial grant award competition has the following
institutional eligibility implications. To receive a grant in Fiscal
Year 1995, an institution must submit an institutional eligibility
application to the Department by the deadline date set forth in this
notice and must qualify as an eligible institution. To receive a grant
in Fiscal Year 1996, an institution must submit an institutional
eligibility application to the Department by the deadline date set
forth in a notice that will be published for that year and must qualify
as an eligible institution under that notice.
For purposes of awarding grants under section 316 of the HEA, if
the Secretary selects an institution to receive a grant in Fiscal Year
1996, for purposes of determining whether the institution has an
enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at
least 25 percent Hispanic students, the Secretary will consider that
the institution submitted its application in Fiscal Year 1996.
To receive a grant in Fiscal Year 1996, an institution does not
have to submit an institutional eligibility application to the
Department in Fiscal Year 1995. However, the failure to submit an
eligibility application for Fiscal Year 1995 will preclude that
institution from receiving any benefits that derive from being an
eligible institution during that fiscal year.
Institutions that wish to be considered for waivers of certain non-
Federal share requirements under the Federal Work-Study or Federal
Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant Programs authorized under
Title IV of the HEA must be designated as eligible institutions under
the Strengthening Institutions and Endowment Challenge Grant Programs.
DEADLINE FOR TRANSMITTAL OF APPLICATIONS: January 23, 1995 for
institutions of higher education that anticipate competing for new
awards under the Strengthening Institutions and Endowment Challenge
Grant Programs, for Hispanic-serving institutions that anticipate
competing for new awards authorized under section 316 of the HEA, and
for institutions that plan to obtain non-Title III benefits from
qualifying as an eligible institution under the Strengthening
Institutions and Endowment Challenge Grant Programs.
APPLICATIONS AVAILABLE: December 21, 1994.
ELIGIBILITY INFORMATION: To qualify as an eligible institution under
the Strengthening Institutions and Endowment Challenge Grant Programs,
an applicant must (1) be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally
recognized accrediting agency; (2) be legally authorized by the State
in which it is located to be a junior or community college or to
provide a bachelors degree program; and (3) have a high enrollment of
needy students. In addition, its educational 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 are found in the Strengthening
Institutions Program regulations, 34 CFR 607.2-607.5, as revised in the
Federal Register on August 15, 1994 (59 FR 41914, 41922).
ENROLLMENT OF NEEDY STUDENTS: Under 34 CFR 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: Pell Grant, Supplemental
Educational Opportunity Grant, College Work Study, or Perkins Loan
Program; or (2) the percentage of its undergraduate degree students who
were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Pell Grants
exceeded the median percentage of undergraduate degree students who
were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Pell Grants at
comparable institutions that offer similar instruction. To qualify
under this latter criterion, an institution's Pell Grant percentage for
base year 1992-93 must be more than the median for its category of
comparable institutions provided on the table in this notice.
E&G EXPENDITURES PER FTE STUDENT: An institution should compare its
average E&G expenditure/FTE student to the average E&G expenditure/FTE
student for its category of comparable institutions contained in the
table in this notice. If the institution's average E&G expenditure for
the 1992-93 base year is less than the average for its category of
comparable institutions, it meets this eligibility requirement.
The 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 Pell Grant
percentages and the average E&G expenditures per FTE student for the
1992-93 base year for the four categories of comparable institutions:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Average
Median E&G per
Pell grant FTE
percentage student
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2-year public institutions....................... 30.20 $6,565
2-year non-profit private institutions........... 33.95 10,959
4-year public institutions....................... 29.62 12,004
4-year non-profit private institutions........... 30.23 15,724
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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 607.3(b) and 607.4 (c) and (d). As
discussed in the preamble to the final regulations published in the
Federal Register on August 15, 1994 (59 FR 41914-41917), the Secretary
has developed a set of more specific instructions relating to the
waiver provisions for institutions unable to meet the needy student
enrollment requirement. Institutions requesting a waiver of this
requirement must include detailed information as set forth in the
instructions for completing the application.
Under the waiver authority provided in 34 CFR 607.3(b)(2), an
institution must demonstrate that at least 30 percent of the students
it served in base year 1992-93 were from low-income families. The
regulations define ``low-income'' as an amount that does not exceed 150
percent of the amount equal to the poverty level as established by the
U.S. Bureau of the Census, 34 CFR 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:
Base Year Low-Income Levels
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Contiguous 48
States, the
District of
Size of family unit Columbia, and Alaska Hawaii
outlying
jurisdictions
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1.............................. $10,215 $12,750 $11,745
2.............................. 13,785 17,220 15,855
3.............................. 17,355 21,690 19,965
4.............................. 20,925 26,160 24,075
5.............................. 24,495 30,630 28,185
6.............................. 28,065 35,100 32,295
7.............................. 31,635 39,570 36,405
8.............................. 35,250 44,040 40,515
------------------------------------------------------------------------
For family units with more than eight members add the following
amount for each additional family member: $3,570 for the contiguous 48
states, the District of Columbia and outlying jurisdictions; $4,470 for
Alaska; and $4,110 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 14, 1992 (57 FR 5455-5457).
In reference to the waiver option specified in Sec. 607.3(b)(4) of
the regulations, information about ``metropolitan statistical areas''
may be obtained by requesting the Metropolitan Statistical Areas, 1993,
order number PB93-192664, from the National Technical Information
Services, Document Sales, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia
22161, telephone number (703) 487-4650. There is a charge for this
publication. For general information about ``metropolitan statistical
areas'', institutions of higher education may contact the Strengthening
Institutions Program Branch.
APPLICABLE REGULATIONS: Regulations applicable to the eligibility
process include: (a) the Strengthening Institutions Program Regulations
in 34 CFR Part 607, as revised in the Federal Register on August 15,
1994 (59 FR 41914); (b) the Endowment Challenge Grant Program
Regulations in 34 CFR Part 628; and (c) the Education Department
General Administrative Regulations in 34 CFR Parts 74, 75, 77, 82, 85,
and 86.
FOR APPLICATIONS OR INFORMATION CONTACT: Strengthening Institutions
Program Branch, Division of Institutional Development, U.S. Department
of Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 3042 ROB-3,
Washington, D.C. 20202-5335. Telephone: (202) 708-8839. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8
p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
Information about the Department's funding opportunities, including
copies of application notices for discretionary grant competitions, can
be viewed on the Department's electronic bulletin board (ED Board),
telephone (202) 260-9950; or on the Internet Gopher Server at
GOPHER.ED.GOV (under Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases).
However, the official application notice for a discretionary grant
competition is the notice published in the Federal Register.
PROGRAM AUTHORITY: 20 U.S.C. 1057, 1059c and 1065a.
Dated: November 30, 1994.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 94-29969 Filed 12-5-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
