Higher Education-Institutional Aid (84.031)
Program
84.031 Higher Education-Institutional Aid
Federal Agency
ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Authorization
Higher Education Act of 1965, Title III, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1051-1069h.
Program Number
84.031
Last Known Status
Active
Objectives
To help eligible colleges and universities to strengthen their management and fiscal operations and to assist such institutions to plan, develop, or implement activities including endowment building that promise to strengthen the academic quality of their institutions.
Types of Assistance
Project Grants.
Uses and Use Restrictions
Eligible institutions may apply under Part A or B of the Strengthening Institutions Program. Part A includes the American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions. Part B includes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) program. Part A provides funds to eligible institutions to plan, develop, and implement activities for development of faculty, funds, and administrative management, and improvement of academic programs, acquisition of equipment for use in strengthening academic programs and institutional management, and joint use of facilities such as libraries, laboratories, and student services. The second program provides funds to undergraduate and graduate HBCUs. Funds may be used for purchase, rental, or lease of scientific equipment; construction, maintenance, renovation, improvement in classroom, library and other instructional facilities; support of faculty exchanges and fellowships; academic instruction in disciplines in which Blacks are underrepresented, purchase of library books, periodicals, and other educational materials; tutoring, counseling, and student services; funds and administrative management; acquisition of equipment for use in funds management; and joint use of facilities. Under the graduate HBCU program funds may also be used to establish or maintain endowments. Funds may not be used for activities other than those in an approved application, activities that are inconsistent with any applicable State plan of higher education or State plan for desegregation, a school or department of divinity or any religious worship or sectarian activity; general operating and maintenance expenses; indirect costs; construction costs (except under Part B); or supplanting of other funds available to the institution. These programs are subject to non-supplanting requirements and must use a restricted indirect cost rate which is referenced under 34 CFR 76.564-76.569. For assistance call the Office of Chief Financial Officer/Indirect Cost Group on 202-708-7770.
Eligibility Requirements
Applicant Eligibility
An institution of higher education that qualifies as eligible using criteria as specified in the regulations. Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, specific and basic requirements as stated in the program regulations must be met. Eligible applicants include institutions that have: (1) A low average per FTE educational and general expenditure; (2) a substantial percentage of students having Pell Grants or other Federal need-based financial aid. However, a waiver of the low educational and general expenditure requirement and the needy student enrollment requirement may be granted to institutions meeting the criteria specified in the existing regulations. Under the HBCU program certain historically Black institutions that were established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans are eligible. A listing of those institutions is published in program regulations; these HBCUs are also eligible under the Endowment Challenge Grant Program.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Applicant institutions of higher education, including those in the territories and possessions that meet statutory eligibility requirements will benefit.
Credentials/Documentation
Institutions must document that they are accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or that they are making satisfactory progress toward such accreditation. A 4 year institution must have authority to award a bachelor's degree. A 2 year institution must offer a program acceptable for full credit towards a bachelor's degree, or a two year program in engineering, mathematics, or the physical or biological sciences designed to prepare the student to work as a technician at a semiprofessional level. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.
Application and Award Process
Preapplication Coordination
This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.
Application Procedure
Under the Strengthening Institutions Program first, submit a Request for Designation as an Eligible Institution (ED Form 1049) to the Application Control Center, ROB-3, Room 3633, 7th and D Streets, SW., Washington DC 20202-4725, by the date published separately in the Federal Register. Second, if the institution is an eligible applicant, submit a completed grant application to Application Control Center, Department of Education, ROB- 3, Room 3633, 7th and D Streets, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4725. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-110.
Award Procedure
Strengthening Institutions Programs applications are evaluated by external reviewers who are experts in postsecondary education. The Secretary makes final awards based primarily on the scores assigned to the applications by the external reviewers and the recommendations submitted by the staff of Institutional Development and Undergraduate Education Service, Office of Postsecondary Education.
Deadlines
Deadline dates for each program are published in the Federal Register for both eligibility and project grants.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time
Appeals
None.
Renewals
Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, priority is given to applicants who are not already receiving a grant. Institutions that received a 5-year development grant are not eligible to receive an additional grant until 2 years after the date on which the 5-year terminates. After fulfilling the wait-out requirement, institutions applying for another grant under the Strengthening Institutions Programs must reapply for eligibility.
Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Under the HBCU Graduate program, eligible institutions that have project grants over $1,000,000 must match the entire Federal share on a dollar-for-dollar basis.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, planning grants are for a period of up to 1 year, development grants are for a period of 5 years.
Post Assistance Requirements
Reports
As required by the Special Grant Terms and Conditions.
Audits
Subject to a Federal audit any time during the term of the grant and within a period of 3 years after the termination of Federal support.
Records
Must be retained for 5 years after the end of the fiscal year during which the expenditures were made or until the grantee is notified that the records are no longer needed.
Program Accomplishments
Approximately 500 grants were made in fiscal year 2002.
Financial Information
Account Identification
91-0201-0-1-502.
Obligations
(Grants) FY 02 $361,125,000; FY 03 est $388,869,000; and FY 04 est $385,248,000.
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
Varies by competition. Under the HBCU Program, grants may not be less than $500,000 and range according to formula allotments.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
34 CFR 607, 608, 609, 628, and the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.
Related Programs
84.033, Federal Work-Study Program.
Information Contacts
Regional or Local Office
Not applicable.
Headquarters Office
U.S. Department of Education, OPE Office of Higher Education Programs 1990 K St., N.W. Washington, DC 20006-8500. Contact: Darlene Collins E-mail Address darlene.collins@ed.gov. Telephone: (202) 502-7576.
Web Site Address
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/title3a.html
Examples of Funded Projects
The Education Department awarded grants: (1) To develop a management information system at the applicant institution; (2) to develop curriculum; (3) to develop management capabilities among administrators; (4) to develop computer-assisted instruction; and (5) to develop funds management procedures.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals
(a) Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, the Secretary appoints review panels to provide comments and recommend ratings for the applications. The reviewers numerically rate each application assigned and provide the Secretary with comments on each. Criteria are published in the Federal Register along with the point value for each criterion.
