Title 34—Education--Volume 1
PART 608—STRENGTHENING HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES PROGRAM
§ 608.1   What is the Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Program?
The Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program, hereafter called the HBCU Program, provides grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) to assist these institutions in establishing and strengthening their physical plants, academic resources and student services so that they may continue to participate in fulfilling the goal of equality of educational opportunity.
§ 608.2   What institutions are eligible to receive a grant under the HBCU Program?
(a) To be eligible to receive a grant under this part, an institution must—
(1) Satisfy section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA);
(2) Be legally authorized by the State in which it is located—
(i) To be a junior or community college; or
(ii) To provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree; and
(3) Be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.
(b) The Secretary has determined that the following institutions satisfy section 322(2) of the HEA.
(c) If an institution identified in paragraph (b) of this section has merged with another institution, and, as a result of the merger, would not otherwise qualify to receive a grant under this part, that institution may nevertheless qualify to receive a grant under this part if—
(1) The institution would have qualified to receive a grant before the merger; and
(2) The institution was eligible to receive a grant under the Special Needs Program in any fiscal year prior to fiscal year 1986. (The Special Needs Program was authorized under Title III, Part B, of the HEA before 1986.)
(d) For the purpose of paragraph (a)(3) of this section, the Secretary publishes a list in the Federal Register of nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, for each fiscal year—
(1) The University of the District of Columbia is eligible to receive a grant under this part only if the amount of the grant it is scheduled to receive under § 608.31 exceeds the amount it is scheduled to receive in the same fiscal year under the District of Columbia Self-Government and Governmental Reorganization Act; and
(2) Howard University is eligible to receive a grant under this part only if the amount of the grant it is scheduled to receive under § 608.31 exceeds the amount it is scheduled to receive in the same fiscal year under the Act of March 2, 1867, 20 U.S.C. 123.
§ 608.3   What regulations apply?
The following regulations apply to this part:
(a) The Department of Education General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) as follows:
(1) [Reserved]
(2) The following sections of 34 CFR part 75 (Direct Grant Programs): §§ 75.1-75.104, 75.125-75.129, 75.190-75.192, 75.230-75.261, 75.500, 75.510-75.519, 75.524-75.534, 75.580-75.903, and 75.910;
(3) 34 CFR part 77 (Definitions that Apply to Department Regulations).
(4) 34 CFR part 79 (Intergovernmental Review of Department of Education Programs and Activities).
(5) 34 CFR part 82 (New Restrictions on Lobbying).
(6) [Reserved]
(7) 34 CFR part 86 (Drug-Free Schools and Campuses).
(b) The regulations in this part 608.
(c)(1) 2 CFR part 180 (OMB Guidelines to Agencies on Governmentwide Debarment and Suspension (Nonprocurement)), as adopted at 2 CFR part 3485; and
(2) 2 CFR part 200 (Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards), as adopted at 2 CFR part 3474.
§ 608.4   What definitions apply?
(a) General definitions. The following terms used in this part are defined in 2 CFR part 200, subpart A, or 34 CFR 77.1:
(b) Other definitions. The following definitions also apply to this part:
Accredited means the status of public recognition which a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association grants to an institution which meets certain established qualifications and educational standards.
Graduate means a student who has attended an institution for at least three semesters and fulfilled academic requirements for undergraduate studies in not more than five consecutive school years.
Junior or community college means an institution of higher education that—
(i) Admits as regular students persons who are beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the State in which the institution is located and who have the ability to benefit from the training offered by the institution;
(ii) Does not provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree or an equivalent degree; and
(iii) Provides an educational program of not less than 2 years that is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree; or offers a 2-year program in engineering, mathematics, or the physical or biological sciences, designed to prepare a student to work as a technician or at the semiprofessional level in engineering, scientific, or other technological fields requiring the understanding and application of basic engineering, scientific, or mathematical principles of knowledge.
Pell Grant means the grant program authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
Preaccredited means a status, also called candidacy status, that a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, recognized by the Secretary to grant that status, has accorded an unaccredited institution that is making reasonable progress toward accreditation.
School year means the period of time from July 1 of one calendar year through June 30 of the subsequent calendar year. (A “school year” is equivalent to an “award year” under the Pell Grant Program.)
§ 608.10   What activities may be carried out under a grant?
(a) Allowable activities. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, a grantee may carry out the following activities under this part—
(1) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, including instructional or research purposes;
(2) Construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement in classroom, library, laboratory, and other instructional facilities, including purchase or rental of telecommunications technology equipment or services;
(3) Support of faculty exchanges, faculty development and faculty fellowships to assist these faculty members in attaining advanced degrees in their fields of instruction;
(4) Academic instruction in disciplines in which Black Americans are underrepresented;
(5) Purchase of library books, periodicals, microfilm, and other educational materials, including telecommunications program materials;
(6) Tutoring, counseling, and student service programs designed to improve academic success;
(7) Funds and administrative management, and acquisition of equipment for use in strengthening funds management;
(8) Joint use of facilities, such as laboratories and libraries;
(9) Establishing or improving a development office to strengthen or improve contributions from alumni and the private sector;
(10) Establishing or enhancing a program of teacher education designed to qualify students to teach in a public elementary or secondary school in the State that shall include, as part of the program, preparation for teacher certification;
(11) Establishing community outreach programs that will encourage elementary and secondary students to develop the academic skills and the interest to pursue postsecondary education; and
(12) Other activities that it proposes in its application that contribute to carrying out the purpose of this part and are approved by the Secretary as part of the review and acceptance of the application.
(b) Unallowable activities. A grantee may not carry out the following activities under this part—
(1) Activities that are not included in the grantee's approved application;
(2) Activities described in paragraph (a)(12) of this section that are not approved by the Secretary;
(3) Activities that are inconsistent with any State plan of higher education that is applicable to the institution;
(4) Activities that are inconsistent with a State plan for desegregation of higher education that is applicable to the institution;
(5) Activities or services that constitute religious instruction, religious worship, or proselytization.
(6) Activities provided by a school or department of divinity. For the purpose of this provision, a “school or department of divinity” means an institution, or a department of an institution, whose program is solely to prepare students to become ministers of religion or to enter into some other religious vocation.
(c) No award under this part may be used for telecommunications technology equipment, facilities or services, if such equipment, facilities or services are available pursuant to section 396(k) of the Communications Act of 1934.
(d) Endowment funds. If a grantee uses part of its grant funds to establish or increase an endowment fund, it is subject to the provisions of §§ 628.3, 628.6, 628.10 and 628.41 through 628.47 of this chapter with regard to the use of those funds, except—
(1) The definition of the term “endowment fund income” in § 628.6 of this chapter does not apply. For the purposes of this paragraph (d), “endowment fund income” means an amount equal to the total value of the fund, including fund appreciation and retained interest and dividends, minus the endowment fund corpus;
(2) Instead of the requirement in § 628.10(a) of this chapter, the grantee institution must match each dollar of Federal grant funds used to establish or increase an endowment fund with one dollar of non-Federal funds; and
(3) Instead of the requirements in § 628.41(a)(3) through (a)(5) and the introductory text in § 628.41(b) and § 628.41(b)(2) and (b)(3) of this chapter, if a grantee institution decides to use any of its grant funds for endowment purposes, it must match those grant funds immediately with non-Federal funds when it places those funds into its endowment fund.
§ 608.11   What is the duration of a grant?
The Secretary may award a grant under this part for a period of up to five academic years.
§ 608.12   Severability.
If any provision of this subpart or its application to any person, act, or practice is held invalid, the remainder of the subpart or the application of its provisions to any person, act, or practice shall not be affected thereby.
§ 608.20   What are the application requirements for a grant under this part?
In order to receive a grant under this part, an institution must submit an application to the Secretary at such time and in such manner as the Secretary may prescribe. The application must contain—
(a) A description of the activities to be carried out with grant funds;
(b) A description of how the grant funds will be used so that they will supplement and, to the extent practical, increase the funds that would otherwise be made available for the activities to be carried out under the grant and in no case supplant those funds;
(c) (1) A comprehensive development plan as described in § 608.21; or
(2) If an applicant has already submitted a comprehensive development plan as described in § 608.21, a description of the progress the applicant has made in carrying out the goals of its plan;
(d) An assurance that the institution will provide the Secretary with an annual report on the activities carried out under the grant;
(e) An assurance that the institution will provide for, and submit to the Secretary, the compliance and financial audit described in § 608.41;
(f) An assurance that the proposed activities in the application are in accordance with any State plan that is applicable to the institution;
(g) The number of graduates of the applicant institution during the school year immediately preceding the fiscal year for which grant funds are requested; and
(h) The number of graduates of the applicant institution—
(1) Who, within five years of graduating with baccalaureate degrees, attended graduate or professional schools and enrolled in degree programs in disciplines in which Blacks are underrepresented during the school year immediately preceding the fiscal year for which funds are requested; and
(2) Who graduated with baccalaureate degrees during any one of the five school years immediately preceding the school year described in paragraph (h)(1) of this section.
§ 608.21   What is a comprehensive development plan and what must it contain?
(a) A comprehensive development plan must describe an institution's strategy for achieving growth and self-sufficiency by strengthening its—
(1) Financial management;
(2) Academic programs; and
(b) The comprehensive development plan must include the following:
(1) An assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the institution's financial management and academic programs.
(2) A delineation of the institution's goals for its financial management and academic programs, based on the outcomes of the assessment described in paragraph (b)(1) of this section.
(3) A listing of measurable objectives designed to assist the institution to reach each goal with accompanying timeframes for achieving the objectives.
(4) A description of methods, processes, and procedures that will be used by the college or university to institutionalize financial management and academic program practices and improvements developed under the proposed funded activities.
§ 608.30   What is the procedure for approving and disapproving grant applications?
The Secretary—
(a) Approves any application that satisfies the requirements of § 608.10 and § 608.20; and
(b) Does not disapprove any application, or any modification of an application, without affording the applicant reasonable notice and opportunity for a hearing.
§ 608.31   How does the Secretary determine the amount of a grant?
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, for each fiscal year, the Secretary determines the amount of a grant under this part by-
(1) Multiplying fifty percent of the amount appropriated for the HBCU Program by the following fraction:
(2) Multiplying twenty-five percent of the amount appropriated for the HBCU Program by the following fraction:
(3) Multiplying twenty-five percent of the amount appropriated for the HBCU Program by the following fraction:
(4) Adding the amounts obtained in paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(2), and (a)(3) of this section.
(b)(1) For each fiscal year, the numerator in paragraph (a)(3) of this section is calculated by—
(i) Determining the number of graduates of an applicant institution who, within five years of graduating with baccalaureate degrees, attended graduate or professional schools and enrolled in degree programs in disciplines in which Blacks are underrepresented during the school year immediately preceding that fiscal year; and
(ii) Dividing the number obtained in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section by the number of graduates of an applicant institution who graduated with baccalaureate degrees during the five school years immediately preceding the school year described in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section.
(2) For purposes of this section, the Secretary—
(i) Considers that Blacks are underrepresented in a professional or academic discipline if the percentage of Blacks in that discipline is less than the percentage of Blacks in the general population of the United States; and
(ii) Notifies applicants of the disciplines in which Blacks are underrepresented through a notice in the Federal Register, after consulting with the Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(c) Notwithstanding the formula in paragraph (a) of this section—
(1) For each fiscal year, each eligible institution with an approved application must receive at least $500,000; and
(2) If the amount appropriated for a fiscal year for the HBCU Program is insufficient to provide $500,000 to each eligible institution with an approved application, each grant is ratably reduced. If additional funds become available for the HBCU Program during a fiscal year, each grant is increased on the same basis as it was decreased until the grant amount reaches $500,000.
(d) The amount of any grant that the Secretary determines will not be required by a grantee for the period for which the grant was made is available for reallotment by the Secretary during that period to other eligible institutions under the formula contained in paragraph (a) of this section.
§ 608.40   What are allowable costs and what are the limitations on allowable costs?
(a) Allowable costs. Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, a grantee may expend grant funds for activities that are related to carrying out the allowable activities included in its approved application.
(b) Supplement and not supplant. Grant funds shall be used so that they supplement, and to the extent practical, increase the funds that would otherwise be available for the activities to be carried out under the grant, and in no case supplant those funds.
(c) Limitations on allowable costs. A grantee may not—
(1) Spend more than fifty percent of its grant award in each fiscal year for costs relating to constructing or maintaining a classroom, library, laboratory, or other instructional facility; or
(2) Use an indirect cost rate to determine allowable costs under its grant.
§ 608.41   What are the audit and repayment requirements?
(a) (1) A grantee shall provide for the conduct of a compliance and financial audit of any funds it receives under this part of a qualified, independent organization or person in accordance with the Standards for Audit of Governmental Organizations, Programs, Activities, and Functions, 1981 revision, established by the Comptroller General of the United States. This publication is available from the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office.
(2) The grantee shall have an audit conducted at least once every two years, covering the period since the previous audit, and the grantee shall submit the audit to the Secretary.
(3) If a grantee is audited under Chapter 75 of Title 31 of the United States Code, the Secretary considers that audit to satisfy the requirements of paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(b) An institution awarded a grant under this part must submit to the Department of Education Inspector General three copies of the audit required in paragraph (a) of this section within six months after completion of the audit.
(c) Any individual or firm conducting an audit described in this section shall give the Department of Education's Inspector General access to records or other documents necessary to review the results of the audit.
(d) A grantee shall repay to the Treasury of the United States any grant funds it received that it did not expend or use to carry out the allowable activities included in its approved application within ten years following the date of the initial grant it received under this part.
§ 608.42   Under what conditions does the Secretary terminate a grant?
The Secretary terminates any grant under which funds were not expended if an institution loses—
(a) Its accredited status; or
(b) Its legal authority in the State in which it is located—
(1) To be a junior or community college; or
(2) To provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree.