20 USC 1068 - Application review process

Collapse to view only § 1068b. Application review process

§ 1068. Applications for assistance
§ 1068a. Waiver authority and reporting requirement
§ 1068b. Application review process
§ 1068c. Cooperative arrangements
§ 1068d. Assistance to institutions under other programs
§ 1068e. Limitations
§ 1068f. Penalties
§ 1068g. Continuation awards
§ 1068h. Authorization of appropriations

§ 1068. Applications for assistance

(a) Applications

(1) Applications requiredAny institution which is eligible for assistance under this subchapter shall submit to the Secretary an application for assistance at such time, in such form, and containing such information, as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to evaluate the institution’s need for the assistance. Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this subchapter, the Secretary may approve an application for assistance under this subchapter only if the Secretary determines that—

(A) the application meets the requirements of subsection (b);

(B) the applicant is eligible for assistance in accordance with the part of this subchapter under which the assistance is sought; and

(C) the applicant’s performance goals are sufficiently rigorous as to meet the purposes of this subchapter and the performance objectives and indicators for this subchapter established by the Secretary pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and the amendments made by such Act.

(2) Preliminary applications

(b) ContentsAn institution, in its application for a grant, shall—

(1) set forth, or describe how the institution (other than an institution applying under part C, D or E) will develop, a comprehensive development plan to strengthen the institution’s academic quality and institutional management, and otherwise provide for institutional self-sufficiency and growth (including measurable objectives for the institution and the Secretary to use in monitoring the effectiveness of activities under this subchapter);

(2) set forth policies and procedures to ensure that Federal funds made available under this subchapter for any fiscal year will be used to supplement and, to the extent practical, increase the funds that would otherwise be made available for the purposes of section 1057(b) or 1062 of this title, and in no case supplant those funds;

(3) set forth policies and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness in accomplishing the purpose of the activities for which a grant is sought under this subchapter;

(4) provide for such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to ensure proper disbursement of and accounting for funds made available to the applicant under this subchapter;

(5) provide (A) for making such reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may require to carry out the functions under this subchapter, including not less than one report annually setting forth the institution’s progress toward achieving the objectives for which the funds were awarded, and (B) for keeping such records and affording such access thereto, as the Secretary may find necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports;

(6) provide that the institution will comply with the limitations set forth in section 1068e of this title, except that for purposes of section 1059c of this title, paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1068e of this title shall not apply;

(7) describe in a comprehensive manner any proposed project for which funds are sought under the application and include—

(A) a description of the various components of the proposed project, including the estimated time required to complete each such component;

(B) in the case of any development project which consists of several components (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A)), a statement identifying those components which, if separately funded, would be sound investments of Federal funds and those components which would be sound investments of Federal funds only if funded under this subchapter in conjunction with other parts of the development project (as specified by the applicant);

(C) an evaluation by the applicant of the priority given any proposed project for which funds are sought in relation to any other projects for which funds are sought by the applicant under this subchapter, and a similar evaluation regarding priorities among the components of any single proposed project (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A));

(D) a detailed budget showing the manner in which funds for any proposed project would be spent by the applicant; and

(E) a detailed description of any activity which involves the expenditure of more than $25,000, as identified in the budget referred to in subparagraph (D); and

(8) include such other information as the Secretary may prescribe.

(d) Eligibility data

(e) Technical assistance

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 391, formerly § 351, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1302; amended Pub. L. 100–50, § 2(a)(13), June 3, 1987, 101 Stat. 336; Pub. L. 102–325, title III, § 305(a), July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 478; renumbered § 391 and amended Pub. L. 105–244, title III, §§ 301(a)(2), (c)(11), 308(a)–(c), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1636, 1637, 1648, 1649; Pub. L. 110–315, title III, §§ 317, 320(4), Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3185, 3188.)

§ 1068a. Waiver authority and reporting requirement

(a) Waiver requirements; need-based assistance studentsThe Secretary may waive the requirements set forth in section 1058(b)(1)(A) of this title in the case of an institution—

(1) which is extensively subsidized by the State in which it is located and charges low or no tuition;

(2) which serves a substantial number of low-income students as a percentage of its total student population;

(3) which is contributing substantially to increasing higher education opportunities for educationally disadvantaged, underrepresented, or minority students, who are low-income individuals;

(4) which is substantially increasing higher educational opportunities for individuals in rural or other isolated areas which are unserved by postsecondary institutions;

(5) located on or near an Indian reservation or a substantial population of Indians, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of American Indians;

(6) that is a tribally controlled college or university as defined in section 1801 of title 25; or

(7) wherever located, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, or Pacific Islanders, including Native Hawaiians.

(b) Waiver determinations; expenditures

(1) The Secretary may waive the requirements set forth in section 1058(b)(1)(B) of this title if the Secretary determines, based on persuasive evidence submitted by the institution, that the institution’s failure to meet that criterion is due to factors which, when used in the determination of compliance with such criterion, distort such determination, and that the institution’s designation as an eligible institution under part A is otherwise consistent with the purposes of such parts.1

1 So in original. Probably should be “part.”

(2) The Secretary shall submit to the Congress every other year a report concerning the institutions which, although not satisfying the criterion contained in section 1058(b)(1)(B) of this title, have been determined to be eligible institutions under part A which enroll significant numbers of Black American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian students under part A, as the case may be. Such report shall—

(A) identify the factors referred to in paragraph (1) which were considered by the Secretary as factors that distorted the determination of compliance with subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 1058(b)(1) of this title; and

(B) contain a list of each institution determined to be an eligible institution under part A including a statement of the reasons for each such determination.

(3) The Secretary may waive the requirement set forth in section 1058(b)(1)(E) 2

2 See References in Text note below.

of this title in the case of an institution located on or near an Indian reservation or a substantial population of Indians, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of American Indians.

(1) Waiver authorityNotwithstanding any other provision of law, unless enacted with specific reference to this section, for any affected institution that was receiving assistance under this subchapter at the time of a Gulf hurricane disaster, the Secretary shall, for each of the fiscal years 2009 through 2011 (and may, for each of the fiscal years 2012 and 2013)—

(A) waive—

(i) the eligibility data requirements set forth in section 1068(d) of this title;

(ii) the wait-out period set forth in section 1059(d) of this title;

(iii) the allotment requirements under section 1063 of this title; and

(iv) the use of the funding formula developed pursuant to section 1063b(f)(3) of this title;

(B) waive or modify any statutory or regulatory provision to ensure that affected institutions that were receiving assistance under this subchapter at the time of a Gulf hurricane disaster are not adversely affected by any formula calculation for fiscal year 2009 or for any of the four succeeding fiscal years, as necessary; and

(C) make available to each affected institution an amount that is not less than the amount made available to such institution under this subchapter for fiscal year 2006, except that for any fiscal year for which the funds appropriated for payments under this subchapter are less than the appropriated level for fiscal year 2006, the amount made available to such institutions shall be ratably reduced among the institutions receiving funds under this subchapter.

(2) DefinitionsIn this subsection:

(A) Affected institutionThe term “affected institution” means an institution of higher education that—

(i) is—(I) a part A institution (which term shall have the meaning given the term “eligible institution” under section 1058(b) of this title); or(II) a part B institution, as such term is defined in section 1061(2) of this title, or as identified in section 1063b(e) of this title;

(ii) is located in an area affected by a Gulf hurricane disaster; and

(iii) is able to demonstrate that, as a result of the impact of a Gulf hurricane disaster, the institution—(I) incurred physical damage;(II) has pursued collateral source compensation from insurance, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, and the Small Business Administration, as appropriate; and(III) was not able to fully reopen in existing facilities or to fully reopen to the pre-hurricane enrollment levels during the 30-day period beginning on August 29, 2005.

(B) Area affected by a Gulf hurricane disaster; Gulf hurricane disaster

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 392, formerly § 352, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1304; amended Pub. L. 100–50, § 2(a)(14), (15), June 3, 1987, 101 Stat. 336; Pub. L. 102–325, title III, § 305(b), July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 478; renumbered § 392 and amended Pub. L. 105–244, title III, §§ 301(a)(2), 308(d), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1636, 1649; Pub. L. 110–315, title III, §§ 318, 320(5), Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3185, 3188; Pub. L. 111–39, title III, § 301(8), July 1, 2009, 123 Stat. 1938.)

§ 1068b. Application review process

(a) Review panel

(1) All applications submitted under this subchapter by institutions of higher education shall be read by a panel of readers composed of individuals selected by the Secretary. The Secretary shall assure that no individual assigned under this section to review any application has any conflict of interest with regard to the application which might impair the impartiality with which the individual conducts the review under this section.

(2) The Secretary shall take care to assure that representatives of historically and predominantly Black colleges, Hispanic institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and institutions with substantial numbers of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Native American Pacific Islanders (including Native Hawaiians) are included as readers.

(3) All readers selected by the Secretary shall receive thorough instruction from the Secretary regarding the evaluation process for applications submitted under this subchapter and consistent with the provisions of this subchapter, including—

(A) explanations and examples of the types of activities referred to in section 1057(b) of this title that should receive special consideration for grants awarded under part A and of the types of activities referred to in section 1062 of this title that should receive special consideration for grants awarded under part B;

(B) an enumeration of the factors to be used to determine the quality of applications submitted under this subchapter; and

(C) an enumeration of the factors to be used to determine whether a grant should be awarded for a project under this subchapter, the amount of any such grant, and the duration of any such grant.

(b) Recommendations of panel

(c) NotificationNot later than June 30 of each year, the Secretary shall notify each institution of higher education making an application under this subchapter of—

(1) the scores given the applicant by the panel pursuant to this section;

(2) the recommendations of the panel with respect to such application; and

(3) the reasons for the decision of the Secretary in awarding or refusing to award a grant under this subchapter, and any modifications, if any, in the recommendations of the panel made by the Secretary.

(d) Exclusion

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 393, formerly § 353, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1305; renumbered § 393 and amended Pub. L. 105–244, title III, §§ 301(a)(2), 308(e), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1636, 1649.)

§ 1068c. Cooperative arrangements

(a) General authority

The Secretary may make grants to encourage cooperative arrangements—

(1) with funds available to carry out part A, between institutions eligible for assistance under part A and between such institutions and institutions not receiving assistance under this subchapter; or

(2) with funds available to carry out part B, between institutions eligible for assistance under part B and institutions not receiving assistance under this subchapter;

for the activities described in section 1057(b) of this title or section 1062 of this title, as the case may be, so that the resources of the cooperating institutions might be combined and shared to achieve the purposes of such parts and avoid costly duplicative efforts and to enhance the development of part A and part B eligible institutions.

(b) Priority

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 394, formerly § 354, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1305; renumbered § 394, Pub. L. 105–244, title III, § 301(a)(2), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1636.)

§ 1068d. Assistance to institutions under other programs

(a) Assistance eligibility

(b) Waiver applicability

(1) Subject to, and in accordance with, regulations promulgated for the purpose of this section, in the case of any application by an institution referred to in subsection (a) for assistance under any programs specified in paragraph (2), the Secretary is authorized, if such application is otherwise approvable, to waive any requirement for a non-Federal share of the cost of the program or project, or, to the extent not inconsistent with other law, to give, or require to be given, priority consideration of the application in relation to applications from other institutions.

(2) The provisions of this section shall apply to any program authorized by part D or subchapter IV of this chapter.

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 395, formerly § 356, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1306; amended Pub. L. 102–325, title III, § 305(d), July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 478; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(e) [title VII, § 709(d)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–233, 3009–314; renumbered § 395 and amended Pub. L. 105–244, title III, §§ 301(a)(2), 308(f), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1636, 1649.)

§ 1068e. Limitations

The funds appropriated under section 1068h of this title may not be used—

(1) for a school or department of divinity or any religious worship or sectarian activity;

(2) for an activity that is inconsistent with a State plan for desegregation of higher education applicable to such institution;

(3) for an activity that is inconsistent with a State plan of higher education applicable to such institution; or

(4) for purposes other than the purposes set forth in the approved application under which the funds were made available to the institution.

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 396, formerly § 357, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1307; renumbered § 396,

§ 1068f. Penalties

Whoever, being an officer, director, agent, or employee of, or connected in any capacity with, any recipient of Federal financial assistance or grant pursuant to this subchapter embezzles, willfully misapplies, steals, or obtains by fraud any of the funds which are the subject of such grant or assistance, shall be fined not more than $10,000 or imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or both.

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 397, formerly § 358, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1307; renumbered § 397, Pub. L. 105–244, title III, § 301(a)(2), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1636.)

§ 1068g. Continuation awards

The Secretary shall make continuation awards under this subchapter for the second and succeeding years of a grant only after determining that the recipient is making satisfactory progress in carrying out the grant.

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 398, as added Pub. L. 105–244, title III, § 308(g), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1649.)

§ 1068h. Authorization of appropriations

(a) Authorizations

(1) Part A

(A) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part A (other than sections 1059c through 1059g of this title), $135,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(B) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 1059c of this title, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(C) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 1059d of this title, $15,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(D) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 1059e of this title, $75,000,000 for fiscal year 2009 and each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(E) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 1059f of this title, $25,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(F) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 1059g of this title, $30,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(2) Part B

(A) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part B (other than section 1063b of this title), $375,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(B) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 1063b of this title, $125,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(3) Part C

(4) Part D

(A) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out part D (other than section 1066d(9) of this title, but including section 1066f of this title), $185,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(B) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out section 1066d(9) of this title such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2009 and each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(5) Part E

(A) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subpart 1 of part E, $12,000,000 for fiscal year 2009, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(B) There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out subpart 2 of part E, such sums as may be necessary for fiscal year 2009 and each of the five succeeding fiscal years.

(b) Use of multiple year awards

(Pub. L. 89–329, title III, § 399, formerly § 360, as added Pub. L. 99–498, title III, § 301(a), Oct. 17, 1986, 100 Stat. 1307; amended Pub. L. 102–325, title III, § 305(e)–(g), July 23, 1992, 106 Stat. 479; renumbered § 399, and amended Pub. L. 105–244, title III, §§ 301(a)(2), 308(h), Oct. 7, 1998, 112 Stat. 1636, 1649; Pub. L. 110–315, title III, § 319, Aug. 14, 2008, 122 Stat. 3186.)