Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU)
Federal Register, Volume 81 Issue 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2016)
Federal Register Volume 81, Number 22 (Wednesday, February 3, 2016)
Rules and Regulations
Pages 5575-5577
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov
FR Doc No: 2016-01893
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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)
AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: This rule updates the list of institutions that are granted HSACU certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting October 1, 2015, and ending September 30, 2016.
DATES: This rule is effective February 3, 2016 and applicable October 1, 2015.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa DePaolo; Policy Analyst; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 2272; 1400 Independence Avenue SW.; Washington, DC 20250-2272; Voice: 202-401-5061; Fax: 202-401-7752; Email: ldepaolo@nifa.usda.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
HSACU Institutions for Fiscal Year 2016
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, 2015, and ending September 30, 2016.
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 (completion data) during the 2013-14 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 2012-13 and 2013-14 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 listed in the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov) with exclusions.
The updated list of HSACUs is based on (1) completions data from 2012-13 and 2013-14, and (2) enrollment data from Fall 2014. NIFA identified 101 institutions that met the eligibility criteria to receive HSACU certification
Page 5576
for FY 2016 (October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016).
Declaration of Intent To Apply for NLGCA Designation
As set forth in Section 7101 of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (Pub. L. 113-79), which amends 7 U.S.C. 3103, an institution that is eligible to be designated as an HSACU may notify the Secretary of its intent not to be considered an HSACU. To opt out of designation as an HSACU, an authorized official at the institution must submit a declaration of intent not to be considered an HSACU to NIFA by email at NLGCA.status@nifa.usda.gov. In accordance with Section 7101, a declaration by an institution not to be considered an HSACU shall remain in effect until September 30, 2018. Institutions that opt out of HSACU designation will have the option to apply for designation as a Non-Land Grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA) institution. To be eligible for NLGCA designation, institutions must be public colleges or universities offering baccalaureate or higher degrees in the study of food and agricultural sciences, as defined in 7 U.S.C. 3103. An online form to request NLGCA designation is available at http://nifa.usda.gov/webform/request-non-land-grant-college-agriculture-designation.
In FY 2014 and FY 2015, six institutions opted out of their HSACU designation and received NLGCA designation, hence they are excluded from the FY 2016 HSACU list.
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, part 3434, of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended accordingly as set forth below:
PART 3434--HISPANIC-SERVING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CERTIFICATION PROCESS
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The authority citation for Part 3434 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 7 U.S.C. 3103.
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Revise part 3434 Appendix B to read as follows:
Appendix B to Part 3434--List of HSACU Institutions, 2015-2016
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, 2015, and ending September 30, 2016. Institutions are listed alphabetically under the state of the school's location, with the campus indicated where applicable.
Arizona (3)
Arizona Western College
Cochise College
Phoenix College
California (39)
Allan Hancock College
Antelope Valley College
Antioch University--Los Angeles
Bakersfield College
California Baptist University
California Lutheran University
California State University--Dominquez Hills
California State University--East Bay
California State University--Long Beach
California State University--San Bernardino
College of San Mateo
College of the Desert
College of the Sequoias
El Camino Community College District
Fullerton College
Golden West College
Hartnell College
Imperial Valley College
Long Beach City College
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles Pierce College
Mendocino College
Merced College
MiraCosta College
Modesto Junior College
Monterey Peninsula College
Mt. San Antonio College
Mt. San Jacinto Community College District
National University
Pacific Union College
Porterville College
Reedley College
Saddleback College
Saint Mary's College of California
San Diego City College
San Diego Mesa College
San Diego State University
San Francisco State University
San Jose State University
Santa Ana College
University of California-Riverside
University of La Verne
West Hills College Coalinga
Whittier College
Colorado (1)
Trinidad State Junior College
Florida (5)
Broward College
Florida International University
Miami Dade College
Nova Southeastern University
Valencia College
Nevada (2)
College of Southern Nevada
Truckee Meadows Community College
New Jersey (2)
Saint Peter's University
William Paterson University of New Jersey
New Mexico (9)
Central New Mexico Community College
Eastern New Mexico University--Main Campus
Eastern New Mexico University--Ruidoso Campus
Mesalands Community College
New Mexico Highlands University
New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology
Northern New Mexico College
University of New Mexico--Main Campus
Western New Mexico University
New York (2)
CUNY Bronx Community College
CUNY LaGuardia Community College
Puerto Rico (15)
Bayamon Central University
Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico--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--Ponce
Inter American University of Puerto Rico--San German
Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico--Ponce
Universidad Del Turabo
Universidad Metropolitana
University of Puerto Rico--Arecibo
University of Puerto Rico--Humacao
University of Puerto Rico--Medical Sciences Campus
University of Puerto Rico--Rio Piedras Campus
University of Puerto Rico--Utuado
Texas (22)
Houston Community College
Lee College
Palo Alto College
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Richland College
San Antonio College
Saint Edward's University
St. Mary's University
Southwest Texas Junior College
Texas A&M International University
Texas A&M University--Corpus Christi
Texas A&M University--Kingsville
Texas State Technical College--Harlingen
Texas State University
University of Houston
University of Houston--Clear Lake
University of St. Thomas
University of Texas at Arlington
University of Texas at Brownsville
University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
University of the Incarnate Word
Washington (3)
Columbia Basin College
Wenatchee Valley College
Yakima Valley Community College
Done in Washington, DC, this 21st day of January, 2016.
Sonny Ramaswamy,
Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
FR Doc. 2016-01893 Filed 2-2-16; 8:45 am
BILLING CODE 3410-22-P
