[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 89 (Wednesday, May 10, 2017)] [Rules and Regulations] [Pages 21677-21679] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 2017-09415] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE National Institute of Food and Agriculture 7 CFR Part 3434 RIN 0524-AA39 Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA. ACTION: Final rule. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: This rule updates the list of institutions that are granted Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting October 1, 2016, and ending September 30, 2017. DATES: This rule is effective May 10, 2017 and applicable beginning October 1, 2016. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lisa Read; Policy Analyst; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture, STOP 2272, 1400 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20250-2272; Voice: 202-731-1366; Fax: 202-401-7752; Email: [email protected]. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HSACU Institutions for Fiscal Year 2017 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, 2016, and ending September 30, 2017. 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 [[Page 21678]] National Center for Education Statistics that lists all HSIs and the degrees conferred by these institutions (completion data) during the 2014-15 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 2013-14 and 2014-15 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 on the exclusions listing in the System for Award Management (https://www.sam.gov/portal/SAM/##11). The updated list of HSACUs is based on (1) completions data from 2013-14 and 2014-15, and (2) enrollment data from Fall 2015. NIFA identified 104 institutions that met the eligibility criteria to receive HSACU certification for FY 2017 (October 1, 2016 to September 30, 2017). 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 [email protected]. 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 FYs 2015, 2016 and 2017 five institutions opted out of their HSACU designation and received NLGCA designation, hence they are excluded from the FY 2017 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. Accordingly, part 3434 of Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as set forth below: PART 3434--HISPANIC-SERVING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CERTIFICATION PROCESS 0 1. The authority citation for part 3434 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 3103. 0 2. Revise appendix B to part 3434 to read as follows: Appendix B to Part 3434--List of HSACU Institutions, 2016-2017 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, 2016, and ending September 30, 2017. Institutions are listed alphabetically under the state of the school's location, with the campus indicated where applicable. Arizona (5) Arizona Western College Central Arizona College Cochise County Community College Phoenix College Pima Community College California (40) Allan Hancock College Antioch University--Los Angeles Bakersfield College California Baptist University California Lutheran University Chaffey College College of the Desert College of the Sequoias Cuyamaca College El Camino Community College District Fullerton College Golden West College Hartnell College Imperial Valley College Long Beach City College Los Angeles Pierce College Merced College MiraCosta College Modesto Junior College Mt San Antonio College Mt San Jacinto Community College District National University Orange Coast College Pacific Union College Porterville College Reedley College Santa Ana College San Bernardino Valley College San Diego City College San Diego Mesa College San Diego State University San Francisco State University San Jose State University Saint Mary's College of California Southwestern College University of La Verne Victor Valley College West Hills College--Coalinga Whittier College Woodland Community College Colorado (2) Community College of Denver Trinidad State Junior College Florida (3) Broward College Florida International University Miami Dade College Illinois (1) Dominican University Kansas (2) Dodge City Community College Seward County Community College and Area Technical School Massachusetts (1) Springfield Technical Community College Nevada (1) Truckee Meadows Community College New Jersey (3) Essex County College Montclair State University Saint Peter's University New Mexico (10) 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 Santa Fe Community College Western New Mexico University University of New Mexico--Los Alamos Campus [[Page 21679]] New York (4) CUNY City College CUNY LaGuardia Community College Mercy College SUNY Westchester Community College Oregon (1) Chemeketa Community College Puerto Rico (10) Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico--Recinto de 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--San German Inter American University of Puerto Rico--Ponce Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico--Ponce Universidad Del Este Universidad Del Turabo Universidad Metropolitana Texas (18) Houston Community College Palo Alto College Saint Edwards's University San Antonio College Southwest Texas Junior College St. Mary's University Texas State Technical College Texas State University The University of Texas--Pan American The University of Texas at Brownsville The University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley The University of Texas at San Antonio University of Houston University of Houston--Clear Lake University of the Incarnate Word University of St. Thomas Western Texas College Washington (3) Heritage University Wenatchee Valley College Yakima Valley Community College Done in Washington, DC, this 1st day of May 2017. Sonny Ramaswamy, Director, National Institute of Food and Agriculture. [FR Doc. 2017-09415 Filed 5-9-17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3410-22-P