Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) Certification Process

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Federal RegisterOct 8, 2024
89 Fed. Reg. 81293 (Oct. 8, 2024)
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    Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture
  • 7 CFR Part 3434
  • RIN 0524-AA39
  • AGENCY:

    National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA.

    ACTION:

    Final rule.

    SUMMARY:

    This amendment to NIFA regulations 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 July 1, 2024, and ending July 1, 2025.

    DATES:

    This rule is effective October 8, 2024 and applicable July 1, 2024.

    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

    Kelly Saunders; Financial Policy Specialist; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture; 805 Pennsylvania Ave; Kansas City, MO 64105; Voice: 802-318-6587; Email: HSACU@usda.gov.

    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    HSACU Institutions for Fiscal Year 2024: 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 July 1, 2024, and ending July 1, 2025.

    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 be designated an 1862 land-grant institution, (4) not appear on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), (5) be accredited, and (6) 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 2021-22 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 2020-21 and 2021-22 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.

    The updated list of HSACUs is based on (1) completions data from 2020-21 and 2021-22, and (2) enrollment data from Fall 2022. NIFA identified 240 institutions that met the eligibility criteria to receive HSACU certification for FY 2024 (July 1,2024 to July 1, 2025).

    Section 7102 of the Agriculture Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334) amended Section 1404(14) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(14)) to remove the opt-in, opt-out language for Hispanic Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) in order to apply for Non Land-Grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA) designation.

    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 public property, loans, grants, benefits, or contracts. 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 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended accordingly as set forth below:

    PART 3434—HISPANIC-SERVING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CERTIFICATION PROCESS

    1. The authority citation for part 3434 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 7 U.S.C. 3103.

    2. Revise appendix B to read as follows:

    Appendix B to Part 3434—List of HSACU Institutions, 2024-2025

    The institutions listed in this appendix are granted HSACU certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting July 1, 2024 and ending July 1, 2025. Institutions are listed alphabetically under the state of the school's location, with the campus indicated where applicable.

    Arkansas (1)

    Cossatot Community College of the University of Arkansas

    Arizona (12)

    Arizona State University Campus Immersion

    Arizona Western College

    Chandler-Gilbert Community College

    Cochise County Community College District

    Estrella Mountain Community College

    GateWay Community College

    Glendale Community College

    Mesa Community College

    Phoenix College

    Rio Salado College

    Scottsdale Community College

    South Mountain Community College

    California (97)

    Allan Hancock College

    American River College

    Antelope Valley Community College District

    Bakersfield College

    Butte College

    Cabrillo College

    California Baptist University

    California Lutheran University

    California State Polytechnic University—Humboldt

    California State Polytechnic University—Pomona

    California State University—Bakersfield

    California State University—Channel Islands

    California State University—Chico

    California State University—East Bay

    California State University—Fresno

    California State University—Fullerton

    California State University—Long Beach

    California State University—Los Angeles

    California State University—Monterey Bay

    California State University—Northridge

    California State University—Sacramento

    California State University—San Bernardino

    California State University—San Marcos

    California State University—Stanislaus

    Chabot College

    Chaffey College

    Citrus College

    Clovis Community College

    College of San Mateo

    College of the Canyons

    College of the Desert

    College of the Sequoias

    Cosumnes River College

    Crafton Hills College

    Cuesta College

    Cypress College

    Diablo Valley College

    East Los Angeles College

    El Camino Community College District

    Evergreen Valley College

    Foothill College

    Fresno City College

    Fresno Pacific University

    Fullerton College

    Glendale Community College

    Hartnell College

    Imperial Valley College

    Lake Tahoe Community College

    Las Positas College

    Long Beach City College

    Los Angeles City College

    Los Angeles Harbor College

    Los Angeles Mission College

    Los Angeles Pierce College

    Los Angeles Southwest College

    Los Angeles Trade Technical College

    Madera Community College

    Merced College

    MiraCosta College

    Modesto Junior College

    Monterey Peninsula College

    Moorpark College

    Mt San Antonio College

    Mt San Jacinto Community College District

    Orange Coast College

    Oxnard College

    Palomar College

    Pasadena City College

    Porterville College

    Reedley College

    Rio Hondo College

    Riverside City College

    Saddleback College

    Saint Mary's College of California

    San Bernardino Valley College

    San Diego Mesa College

    San Diego Miramar College

    San Diego State University

    San Francisco State University

    San Joaquin Delta College

    San Jose City College

    San Jose State University

    Santa Barbara City College

    Santa Monica College

    Santa Rosa Junior College

    Southwestern College

    University of California-Irvine

    University of California-Riverside

    University of California-Santa Barbara

    University of California-Santa Cruz

    University of La Verne

    University of Redlands

    Ventura College

    Victor Valley College

    West Hills College-Coalinga

    West Los Angeles College

    Yuba College

    Colorado (6)

    Colorado State University Pueblo

    Community College of Denver

    Metropolitan State University of Denver

    Regis University

    Trinidad State College

    University of Northern Colorado

    Connecticut (2)

    Gateway Community College

    Norwalk Community College

    Florida (12)

    Ana G. Mendez University

    Broward College

    Florida Atlantic University

    Florida International University

    Hillsborough Community College

    Indian River State College

    Miami Dade College

    Nova Southeastern University

    Palm Beach State College

    Seminole State College of Florida

    University of Central Florida

    Valencia College

    Georgia (2)

    Dalton State College

    Lanier Technical College

    Idaho (1)

    College of Southern Idaho

    Illinois (6)

    City Colleges of Chicago—Richard J Daley College

    College of Lake County

    Dominican University

    Northeastern Illinois University

    Triton College

    University of Illinois Chicago

    Kansas (1)

    Seward County Community College

    Nevada (4)

    College of Southern Nevada

    Nevada State College

    Truckee Meadows Community College

    University of Nevada-Las Vegas

    New Jersey (9)

    Atlantic Cape Community College

    Bergen Community College

    Hudson County Community College

    Kean University

    Middlesex College

    Montclair State University

    New Jersey Institute of Technology

    Passaic County Community College

    William Paterson University of New Jersey

    New Mexico (9)

    Central New Mexico Community College

    Eastern New Mexico University—Main Campus

    Eastern New Mexico University—Roswell Campus

    New Mexico Highlands University

    Northern New Mexico College

    Santa Fe Community College

    University of New Mexico—Los Alamos Campus

    University of New Mexico—Main Campus

    Western New Mexico University

    New York (12)

    CUNY City College

    CUNY Hostos Community College

    CUNY Hunter College

    CUNY LaGuardia Community College

    CUNY Lehman College

    CUNY Queens College

    CUNY Queensborough Community College

    Manhattan College

    Manhattanville College

    Mercy College

    Nassau Community College

    Suffolk County Community College

    North Carolina (1)

    Sampson Community College

    Oregon (1)

    Chemeketa Community College

    Puerto Rico (20)

    Dewey University—Juana Díaz

    Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico—Recinto de Manati

    Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Aguadilla

    Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Arecibo

    Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Barranquitas

    Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Bayamon

    Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Guayama

    Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Ponce

    Inter American University of Puerto Rico—San German

    Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico—Arecibo

    Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico—Ponce

    Universal Technology College of Puerto Rico

    Universidad Ana G. Mendez—Carolina Campus

    Universidad Ana G. Mendez—Cupey Campus

    Universidad Ana G. Mendez—Gurabo Campus

    University of Puerto Rico—Arecibo

    University of Puerto Rico—Humacao

    University of Puerto Rico—Medical Sciences

    University of Puerto Rico—Rio Piedras

    University of Puerto Rico—Utuado

    Rhode Island (1)

    Rhode Island College

    Tennessee (1)

    Southern Adventist University

    Texas (35)

    Amarillo College

    Angelo State University

    Austin College

    Austin Community College District

    Concordia University Texas

    Dallas College

    Houston Community College

    Huston-Tillotson University

    Lee College

    Lone Star College System

    Odessa College

    Palo Alto College

    Saint Edward's University

    Sam Houston State University

    South Plains College

    Southwest Texas Junior College

    Southwestern University

    St. Mary's University

    Sul Ross State University

    Tarrant County College District

    Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi

    Texas A & M University-Kingsville

    Texas State University

    Texas Woman's University

    The University of Texas at Arlington

    The University of Texas at Austin

    The University of Texas at El Paso

    The University of Texas at San Antonio

    The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley

    Tyler Junior College

    University of Houston

    University of Houston-Clear Lake

    University of North Texas

    University of the Incarnate Word

    Wayland Baptist University

    Virginia (1)

    Northern Virginia Community College

    Washington (6)

    Big Bend Community College

    Columbia Basin College

    Heritage University

    Perry Technical Institute

    Wenatchee Valley College

    Yakima Valley College

    Done at Washington, DC, this day of October 1, 2024.

    Dionne Toombs,

    Associate Director for Programs, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture.

    [FR Doc. 2024-23061 Filed 10-7-24; 8:45 am]

    BILLING CODE 3410-22-P