HISPANIC-SERVING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CERTIFICATION PROCESS

• Citation: 7 CFR Part 3434
• Sections: 12

§ 3434.1 Applicability of regulations.

This part establishes the process to certify and designate a group of eligible educational institutions as Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities, as authorized by Section 7101 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA), 7 U.S.C. 3103; Public Law 110-246.

§ 3434.2 Purpose.

The Secretary will follow the processes and criteria established in this regulation to certify and designate qualifying colleges and universities as HSACUs. Institutions designated as HSACUs will be eligible for five new programs authorized by Congress in section 7129 of the FCEA as well as for other ongoing NIFA programs for which HSACUs are now eligible ( e.g., integrated programs authorized by section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998). The five new programs include the HSACU Endowment Fund (formula-based), HSACU Institutional Capacity Building Grants Program (competitive), HSACU Extension Grants Program (competitive), HSACU Applied and Fundamental Research Grants Program (competitive), and HSACU Equity Grants Program (formula-based). The administrative provisions, including reporting requirements, for the HSACU Endowment Fund will be established in a separate part (7 CFR part 3437). The administrative provisions and reporting requirements for the other four new HSACU programs will be established as subparts in 7 CFR part 3430.

§ 3434.3 Definitions.

As used in this part:

Agency or NIFA means the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Agriculture-related fields means a group of instructional programs that are determined to be agriculture-related fields of study for HSACU eligibility purposes by a panel of National Program Leaders at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.

Department means the United States Department of Agriculture.

Hispanic-serving Institution means an institution of higher education that:

(1) Is an eligible institution, as that term is defined at 20 U.S.C. 1101a; and

(2) Has an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic students, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System during the fall semester of the previous academic year.

Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture and any other officer or employee of the Department to whom the authority involved has been delegated.

§ 3434.4 Eligibility.

(a) General. To be eligible to receive designation as a HSACU, colleges and universities must:

(1) Qualify as Hispanic-serving Institutions; and

(2) Offer associate, bachelors, or other accredited degree programs in agriculture-related fields pursuant to § 3434.5.

(b) Non-eligibility. The following colleges and universities are ineligible for HSACU certification:

(1) 1862 land-grant institutions, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601);

(2) Institutions that appear in the Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits programs (Excluded Parties List System);

(3) Institutions that are not accredited by a nationally recognized accredited agency or association; and

(4) Institutions with Hispanic students receiving less than 15% of the degrees awarded in agriculture-related programs over the two most recent completed academic years.

§ 3434.5 Agriculture-related fields.

(a) The Secretary shall use the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) coding system developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics as the source of information for all existing instructional programs. This source is located at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode.

(b) A complete list of instructional programs deemed to be agriculture-related fields by the Secretary is provided in Appendix A to this part. This list will include the full six-digit CIP code and program title (or major) for each agriculture-related instructional program.

(c) The list of agriculture-related fields will be updated every five years starting in 2015. However, the Secretary reserves the right to make changes at any time, if deemed appropriate and necessary.

(d) Any changes made in the CIP coding system by the U.S. Department of Education may result in a review or reevaluation of the list of agriculture-related fields by the Secretary.

§ 3434.6 Certification.

(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, institutions that meet the eligibility criteria set forth in § 3434.4 and offer agriculture-related programs in accordance to the criteria set forth in § 3434.5 (see list in Appendix A to this part) shall be granted HSACU certification by the Secretary.

(b) A complete list of institutions with HSACU certification shall be provided in Appendix B to this part and posted on the NIFA Web site at http://www.nifa.usda.gov.

(c) Institutions with Hispanic students receiving less than 15% of degrees awarded in agriculture-related programs during the two most recent completed academic years shall not be granted HSACU certification by the Secretary.

(d) The list of HSACU institutions will be updated annually. However, the Secretary reserves the right to make changes at any time, when deemed appropriate and necessary.

§ 3434.7 Duration of certification.

(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, HSACU certification granted to an institution by the Secretary under this part shall remain valid for a period of one year.

(b) Failure to maintain eligibility status at any time during the HSACU certification period shall result in an immediate revocation of HSACU certification.

(c) Failure to remain in compliance with reporting requirements or adherence to any administrative or national policy requirements listed in award terms and conditions for any of the HSACU programs may result in a suspension or an immediate revocation of HSACU certification.

§ 3434.8 Appeals.

(a) An institution not listed as a HSACU in Appendix B to this part may submit an appeal to address denial of a certification made pursuant to this part. Such appeals must be in writing and received by the HSACU Appeals Officer, Policy and Oversight Division, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, DC 20024 within 30 days following an announcement of institutions designated for certification. The Appeals Officer will consider the record of the decision in question, any further written submissions by the institution, and other available information and shall provide the appellant a written decision as promptly as circumstances permit. Such appeals constitute an administrative review of the decision appealed from and are not conducted as an adjudicative proceeding.

(b) Appeals involving an agriculture-related field of study must include the CIP code and program title of the field of study (or major).

(c) Appeals from non-HSI schools will not be considered.

(d) The NIFA Assistant Director of the Institute of Youth, Family, and Community shall serve as the Appeals Officer.

(e) In considering such appeals or administrative reviews, the Appeals Officer shall take into account alleged errors in professional judgment or alleged prejudicial procedural errors by NIFA officials. The Appeals Officer's decision may:

(1) Reverse the appealed decision;

(2) Affirm the appealed decision;

(3) Where appropriate, withhold a decision until additional materials are provided. The Appeals Officer may base his/her decision in whole or part on matters or factors not discussed in the decision appealed from.

(f) If the NIFA decision on the appeal is adverse to the appellant or if an appellant's request for review is rejected, the appellant then has the option of submitting a request to the NIFA Deputy Director for Food and Community Resources for further review.

(g) The request for further review must be submitted to Policy and Oversight Division, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, DC 20024 within 30 days following the Appeals Officer's decision.

(h) No institution shall be considered to have exhausted its administrative remedies with respect to the certification or decision described in this part until the NIFA Deputy Director for Food and Community Resources has issued a final administrative decision pursuant to this section. The decision of the NIFA Deputy Director for Food and Community Resources is considered final.

(i) Appellants shall be notified in writing of any decision made by NIFA in regards to the appeal.

§ 3434.9 Recertification.

(a) The recertification process for a HSACU remains the same as the process outlined in § 3434.6.

(b) There is no limit to the number of times an institution may be recertified as a HSACU.

(c) In the event an institution is not granted recertification due to noncompliance with reporting requirements for a HSACU program, the institution shall be notified in writing and given a period of 90 days from the date of notification to be in compliance.

§ 3434.10 Reporting requirements.

(a) The certification process does not involve any reporting requirements.

(b) Reporting requirements for HSACU programs ( e.g., HSACU Endowment Fund) shall be established in separate parts.

Appendix A Appendix A to Part 3434—List of Agriculture-Related Fields

The instructional programs listed in this appendix are observed to be agriculture-related fields for HSACU eligibility purposes. Programs are listed in numerical order by their six-digit CIP code followed by the full title of the instructional program, as listed by the U.S. Department of Education.

01.0000, Agriculture, General

01.0101, Agricultural Business and Management, General

01.0102, Agribusiness/Agricultural Business Operations

01.0103, Agricultural Economics

01.0104, Farm/Farm and Ranch Management

01.0105, Agricultural/Farm Supplies Retailing and Wholesaling

01.0106, Agricultural Business Technology

01.0199, Agricultural Business and Management, Other

01.0201, Agricultural Mechanization, General

01.0204, Agricultural Power Machinery Operation

01.0205, Agricultural Mechanics and Equipment/Machine Technology

01.0299, Agricultural Mechanization, Other

01.0301, Agricultural Production Operations, General

01.0302, Animal/Livestock Husbandry and Production

01.0303, Aquaculture

01.0304, Crop Production

01.0306, Dairy Husbandry and Production

01.0307, Horse Husbandry/Equine Science and Management

01.0308, Agroecology and Sustainable Agriculture

01.0309, Viticulture and Enology

01.0399, Agricultural Production Operations, Other

01.0401, Agricultural and Food Products Processing

01.0504, Dog/Pet/Animal Grooming

01.0505, Animal Training

01.0507, Equestrian/Equine Studies

01.0508, Taxidermy/Taxidermist

01.0599, Agricultural and Domestic Animal Services, Other

01.0601, Applied Horticulture/Horticultural Operations, General

01.0603, Ornamental Horticulture

01.0604, Greenhouse Operations and Management

01.0605, Landscaping and Groundskeeping

01.0606, Plant Nursery Operations and Management

01.0607, Turf and Turfgrass Management

01.0608, Floriculture/Floristry Operations and Management

01.0699, Applied Horticulture/Horticultural Business Services, Other

01.0701, International Agriculture

01.0801, Agricultural and Extension Education Services

01.0802, Agricultural Communication/Journalism

01.0899, Agricultural Public Services, Other

01.0901, Animal Sciences, General

01.0902, Agricultural Animal Breeding

01.0903, Animal Health

01.0904, Animal Nutrition

01.0905, Dairy Science

01.0906, Livestock Management

01.0907, Poultry Science

01.0999, Animal Sciences, Other

01.1001, Food Science

01.1002, Food Technology and Processing

01.1099, Food Science and Technology, Other

01.1101, Plant Sciences, General

01.1102, Agronomy and Crop Science

01.1103, Horticultural Science

01.1104, Agricultural and Horticultural Plant Breeding

01.1105, Plant Protection and Integrated Pest Management

01.1106, Range Science and Management

01.1199, Plant Sciences, Other

01.1201, Soil Science and Agronomy, General

01.1202, Soil Chemistry and Physics

01.1203, Soil Microbiology

01.1299, Soil Sciences, Other

01.9999, Agriculture, Agriculture Operations, and Related Sciences, Other

03.0101, Natural Resources/Conservation, General

03.0103, Environmental Studies

03.0104, Environmental Science

03.0199, Natural Resources Conservation and Research, Other

03.0201, Natural Resources Management and Policy

03.0204, Natural Resources Economics

03.0205, Water, Wetlands, and Marine Resources Management

03.0206, Land Use Planning and Management/Development

03.0207, Natural Resources Recreation and Tourism

03.0208, Natural Resources Law Enforcement and Protective Services

03.0299, Natural Resources Management and Policy, Other

03.0301, Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management

03.0501, Forestry, General

03.0502, Forest Sciences and Biology

03.0506, Forest Management/Forest Resources Management

03.0508, Urban Forestry

03.0509, Wood Science and Wood Products/Pulp and Paper Technology

03.0510, Forest Resources Production and Management

03.0511, Forest Technology/Technician

03.0599, Forestry, Other

03.0601, Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management

03.9999, Natural Resources and Conservation, Other

13.1301, Agricultural Teacher Education

14.0301, Agricultural/Biological Engineering and Bioengineering

19.0501, Foods, Nutrition, and Wellness Studies, General

19.0504, Human Nutrition

19.0505, Foodservice Systems Administration/Management

19.0599, Foods, Nutrition, and Related Services, Other

30.1901, Nutrition Sciences

30.3301, Sustainability Studies

51.0808, Veterinary/Animal Health Technology/Technician and Veterinary Assistant

Appendix B 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