# 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 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**
**7 CFR Part 3434**
1. The authority citation for part 3434 continues to read as follows:
**Authority:**
7 U.S.C. 3103.
**7 CFR Part 3434**
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
**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.