Grants to Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions

Part J of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.), as added by section 101 and amended by section 201, is further amended by adding at the end the following: 3 Grants to historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions 499P. Pathways to student success for Historically Black Colleges and Universities From amounts appropriated under section 499U(a) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to participating historically Black colleges or universities that meet the requirements of section 499S(a) to— (1) encourage students to enroll and successfully complete a bachelor’s degree at such colleges and universities; (2) provide incentives to community college students to transfer to such colleges and universities through strong transfer pathways to complete a bachelor’s degree program; and (3) support such colleges and universities to better serve new and existing students by engaging in reforms and innovations designed to improve completion rates and other student outcomes. 499Q. Pathways to student success for Tribal Colleges and Universities From amounts appropriated under section 499U(a) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to participating Tribal Colleges or Universities that meet the requirements of section 499S(a) to— (1) encourage students to enroll and successfully complete a bachelor’s degree at such Colleges and Universities; (2) provide incentives to community college students to transfer to such Colleges and Universities through strong transfer pathways to complete a bachelor’s degree program; and (3) support such Colleges and Universities to better serve new and existing students by engaging in reforms and innovations designed to improve completion rates and other student outcomes. 499R. Pathways to student success for Alaska Native-serving institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Native American-serving nontribal institutions, Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and Predominantly Black institutions From amounts appropriated under section 499U(a) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to participating Alaska Native-serving institutions, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institutions, Hispanic-serving institutions, Native American-serving nontribal institutions, Native Hawaiian-serving institutions, and Predominantly Black institutions that meet the requirements of section 499S(a) to— (1) encourage students to enroll and successfully complete a bachelor’s degree at such institutions; (2) provide incentives to community college students to transfer to such institutions through strong transfer pathways to complete a bachelor’s degree program; and (3) support such institutions to better serve new and existing students by engaging in reforms and innovations designed to improve completion rates and other student outcomes. 499S. Grant terms (a) Institutional eligibility An institution shall meet the requirements of this subsection if the institution— (1) is a public or nonprofit 4-year institution that has a student body of which not less than 35 percent are low-income students; (2) commits to maintaining or adopting and implementing promising and evidence-based institutional reforms and innovative practices to improve the completion rates and other student outcomes, such as— (A) providing comprehensive academic, career, and student support services (including mentoring, advising, case management services, and career pathway navigation), especially for low-income, first-generation, and adult students, and other students belonging to racial and other groups that are historically underrepresented in higher education; (B) providing direct support services, or assistance in applying for such services, such as— (i) childcare, transportation, and emergency financial assistance; (ii) assistance in obtaining health insurance coverage and accessing health care services, including behavioral and mental health services; (iii) affordable housing; (iv) nutrition assistance programs or free or discounted food; and (v) means-tested Federal benefit programs, or similar State, Tribal, or local benefit programs; (C) providing accelerated learning opportunities and degree pathways, such as dual or concurrent enrollment programs and pathways to graduate and professional degree programs; (D) partnering with employers, industry, nonprofit associations, and other groups to provide opportunities to advance learning outside the classroom, including— (i) work-based learning opportunities (such as internships or apprenticeships); or (ii) programs designed to improve inter-cultural development and personal growth (such as foreign exchange and study abroad programs); or (E) strengthening remedial education, especially for low-income, first-generation, and adult students, and other students belonging to racial and other groups that are historically underrepresented in higher education, including through the use of multiple measures (such as a student’s college entrance examination score, grade point average, high school course list, or a placement examination) to identify students in need of remedial education; (3) sets performance goals for improving student outcomes for the duration of the grant; and (4) if receiving a grant for transfer students, has a formal, statewide articulation agreement with community colleges in the State in which such institution operates that guarantees— (A) that a student who earns postsecondary credit at any community college in such State shall be able to fully transfer such credit toward meeting related degree or certificate requirements at such institution; and (B) that associate degrees awarded by community colleges in the State are fully transferable to, and credited as, the first 2 years of related baccalaureate programs at such institution. (b) Grant amount (1) Initial amount For the first year that an eligible institution participates in the grant program under this subpart and subject to paragraph (3), such eligible institution shall receive a grant in an amount based on the product of— (A) the actual cost of tuition and fees at the eligible institution in such year (referred to in this subpart as the per-student rebate); and (B) the number of eligible students enrolled in the eligible institution for the preceding year. (2) Subsequent increases For each succeeding year after the first year of the grant program under this subpart, each participating eligible institution shall receive a grant in the amount determined under paragraph (1) for such year, except that in no case shall the amount of the per-student rebate for an eligible institution increase by more than 3 percent as compared to the amount of such rebate for the preceding year. (3) Limitations (A) Maximum per-student rebate No eligible institution participating in the grant program under this subpart shall receive a per-student rebate amount for any year that is greater than the national average of annual tuition and fees at public 4-year institutions of higher education for such year, as determined by the Secretary. (B) First-year tuition and fees During the first year of participation in the grant program under this subpart, no eligible institution may increase tuition and fees at a rate greater than any annual increase at the eligible institution in the previous 5 years. (4) Students enrolled less than full-time The Secretary shall develop and implement a formula for making adjustments to grant amounts under this subpart based on the number of eligible students at each eligible institution enrolled less than full-time and the associated tuition and fees charged to such students in proportion to the degree to which each such student is not attending on a full-time basis. (c) Application An eligible institution that desires a grant under this subpart shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. (d) Use of funds Funds awarded under this subpart to a participating eligible institution shall be used to waive or significantly reduce tuition and fees for eligible students by an amount not to exceed the annual per-student rebate amount. Such funds under this subpart may only be used to waive or reduce tuition and fees for the first 60 credits for which an eligible student is enrolled in the participating eligible institution. (e) Supplement, not supplant Funds made available under section 499U to carry out this subpart shall be used to supplement, and not supplant, other Federal, State, Tribal, and local funds that would otherwise be expended to carry out activities under this subpart. 499T. Definitions In this subpart: (1) Alaska native-serving institution The term Alaska Native-serving institution has the meaning given such term in section 317(b). (2) Asian american and native american pacific islander-serving institution The term Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution has the meaning given such term in section 371(c). (3) Eligible student The term eligible student means a student, regardless of age, who— (A) is enrolled in an eligible program (as defined in section 481(b)) at a participating eligible institution, on at least a half-time basis; (B) is a low-income student; (C) has been enrolled at such participating eligible institution under this subpart for not more than 60 credits; and (D) has not been enrolled (whether full-time or less than full-time) for more than 6 semesters (or the equivalent) for which the student received a benefit under this subpart. (4) Hispanic-serving institution The term Hispanic-serving institution has the meaning given such term in section 502. (5) Historically Black college or university The term historically Black college or university means a part B institution described in section 322(2). (6) Low-income student The term low-income student shall include— (A) any student eligible for a Federal Pell Grant under section 401; and (B) any student who meets the financial eligibility criteria for receiving a Federal Pell Grant under section 401, but who is ineligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant. (7) Native American-serving nontribal institution The term Native American-serving nontribal institution has the meaning given such term in section 371(c). (8) Native hawaiian-serving institution The term Native Hawaiian-serving institution has the meaning given such term in section 317(b). (9) Predominantly Black institution The term Predominantly Black institution has the meaning given such term in section 371(c). (10) Tribal college or university The term Tribal College or University has the meaning given the term in section 316(b)(3). 499U. Appropriations (a) Authorization and appropriations for HBCU, TCU, and MSI grants For the purpose of carrying out this subpart there are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated— (1) $98,100,000 for fiscal year 2027; (2) $321,040,000 for fiscal year 2028; (3) $1,912,010,000 for fiscal year 2029; (4) $1,988,710,000 for fiscal year 2030; (5) $2,068,960,000 for fiscal year 2031; (6) $2,151,010,000 for fiscal year 2032; (7) $2,184,900,000 for fiscal year 2033; (8) $2,329,370,000 for fiscal year 2034; (9) $2,423,910,000 for fiscal year 2035; and (10) $2,521,990,000 for fiscal year 2036 and each succeeding fiscal year. (b) Availability Funds appropriated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year are to remain available to the Secretary through the 2 fiscal years following such fiscal year. (c) Insufficient funds If the amount appropriated under subsection (a) for a fiscal year is not sufficient to award each institution participating in the grant programs under sections 499P, 499Q, and 499R a grant under this subpart equal to 100 percent of the grant amount determined under section 499S(b), the Secretary may ratably reduce the amount of each such grant or take other actions necessary to ensure an equitable distribution of such amount appropriated under subsection (a)..