Grant Details

Eligibility Details

Designation as an eligible institution is required prior to formal application to the PBI (or any other Higher Education Act) grant program. To be eligible for HEA Title III or V programs, an institution of higher education's average educational and general expenditures” (E&G) per full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student must be less than the average E&G expenditures per FTE undergraduate student of institutions that offer similar instruction in that year. Pending this initial calculation or approval of waiver, institutions must then meet further qualifications based on the specific grant program under the HEA for which they wish to apply.

The Department has instituted a process known as the Eligibility Matrix (EM), under which they will use information submitted by IHEs to IPEDS to determine which institutions meet the basic eligibility requirements for the programs authorized by Title III or Title V of the HEA. The Department will use enrollment and fiscal data for the 2018-2019 year submitted by institutions to IPEDS to make eligibility determinations for FY 2021.

Beginning December 16, 2019, an institution will be able to review the Department's decision on whether it is eligible for the grant programs authorized by Titles III or V of the HEA through this process by checking the institution's eligibility in the Eligibility system linked through the Department's Institutional Service Eligibility website at: http://www2.ed.gov/?about/?offices/?list/?ope/?idues/?eligibility.html.

If the entry for your institution in the EM shows that your institution is automatically eligible (green color coding) to apply for a grant for a particular program and you plan to submit an application for a grant in that program, you will not need to apply for eligibility or for a waiver through the process described in this summary. Rather, you may print out the eligibility letter directly. However, if the EM does not show that your institution is automatically eligible (yellow color coding) for a program in which you plan to apply for a grant, you must submit a waiver request as discussed in this summary before the deadline. Note that eligibility designation for waivers are effective for one year: from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

The FY20 eligibility matrix is available here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/2020eligibilitymatrix.xlsx

Upon general HEA Title III and V funding eligibility confirmation, the PBI program further requires that an institution:

• Have an enrollment of needy students as defined by Title III, Part F, Section 371 of the HEA.
• Have an average educational and general expenditure which is low, per full-time equivalent undergraduate student in comparison with the average educational and general expenditure per full-time equivalent undergraduate student of institutions of higher education that offer similar instruction, except that the Secretary may apply the waiver requirements described in Section 392(b) to this subparagraph in the same manner as the Secretary applies the waiver requirements to Section 312(b)(1)(B);
• Have an enrollment of undergraduate students—
  • that is at least 40 percent Black American students;
  • that is at least 1,000 undergraduate students;
  • of which not less than 50 percent of the undergraduate students enrolled at the institution are low-income individuals or first-generation college students (as that term is defined in Section 402A(g)); and
  • of which not less than 50 percent of the undergraduate students are enrolled in an educational program leading to a bachelor's or associate's degree that the institution is licensed to award by the State in which the institution is located;
• Is legally authorized to provide, and provides within the State, an educational program within the State, an educational program for which the institution of higher education awards a bachelor's degree, or in the case of a junior or community college, an associate's degree;
• Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered, or is, according to such an agency or association making reasonable progress toward accreditation; and
• Is not receiving assistance under Part B of Title III.

NOTE: A grantee under the HSI (Hispanic Serving Institutions) program, which is authorized under title V of the HEA (Higher Education Act), may not receive a grant under any HEA, title III, part A program. The title III, part A programs are: SIP; the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities program; the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions program; the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions program; and the Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions program. Furthermore, a current HSI program grantee may not give up its HSI grant to receive a grant under SIP or any title III, Part A program. An eligible HSI that is not a current grantee under the HSI program may apply for a FY 2019 grant under all Title III, part A programs for which it is eligible, as well as receive consideration for a grant under the HSI program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one grant under the HEA. Finally, for any IHE with current funding under a SIP grant (whether that is Part A or F) a two-year hiatus is required between current project close-out and ability to reapply for SIP funding.

Deadline Details

Institutions must first confirm eligibility to apply for HEA Title III and V funding prior to applying to this program. For more information about this process, see: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html

While the PBI competitions typically occur on a biennial cycle, the Title III and V eligibility window is annual.

• The deadline to confirm eligibility or submit a request for waiver for any funding available under Title III or Title V of the Higher Education Act in FY 2021 was April 16, 2021.
• Please see https://hepis.ed.gov/title3and5/login.cfm for more information. Note that eligibility designation for waivers only of the non-federal cost share is effective for one year: from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022. Those applicants approved for 2021 eligibility waiver letters are expected to be announced by April 2021.

Provided the applicant institution is listed as automatically eligible within the current FY's eligibility matrix (green color coding) or applied for a waiver (yellow color coding) and received an approval letter, they are then permitted to apply to the relevant PBI program once the window opens.

For PBI Formula Grants: There are two phases to the PBI Formula Grants program application. 

• Phase I applications were to be submitted by March 2, 2016.
• Phase II applications were to be submitted by April 1, 2016.

For PBI Competitive Grants: The deadline to submit is June 28, 2021.

Previously this had been a biennial program, however, now a similar deadline is anticipated quadrennially or quinquennially (2019 or 2020). Updates to this timeline will be posted here https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html#chart6

Award Details

For the Formula Grants Program, approximately $9,942,000 was available in total funding for FY16. Awards would be at least $250,000 and determined on a formula basis (see guidance for further details). The project period was set at 60 months.

For the Competitive Grants Program, approximately $14,115,000 is available in total funding for FY21. The estimated Range of Awards is from $400,000–$600,000. The estimated average size of awards is $564,600. and 25 awards were expected to be made. The project period was set at 60 months. Further:

Regardless of program applying to, please note:

• A PBI may use not more than 20 percent of the grant funds to establish or increase an endowment fund at the institution. In order to be eligible to use grant funds to establish or increase an endowment, a PBI must provide matching funds from non-Federal sources, in an amount equal to or greater than the Federal funds used for the establishment or increase of the endowment fund. The provisions of part C of Title III apply to the establishment or increase of an endowment fund under the PBI program. 
• Not more than 50 percent of the grant funds provided to a PBI under this program may be used for constructing or maintaining a classroom, library, laboratory, or other instructional facility.