(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, for the purpose of § 606.2(a)(3), an applicant institution has an enrollment of needy students if in the base year—

(1) At least 50 percent of its degree students received student financial assistance under one or more of the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Perkins Loan; or

(2) The percentage of its undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell Grants exceeded the median percentage of undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell Grants at comparable institutions that offer similar instruction.

(b) The Secretary may waive the requirement contained in paragraph (a) of this section if the institution demonstrates that—

(1) The State provides more than 30 percent of the institution's budget and the institution charges not more than $99.00 for tuition and fees for an academic year;

(2) At least 30 percent of the students served by the institution in the base year were students from low-income families;

(3) The institution substantially increases the higher education opportunities for low-income students who are also educationally disadvantaged, underrepresented in postsecondary education, or minority students;

(4) The institution substantially increases the higher education opportunities for individuals who reside in an area that is not included in a “metropolitan statistical area” as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and who are unserved by other postsecondary institutions; or

(5) The institution will, if granted the waiver, substantially increase the higher education opportunities for Hispanic Americans.

(c) For the purpose of paragraph (b) of this section, the Secretary considers “low-income” to be an amount which does not exceed 150 percent of the amount equal to the poverty level as established by the United States Bureau of the Census.

(d) Each year, the Secretary notifies prospective applicants of the low-income figures through a notice published in the Federal Register.