(a) Definitions in EDGAR. The terms used in this part are defined in 34 CFR 77.1:

(b) The following definitions also apply to this part:

Accredited means the status of public recognition which a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association grants to an institution which meets certain established qualifications and educational standards.

Activity means an action that is incorporated into an implementation plan designed to meet one or more objectives. An activity is a part of a project and has its own budget that is approved to carry out the objectives of that subpart.

Base year means the second fiscal year preceding the fiscal year for which an institution seeks a grant under this part.

Branch campus means a unit of a college or university that is geographically apart from the main campus of the college or university and independent of that main campus. The Secretary considers a unit of a college or university to be independent of the main campus if the unit—

(1) Is permanent in nature;

(2) Offers courses for credit and programs leading to an associate or bachelor's degree; and

(3) Is autonomous to the extent that it has—

(i) Its own faculty and administrative or supervisory organization; and

(ii) Its own budgetary and hiring authority.

Comparable institutions that offer similar instruction means institutions that are being compared with an applicant institution and that fall within one of the following four categories—

(1) Public junior or community colleges;

(2) Private nonprofit junior or community colleges;

(3) Public institutions that offer an educational program for which they offer a bachelor's degree; or

(4) Private nonprofit institutions that offer an educational program for which they offer a bachelor's degree.

Cooperative arrangement means an arrangement to carry out allowable grant activities between an institution eligible to receive a grant under this part and another eligible or ineligible institution of higher education, under which the resources of the cooperating institutions are combined and shared to better achieve the purposes of this part and avoid costly duplication of effort.

Degree student means a student who enrolls at an institution for the purpose of obtaining the degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential offered by that institution.

Developmental program and services means new or improved programs and services, beyond those regularly budgeted, specifically designed to improve the self sufficiency of the school.

Educational and general expenditures means the total amount expended by an institution of higher education for instruction, research, public service, academic support (including library expenditures), student services, institutional support, scholarships and fellowships, operation and maintenance expenditures for the physical plant, and any mandatory transfers which the institution is required to pay by law.

Educationally disadvantaged means a college student who requires special services and assistance to enable them to succeed in higher education. The phrase includes, but is not limited to, students who come from—

(1) Economically disadvantaged families;

(2) Limited English proficiency families;

(3) Migrant worker families; or

(4) Families in which one or both of their parents have dropped out of secondary school.

Federal Pell Grant Program means the grant program authorized by title IV-A-1 of the HEA.

Federal Perkins Loan Program, formerly called the National Direct Student Loan Program, means the loan program authorized by title IV-E of the HEA.

Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant Program means the grant program authorized by title IV-A-3 of the HEA.

Federal Work-Study Program means the part-time employment program authorized under title IV-C of the HEA.

Full-time equivalent students means the sum of the number of students enrolled full-time at an institution, plus the full-time equivalent of the number of students enrolled part time (determined on the basis of the quotient of the sum of the credit hours of all part-time students divided by 12) at such institution.

HEA means the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

Hispanic student means a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race.

Institution of higher education means an educational institution defined in section 101 of the HEA.

Junior or community college means an institution of higher education—

(1) That admits as regular students persons who are beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the State in which the institution is located and who have the ability to benefit from the training offered by the institution;

(2) That does not provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree (or an equivalent degree); and

(3) That—

(i) Provides an educational program of not less than 2 years that is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree; or

(ii) Offers a 2-year program in engineering, mathematics, or the physical or biological sciences, designed to prepare a student to work as a technician or at the semiprofessional level in engineering, scientific, or other technological fields requiring the understanding and application of basic engineering, scientific, or mathematical principles of knowledge.

Low-income individual means an individual from a family whose taxable income for the preceding year did not exceed 150 percent of an amount equal to the poverty level determined by using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of the Census.

Minority student means a student who is an Alaska Native, American Indian, Asian-American, Black (African-American), Hispanic American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander.

Nationally recognized accrediting agency or association means an accrediting agency or association that the Secretary has recognized to accredit or preaccredit a particular category of institution in accordance with the provisions contained in 34 CFR part 603. The Secretary periodically publishes a list of those nationally recognized accrediting agencies and associations in the Federal Register.

Operational programs and services means the regular, ongoing budgeted programs and services at an institution.

Preaccredited means a status that a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, recognized by the Secretary to grant that status, has accorded an unaccredited institution that is progressing toward accreditation within a reasonable period of time.

Project means all the funded activities under a grant.

Self-sufficiency means the point at which an institution is able to survive without continued funding under the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program.

Underrepresented means proportionate representation as measured by degree recipients, that is less than the proportionate representation in the general population—

(1) As indicated by—

(i) The most current edition of the Department's Digest of Educational Statistics;

(ii) The National Research Council's Doctorate Recipients from United States Universities; or

(iii) Other standard statistical references, as announced annually in the Federal Register notice inviting applications for new awards under this program; or

(2) As documented by national survey data submitted to and accepted by the Secretary on a case-by-case basis.