Institutional Aid (TITLE III AND TITLE V INSTITUTIONS)
In Titles III and V of the Higher Education Act (HEA), there are programs that provide critical funding directly to institutions of higher education. Funding is granted to these institutions if they meet certain requirements involving their core expenses, number of students on campus receiving need-based aid, and their enrollment of minority students. Except for Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) and Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), institutions that qualify for these programs are known as Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs). These MSIs consist of Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (ANNHs); Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs); Native American-Serving, Nontribal Institutions (NASNTIs); Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions (AANAPISIs); and Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs).
In addition to these programs, Title III of the HEA include the HBCU Capital Financing (HBCU Cap Finance) program, the Minority Science and Engineering Improvement program (MSEIP), and the Endowment Challenge Grant program. The HBCU Capital Finance program is available to HBCUs to assist with the financing of capital projects or refinancing of proceeds that were used to finance the capital project. Funding for the HBCU Capital Finance program is distributed through a loan made to an HBCU.
The MSEIP program is available to minority institutions, institutions with an enrollment of no less than 50 percent of a single minority or combination of minority individuals, and nonprofit science-oriented organizations to improve science and engineering education and to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in scientific and technological careers. The funding under the MSEIP program is distributed through a competitive grant competition.
The Endowment Challenge Grant program was created to help eligible institutions build their endowments; however, this program has not been funded since fiscal year (FY) 1995. Lastly, HBCUs and PBIs are also eligible for funding in Title VII of the HEA in either the HBCU Masters Degree program or the PBI Masters Degree program. Both programs award funding to institutions directly named in the HEA for uses of funds similar to those in Titles III and V of the HEA.
Throughout past legislative initiatives to reauthorize the HEA, Congress has attempted to add additional allowable uses to give these institutions greater flexibility of the resources designed to allow them to best serve their students.