Sec. 102. Pathways to student success
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From amounts appropriated under subsection (d)(1) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to participating 4-year historically black colleges or universities that meet the requirements of paragraph
(2)to— encourage students to enroll as first-time students and successfully complete a bachelor’s degree at participating institutions; provide incentives to community college students to transfer to participating institutions through strong transfer pathways to complete a bachelor’s degree program; and support participating institutions to better serve new and existing students by engaging in reforms and innovations designed to improve completion rates and other student outcomes. To be eligible to receive a grant under the program under this subsection, an institution shall be a historically black college or university that— has a student body of which not less than 35 percent are low-income students; 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— providing comprehensive academic and student support services, including mentoring and advising; providing accelerated learning opportunities and degree pathways, such as dual enrollment and pathways to graduate and professional degree programs; advancing distance and competency-based education; partnering with employers, industry, not-for-profit associations, and other groups to provide opportunities to advance learning outside the classroom, including work-based learning opportunities such as internships or apprenticeships or programs designed to improve intercultural development and personal growth, such as foreign exchange and study abroad programs; reforming remedial education, especially for low-income students, first generation college students, adult students, and other underrepresented students; or implementing course redesigns of high-enrollment courses to improve student outcomes and reduce cost; sets performance goals for improving student outcomes for the duration of the grant; and if receiving a grant for transfer students, has articulation agreements with community colleges at the national, State, or local level to ensure that community college credits can fully transfer to the participating institution. For the first year that an eligible institution participates in the grant program under this subsection and subject to subparagraph (C), such eligible institution shall receive a grant in an amount based on the product of— the actual cost of tuition and fees at the eligible institution in such year (referred to in this subsection as the per-student rebate ); multiplied by the number of eligible students enrolled in the eligible institution for the preceding year. For each succeeding year after the first year of the grant program under this subsection, each participating eligible institution shall receive a grant in the amount determined under subparagraph
(A)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. No eligible institution participating in the grant program under this subsection 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. During the first year of participation in the grant program under this subsection, 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. An eligible institution that desires a grant under this subsection shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may require. Funds awarded under this subsection to a participating eligible institution shall be— applied in their entirety to student accounts; and used to waive or significantly reduce tuition and fees for eligible students in an amount of not more than up to the annual per-student rebate amount for each student, for not more than the first 60 credits an eligible student enrolls in the participating eligible institution. From amounts appropriated under subsection (d)(1) for any fiscal year, the Secretary shall award grants to participating 4-year minority-serving institutions to— encourage students to enroll as first-time students and successfully complete a bachelor’s degree at participating institutions; provide incentives to community college students to transfer to participating institutions through strong transfer pathways to complete a bachelor’s degree program; and support participating institutions to better serve new and existing students by engaging in reforms and innovations designed to improve completion rates and other student outcomes. To be eligible to participate and receive a grant under this subsection, an institution shall be a minority-serving institution that— has a student body of which not less than 35 percent are low-income students; 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— providing comprehensive academic and student support services, including mentoring and advising; providing accelerated learning opportunities and degree pathways, such as dual enrollment and pathways to graduate and professional degree programs; advancing distance and competency-based education; partnering with employers, industry, not-for-profit associations, and other groups to provide opportunities to advance learning outside the classroom, including work-based learning opportunities such as internships or apprenticeships or programs designed to improve intercultural development and personal growth, such as foreign exchange and study abroad programs; reforming remedial education, especially for low-income students, first generation college students, adult students, and other underrepresented students; and implementing course redesigns of high-enrollment courses to improve student outcomes and reduce cost; sets performance goals for improving student outcomes for the duration of the grant; and if receiving a grant for transfer students, has articulation agreements with community colleges at the national, State, or local levels to ensure that community college credits can fully transfer to the participating institution. For the first year that an eligible institution participates in the grant program under this subsection and subject to subparagraph (C), such participating eligible institution shall receive a grant in an amount based on the product of— the actual cost of tuition and fees at the eligible institution in such year (referred to in this subsection as the per-student rebate ); multiplied by the number of eligible students enrolled in the eligible institution for the preceding year. For each succeeding year after the first year of the grant program under this subsection, each participating eligible institution shall receive a grant in the amount determined under subparagraph
(A)for such year, except that in no case shall the amount of the per-student rebate increase by more than 3 percent as compared to the amount of such rebate for the preceding year. No eligible institution participating in the grant program under this subsection shall receive a per-student rebate amount for a grant year greater than the national average of public 4-year institutional tuition and fees, as determined by the Secretary. During the first year of participation in the grant program under this subsection, no eligible institution may increase tuition and fees at a rate greater than any annual increase made by the institution in the previous 5 years. An eligible institution shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in such a manner, and containing such information as determined by the Secretary. Funds awarded under this subsection to a participating eligible institution shall be— applied in their entirety to student accounts; and used to waive or significantly reduce tuition and fees for eligible students in an amount of not more than up to the annual per-student rebate amount for each student, for not more than the first 60 credits an eligible student enrolls in the participating eligible institution. In this section: The term eligible student means a student, regardless of age, who— enrolls in a historically black college or university, or minority-serving institution, for the first time; or transfers from a community college into a historically black college or university, or minority-serving institution, for the first time; attends the historically black college or university, or minority serving institution, on at least a half-time basis; maintains satisfactory academic progress; and is a low-income student. An otherwise eligible student shall lose eligibility 3 calendar years after first receiving benefits under this section. Notwithstanding subparagraph (A)(i), an otherwise eligible student whose parent or guardian was denied a PLUS loan after November 2011 and before March 29, 2015, and who subsequently withdrew from a historically black college or university, or minority-serving institution, and has not yet completed a program of study at such historically black college or university or minority-serving institution, shall be eligible to participate under subsection
(a)or
(b)in order to complete such program of study, subject to all other requirements of subsection
(a)or
(b)(as the case may be). The term historically black college or university means a part B institution described in section 322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1061(2) ). The term low-income student has the meaning given such term by the Secretary, except that such term shall not exclude any student eligible for a Federal Pell Grant under section 401 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1070a ). The term minority-serving institution means any public or not-for-profit institution of higher education— described in paragraphs
(2)through
(7)of section 371(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 1067q(a) ); and designated as a minority-serving institution by the Secretary. For the purpose of carrying out subsections
(a)and (b), there are authorized to be appropriated, and there are appropriated— $55,000,000 for fiscal year 2016; $180,000,000 for fiscal year 2017; $1,072,000,000 for fiscal year 2018; $1,115,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; $1,160,000,000 for fiscal year 2020; $1,206,000,000 for fiscal year 2021; $1,225,000,000 for fiscal year 2022; $1,306,000,000 for fiscal year 2023; $1,359,000,000 for fiscal year 2024; and $1,414,000,000 for fiscal year 2025 and each succeeding fiscal year. Funds appropriated under paragraph
(1)are to remain available to the Secretary until expended. If the amount appropriated under paragraph
(1)for a fiscal year is not sufficient to award, to each participating institution in the grant programs under subsections
(a)and (b), a grant under this section equal to 100 percent of the grant amount determined under subsection (a)(3) or (b)(3) (as the case may be), the Secretary may ratably reduce the amount of each such grant or take other actions necessary to ensure an equitable distribution of such amount.
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