Rules and Regulations. Final rule

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BILLING CODE 6325-64-P DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE National Institute of Food and Agriculture 7 CFR Part 3434 RIN 0524-AA39 Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) Certification Process AGENCY: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), USDA. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This amendment to NIFA regulations updates the list of institutions that are granted Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting October 1, 2018, and ending September 30, 2019.

DATES: This rule is effective June 7, 2019 and applicable from October 1, 2018-September 30, 2019. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Joanna Moore; Senior Policy Specialist; National Institute of Food and Agriculture; U.S. Department of Agriculture; STOP 2272; 1400 Independence Avenue SW; Washington, DC 20250-2272; Voice: 202-690-6011; Fax: 202-401-7752; Email: *jmoore@nifa.usda.gov.* SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: HSACU Institutions for Fiscal Year 2019 This rule makes changes to the existing list of institutions in appendix B of 7 CFR part 3434.

The list of institutions is amended to reflect the institutions that are granted HSACU certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting October 1, 2018, and ending September 30, 2019. Certification Process As stated in 7 CFR 3434.4, an institution must meet the following criteria to receive HSACU certification:

(1)Be a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI),

(2)offer agriculture-related degrees,

(3)not appear on the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS),

(4)be accredited, and

(5)award at least 15% of agriculture-related degrees to Hispanic students over the two most recent academic years. NIFA obtained the latest report from the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics that lists all HSIs and the degrees conferred by these institutions (completion data) during the 2016-17 academic year. NIFA used this report to identify HSIs that conferred a degree in an instructional program that appears in appendix A of 7 CFR part 3434 and to confirm that over the 2015-16 and 2016-17 academic years at least 15% of the degrees in agriculture-related fields were awarded to Hispanic students. NIFA further confirmed that these institutions were nationally accredited and were not on the exclusions listing in the System for Award Management ( *https://www.sam.gov/SAM/pages/public/searchRecords/search.jsf* ). The updated list of HSACUs is based on

(1)completions data from 2015-16 and 2016-17, and

(2)enrollment data from Fall 2017. NIFA identified 158 institutions that met the eligibility criteria to receive HSACU certification for FY 2019 (October 1, 2018 to September 30, 2019). Section 7102 of the Agriculture Act of 2018 (Pub. L. 115-334) amended Section 1404(14) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3103(14)) to remove the opt-in, opt-out language for Hispanic Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities (HSACU) in order to apply for Non Land-Grant College of Agriculture (NLGCA) designation. Appeal Process As set forth in 7 CFR 3434.8, NIFA will permit HSIs that are not granted HSACU certification to submit an appeal within 30 days of the publication of this notice. Classification This rule relates to internal agency management. Accordingly, pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 553, notice of proposed rulemaking and opportunity for comment are not required, and this rule may be made effective less than 30 days after publication in the **Federal Register** . This rule also is exempt from the provisions of Executive Order 12866. This action is not a rule as defined by the Regulatory Flexibility Act, as amended by the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, 5 U.S.C. 601 *et seq.,* or the Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 *et seq.,* and thus is exempt from the provisions of those Acts. This rule contains no information collection or recordkeeping requirements under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 *et seq.* ). List of Subjects in 7 CFR Part 3434 Administrative practice and procedure, Agricultural research, education, extension, Hispanic-serving institutions, Federal assistance. Title 7 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended accordingly as set forth below: PART 3434—HISPANIC-SERVING AGRICULTURAL COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES CERTIFICATION PROCESS 1. The authority citation for part 3434 continues to read as follows: Authority: 7 U.S.C. 3103. 2. Revise appendix B to read as follows: Appendix B to Part 3434—List of HSACU institutions, 2018-2019 The institutions listed in this appendix are granted HSACU certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting October 1, 2018, and ending September 30, 2019. Institutions are listed alphabetically under the state of the school's location, with the campus indicated where applicable. Arizona

(4)Arizona Western College Cochise County Community College Mesa Community College Pima Community College California

(67)Allan Hancock College Bakersfield College Cabrillo College California Baptist University California State University—San Bernardino California State University—Long Beach California State University—Los Angeles California State University—East Bay California State University—Fullerton California State University—Fresno California State University—Chico California State University—Bakersfield California State University—Stanislaus California State University—San Marcos California State University—Monterey Bay California State University—Channel Islands California State Polytechnic—Pomona Chaffey College City College of San Francisco Crafton Hills College College of the Desert College of the Sequoias Cosumnes River College Cuesta College Cuyamaca College El Camino Community College District Foothill College Fresno Pacific University Fullerton College Golden West College Hartnell College Humboldt State University Imperial Valley College Las Positas College Long Beach City College Los Angeles Pierce College Mendocino College Merced College Mills College Modesto Junior College Mt San Antonio College Mt San Jacinto Community College District Napa Valley College National University Orange Coast College Pacific Union College Porterville College Reedley College Saddleback College Santa Barbara City College Santa Monica College San Bernardino Valley College San Diego City College San Diego Mesa College San Diego State University San Joaquin State University San Jose State University Saint Mary's College of California Southwestern College University of California—Irvine University of California—Riverside University of California—Santa Barbara University of California—Santa Cruz Victor Valley College West Hills College—Coalinga Whittier College Yuba College Connecticut

(1)Norwalk Community College Colorado

(2)Aims Community College Community College of Denver Florida

(7)Broward College City College—Hollywood Florida International University Hillsborough Community College Miami Dade College South Florida State College Valencia College Illinois

(3)College of Lake County Dominican University Triton College Kansas

(2)Dodge City Community College Garden City Community College Nevada

(3)College of Southern Nevada Nevada State College Truckee Meadows Community College New Jersey

(4)Essex County College Montclair State University Saint Peter's University William Paterson University of New Jersey New Mexico

(9)Central New Mexico Community College Eastern New Mexico University—Main Campus Mesalands Community College New Mexico Highlands University Northern New Mexico College Santa Fe Community College Western New Mexico University University of New Mexico—Los Alamos Campus University of New Mexico—Main Campus New York

(8)CUNY Hunter College CUNY LaGuardia Community College CUNY Lehman College CUNY Queens College CUNY Queensborough Community College Mercy College Nassau Community College SUNY Westchester Community College Puerto Rico

(16)Instituto Tecnologico de Puerto Rico—Recinto de Manati Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Aguadilla Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Bayamon Inter American University of Puerto Rico—Metro Inter American University of Puerto Rico—San German Inter-American University of Puerto Rico—Ponce Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico—Arecibo Pontifical Catholic University of Puerto Rico—Ponce Universidad Del Turabo Universidad Metropolitana University of Puerto Rico—Humacao University of Puerto Rico—Utuado University of Puerto Rico—Mayaquez University of Puerto Rico—Medical Sciences University of Puerto Rico—Rio Piedras Texas

(28)Angelo State University Concordia University—Texas Houston Community College Frank Phillips College Lee College Odessa College Palo Alto College Saint Edwards's University San Antonio College Southwest Texas Junior College St. Mary's University Sul Ross University Texas State University Texas State Technical College Texas A & M International University Texas A & M University—Corpus Christi Texas A & M University—Kingsville The University of Texas at El Paso The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley The University of Texas at San Antonio The University of Texas at Arlington Texas Woman's University University of Houston University of Houston—Clear Lake University of the Incarnate Word University of St. Thomas Western Texas College Wayland Baptist University Washington

(4)Big Bend Community College Columbia Basin College Wenatchee Valley College Yakima Valley Community College Done in Washington, DC, this 21 day of May 2019. Steve Censky, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Agriculture. [FR Doc. 2019-12021 Filed 6-6-19; 8:45 am]

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