(B) a special project grant to any eligible applicant which supports activities that

(i) provide a needed service to a group of eligible minority institutions; or

(ii) provide in-service training for project directors, scientists, and engineers from eligible minority institutions.

PART F-GENERAL PROVISIONS

SEC. 391. [20 U.S.C. 1068] APPLICATIONS FOR ASSISTANCE. (a) APPLICATIONS.—

(1) APPLICATIONS REQUIRED.-Any institution which is eligible for assistance under this title shall submit to the Secretary an application for assistance at such time, in such form, and containing such information, as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to evaluate the institution's need for the assistance. Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this title, the Secretary may approve an application for assistance under this title only if the Secretary determines that

(A) the application meets the requirements of subsection (b);

(B) the applicant is eligible for assistance in accordance with the part of this title under which the assistance is sought; and

(C) the applicant's performance goals are sufficiently rigorous as to meet the purposes of this title and the performance objectives and indicators for this title established by the Secretary pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and the amendments made by such Act.

(2) PRELIMINARY APPLICATIONS.-In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may develop a preliminary application for use by eligible institutions applying under part A prior to the submission of the principal application. (b) CONTENTS.-An institution, in its application for a grant,

shall

(1) set forth, or describe how the institution (other than an institution applying under part C, D or E) will develop, a comprehensive development plan to strengthen the institution's academic quality and institutional management, and otherwise provide for institutional self-sufficiency and growth (including measurable objectives for the institution and the Secretary to use in monitoring the effectiveness of activities under this title);

(2) set forth policies and procedures to ensure that Federal funds made available under this title for any fiscal year will be used to supplement and, to the extent practical, increase the funds that would otherwise be made available for the purposes of section 311(b) or 323, and in no case supplant those funds; (3) set forth policies and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness in accomplishing the purpose of the activities for which a grant is sought under this title;

(4) provide for such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to ensure proper disbursement of and accounting for funds made available to the applicant under this title;

(5) provide (A) for making such reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may require to carry out the functions under this title, including not less than one report annually setting forth the institution's progress toward achieving the objectives for which the funds were awarded, and (B) for keeping such records and affording such access thereto, as the Secretary may find necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports;

(6) provide that the institution will comply with the limitations set forth in section 357, except that for purposes of section 316, paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 396 shall not apply; (7) describe in a comprehensive manner any proposed project for which funds are sought under the application and include

(A) a description of the various components of the proposed project, including the estimated time required to complete each such component;

(B) in the case of any development project which consists of several components (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A)), a statement identifying those components which, if separately funded, would be sound investments of Federal funds and those components which would be sound investments of Federal funds only if funded under this title in conjunction with other parts of the development project (as specified by the applicant);

(C) an evaluation by the applicant of the priority given any proposed project for which funds are sought in relation to any other projects for which funds are sought by the applicant under this title, and a similar evaluation regarding priorities among the components of any single proposed project (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A));

(D) a detailed budget showing the manner in which funds for any proposed project would be spent by the applicant; and

(E) a detailed description of any activity which involves the expenditure of more than $25,000, as identified in the budget referred to in subparagraph (E); and

(8) include such other information as the Secretary may prescribe.

(c) PRIORITY CRITERIA PUBLICATION REQUIRED.-The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register, pursuant to chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, all policies and procedures required to exercise the authority set forth in subsection (a). No other criteria, policies, or procedures shall apply.

(d) ELIGIBILITY DATA. The Secretary shall use the most recent and relevant data concerning the number and percentage of students receiving need-based assistance under title IV of this Act in making eligibility determinations under section 312 and shall advance the base-year forward following each annual grant cycle.

SEC. 392. [20 U.S.C. 1068a] WAIVER AUTHORITY AND REPORTING REQUIREMENT.

(a) WAIVER REQUIREMENTS; NEED-BASED ASSISTANCE STUDENTS.-The Secretary may waive the requirements set forth in section 312(b)(1)(A) in the case of an institution—

(1) which is extensively subsidized by the State in which it is located and charges low or no tuition;

(2) which serves a substantial number of low-income students as a percentage of its total student population;

(3) which is contributing substantially to increasing higher education opportunities for educationally disadvantaged, underrepresented, or minority students, who are low-income individuals;

(4) which is substantially increasing higher educational opportunities for individuals in rural or other isolated areas which are unserved by postsecondary institutions;

(5) located on or near an Indian reservation or a substantial population of Indians, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of American Indians;

(6) that is a tribally controlled college or university as defined in section 2 of the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act of 1978; or

(7) wherever located, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of Black Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, or Pacific Islanders, including Native Hawaiians.

(b) WAIVER DETERMINATIONS; EXPENDITURES. (1) The Secretary may waive the requirements set forth in section 312(b)(1)(B) if the Secretary determines, based on persuasive evidence submitted by the institution, that the institution's failure to meet that criterion is due to factors which, when used in the determination of compliance with such criterion, distort such determination, and that the institution's designation as an eligible institution under part A is otherwise consistent with the purposes of such parts.

(2) The Secretary shall submit to the Congress every other year a report concerning the institutions which, although not satisfying the criterion contained in section 312(b)(1)(B), have been determined to be eligible institutions under part A institutions which enroll significant numbers of Black American, Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, or Native Hawaiian students under part A, as the case may be. Such report shall—

(A) identify the factors referred to in paragraph (1) which were considered by the Secretary as factors that distorted the determination of compliance with subparagraphs (A) and (B) of section 312(b)(1); and

(B) contain a list of each institution determined to be an eligible institution under part A including a statement of the reasons for each such determination.

(3) The Secretary may waive the requirement set forth in section 312(b)(1)(E) in the case of an institution located on or near an Indian reservation or a substantial population of Indians, if the Secretary determines that the waiver will substantially increase

higher education opportunities appropriate to the needs of American Indians.

SEC. 393. [20 U.S.C. 1068b] APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS.

(a) REVIEW PANEL.-(1) All applications submitted under this title by institutions of higher education shall be read by a panel of readers composed of individuals selected by the Secretary. The Secretary shall assure that no individual assigned under this section to review any application has any conflict of interest with regard to the application which might impair the impartiality with which the individual conducts the review under this section.

(2) The Secretary shall take care to assure that representatives of historically and predominantly Black colleges, Hispanic institutions, Tribal Colleges and Universities, and institutions with substantial numbers of Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and Native American Pacific Islanders (including Native Hawaiians) are included as readers.

(3) All readers selected by the Secretary shall receive thorough instruction from the Secretary regarding the evaluation process for applications submitted under this title and consistent with the provisions of this title, including—

(A) explanations and examples of the types of activities referred to in section 311(b) that should receive special consideration for grants awarded under part A and of the types of activities referred to in section 323 that should receive special consideration for grants awarded under part B;

(B) an enumeration of the factors to be used to determine the quality of applications submitted under this title; and

(C) an enumeration of the factors to be used to determine whether a grant should be awarded for a project under this title, the amount of any such grant, and the duration of any such grant.

(b) RECOMMENDATIONS OF PANEL.-In awarding grants under this title, the Secretary shall take into consideration the recommendations of the panel made under subsection (a).

(c) NOTIFICATION.-Not later than June 30 of each year, the Secretary shall notify each institution of higher education making an application under this title of

(1) the scores given the applicant by the panel pursuant to this section;

(2) the recommendations of the panel with respect to such application; and

(3) the reasons for the decision of the Secretary in awarding or refusing to award a grant under this title, and any modifications, if any, in the recommendations of the panel made by the Secretary.

(d) EXCLUSION.-The provisions of this section shall not apply to applications submitted under part D.

SEC. 394. [20 U.S.C. 1068c] COOPERATIVE ARRANGEMENTS.

(a) GENERAL AUTHORITY.-The Secretary may make grants to encourage cooperative arrangements—

(1) with funds available to carry out part A, between institutions eligible for assistance under part A and between such

institutions and institutions not receiving assistance under this title; or

(2) with funds available to carry out part B, between institutions eligible for assistance under part B and institutions not receiving assistance under this title;

for the activities described in section 311(b) or section 323, as the case may be, so that the resources of the cooperating institutions might be combined and shared to achieve the purposes of such parts and avoid costly duplicative efforts and to enhance the development of part A and part B eligible institutions.

(b) PRIORITY.-The Secretary shall give priority to grants for the purposes described under subsection (a) whenever the Secretary determines that the cooperative arrangement is geographically and economically sound or will benefit the applicant institution.

(c) DURATION. Grants to institutions having a cooperative arrangement may be made under this section for a period as determined under section 313 or section 323.

SEC. 395. [20 U.S.C. 1068d] ASSISTANCE TO INSTITUTIONS UNDER OTHER PROGRAMS.

(a) ASSISTANCE ELIGIBILITY.-Each institution which the Secretary determines to be an institution eligible under part A or an institution eligible under part B may be eligible for waivers in accordance with subsection (b).

(b) WAIVER APPLICABILITY. (1) Subject to, and in accordance with, regulations promulgated for the purpose of this section, in the case of any application by an institution referred to in subsection (a) for assistance under any programs specified in paragraph (2), the Secretary is authorized, if such application is otherwise approvable, to waive any requirement for a non-Federal share of the cost of the program or project, or, to the extent not inconsistent with other law, to give, or require to be given, priority consideration of the application in relation to applications from other institutions. (2) The provisions of this section shall apply to any program authorized by part D or title IV of this Act.

(c) LIMITATION.-The Secretary shall not waive, under subsection (b), the non-Federal share requirement for any program for applications which, if approved, would require the expenditure of more than 10 percent of the appropriations for the program for any fiscal year.

SEC. 396. [20 U.S.C. 1068e] LIMITATIONS.

The funds appropriated under section 360 may not be used(1) for a school or department of divinity or any religious worship or sectarian activity;

(2) for an activity that is inconsistent with a State plan for desegregation of higher education applicable to such institution;

(3) for an activity that is inconsistent with a State plan of higher education applicable to such institution; or

(4) for purposes other than the purposes set forth in the approved application under which the funds were made available to the institution.