§1059g Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving Institutions

Summary

The Secretary gives grants and other help to colleges and universities so they can better serve Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students and low-income students. To qualify, a school must meet the rules in another part of the law and have at least 10 percent of its undergraduate students who are Asian American or Native American Pacific Islander. “Asian American” is used as defined by the Office of Management and Budget in its rules published October 30, 1997 (62 Fed. Reg. 58789). “Native American Pacific Islander” means a descendant of the original people of any U.S. Pacific island territory or possession. Grants must be used to improve capacity—things like buying lab or library equipment, fixing classrooms, training and exchanging faculty, updating curriculum, buying educational materials, strengthening financial management, sharing facilities, tutoring and counseling, outreach to K–12 students, growing endowments, supporting underrepresented academic fields, doing research on these populations, teaming with community groups, and offering financial education. Schools must send enrollment data and other requested information to show they qualify and must give a five-year plan. A school that gets these funds cannot at the same time get other funds under this part, part B, or subchapter V. When possible, the Secretary must spread awards fairly and should give priority to schools where at least 10 percent of their Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander students are low-income.