Title 20EducationRelease 119-73not60

§1068b Application Review Process

Title 20 › Chapter 28— HIGHER EDUCATION RESOURCES AND STUDENT ASSISTANCE › Subchapter III— INSTITUTIONAL AID › Part G— General Provisions › § 1068b

Last updated Apr 5, 2026|Official source

Summary

When colleges apply for these grants, a group of readers chosen by the Secretary must review the applications. The Secretary must make sure no reader has a conflict of interest and must include readers from historically Black colleges, Hispanic-serving and Tribal colleges, and schools with many Hispanic, Native American, Asian American, or Pacific Islander students. All readers must get clear training on how to judge applications, what kinds of Part A and Part B activities to favor, and the factors for quality, award size, and grant length. The Secretary must consider the panel’s recommendations. By June 30 each year the Secretary must tell each applicant its scores, the panel’s recommendations, the reasons for the Secretary’s decision, and any changes the Secretary made to the panel’s suggestions. These rules do not apply to applications under part D.

Full Legal Text

Title 20, §1068b

Education — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)(1)All applications submitted under this subchapter 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 subchapter and consistent with the provisions of this subchapter, including—
(A)explanations and examples of the types of activities referred to in section 1057(b) of this title that should receive special consideration for grants awarded under part A and of the types of activities referred to in section 1062 of this title 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 subchapter; and
(C)an enumeration of the factors to be used to determine whether a grant should be awarded for a project under this subchapter, the amount of any such grant, and the duration of any such grant.
(b)In awarding grants under this subchapter, the Secretary shall take into consideration the recommendations of the panel made under subsection (a).
(c)Not later than June 30 of each year, the Secretary shall notify each institution of higher education making an application under this subchapter 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 subchapter, and any modifications, if any, in the recommendations of the panel made by the Secretary.
(d)The provisions of this section shall not apply to applications submitted under part D.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Codification Section was formerly classified to section 1068 of this title prior to renumbering by Pub. L. 105–244.

Amendments

1998—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 105–244, § 308(e)(1), substituted “Tribal Colleges and Universities” for “Native American colleges and universities”. Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 105–244, § 308(e)(2), added subsec. (d).

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1998 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 105–244 effective Oct. 1, 1998, except as otherwise provided in Pub. L. 105–244, see section 3 of Pub. L. 105–244, set out as a note under section 1001 of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

20 U.S.C. § 1068b

Title 20Education

Last Updated

Apr 5, 2026

Release point: 119-73not60