Kapiʻolani Community College’s eligibility to apply for federal funding from the U.S. Department of Education’s Title III Strengthening Institutions Programs was renewed for 2020.
The Shared Services Center prepared a request to waive the eligibility requirements because the College does not meet eligibility on these factors alone and is provided with the option of submitting a request for Exemption. The Exemption section consists of 1) Needy Student Requirement; 2) Core Expenses.
The Title III Eligibility Application was updated for the 2020 cycle with a new online submission system. The Higher Education Programs: Institutional Services (HEP IS) Portal first asks for background information on the applicant and the contact person responsible for submitting the eligibility application. The second part directs applicants to submit the Application consisting of institutional data, provided by the UH Institutional Research Office via the UH Office of Research Services to the Title III contacts at every campus. This data is uploaded to determine eligibility based solely upon Native Hawaiian student enrollment, Pell grant participation, and threshold expenses to student ratio.
The Needy Student Requirement asks the campus to describe its student population, and more specifically, how Native Hawaiians students and other minorities comprise the student body. Narrative statements and supporting data of enrollment by ethnicity is provided. Programs serving Native Hawaiian students submit information regarding services provided to Native Hawaiian students to demonstrate suitability to receive ANNH Part A and F funding.
The Core Expenses narrative describes reasons why the campus should be determined to meet the core expenses requirement, although below the threshold based on institutional data (enrollment:core expenses). Government-sourced data should be provided for this section, which is released annually by the state Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) at the opening of the state fiscal year. For example, this year’s narratives were prepared in mid-August 2019 months ahead of this application deadline. Federal statistics are cited from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. Secondary sources should be cited sparingly and used only to further illustrate specific economic hardships faced by our student body. For example, a supplemental report on millennial students facing financial hardship by state was included.
Download the 2020 eligibility letter waiver (pdf)