U.S. Code of Federal Regulations
Regulations most recently checked for updates: Aug 27, 2025
§ 3434.1 - Applicability of regulations.
This part establishes the process to certify and designate a group of eligible educational institutions as Hispanic-Serving Agricultural Colleges and Universities, as authorized by Section 7101 of the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008 (FCEA), 7 U.S.C. 3103; Public Law 110-246.
§ 3434.2 - Purpose.
The Secretary will follow the processes and criteria established in this regulation to certify and designate qualifying colleges and universities as HSACUs. Institutions designated as HSACUs will be eligible for five new programs authorized by Congress in section 7129 of the FCEA as well as for other ongoing NIFA programs for which HSACUs are now eligible (e.g., integrated programs authorized by section 406 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998). The five new programs include the HSACU Endowment Fund (formula-based), HSACU Institutional Capacity Building Grants Program (competitive), HSACU Extension Grants Program (competitive), HSACU Applied and Fundamental Research Grants Program (competitive), and HSACU Equity Grants Program (formula-based). The administrative provisions, including reporting requirements, for the HSACU Endowment Fund will be established in a separate part (7 CFR part 3437). The administrative provisions and reporting requirements for the other four new HSACU programs will be established as subparts in 7 CFR part 3430.
§ 3434.3 - Definitions.
As used in this part:
Agency or NIFA means the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Agriculture-related fields means a group of instructional programs that are determined to be agriculture-related fields of study for HSACU eligibility purposes by a panel of National Program Leaders at the National Institute of Food and Agriculture.
Department means the United States Department of Agriculture.
Hispanic-serving Institution means an institution of higher education that:
(1) Is an eligible institution, as that term is defined at 20 U.S.C. 1101a; and
(2) Has an enrollment of undergraduate full-time equivalent students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic students, as reported to the U.S. Department of Education's Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System during the fall semester of the previous academic year.
Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture and any other officer or employee of the Department to whom the authority involved has been delegated.
§ 3434.4 - Eligibility.
(a) General. To be eligible to receive designation as a HSACU, colleges and universities must:
(1) Qualify as Hispanic-serving Institutions; and
(2) Offer associate, bachelors, or other accredited degree programs in agriculture-related fields pursuant to § 3434.5.
(b) Non-eligibility. The following colleges and universities are ineligible for HSACU certification:
(1) 1862 land-grant institutions, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601);
(2) Institutions that appear in the Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits programs (Excluded Parties List System);
(3) Institutions that are not accredited by a nationally recognized accredited agency or association; and
(4) Institutions with Hispanic students receiving less than 15% of the degrees awarded in agriculture-related programs over the two most recent completed academic years.
§ 3434.5 - Agriculture-related fields.
(a) The Secretary shall use the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) coding system developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics as the source of information for all existing instructional programs. This source is located at http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/cipcode.
(b) A complete list of instructional programs deemed to be agriculture-related fields by the Secretary is provided in Appendix A to this part. This list will include the full six-digit CIP code and program title (or major) for each agriculture-related instructional program.
(c) The list of agriculture-related fields will be updated every five years starting in 2015. However, the Secretary reserves the right to make changes at any time, if deemed appropriate and necessary.
(d) Any changes made in the CIP coding system by the U.S. Department of Education may result in a review or reevaluation of the list of agriculture-related fields by the Secretary.
§ 3434.6 - Certification.
(a) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, institutions that meet the eligibility criteria set forth in § 3434.4 and offer agriculture-related programs in accordance to the criteria set forth in § 3434.5 (see list in Appendix A to this part) shall be granted HSACU certification by the Secretary.
(b) A complete list of institutions with HSACU certification shall be provided in Appendix B to this part and posted on the NIFA Web site at http://www.nifa.usda.gov.
(c) Institutions with Hispanic students receiving less than 15% of degrees awarded in agriculture-related programs during the two most recent completed academic years shall not be granted HSACU certification by the Secretary.
(d) The list of HSACU institutions will be updated annually. However, the Secretary reserves the right to make changes at any time, when deemed appropriate and necessary.
§ 3434.7 - Duration of certification.
(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this section, HSACU certification granted to an institution by the Secretary under this part shall remain valid for a period of one year.
(b) Failure to maintain eligibility status at any time during the HSACU certification period shall result in an immediate revocation of HSACU certification.
(c) Failure to remain in compliance with reporting requirements or adherence to any administrative or national policy requirements listed in award terms and conditions for any of the HSACU programs may result in a suspension or an immediate revocation of HSACU certification.
§ 3434.8 - Appeals.
(a) An institution not listed as a HSACU in Appendix B to this part may submit an appeal to address denial of a certification made pursuant to this part. Such appeals must be in writing and received by the HSACU Appeals Officer, Policy and Oversight Division, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, DC 20024 within 30 days following an announcement of institutions designated for certification. The Appeals Officer will consider the record of the decision in question, any further written submissions by the institution, and other available information and shall provide the appellant a written decision as promptly as circumstances permit. Such appeals constitute an administrative review of the decision appealed from and are not conducted as an adjudicative proceeding.
(b) Appeals involving an agriculture-related field of study must include the CIP code and program title of the field of study (or major).
(c) Appeals from non-HSI schools will not be considered.
(d) The NIFA Assistant Director of the Institute of Youth, Family, and Community shall serve as the Appeals Officer.
(e) In considering such appeals or administrative reviews, the Appeals Officer shall take into account alleged errors in professional judgment or alleged prejudicial procedural errors by NIFA officials. The Appeals Officer's decision may:
(1) Reverse the appealed decision;
(2) Affirm the appealed decision;
(3) Where appropriate, withhold a decision until additional materials are provided. The Appeals Officer may base his/her decision in whole or part on matters or factors not discussed in the decision appealed from.
(f) If the NIFA decision on the appeal is adverse to the appellant or if an appellant's request for review is rejected, the appellant then has the option of submitting a request to the NIFA Deputy Director for Food and Community Resources for further review.
(g) The request for further review must be submitted to Policy and Oversight Division, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 800 9th Street SW., Washington, DC 20024 within 30 days following the Appeals Officer's decision.
(h) No institution shall be considered to have exhausted its administrative remedies with respect to the certification or decision described in this part until the NIFA Deputy Director for Food and Community Resources has issued a final administrative decision pursuant to this section. The decision of the NIFA Deputy Director for Food and Community Resources is considered final.
(i) Appellants shall be notified in writing of any decision made by NIFA in regards to the appeal.
§ 3434.9 - Recertification.
(a) The recertification process for a HSACU remains the same as the process outlined in § 3434.6.
(b) There is no limit to the number of times an institution may be recertified as a HSACU.
(c) In the event an institution is not granted recertification due to noncompliance with reporting requirements for a HSACU program, the institution shall be notified in writing and given a period of 90 days from the date of notification to be in compliance.
§ 3434.10 - Reporting requirements.
(a) The certification process does not involve any reporting requirements.
(b) Reporting requirements for HSACU programs (e.g., HSACU Endowment Fund) shall be established in separate parts.
Appendix Appendix A - Appendix A to Part 3434—List of Agriculture-Related Fields
The instructional programs listed in this appendix are observed to be agriculture-related fields for HSACU eligibility purposes. Programs are listed in numerical order by their six-digit CIP code followed by the full title of the instructional program, as listed by the U.S. Department of Education.
Appendix Appendix B - Appendix B to Part 3434—List of HSACU Institutions, 2024-2025
The institutions listed in this appendix are granted HSACU certification by the Secretary and are eligible for HSACU programs for the period starting July 1, 2024 and ending July 1, 2025. Institutions are listed alphabetically under the state of the school's location, with the campus indicated where applicable.