NOTE-1: The Office for Civil Rights (OCR) , U.S. Department of Education (ED), is responsible for compiling and posting on the Internet, the annual U.S. Department of Education Accredited Minority Postsecondary Education listing, which is based on the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data. The Office for Civil Rights is not directly involved in the award of Department of Education grants or other Federal grants to education agencies. Nor does OCR maintain information about grant decisions made by other Federal offices or departments.

NOTE-2: Data is reported to the U.S. Department of Education by responding institutions in the Fall 2001 IPEDS. The IPEDS collection is administered by NCES, in collaboration with OCR. Percentage of minority students is derived from reported total student enrollment (IPEDS line 29), whereas percentage of Hispanic students is derived from reported total full-time undergraduate enrollment (IPEDS line 8).

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are described in Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. 20 U.S.C. ?1061.

Using the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Fall Enrollment data from the National Center for Education Statistics, OCR compiles the U.S. Accredited Postsecondary Minority Institutions listings pursuant to the Higher Education Act. 20 U.S.C. ?1067k(3). For purposes of these listings, a minority postsecondary institution is defined as an institution "whose enrollment of a single minority or a combination of minorities... exceeds 50 percent of total enrollment." 20 U.S.C. ?1067k(3). See also 20 U.S.C. ?1131(b)(1)(B) and 29 U.S.C. ?718(b)(5)(B) . A Hispanic serving institution is defined as an institution whose enrollment of Hispanic students reaches, or exceeds, 25% of full time equivalent undergraduate enrollment and not less than 50% of Hispanic students enrolled are low-income individuals. 20 U.S.C. ?1101a(a)(5). Because the Federal government does not collect or have available information or data regarding the income status of these students, the information reported in this listing is solely based on the enrollment % of Hispanic students. There may be grant programs that require additional information that the Federal government does not collect or have available in any of its information or data programs regarding students.

The designation of Tribal Colleges and Universities is covered under several Federal statutes; for example, the Tribally Controlled College or University Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. ?1801 et seq.) covers 25 postsecondary institutions where funding is provided by the U.S. Department of the Interior to those institutions where 50% or more of student enrollment is American Indian.

NOTE-3: The Higher Education Amendments of 1998 identified and defined Alaskan Native-serving institutions, and Native Hawaiian-serving institutions under the following language:

• An Alaskan Native-serving institution [Part A of Title III (20 U.S.C. ?1057 et seq.) amended by Section 317(b)(2) of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998] is an institution of higher education which (A) is an eligible institution under section 312(b); and (B) at the time of application, has an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 20% Alaskan Native students.
• A Native Hawaiian-serving institutions [Part A of Title III (20 U.S.C. ?1057 et seq.) amended by Section 317(b)(4) of the Higher Education Amendments of 1998] is an institution of higher education which (A) is an eligible institution under section 312(b); and (B) at the time of application, has an enrollment of undergraduate students that is at least 10% Native Hawaiian students.

At this time, racial and ethnic information collected from postsecondary institutions in the IPEDS Fall Enrollment Compliance Report by NCES, in collaboration with OCR, use the five basic racial and ethnic categories for Federal statistics and administrative reports. Those categories are American Indian or Alaskan Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black (not of Hispanic origin), Hispanic, and White (not of Hispanic origin). These categories do not disaggregate data for American Indian or Alaskan Native, or Asian or Pacific Islander. However, the University of Alaska system, responsible in Alaska for reporting IPEDS information to NCES for public post-secondary institutions, does separately collect and report data on enrollments of Alaskan Native students. Therefore, we are able to list the percentage of Alaskan Native students attending postsecondary institutions in Alaska that report to the IPEDS Fall Enrollment Compliance Report. Similarly, postsecondary institutions in Hawaii separately collect data on enrollments of Native Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian students attending postsecondary institutions in Hawaii. Therefore, we are also able to list the percentage of Native Hawaiian students attending postsecondary institutions in Hawaii that report to the IPEDS Fall Enrollment Compliance Report.

NOTE-4: The Department of Education is currently determining how it will implement the October 1997 OMB revised standards for racial and ethnic reporting. It is anticipated that the Department of Education?s implementation date for the 1997 OMB revised standards will be Fall 2004.