Eligibility Details

Designation as an eligible institution is required prior to formal application to the SIP (or any other Higher Education Act) grant program. To be eligible for HEA Title III or V programs, an institution of higher education's average educational and general expenditures” (E&G) per full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student must be less than the average E&G expenditures per FTE undergraduate student of institutions that offer similar instruction in that year. Pending this initial calculation or approval of waiver, institutions must then meet further qualifications based on the specific grant program under the HEA for which they wish to apply.

The Department has instituted a process known as the Eligibility Matrix (EM), under which they will use information submitted by IHEs to IPEDS to determine which institutions meet the basic eligibility requirements for the programs authorized by Title III or Title V of the HEA. The Department will use enrollment and fiscal data for the 2018-2019 year submitted by institutions to IPEDS to make eligibility determinations for FY 2021.

Beginning December 16, 2019, an institution will be able to review the Department's decision on whether it is eligible for the grant programs authorized by Titles III or V of the HEA through this process by checking the institution's eligibility in the Eligibility system linked through the Department's Institutional Service Eligibility website at: https://hepis.ed.gov/main

If the entry for your institution in the EM shows that your institution is automatically eligible (green color coding) to apply for a grant for a particular program and you plan to submit an application for a grant in that program, you will not need to apply for eligibility or for a waiver through the process described in this summary. Rather, you may print out the eligibility letter directly. However, if the EM does not show that your institution is automatically eligible (yellow color coding) for a program in which you plan to apply for a grant, you must submit a waiver request as discussed in this summary before the deadline. Note that eligibility designation for waivers are effective for one year: from July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022.

The FY20 eligibility matrix is available here: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/2020eligibilitymatrix.xlsx

Eligibility for 2021 for main campuses was pre-determined using data from the Integrated Post-secondary Education Data System (IPEDS). Eligible main campuses do not need to complete an application. Branch campuses will be required to log in to submit an application. You may search for your institution to determine if your institution is eligible and download your approval letter here: https://hepis.ed.gov/title3and5/ltrMatrix/eligMatrix.cfm

Upon general HEA Title III and V funding eligibility confirmation, the SIP program further requires that applicants are Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs) that meet the following requirements:

• Be accredited or pre-accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association;
• Be legally authorized by the State to be a junior college or provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree;
• Have at least 50% of its degree students who receive need-based assistance or a substantial number of enrolled students who receive Pell Grants; and
• Have low educational and general expenditures

NOTE: A grantee under the HSI (Hispanic Serving Institutions) program, which is authorized under title V of the HEA (Higher Education Act), may not receive a grant under any HEA, title III, part A program. The title III, part A programs are: SIP; the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities program; the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions program; the Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions program; and the Native American-Serving Nontribal Institutions program. Furthermore, a current HSI program grantee may not give up its HSI grant to receive a grant under SIP or any title III, Part A program. An eligible HSI that is not a current grantee under the HSI program may apply for a FY 2021 grant under all Title III, part A programs for which it is eligible, as well as receive consideration for a grant under the HSI program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one grant under the HEA. Finally, for any IHE with current funding under a SIP grant (whether that is Part A or F) a two-year hiatus is required between current project close-out and ability to reapply for SIP funding.

Deadline Details

Institutions must first confirm eligibility to apply for HEA Title III and V funding prior to applying to this program. For more information about this process, see: https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html

While the SIP competitions occur on a biennial cycle, the Title III and V eligibility window is annual.

• The deadline to confirm eligibility or submit a request for waiver for any funding available under Title III or Title V of the Higher Education Act in FY 2022 was February 18, 2022.
• Please see https://hepis.ed.gov/title3and5/login.cfm for more information. Note that eligibility designation for waivers only of the non-federal cost share is effective for one year.

Provided the applicant institution is listed as automatically eligible within the current FY's eligibility matrix (green color coding) or applied for a waiver (yellow color coding) and received an approval letter, they are then permitted to apply to the SIP program once the window opens.

Applications for the 2021 SIP Part A competition were to be submitted by July 13, 2021. At present, a SIP Part F competition has not been announced. A similar deadline is anticipated biennially (2023). Updates to this timeline will be posted here https://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/find/edlite-forecast.html The Department of Education anticipates releasing additional information about the 2023 cycle in late January/early February 2023.

Award Details

Approximately $17,182,981. is available in total funding for new SIP Part A awards in 2021.

• SIP Part A Institutional Development Grants - Award size will range from $400,000 to $450,000 per year, but the average award will be $425,000 per year. Approximately 28 awards are anticipated.
• SIP Part A Cooperative Arrangement Grants - Award size will range from $500,000 to $550,000 per year, but the average award will be $525,000 per year. Approximately 10 awards are anticipated.

At present a SIP Part F competition has not been announced for 2019, however, for the FY2017 competition, a total of $3,699,000 was available for up to 7 awards. Those awards ranged from $500,000 to $600,000 per year, with the average annual award size of $550,000. 

SIP Part A and Part F Grants last up to 60 months (5 years). This program does not require cost sharing or matching unless the grantee uses a portion of its grant for establishing or improving an endowment fund. If a grantee does use a portion of its award for endowment fund purposes, it must match those grant funds with non-Federal funds.