NOTE-1: Responsibilities in the Office for Civil Rights (OCR), U.S. Department of Education (ED), for the U.S. Department of Education Accredited Minority Postsecondary Education listing is limited to the development and electronic publishing on the Web of the annual listing; consideration of, and decisions regarding, amendments, and publishing of amendments where warranted. The OCR/ED has no involvement in the announcement of grants from Federal agencies, nor any decisions regarding grants.

NOTE-2: Data is reported to the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education by responding institutions in the Fall 2000 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Fall Enrollment Compliance Report preliminary file submitted to both the Office for Civil Rights and the National Center for Education Statistics in the U.S. Department of Education. Percentage minority students are derived from reported total student enrollment (IPEDS line 29), whereas percentage Hispanic students are derived from reported total full-time undergraduate enrollment (IPEDS line 8).

Historically Black Colleges and Universities are described in Amendments to Title III, § 301 of P.L. 96-374 (20 U.S.C. 1061), Higher Education Act of 1965, and most recently amended December 20, 1993 in § 2(m) of P.L. 103-208.

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 USCA Section 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 USCA Section 1067k(3). See also 10 USCA Section 2323(c); 20 USCA Section 1131-1(c)(4); and 29 USCA Section 718(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. 20 USCA Section 1101a(5).

The designation of Tribal Colleges and Universities is covered under several Federal statutes. The Tribally Controlled College and 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. The Navajo Community College Act (25 U.S.C. 640a note) identifies Dine College (Arizona) as a minority serving institution. The Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act (20 U.S. C. 2397f note) identifies United Tribes Technical College (North Dakota) and Crownpoint Institute of Technology (New Mexico) as minority serving institutions. The American Indian, Alaskan Native, and Native Hawaiian Culture and Arts Development Act (20 U.S.C. 440 note) identifies the Institute of American Indian Arts (New Mexico) as a minority serving institution.

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

Alaska Native-serving institution [Part A of Title III (20 U.S.C. 1057 et seq.) amended by Section 317(b)(2)] is an institution of higher education (that) (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% Alaska Native students.

Native Hawaiian-serving institutions [Part A of Title III (20 U.S.C. 1057 et seq.) amended by Section 317(b)(4)] means 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 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Fall Enrollment Compliance Report by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), in collaboration with the Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education, use existing May 1978 Directive-15 standards published by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Federal statistics and administrative reports. Directive-15 race-ethnic categories does not disaggregate data for American Indian or Alaskan Native persons, or Asian or Pacific Islander persons. However, Directive-15 states, "any reporting required which uses more detail shall be organized in such a way that the additional categories can be aggregated into these basic racial-ethnic categories." The University of Alaska system, responsible in Alaska for reporting IPEDS information to NCES, does collect data on enrollments of various categories of Native Alaskan students. Therefore, it is possible to calculate Alaskan Native students attending postsecondary institutions in Alaska and to derive percentage undergraduate enrollment of Alaskan Native students in postsecondary institutions in Alaska reporting to the IPEDS Fall Enrollment Compliance Report. Similarly, postsecondary institutions in Hawaii collect data on enrollments of Native Hawaiian and part-Hawaiian students attending postsecondary institutions in Hawaii. Therefore, it is possible to calculate Native Hawaiian students attending postsecondary institutions in Hawaii and to derive percentage undergraduate enrollment of Native Hawaiian students in postsecondary institutions in Hawaii reporting to the IPEDS Fall Enrollment Compliance Report.

NOTE-4: The revised October 1997 OMB standards for racial and ethnic reporting are not implemented to date because of the recognized need for OMB to develop and announce race and ethnic aggregation strategies. At this time, the earliest implementation date for the 1997 OMB revised standards is Fall 2004.