Title III
Title III at Meharry
Purpose
The Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGI) Program provides grants to assist institutions in establishing and strengthening their physical plants, development offices, endowment funds, academic resources and student services so that they may continue to participate in fulfilling the goal of equality of educational opportunity in graduate education.
Mission
The core mission of the Meharry Title III Office is to serve as the central administrative office for the management of the Title III funded activities. The office assists the college by ensuring planning, management, budgetary and administrative oversight, technical assistance and evaluation of each activity. These functions, when applied in concert with other campus administrative activities, strengthen the total infrastructure of the College. Additionally, the office serves as a liaison between Meharry Medical College and the U.S. Department of Education. The major areas for improvement and selected activities are aligned with the purpose of the HBGI program authorized under Title III, Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), which provides financial assistance to establish or strengthen the academic resources, endowment building capacity, management capabilities and physical plants of Historically Black Graduate Institutions.
Assessment & Evaluation
The Title III Project Administrator is responsible for monitoring programmatic activities and will provide fiscal management and oversight to activity directors. The administrator will facilitate the gathering of documentation for reporting purposes and serve as a resource to ensure the achievement of goals and objectives outlined under each activity. As well, the administrator will meet individually with activity directors to evaluate the success of objectives outlined under each activity to ensure progression toward set goals. When necessary, the administrator will work with activities that may require modifications to ensure success. The Program Administrator will meet regularly with grants management to ensure the processing of all financial requests and to ensure the guidelines for securing funds via drawdowns are in line with the guidelines approved by the Department of Education.
Events
Quarterly Reports:
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Q1 — January 20, 2023
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Q2 — April 21, 2023
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Q3 — July 21, 2023
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Q4 — October 20, 2023
Please submit all Quarterly Reports to: titleiii@mmc.edu
Quarterly Meeting Dates:
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Q1 — January 27, 2023
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Q2 — April 28, 2023
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Q3 — July 28, 2023
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Q4 — November 3, 2023
Policies & Procedures
The Strengthening Historically Black Graduate Institutions (HBGI) Program provides grants to assist institutions in establishing and strengthening their physical plants, development offices, endowment funds, academic resources and student services so that they may continue to participate in fulfilling the goal of equality of educational opportunity in graduate education. Subject to the availability of funds, the Secretary shall award program grants to institutions determined by the Secretary to be making a substantial contribution to the legal, medical, dental, veterinary, or other graduate education opportunities in mathematics, engineering, or the physical or natural sciences for Black Americans.
Allowable Activities (HBGIs)*
A grantee may carry out the following activities under this part:
- Purchase, rental or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, including instructional or research purposes;
- Construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement in classroom, library, laboratory, and other instructional facilities, including purchase or rental of telecommunications technology equipment or services;
- Purchase of library books, periodicals, technical and other scientific journals, microfilm, microfiche, and other educational materials, including telecommunications program materials;
- Scholarships, fellowships, and other financial assistance for needy graduate and professional students to permit the enrollment of the students in and completion of the doctoral degree in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, law, and the doctorate degree in the physical or natural sciences, engineering, mathematics, or other scientific disciplines in which African Americans are underrepresented;
- Establishing or improving a development office to strengthen and increase contributions from alumni and the private sector;
- Assisting in the establishment or maintenance of an institutional endowment to facilitate financial independence pursuant to section 331 of the HEA, as amended;
- Funds and administrative management, and the acquisition of equipment, including software, for use in strengthening funds management and management information systems;
- Acquisition of real property that is adjacent to the campus in connection with the construction, renovation, or addition to or improvement of campus facilities;
- Education or financial information designed to improve the financial literacy and economic literacy of students or the students’ families, especially with regard to student indebtedness and student assistance programs under Title IV of the HEA;
- Services necessary for the implementation of projects or activities that are approved, in advance, by the Secretary, except that not more than two percent of the grant amount may be used for this purpose;
- Tutoring, counseling, and student service programs designed to improve academic success; and
- Other activities proposed in the application that contribute to carrying out the purposes of the HBGI program and are approved by the Secretary.
Unallowable Activities (HBGIs)*
GRANTEES MAY NOT CARRY OUT THE FOLLOWING ACTIVITIES OR PAY THE FOLLOWING COSTS:
- Activities not included in an approved application
- Activities that are inconsistent with any State plan for higher education
- Activities or services related to sectarian instruction or religious worship
- Activities provided by a school or department of divinity
- Developing or improving non-degree or non-credit courses other than basic skills courses
- Purchase of standard office equipment
- Payment of any portion of the salary of a president, vice president, or equivalent officer who has college-wide administrative authority and responsibility at an institution to fill a position under the grant
- Activities that are operational in nature rather than developmental in nature
- Costs of organized fund-raising, including financial campaigns, endowment drives, solicitation of gifts and bequests, and similar expenses to raise capital or obtain contributions
- Costs of student recruitment such as advertisements, literature, and college fairs
- Instruction in the institution’s standard courses
- Costs for health and fitness programs, transportation, and daycare services
- Student activities such as entertainment, cultural, or social enrichment programs, publications, social clubs, or associations.
*taken from the PART 609‑STRENGTHENING HISTORICALLY BLACK GRADUATE INSTITUTIONS PROGRAM
For the full document, click here.
Additional Regulations & Policy Resources
Coming Soon
Coming Soon
Responsibilities of Activity Directors
An Activity Director is a steward of Federal funds
The Activity Directors are responsible for carrying out the approved plan of operation and spending plan for their respective activities and for achieving the objectives of their activities. Only Activity Directors may initiate requests for funds, and the requests must be based upon the approved budget, as aligned with the stated objectives. Each Activity Director will have requests approved by the appropriate administrator within the exiting administrative structure of the College before the requests are transmitted to the Title III Office.
What must Activity Directors do?
- Comply with applicable Federal statutes, regulations, and guidelines on Federal grant administration, Title III Projects, student privacy rights (i.e., GEPA and FERPA);
- Comply with College and Title III Office guidelines, policies and procedures;
- Ensure that expenditures of Title III funds are allocable, reasonable, allowable, consistently treated and necessary under 2 CFR 220 (formerly 0MB Circular A-21 guidelines);
- Administer, supervise, and closely monitor progress of the Title III Activity;
- Diligently work to accomplish the objectives of the approved Activity;
- Use sound fiscal internal control and accounting procedures to ensure proper disbursement of Title III funds;
- Prepare and submit accurate and timely Quarterly Reports, Time and Effort reports, Annual Performance Reports, and other periodic reports;
- Label all Title III equipment and maintain an equipment log;
- Prepare for and be available for external evaluations, audits, and program reviews as deemed necessary by the Title III Office;
- Attend Title III meetings and technical assistance workshops;
- Maintain proper recordkeeping and retention of records sufficient to establish an audit trail. When in doubt, keep it!
For a current listing of Title III Activity Directors, click here.