---
kind: "section"
citation: "34 C.F.R. § 606.3"
title: "34"
number: "606.3"
heading: "What is an enrollment of needy students?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/34/606.3"
---

# §606.3. What is an enrollment of needy students?

- (a) Except as provided in [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section, for the purpose of [§ 606.2(a)(3)](/cfr/34/606.2.md?p=a-3), an applicant institution has an enrollment of needy students if in the base year—
  - (1) At least 50 percent of its degree students received student financial assistance under one or more of the following programs: Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Perkins Loan; or
  - (2) The percentage of its undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell Grants exceeded the median percentage of undergraduate degree students who were enrolled on at least a half-time basis and received Federal Pell Grants at comparable institutions that offer similar instruction.
- (b) The Secretary may waive the requirement contained in [paragraph (a)](#a) of this section if the institution demonstrates that—
  - (1) The State provides more than 30 percent of the institution's budget and the institution charges not more than $99.00 for tuition and fees for an academic year;
  - (2) At least 30 percent of the students served by the institution in the base year were students from low-income families;
  - (3) The institution substantially increases the higher education opportunities for low-income students who are also educationally disadvantaged, underrepresented in postsecondary education, or minority students;
  - (4) The institution substantially increases the higher education opportunities for individuals who reside in an area that is not included in a “metropolitan statistical area” as defined by the Office of Management and Budget and who are unserved by other postsecondary institutions; or
  - (5) The institution will, if granted the waiver, substantially increase the higher education opportunities for Hispanic Americans.
- (c) For the purpose of [paragraph (b)](#b) of this section, the Secretary considers “low-income” to be an amount which does not exceed 150 percent of the amount equal to the poverty level as established by the United States Bureau of the Census.
- (d) Each year, the Secretary notifies prospective applicants of the low-income figures through a notice published in the Federal Register.

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1101 et seq., unless otherwise noted.

### Source

Source: 64 FR 70147, Dec. 15, 1999, unless otherwise noted.