Colleges serving minority students may receive federal money for computer hardware, software, and network upgrades under a provision in legislation to reauthorize the Higher Education Act. The bill cleared Congress Thursday and is expected to be signed by President Bush.
The provision largely restates the Minority Serving Institution Digital and Wireless Technology Opportunity Act of 2007, HR 694, which the U.S. House of Representatives approved in September. The provision would create a program at the Department of Commerce to distribute money for technology upgrades at colleges serving blacks, Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, Hispanics, and Native Alaskans. Institutions receiving the funds would be required to provide a 25-percent matching contribution or $500,000, whichever is less. But the requirement would be waived for institutions with no endowment.
Unlike the House bill, which authorizes $250-million for the first year of the program, the Higher Education Act provision does not specify how much money would be allocated for the four-year program.—Andrea L. Foster
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