Eligibility.

(a) General. To be eligible to receive designation as a HSACU, colleges and universities must: (1) Qualify as Hispanic-serving Institutions; and (2) Offer associate, bachelors, or other accredited degree programs in agriculture-related fields pursuant to § 3434.5. (b) Non-eligibility. The following colleges and universities are ineligible for HSACU certification: (1) 1862 land-grant institutions, as defined in section 2 of the Agricultural Research, Extension, and Education Reform Act of 1998 (7 U.S.C. 7601); (2) Institutions that appear in the Lists of Parties Excluded from Federal financial and nonfinancial assistance and benefits programs (Excluded Parties List System); (3) Institutions that are not accredited by a nationally recognized accredited agency or association; and (4) Institutions with Hispanic students receiving less than 15% of the degrees awarded in agriculture-related programs over the two most recent completed academic years.