12 2 STA T .34 23 PUBLIC LA W 11 0– 31 5— AU G .14 , 200 8‘ ‘ PARTQ— R U RA LDEV EL O P M E N T G RANT SF OR RURAL - SERV I NG C OLLEGES AND UNIVER- SITIES ‘ ‘ SEC.861 . GRANT ST O R U RA L- SER VI NG INSTITUTIONS O FH IGHER E D UCATION. ‘ ‘ (a)PURPOSE S .—Thepur p os eso ft h i sse c tio n are— ‘‘( 1 ) to increase enro l l m ent an dg raduation rates of sec - ondar y school graduates and nontraditional students from rural areas at t w o-year and four-year institutions of higher education , and their articulation from two-year degree programs into four- year degree programs
and ‘‘( 2 ) to promote economic growth and de v elopment in rural A merica through partnership grants to consortia of rural- serving institutions of higher education, local educational agen- cies, and regional employers. ‘‘( b ) D E FIN I T IONS.— F or the purposes of this section
‘‘(1) R UR AL -SER V IN G INSTITUTION OF H IGHER E D U C ATION.— The term ‘rural-serving institution of higher education ’ means an institution of higher education that primarily serves rural areas. ‘‘(2) RURAL AREA.—The term ‘rural area’ means an area that is defined, identified, or otherwise recogni z ed as rural by a governmental agency of the S tate in which the area is located. ‘‘( 3 ) N ONTRADITIONAL STUDENT.—The term ‘nontraditional student’ means an individual who— ‘‘(A) delays enrollment in an institution of higher edu- cation by three or more years after secondary school graduation; ‘‘( B ) attends an institution of higher education part- time; or ‘‘( C ) attends an institution of higher education and— ‘‘(i) wor k s full-time; ‘‘(ii) is an independent student, as defined in sec- tion 480
‘‘(iii) has one or more dependents other than a spouse; ‘‘(iv) is a single parent; or ‘‘(v) does not have a secondary school diploma or the recognized e q uivalent of such a diploma. ‘‘(4) REGIONAL E M PLO Y ER.—The term ‘regional employer’ means an employer within a rural area. ‘‘(c) PARTNERSHIP.— ‘‘(1) RE Q UIRED PARTNERS.—A rural-serving institution of higher education, or a consortium of rural-serving institutions of higher education, that receives a grant under this section shall carry out the activities of the grant in partnership with— ‘‘(A) one or more local educational agencies serving a rural area; and ‘‘(B) one or more regional employers or local boards (as such term is defined in section 101 of the W orkforce I nvestment Act of 1 9 98 (29 U .S.C. 2801)) serving a rural area. ‘‘(2) O PTIONAL PARTNERS.—A rural-serving institution of higher education, or a consortium of rural-serving institutions 20USC1 1 6 1 q.
�
