Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 has become the largest direct institutional-aid program for colleges and universities in the federal budget. Its legislative history is traced in this report along with the evolution of criteria for eligibility and award of these funds. Cited are the debates about the program, which was originally intended primarily to help struggling black colleges enter the "academic mainstream" but which has evolved into a loosely defined program designed to help all types of "struggling" or "developing" colleges and universities. The years of debate about the definitions of "developing institutions" and the evolving eligibility of debate about the definitions of "developing institutions' and the evolving eligibility criteria are reviewed. A three-page bibliography is included. (Author/LBH)