Funding Opportunities: Current OPE Grant Competitions and Closing Dates

• Fulbright-Hays Seminars Abroad Program - application deadline: September 12, 2008.
• Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad Program - application deadline: September 26, 2008.
• Jacob K. Javits Fellowships Program - application deadline: October 3, 2008.

OPE News

• On August 14, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Higher Education Opportunity Act. This law reauthorizes and extends the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The HEA provides the authorizing legislation for most of the programs administered by OPE, as well as for the Federal Student Aid Programs.

• U.S. National Commission for UNESCO Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship
  The U.S. Department of State recently announced the call for applications for the fall/winter 2008 cycle of the U.S. National Commission for UNESCO Laura W. Bush Traveling Fellowship. This fellowship will help fund a proposal designed by the applicant--a U.S. undergraduate or graduate student between the ages of 18-25--to conduct brief work in a foreign country related to the mandate of UNESCO, using education, natural sciences, social and human sciences, culture, and/or communication and information to build strong ties among nations.

  For applicants who will conduct their work from the period between September 2008 and December 2008, the schedule is as follows:
  June 26 -- U.S. National Commission for UNESCO opens call for applications;
  August 5, 5 p.m. EST -- Deadline for proposals to be received by U.S. National Commission for UNESCO;
  Week of August 19 -- Subcommittee meeting to produce initial top candidates and conduct phone interviews, as needed;
  Week of August 25 -- Closed Federal Advisory Committee Act call to determine recommendations of final top candidate and alternates;
  By August 31 -- Announcement of recipient(s) by Executive Director of U.S. National Commission for UNESCO;
  Early 2009 – Recipient(s) provides summary report of experiences.

• 2007-08 Negotiated Rulemaking for Higher Education - On October 22nd, 2007, the Department published a notice in the Federal Register announcing our intention of to establish one or two negotiated rulemaking committees.

  • The Final Rule for the TEACH Grant Program is effective July 1, 2008. This rule was published in the Federal Register on June 23, 2008. On June 30, 2008, a correction notice was published in the the Federal Register.

  • Title IV Loan Provisions in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007.
    The Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) that would implement the title IV loan provisions in the College Cost Reduction and Access Act of 2007 (CCRAA) was published in the Federal Register on July 1, 2008. Interested parties have 45 days to submit comments on the proposed regulations.

• Academic Competitiveness Grants (ACG) - Recognized State Rigorous Secondary School Programs of Study:

  • For 2008 Graduates
  • For 2007 Graduates
  • For 2005 and 2006 Graduates

• Results are in. The year-one data for AC and National SMART Grants have been compiled. The resulting national and state profiles include suggestions for reaching the Department of Education's goal of doubling the number of AC and National SMART Grant recipients nationwide by 2011.

• The Secretary's Fifth Annual Report on Teacher Quality: A Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom

  PDF (1.6 MB) | MS Word (2.6 MB)

• OPE Congressional Testimony and Announcements

• Postsecondary Educational Institutions and Programs Accredited by Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education: This database lists approximately 6,900 postsecondary educational institutions and programs, each of which is accredited by an accrediting agency or state approval agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a "reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education" within the meaning of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). - Press Release -

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