This document reflects a compilation of the answers we have provided in response to questions received from potential applicants in the most recent (FY 2005) program competition. We hope this information is useful in assisting you with developing a successful SSS application.
| Need for the Project |
| Q1: | All incoming freshmen are given a survey during orientation prior to the start of classes and must provide their social security numbers, which allows us to cross-reference. Is the survey data acceptable for us to use in the needs section to document eligible students, or are we only to use information found on the FAFSA? |
| A: | Use the best and most recent information available to support your determination of need. Applicants must use information that is factual and verifiable and not more than three years old. Only data concerning students enrolled, or accepted for enrollment at the applicant institution, will be considered in determining the need for the project. |
| Q2: | Are Pell-eligible students eligible for the SSS Program under the low-income guidelines, or are we only to pull the taxable income off of the FAFSA to show a student's low-income eligibility? |
| A: | A Pell-eligible student is not automatically classified as "low-income" for purposes of the SSS Program. The FAFSA does not contain "taxable" income but rather it reports "adjusted gross" income. If you cannot obtain taxable income, you may use the FAFSA "adjusted gross" income number as a proxy for low-income to determine the need for the project. Taxable income will always be less than adjusted gross income because the personal exemptions are deducted from the adjusted gross income.
However, the low-income criterion for accepting individual student participants into your SSS project must be the "taxable" income shown on the low-income chart included in the SSS application booklet. |
| Q3: | Does a learning disability qualify as a disability under eligibility rules? |
| A: | Yes, if that learning disability is a diagnosed impairment that substantially limits that individual's ability to participate in the educational experiences and opportunities offered by the grantee institution. |
| Q4: | At the technical assistance workshop I made a note that said we should only be counting (in demonstrating need for the project) students who have a goal of achieving an AA or interested in transferring to a baccalaureate institution. Should we exclude, for example, students who are in our one-year cosmetology program unless that student is also going for an AA degree? |
| A: | Two-year institutions should only count those students whose goals are attaining 2-year degrees or transferring to 4-year institutions to attain baccalaureate degrees. |
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| Objectives
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| Q5: | The example of a graduation objective given at the workshop was clear because it factored in cohorts, as in "X percent will graduate within 6 years." How do we succinctly construct our objectives for good standing and persistence to reflect each cohort? |
| A: | The good standing objective may apply to all participants each year and not be based upon cohorts. For example: "Of all SSS participants, X percent will be in good standing at the end of each academic year." |
| Q6: | How do you break down cohorts, year by year, without having long objectives? And would lengthy objectives count against us if the readers perceived the objectives as too long or even layered? For example: "Of students accepted as participants in the SSS project, each cohort will persist according to the following percentage: X percent from 1st cohort year to 2nd cohort year, X percent from 2nd cohort year to 3rd, etc." |
| A: | The approach that gives the percentage of each cohort for each year of the grant cycle, as described in the question, is acceptable and desirable. The Department's reader orientation sessions will provide detailed instructions to the readers regarding the objectives. Additionally, Department staff will review reader scores and comments to ensure that applicants are not penalized for providing annual objectives. |
| Q7: | Would a short objective -- that is, an objective with only one percentage applying to more than one year -- seem like we are only considering one cohort? And would an objective with each cohort having the same percentage seem misleading to the readers? For example: "X percent of each cohort will persist each academic year [during the measurement period."] |
| A: | An objective with one percentage (the same percentage for each cohort) is acceptable, but an objective that has a different percentage for each year will be more precise, because cohorts of students generally do not have the same persistence rate at the end of each successive academic year. |
| Q8: | Is the following objective acceptable for measuring persistence? Objective: "SSS will ensure that at least 80% of its freshmen cohort program participants enroll in college for a third semester as a result of early intervention and activities such as a comprehensive system of academic, personal and financial advising, which fosters an institutional climate supportive of the success of low-income, first-generation and disabled college students." |
| A: | No. This type objective does not measure the entire cohort (just freshmen) and only measures the cohort over three semesters. The period of measurement should be 3 years for a 2-year institution and 6 years for a 4-year institution. Also, the processes used to achieve the objective should be described in the plan of operation, not included in the objective. |
| Q9: | Does the general nature of this objective fit the needs of the grant? Example: "SSS will ensure that X percent of each year's cohort will graduate in six years." |
| A: | Yes. This type of objective is exactly what we are seeking. It is clear, concise, not qualified, easily measurable, and verifiable. |
| Q10: | Is it the Department's recommendation that we include an objective on fostering campus climate? |
| A: | Applicants should describe what the institution would do to foster an institutional climate supportive of the success of SSS eligible students. This may be done either as an objective or discussed in the institutional commitment section of the application. |
| Q11: | Does the Department recommend that applicants include an administrative objective? |
| A: | It is not necessary for applicants to include an objective to address the administrative requirements. Applicants should address "project administration" under the "Plan of Operation" criterion. |
| Q12: | Must an applicant include project objectives other than those used for purposes of calculating prior experience, and if so, should these be discussed in terms of cohorts? |
| A: | Applicants have the option of including additional objectives for proposed activities and may determine whether measuring by cohort is an appropriate and valid method of measurement. |
| Q13: | We are concerned that readers will penalize applicants for having what appear to be unambitious persistence and graduation objectives under the cohort approach (measuring all participants in a given cohort) because in many instances the percentages may be rather low. For example, when measuring all participants a 20 percent graduation rate over 6 years may be ambitious. How will readers be instructed to determine if an objective is ambitious and attainable? |
| A: | Readers will be instructed to determine if a proposed objective is ambitious and attainable by reviewing the need identified by the applicant in the "Need" section and the proposed services described in the "Plan of Operation." An applicant's proposed persistence and graduation objectives should reflect some improvement in outcomes for SSS participants over the outcomes described in the "Need" section for non-participants who are SSS eligible.
One applicant's objectives will not be compared to other applicants' objectives. Thus, the application with the greatest proposed success rate will not receive more points. Each applicant's proposed persistence and graduation objectives will be compared only to the educational outcomes achieved by the applicant's SSS-eligible students who do not receive SSS services. |
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| Plan of Operation
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| Q14: | Are projects that exclusively serve students with disabilities required to serve a minimum of 160 participants? |
| A: | No. A project that serves students with disabilities exclusively does not have a minimum number of participants that it must serve. The applicant must stipulate in its application the number of participants it plans to serve. |
| Q15: | Each grantee must provide an assurance that ... at least two-thirds of the students it will serve will be: (A) low-income individuals who are first-generation college students; or (B) individuals with disabilities. Must the two-thirds be individuals described in (A) or (B) and not a combination of the two? |
| A: | The two-thirds may be all individuals described in either (A) or (B), or a combination of the individuals described in letters (A) and (B). |
| Q16: | Is there a minimum number of participants who must be served by an SSS project? |
| A: | No. There is not a minimum number of participants, but we generally expect SSS projects to projects to serve at least 160 students. New projects that propose to serve less than 160 students will have their grant awards determined in accordance with the guidance provided in the Notice Inviting Applications. |
| Q17: | Must an SSS project award grant aid to participants? |
| A: | No. Within the eligible expenditures, each project should determine the best use of the SSS grant funds. A grantee is authorized (but not required) to award up to 20 percent of the grant award to eligible participants in the form of grant aid. Grantees are, however, urged to make the maximum use of grant aid if doing so will address an identified need of its participants. It is important to remember that the institution must provide a one-third match to funds used for grant aid, unless the institutions qualifies for a waiver of the required match. In addition, grantees are reminded that funds used for grant aid may not be included in calculating indirect costs. |
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| Quality of Personnel
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| Q18: | Does the requirement of a waiver for less than full-time status apply to all SSS staff or just the project director? |
| A: | The waiver requirement only applies to the project director. |
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| Budget |
| Q19: | Are applicants required to complete the standard budget form (ED 524) for five years or for the first year only? |
| A: | Applicants should complete the summary budget form (ED524) and provide a detailed budget narrative and a summary for the first year only. |
| Q20: | As a current five-year grantee, my first year of funding under the new cycle will not begin until 2006-2007. Should the budget in the application be for 2005-2006 year or the 2006-2007 year? |
| A: | The budget period for all applicants is 2005-2006, regardless of when your current grant ends. |
| Q21: | Are we to use our total grant award to calculate our budget, including the money designated for grant aid? |
| A: | Yes. Grant aid will not be tracked separately beginning with the first year of the new award cycle - 2005/2006. Any grant aid previously received by an existing applicant will become part of the applicant's base award. Grantees may use up to 20 percent of the total grant award for grant aid. Remember that both grant aid and equipment expenses are deducted before calculating indirect costs. |
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| Administrative Requirements |
| Q22: | Would the Department accept a second proposal from our institution with the justification that the geographical difference in location makes it impossible for us to serve these students? |
| A: | No, the application will not be accepted. The second application must describe a project that serves a "different campus" as defined in the program regulations or propose to serve a "different population" of participants who cannot readily be served by a single project. A project designed to serve exclusively individuals with disabilities would be such a project. |
