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ExpectMore.govExpectMore.gov home pageEXPECT FEDERAL PROGRAMS TO PERFORM WELL, AND BETTER EVERY YEAR.
Program Assessment

Program

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Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need

This Department of Education (ED) program is designed to support graduate students pursuing specific high-need fields of study. Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) grants fund scholarships to students that demonstrate superior academic ability and a high degree of financial need.

Rating

What This Rating Means

PERFORMING
Adequate

This rating describes a program that needs to set more ambitious goals, achieve better results, improve accountability or strengthen its management practices.
  • ED developed new ambitious annual and long-term performance measures and targets for this program, but little performance data on most of these measures are available. However, the available data suggest that this program appears to be meeting one of its goals--increasing the proportion of fellowship recipients from traditionally underrepresented groups.
  • This program has not yet been evaluated, although ED is currently implementing a comprehensive study of all of ED's graduate fellowship programs that will examine, in part, educational and employment outcomes for GAANN fellows.
  • ED has not yet established targets for the program's efficiency measure--the cost per GAANN fellow that completes a course of study or passes preliminary exams.

Improvement Plan

About Improvement Plans

We are taking the following actions to improve the performance of the program:

  • Completing the study of ED's graduate fellowship programs and utilizing the results to validate GAANN performance measures and improve program performance.
  • Analyzing grantee level data and establishing targets for the program's efficiency measure.
  • Reviewing and revising program managers' performance agreements to ensure that managers are held accountable for achieving key program results.

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