[Federal Register: October 6, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 193)]
[Notices]
[Page 54278-54279]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr06oc99-51]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116N]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Special
Focus Competition (Invitational Priority: Institutional Cooperation and
Student Mobility in Postsecondary Education Among the United States,
Canada and Mexico); Notice Inviting Application for New Awards for
Fiscal Year (FY) 2000

    Purpose of Program: To provide grants or enter into cooperative
agreements to improve postsecondary education opportunities by focusing
on problem areas or improvement approaches in postsecondary education.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education or
combinations of institutions and other public and private nonprofit
educational institutions and agencies.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 19, 1999.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: January 19, 2000.
    Applications Available: October 6, 1999.
    Available Funds: $250,000 for FY 2000. The estimated amount of
funds available for awards is based on the Administration's request for
this program for FY 2000. The actual level of funding, if any, is
contingent upon final congressional action.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $20,000-25,000 for FY 2000. $185,000-
$205,000 for four-year duration of grant.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $25,000 for FY 2000. $200,000 for
four-year duration of grant.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.

    Project Period: Up to 48 months.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR Parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This program is a Special Focus Competition
to support projects addressing a particular problem area or improvement
approach in postsecondary education. The competition also includes an
invitational priority to encourage proposals designed to support the
formation of educational consortia of American, Canadian and Mexican
institutions to encourage cooperation in the coordination of curricula,
the exchange of students and the opening of educational opportunities
throughout North America. The invitational priority is issued in
cooperation with Canada and Mexico. Canadian and Mexican institutions
participating in any consortium proposal responding to the invitational
priority may apply, respectively, to Human Resources Development Canada
and the Mexican Department of Public Education for additional funding
under separate Canadian and Mexican competitions.

Priority

Invitational Priority

    The Secretary is particularly interested in applications that meet
the following invitational priority. However, an application that meets
this invitational priority does not receive competitive or absolute
preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
    Invitational Priority: Projects that support consortia of
institutions of higher education that promote institutional cooperation
and student mobility among the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

Methods for Applying Selection Criteria

    The Secretary gives equal weight to the listed criteria. Within
each of the criteria, the Secretary gives equal weight to each of the
factors.

Selection Criteria

    In evaluating applications for grants under this program
competition, the Secretary uses the following selection criteria chosen
from those listed in 34 CFR 75.210.
    (1) The significance of the proposed project, as determined by--
    (a) The extent to which the proposed project involves the
development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on,
or are alternatives to, existing strategies;
    (b) The likely utility of the products (such as information,
materials, processes, or techniques) that will result from the proposed
project, including the potential for their being used in a variety of
other settings; and
    (c) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in
teaching and student achievement.
    (2) The quality of the design of the proposed project, as
determined by--
    (a) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable;
and
    (b) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target
population or other identified needs.
    (3) The adequacy of resources, as determined by--
    (a) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project;
    (b) The potential for continued support of the project after FIPSE/
HDRC/SEP funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated
commitment of appropriate entities to such support; and
    (c) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project.
    (4) The quality of the project personnel, as determined by--
    (a) the qualifications, including training and experience, of key
project personnel; and
    (b) the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for
employment from persons who are members that have traditionally been
under-represented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age,
or disability.
    For Applications or Information Contact: Fund for the Improvement
of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 7th &
D Streets, SW., Room 3100, ROB-3,

[[Page 54279]]

Washington, DC 20202-5175. You may also request application forms by
calling 732-544-2504 (fax on demand), or application guidelines by
calling 202-358-3041 (voice mail) or submitting the name of the
competition and your name and postal address to FIPSE@ED.GOV (e-mail).
Applications are also listed on the FIPSE Web Site . Individuals who use a telecommunications device for
the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at
1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through
Friday. For additional program information call Cindy Fisher at the
FIPSE office (202-708-5750) between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m.,
Eastern time, Monday through Friday.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
    Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternate format by contacting that person.
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternate format
the standard forms included in the application package.

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (pdf) on the Internet at either of the
following sites:

    http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
    http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing
Office (GPO) toll free at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington DC, area
at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at http://www.access.gpo.gov/
nara/index.html

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1138-1138d.

    Dated: October 1, 1999.
Claudio Prieto,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-26093 Filed 10-5-99; 8:45 am]
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