FR Doc E6-8912
[Federal Register: June 8, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 110)]
[Notices]
[Page 33290-33294]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08jn06-45]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Fund for
the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Comprehensive Program;
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.116B
Dates: Applications Available: June 8, 2006.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: June 20, 2006.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 10, 2006.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 6, 2006.
Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) or
combinations of those institutions and other public and private
nonprofit institutions and agencies.
Estimated Available Funds: $11,250,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000-$275,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $195,000 per year.
Estimated Number of Awards: 50-60.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Comprehensive Program supports grants and
cooperative agreements to improve postsecondary education
opportunities. It encourages reforms, innovations, and improvements of
postsecondary education that respond to problems of national
significance and provide access to quality education for all.
Under this competition we are particularly interested in
applications that address the following priorities.
Invitational Priorities: For FY 2006 these priorities are
invitational priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an
application that meets these invitational priorities a competitive or
absolute preference over other applications.
These priorities are:
Invitational Priority 1: Projects developing innovative
instructional and administrative efficiencies to broaden access to high
quality and affordable higher education.
Invitational Priority 2: Projects aligning curriculum on a state or
multi-state level between high schools and colleges, and between two-
year and four-year postsecondary programs, to ensure continuing
academic progress and transferability of credits.
Invitational Priority 3: Projects increasing the number and
improving the pre-service preparation and professional development of
science and mathematics teachers through career change programs and/or
programs that combine a bachelor's degree in science or math with a
bachelor's degree in education and/or teacher certification, especially
collaborative projects involving K-12 educators, college departments of
science and mathematics, private sector partnerships, and teacher
education programs.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1138-1138d.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants or cooperative agreements.
Estimated Available Funds: $11,250,000.
Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000-$275,000 per year.
[[Page 33291]]
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $195,000 per year.
Estimated Number of Awards: 50-60.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs or combinations of those institutions
and other public and private nonprofit institutions and agencies.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Although this program does not require
cost sharing or matching for eligibility, it is expected that
applicants will provide an institutional financial commitment to the
project.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: You may obtain an
application package via the Internet by downloading the package from
the program Web site at:
http://www.ed.gov/FIPSE.
If you are unable to access the Internet, you may obtain a copy of
the application package at the following address: Levenia Ishmell, Fund
for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of
Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6147, Washington, DC 20006-8544.
Telephone: (202) 502-7668.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed in this section.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
Notice of Intent to Apply: In order to allow for the timely
selection of appropriate external reviewers in this competition,
applicants are asked to submit a brief statement of intent to apply by
June 20, 2006. This statement should include (1) the name, mailing
address, telephone number, and e-mail address of the proposed project
director, (2) the name of the applicant institution, and (3) no more
than one paragraph on the topic and/or invitational priority you intend
to address. Please e-mail this statement to: FIPSE@ed.gov. There will
be no penalty for applications submitted without this statement.
Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant,
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate the
application. You must limit your narrative to the equivalent of no more
than 20 pages, using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
Choose one of these four fonts only--Times New Roman,
Courier, Courier New, or Arial--and use a font that is either 12 point
or larger.
The page limit does not apply to the title page; the one-page
abstract; the budget section, including the narrative budget
justification; the assurances and certifications; or the appendix,
which may include only a project evaluation chart, qualifications of
key personnel, the response to section 427 of the Department of
Education's General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), short descriptions
of projects that will complement the proposed project, and letters of
support.
We will reject your application if--
You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the
page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: June 8,
2006. Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: June 20, 2006. Deadline
for Transmittal of Applications: July 10, 2006. Applications for grants
under this program must be submitted electronically using the
Electronic Grant Application System (e-Application) available through
the Department of Education's e-Grants System. For information
(including dates and times) about how to submit your application
electronically or by mail or by hand delivery if you qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer to
section IV. 6 Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements. Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September
6, 2006.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about
Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order
12372 is in the application package for this program.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this program must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for an
exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in
this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the Comprehensive Program--CFDA
Number 84.116B must be submitted electronically using e-Application
available through the Department's e-Grants system, accessible through
the e-Grants portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
While completing your electronic application, you will be entering
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
Please note the following:
You must complete the electronic submission of your grant
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application
for this program after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do
not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application
process.
The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site
are 6:00 a.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until
midnight Saturday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is
unavailable on Sundays, and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on
Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for
[[Page 33292]]
an exception to the electronic submission requirement, as described
elsewhere in this section, and submit your application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
the Application for the Comprehensive Program (ED 40-514), Budget
Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary
assurances and certifications. You must attach any narrative sections
of your application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or
.PDF (Portable Document) format. If you upload a file type other than
the three file types specified above or submit a password protected
file, we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgment that will include a PR/Award number
(an identifying number unique to your application).
Within three working days after submitting your electronic
application, fax a signed copy of the Comprehensive Program Title Page
(Form No. ED 40-514) to the Application Control Center after following
these steps:
(1) Print the Comprehensive Program Title Page (ED 40-514) from e-
Application.
(2) The applicant's Authorizing Representative must sign this form
(ED 40-514).
(3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner (Item
1) of the hard-copy signature page of the ED 40-514.
(4) Fax the signed ED 40-514 to the Application Control Center at
(202) 245-6272.
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
other forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically submitting
your application on the application deadline date because the e-
Application system is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of
one business day to enable you to transmit your application
electronically, by mail, or by hand delivery. We will grant this
extension if--
(1) You are a registered user of e-Application and you have
initiated an electronic application for this competition; and
(2) (a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date; or
(b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date.
We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to
confirm our acknowledgment of any system unavailability, you may
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under For
Further Information Contact (see section VII. Agency Contact) or (2)
the e-Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If the system is down and
therefore the application deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent
to all registered users who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions
referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability of the
Department's e-Application system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the e-Application system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Department's e-Application system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Cassandra Courtney,
FIPSE Comprehensive Program Coordinator, U.S. Department of Education,
1990 K Street, NW., Room 6166, Washington, DC 20006-8544. FAX: (202)
502-7877.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.116B), 400
Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260
or
By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education,
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.116B), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service,
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier, or
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark, or
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application, by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.116B), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
[[Page 33293]]
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail
or hand deliver your application to the Department:
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the
Department--on the Comprehensive Program Title Page the CFDA number and
suffix letter (84.116B) of the competition under which you are
submitting your application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are
from 34 CFR 75.210 and are as follows:
(a) Need for project. The Secretary considers the need for the
proposed project. In determining the need for the proposed project, the
Secretary considers each of the following factors:
(1) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the
proposed project.
(2) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project.
(b) Significance. The Secretary considers the significance of the
proposed project. In determining the significance of the proposed
project, the Secretary considers each of the following factors:
(1) The potential contribution of the proposed project to increased
knowledge or understanding of educational problems, issues, or
effective strategies.
(2) 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.
(3) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in
teaching and student achievement.
(4) The potential replicability of the proposed project or
strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation
in a variety of settings.
(c) Quality of the project design. The Secretary considers the
quality of the design of the proposed project. In determining the
quality of the design of the proposed project, the Secretary considers
each of the following factors:
(1) 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.
(2) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.
(3) The extent to which the design for implementing and evaluating
the proposed project will result in information to guide possible
replication of project activities or strategies, including information
about the effectiveness of the approach or strategies employed by the
project.
(4) The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build
capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of
Federal financial assistance.
(d) Quality of the project evaluation. The Secretary considers the
quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed project. In
determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary considers each
of the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other
settings.
(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed project.
(3) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and
qualitative data to the extent possible.
(e) Adequacy of resources. The Secretary considers the adequacy of
resources for the proposed project. In determining the adequacy of
resources for the proposed project, the Secretary considers each of the
following factors:
(1) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.
(2) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project.
(3) The potential for continued support of the project after
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated
commitment of appropriate entities to such support.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118.
4. Performance Measures: The success of FIPSE's Comprehensive
Program depends upon (1) the percentage of projects that are adopted in
full or in part, or whose materials are used by other institutions and
(2) the percentage of projects with a high likelihood of sustainability
beyond Federal funding, based on the project officer's determination.
These two results constitute FIPSE's indicators of the success of the
program.
If funded, you will be asked to collect and report data in your
project's annual performance report (EDGAR, 34 CFR 75.590) on steps
taken toward these goals. Consequently, applicants to FIPSE's
Comprehensive Program are advised to include these two indicators in
conceptualizing the design, implementation and evaluation of the
proposed project. Consideration of FIPSE's two performance indicators
is an important part of many of the review criteria. Thus, it is
important to the success of your application that you include these
indicators. Their measure should be a part of the project evaluation
plan, along with measures of goals and objectives specific to your
project.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Cassandra Courtney, Fund for the
[[Page 33294]]
Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education,
1990 K Street, NW., room 6166, Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone:
(202) 502-7506 or by e-mail:
Cassandra.Courtney@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.
VIII. Other Information
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using 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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
Dated: June 5, 2006.
James F. Manning,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E6-8912 Filed 6-7-06; 8:45 am]
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