[Federal Register: August 22, 1997 (Volume 62, Number 163)]
[Notices]
[Page 44855-44857]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22au97-164]
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Part VII
Department of Education
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Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Comprehensive
Program (Preapplications and Applications); Notice
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA Nos. 84.116A; 84.116B]
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--
Comprehensive Program (Preapplications and Applications)
Subect: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year
(FY) 1998.
Purpose of Program: To provide grants or enter into cooperative
agreements to improve postsecondary education opportunities.
Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education or
combinations of such institutions and other public and private
nonprofit educational institutions and agencies.
Deadline for Transmittal of Preapplications: October 24, 1997.
Deadline for Transmittal of Final Applications: March 20, 1998.
Note: All applicants must submit a preapplication to be eligible
to submit a final application.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 19, 1998.
Applications Available: August 25, 1997.
Available Funds: The Administration's request for the Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary Education for FY 1998 is $18,000,000. Of
this amount, it is anticipated that approximately $5,000,000 will be
available for an estimated 72 new awards under the Comprehensive
Program. The Congress has not yet completed action on the FY 1998
appropriation. The estimates in this notice assume passage of the
Administration's request.
Estimated Range of Awards: $15,000 to $150,000 per year.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $70,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 72.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
82, 85, and 86.
Priorities:
Invitational Priorities
While applicants may propose any project within the scope of 20
U.S.C. 1135(a), pursuant to 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) the Secretary is
particularly interested in applications that meet one or more of the
following invitational priorities. However, an application that meets
one or more of these invitational priorities does not receive
competitive or absolute preference over other applications:
Invitational Priority 1
Projects to support new ways of ensuring equal access to
postsecondary education, and to improve rates of retention and program
completion, especially for low-income and under-represented minority
students, whose retention and completion rates continue to lag
disturbingly behind those of other groups.
Invitational Priority 2
Projects to improve campus climates for learning by creating an
environment that is safe, welcoming, and conducive to academic growth
for all students.
Invitational Priority 3
Projects to support innovative reforms of undergraduate, graduate,
and professional curricula that improve not only what students learn,
but how they learn.
Invitational Priority 4
Projects to make more productive use of resources to improve
teaching and learning; and to increase learning productivity--that is,
to transform programs and teaching to promote more student learning
relative to institutional resources expended.
Invitational Priority 5
Projects to support the professional development of full- and part-
time faculty by assessing and rewarding effective teaching; promoting
new and more effective teaching methods; and improving the preparation
of graduate students who will be future faculty members.
Invitational Priority 6
Projects to promote innovative school-college partnerships and to
improve the preparation of K-12 teachers, in order to enhance students'
preparation for, access to, and success in college.
Invitational Priority 7
Projects to disseminate innovative postsecondary educational
programs which have already been locally developed, implemented, and
evaluated.
Selection Criteria
In evaluating preapplications and final applications for grants
under this program competition, the Secretary uses the following
selection criteria chosen from those listed in 34 CFR 75.210.
Preapplications
In evaluating preapplications, the Secretary uses the following
selection criteria:
(a) Need for Project
The Secretary reviews each proposed project for its need, as
determined by 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 reviews each proposed project for its significance,
as determined by 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 reviews each proposed project for the quality of its
design, as determined by 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.
(d) Quality of the Project Evaluation
The Secretary reviews each proposed project for the quality of its
evaluation, as determined by the extent to which the evaluation will
provide guidance about effective strategies suitable for replication or
testing in other settings.
Final Applications
In evaluating final applications, the Secretary uses the following
selection criteria:
(a) Need for the Project
The Secretary reviews each proposed project for its need, as
determined by the following factors:
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(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 reviews each proposed project for its significance,
as determined by the following factors:
(1) The potential contribution of the proposed project to increase
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 reviews each proposed project for the quality of its
design, as determined by 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.
(d) Quality of the Project Evaluation
The Secretary reviews each proposed project for the quality of its
evaluation, as determined by 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.
(d) The Quality of the Management Plan
The Secretary reviews each proposed project for the quality of its
management plan, as determined by the plan's adequacy to achieve the
objectives of the proposed project on time and within budget, including
clearly defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for
accomplishing project tasks.
(e) Quality of Project Personnel
The Secretary reviews each proposed project for the quality of
project personnel who will carry out the proposed project, as
determined by the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the applicant encourages applications for
employment from persons who are members of groups that have
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability.
(2) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,
of key project personnel.
(f) Adequacy of Resources
The Secretary reviews each proposed project for the adequacy of
its resources, as determined by the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the
proposed project.
(2) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.
(3) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project.
(4) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment,
supplies, and other resources, from the applicant organization or the
lead applicant organization.
(5) The potential for continued support of the project after
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated
commitment of appropriate entities to such support.
For preapplications (preliminary applications) and final
applications (applications), the Secretary gives equal weight to each
of the selection criteria. Within each of these criteria, the Secretary
gives equal weight to each of the factors.
For Applications or Information Contact: Fund for the Improvement
of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 600
Independence Avenue SW., Room 3100, ROB-3, Washington, DC 20202-5175.
Telephone: (202) 358-3041 to order applications; or (202) 708-5750
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through
Friday, for information. Individuals may also request applications by
submitting the name of the competition, their name, and postal mailing
address to the e-mail address FIPSE@ED.GOV. Individuals may obtain the
application text from Internet address http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/
FIPSE/. 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.
Information about the Department's funding opportunities, including
copies of application notices for discretionary grant competitions, can
be viewed on the Department's electronic bulletin board (ED Board),
telephone (202) 260-9950; on the Internet Gopher Server (at gopher://
gcs.ed.gov); or on the World Wide Web (at http://gcs.ed.gov). However,
the official application notice for a discretionary grant competition
is the notice published in the Federal Register.
Program Authority: U.S.C. 1135-1135a-3.
Dated: August 19, 1997.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 97-22333 Filed 8-21-97; 8:45 am]
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