FR Doc 03-2003
[Federal Register: January 29, 2003 (Volume 68, Number 19)]
[Notices]
[Page 4452-4454]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29ja03-42]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.120A]
Office of Postsecondary Education; Minority Science and
Engineering Improvement Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003
Purpose of Program: The Minority Science and Engineering
Improvement Program (MSEIP) is designed to effect long-range
improvement in science and engineering education at predominantly
minority institutions and to increase the flow of underrepresented
ethnic minorities, particularly minority women, into scientific and
technological careers.
Eligibility for Grants: Under section 361 of Title III of the
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), the following entities
are eligible to receive a grant under MSEIP:
(1) Public and private nonprofit institutions of higher education
that:
(A) Award baccalaureate degrees; and
(B) Are minority institutions;
(2) Public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education
that:
(A) Award associate degrees; and
(B) Are minority institutions that:
(i) Have a curriculum that includes science or engineering
subjects; and
(ii) Enter into a partnership with public or private nonprofit
institutions of higher education that award baccalaureate degrees in
science and engineering;
(3) Nonprofit science-oriented organizations, professional
scientific societies, and institutions of higher education that award
baccalaureate degrees, that:
(A) Provide a needed service to a group of minority institutions;
or
(B) Provide in-service training for project directors, scientists,
and engineers from minority institutions; or
(4) Consortia of organizations that provide needed services to one
or more minority institutions, the membership of which may include:
(A) Institutions of higher education that have a curriculum in
science or engineering;
(B) Institutions of higher education that have a graduate or
professional program in science or engineering;
(C) Research laboratories of, or under contract with, the
Department of Energy;
(D) Private organizations that have science or engineering
facilities; or
(E) Quasi-governmental entities that have a significant scientific
or engineering mission.
Eligible Applicants: (a) For institutional, design, and special
projects described in 34 CFR 637.12, 637.13 and 637.14, public and
private nonprofit minority institutions of higher education as defined
in sections 361(1) and (2) of the HEA.
(b) For special projects described in 34 CFR 637.14(b) and (c),
nonprofit science-oriented organizations, professional scientific
societies, institutions of higher education, and consortia of
organizations as defined in sections 361(3) and (4) of the HEA.
(c) For cooperative projects described in 34 CFR 637.15, groups of
nonprofit accredited colleges and universities whose primary fiscal
agent is an eligible minority institution as defined in 34 CFR
637.4(b).
Note: A minority institution is defined in 34 CFR 637.4(b) as an
accredited college or university whose enrollment of a single
minority group or combination of minority groups exceeds 50 percent
of the total enrollment.
Applications Available: January 31, 2003.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 17, 2003.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 19, 2003.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$8,500,000 for this program for FY 2003. The actual level of funding,
if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting
applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if
Congress appropriates funds for this program.
Estimated Range of Awards: $19,000-$500,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards
Institutional Projects
Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$300,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $125,851.
Estimated Number of Awards: 24.
Design Projects
Estimated Range of Awards: $19,000-$20,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $19,500.
Estimated Number of Awards: 2.
Special Projects
Estimated Range of Awards: $20,000-$150,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $34,622.
Estimated Number of Awards: 12.
Cooperative Projects
Estimated Range of Awards: $100,00-$500,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $251,000.
[[Page 4453]]
Estimated Number of Awards: 3.
Estimated Total Number of Awards: 41.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice. Applicants should periodically check MSEIP's Web site for
further information on this program. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/msi.html
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82,
85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; and
(b) the regulations for this program in 34 CFR part 637.
Note 1: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions
of higher education only.
Note 2: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all
applicants except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Applicability of Executive Order 13202: Applicants that apply for
construction funds under these programs must comply with Executive
Order 13202, signed by President Bush on February 17, 2001 and amended
on April 6, 2001. This Executive Order provides that recipients of
Federal construction funds may not ``require or prohibit bidders,
offerors, contractors, or subcontractors to enter into or adhere to
agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same or other
construction project(s)'' or ``otherwise discriminate against bidders,
offerors, contractors, or subcontractors for becoming or refusing to
become or remain signatories or otherwise adhere to agreements with one
or more labor organizations, on the same or other construction
project(s).'' However, the Executive Order does not prohibit
contractors or subcontractors from voluntarily entering into these
agreements.
Projects funded under this program that include construction
activity will be provided a copy of this Executive Order and will be
asked to certify that they will adhere to it.
Application Procedures
Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for
transmitting applications differ from those in the Education
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR
75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to
comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make
procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy.
Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined
that proposed rulemaking is not required.
Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications
In FY 2003, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing to
expand its pilot project for electronic submission of applications to
include additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary
grant competitions. The MSEIP, CFDA 84.120A is one of the programs
included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant under the MSEIP,
you may submit your application to us in either electronic or paper
format.
The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant
Application System (e-Application) portion of the Grant Administration
and Payment System (GAPS). Users of e-Application will be entering data
on-line while completing their applications. You may not e-mail a copy
of a grant application to us. If you participate in this voluntary
pilot project by submitting an application electronically, the data you
enter on-line will be saved into a database. We request your
participation in e-Application. We shall continue to evaluate its
success and solicit suggestions for improvement.
If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
[sbull] Your participation is voluntary.
[sbull] You will not receive any additional point value because you
submit a grant application in electronic format, nor will we penalize
you if you submit an application in paper format. When you enter the e-
Application system, you will find information about its hours of
operation.
[sbull] You may submit all documents electronically, including the
Application for Federal Assistance under MSEIP (OMB No. 1840-0109),
Project Summary page, Budget Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED
524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.
[sbull] After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award
number (an identifying number unique to your application).
[sbull] Within three working days of submitting your electronic
application, fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal
Assistance under MSEIP (OMB No. 1840-0109) to the Application Control
Center after following these steps:
(1) Print the Application for Federal Assistance under MSEIP (OMB
No. 1840-0109) from the e-Application system.
(2) The institution's Authorizing Representative must sign this
form.
(3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the
hard copy signature page of the Application for Federal Assistance
under MSEIP (OMB No. 1840-0109).
(4) Fax the Application for Federal Assistance under MSEIP (OMB No.
1840-0109) to the Application Control Center at (202) 260-1349.
[sbull] We may request that you give us original signatures on all
other forms at a later date.
[sbull] Closing Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability: If
you elect to participate in the e-Application pilot for the MSEIP and
you are prevented from submitting your application on the closing date
because the e-Application system is unavailable, we will grant you an
extension of one business day in order to transmit your application
electronically, by mail, or by hand delivery. For us to grant this
extension--
(1) You must be a registered user of e-Application, and have
initiated an e-Application for this competition; and
(2)(a) The e-Application system must be unavailable for 60 minutes
or more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC
time, on the deadline date; or
(b) The e-Application system must be unavailable for any period of
time during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time
between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the deadline date.
The Department must acknowledge and confirm these periods of
unavailability before granting you an extension. To request this
extension you must contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in
this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or (2) the e-GRANTS
help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
You may access the electronic grant application for MSEIP at http://e-grants.ed.gov
.
For Applications and Further Information Contact: Kenneth Waters,
Deborah Newkirk or Sophia McArdle, Institutional Development and
Undergraduate Education Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K
Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-8517. Telephone: Mr.
Waters (202) 502-7586, Ms. Newkirk (202) 502-7591, Dr. McArdle (202)
219-7078. FAX: (202) 502-7861, or via Internet: ken.waters@ed.gov,
deborah.newkirk@ed.gov, sophia.mcArdle@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative
[[Page 4454]]
format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on
request to the program contact persons listed under For Applications
and Further Information Contact.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format by contacting those persons. However,
the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 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 the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1067-1067k.
Dated: January 23, 2003.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 03-2003 Filed 1-28-03; 8:45 am]
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