[Federal Register: December 17, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 242)]
[Notices]
[Page 77242-77244]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17de02-37]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA No. 84.116N]
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Special
Focus Competition (Institutional Cooperation and Student Mobility in
Postsecondary Education among the United States, Canada and Mexico);
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003
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
institutions and agencies.
Applications Available: December 17, 2002.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2003.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 15, 2003.
Available Funds: Approximately $300,000 for FY 2003.
Estimated Range of Awards: $30,000 for FY 2003. $200,000-$215,000
for four-year duration of grant.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $30,000 for FY 2003. $210,000 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.
Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant,
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your
application. You must limit your narrative to the equivalent of no more
than twenty (20) double-spaced pages using the following standards:
[sbull] A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'' on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
[sbull] 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.
[sbull] Use a font that is either 12-point or larger or no smaller
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
The page limit does not apply to the title page, the budget
section, including the narrative budget justification, the assurances
and certifications, the resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of
support.
Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application narrative
that--
[sbull] Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
[sbull] Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other
standards.
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
[[Page 77243]]
additional funding under separate Canadian and Mexican competitions.
Priority
We are particularly interested in applications that meet the
following invitational priority.
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets
the invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over
other applications.
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
We give equal weight to the listed criteria. Within each of the
criteria, we give equal weight to each of the factors.
Selection Criteria
In evaluating applications for grants under this program
competition, we use selection criteria chosen from those listed in 34
CFR 75.210 of EDGAR.
FOR APPLICATIONS OR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of
Education, 1990 K Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-8544. 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: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://www.ed.gov.FIPSE
.
e-APPLICATIONS are available at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://e-grants.ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. For
additional program information call the FIPSE office 202-502-7500
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
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact number listed under FOR
APPLICATIONS OR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the
application package in an alternative format by contacting that number.
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative
format the standard forms included in the application package.
Application Procedures:
Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for
transmitting electronic 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 project of electronic submission of applications to include
additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary grant
competitions. The Program for North American Mobility in Higher
Education (CFDA No. 84.116N) is one of the programs included in this
project. If you are an applicant under the Program for North American
Mobility in Higher Education, 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 soft
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 this e-Application pilot, please note the
following:
[sbull] Your participation is voluntary.
[sbull] You will not receive any additional point value or penalty
because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper 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
Title Page, (substitutes for the ED Form 424), Budget Summary Form
(substitutes for the ED Form 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 Title Page (replaces ED 424) to
the Application Control Center after following these steps:
(1) Print the Title Page 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
Title Page.
(4) Fax the Title page to the Application Control Center at 202
260-1349 within three working days of submitting your electronic
application.
[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 Program for
North American Mobility in Higher Education and you are prevented from
submitting your application on the closing dates 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 the Program for
North American Mobility in Higher Education at: http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://e-grants.ed.gov.
We have included additional information about the e-Application
pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic
[[Page 77244]]
Applications) in the application package.
Note: Due to the upgrading of software, we anticipate that the
e-Application system will be unavailable for several days in mid-
December.
The tentative schedule for this down time is from 7 p.m., December
12 until 6 a.m., December 16, Washington, DC time. Please check http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=http://e-grants.ed.gov
for any updates on the unavailability of the e-
Application system.
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://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/leaving.cgi?from=leavingFR.html&log=linklog&to=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. 1138-1138d.
Dated: December 12, 2002.
Sally Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-31690 Filed 12-16-02; 8:45 am]
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