Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)--Special Focus Competition: Higher Education Collaboration Between the United States and the European Community; Notice[OPE]

[Federal Register: January 27, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 17)]
[Notices]               
[Page 4253-4255]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27ja99-112]


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Part VI





Department of Education





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Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)--Special 
Focus Competition: Higher Education Collaboration Between the United 
States and the European Community; Notice


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116J]

 
Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)--
Special Focus Competition: Higher Education Collaboration Between the 
United States and the European Community

    Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 
1999.
    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, combinations 
of institutions, and other public and private nonprofit educational 
institutions and agencies.
    Applications Available: January 27, 1999.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 11, 1999.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 10, 1999.
    Available Funds: $1,600,000 over three years.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$175,000 per consortium for up 
to three years. Awards for the first planning year will be $20,000 per 
consortium.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $160,000 for up to three years.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10.
    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

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

    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
82, 85 and 86.
    Supplemental Information: For FY 1999, the competition includes an 
invitational priority to encourage proposals designed to support the 
formation of educational consortia of institutions in the United States 
and the European Union to encourage cooperation in the coordination of 
curricula, the exchange of students, and the opening of educational 
opportunities between the United States and the European Union. The 
invitational priority is issued in cooperation with the European Union. 
European institutions participating in any consortium proposal 
responding to the invitational priority may apply to the European 
Commission Directorate Generale for Education, Training, and Youth for 
funding under a separate European competition.

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 between the United States and the member states of 
the European Union.

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 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.
    2. 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.
    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 Federal 
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.
    For Applications or Information Contact: Fund for the Improvement 
of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 7th & 
D Streets, S.W., Room 3100, ROB-3, Washington, D.C. 20202-5175. You may 
also request application forms by calling 732-544-2872 (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://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. For additional program 
information call Beverly Baker 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 may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternate format, also, 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

    Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or 
portable document format (pdf) via 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 at (202) 512-1530 or, toll free, at 1-888-293-6498.
    Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an 
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 
or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option 
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins, and Press Releases.


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    Note: The official version of a document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.

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

    Dated: January 22, 1999.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-1864 Filed 1-26-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P