General Questions
How Does an Institution of Higher Education Apply for a Grant?
How are Fellows Selected?
How Does the Secretary Distribute Funds?
What are the Administrative Responsibilities of the Institution?
General Questions
1. What is the purpose of the Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program?
The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need program provides fellowships through academic departments of institutions of higher education to assist graduate students of superior ability who demonstrate financial need and plan to pursue the highest degree available in their course of study. The highest degree available in these fields is a doctoral degree.
2. Who is eligible for a grant?
Any academic department or unit of an institution of higher education that provides a course of study that:
The Secretary does not award a grant under this part for study at a school or department of divinity. For more information please see program regulation 34 CFR 648.2.
3. What are the areas of national need?
A project must provide fellowships in one or more of the following areas of national need: biology; chemistry; computer and information sciences; engineering; mathematics; nursing; and physics. The areas of national need are published annually in the Federal Register.
4. What is included in the grant?
Each grant awarded by the Secretary consists of the following:
5. What is the amount of a grant?
The amount of a grant to an academic department may not be less than $100,000 and may not be more than $750,000 in a fiscal year and in any fiscal year, no academic department may receive more than $750,000 as an aggregate total of new and continuing grants.
6. What is the duration of a grant?
The duration of a grant awarded under this part is a maximum of three annual budget periods during a three-year (36-month) project period.
7. What is the institutional matching contribution?
An institution shall provide, from non-Federal funds, an institutional matching contribution equal to at least 25 percent of the amount of the grant received under this part, for the uses indicated in 34 CFR 648.63.
8. What are interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary applications?
Interdisciplinary applications are applications that request funding for a single proposed program of study that involves academic fields in two or more disciplines. Multidiscipline applications are applications that request funding for two or more proposed programs of study that are independent and unrelated to one another.
9. When are reports due?
Annual performance reports are due at the end of April. Final performance reports are due 90 days after the close of a grant.
10. What is a PR number?
A PR number is the number assigned to the application once it has been received by the Department of Education. The PR number should be used whenever you contact the Department to inquire about your proposal/application.
11. How many fellows will I receive?
The number of fellowships awarded is based on several factors, such as the amount of funding available for new awards, the number of proposals submitted and the relative quality of each proposal. The number of fellowships awarded per institution can range from three to ten.
12. When do I ask for a time extension?
You must notify us should you need a one-time, no-cost time extension to complete grant activities. Notification must be submitted up to 45 days prior to the end of the three-year award so that we may process your request in a timely manner. However, you must request via e-mail a second no-cost time extension for up to 12 months 45 days before the extended expiration date. Please include in your request:
13. Will I have to re-apply to get a grant renewal?
Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need is a grant competition. We do not have grant renewals. If a grant is ending, you must compete in the next competition in order to be funded again. There is no guarantee that you will be successful simply because you were previously funded.
14. What are performance measures?
Under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), three measures have been developed for evaluating the overall effectiveness of the GAANN Program:
All grantees are expected to submit an annual performance report documenting their success in addressing these performance measures and to submit a final performance report 90 days after the close of their grant.
How Does an Institution of Higher Education Apply for a Grant?
15. How does an institution of higher education apply for a grant?
To apply for a grant under this part, an institution of higher education shall submit an application in response to a closing date notice published in the Federal Register. The applicant must respond to the appropriate selection criteria found in GAANN regulations. See program regulation 34 CFR 648.20.
16. Am I required to submit my application electronically?
Yes. Applications must be submitted electronically using e-Application available through the Department's e-Grants system.
How are Fellows Selected?
17. How does an academic department select fellows?
In selecting individuals to receive fellowships, an academic department shall consider only individuals who:
For more information please see program regulation 34 CFR 648.40.
18. What conditions must be met by a fellow?
To continue to be eligible for a fellowship, a fellow must:
19. How does an individual apply for a fellowship?
An individual shall apply directly to an academic department of an institution of higher education that has received a GAANN grant. For more information see 34 CFR 648.41.
How Does the Secretary Distribute Funds?
20. What are the Secretary's payment procedures?
The Secretary awards to the institution of higher education a stipend and an institutional payment for each individual awarded a fellowship. If a grantee has not placed fellows within two years of receiving a grant, the grantee may not be eligible for third-year funding. See 34 CFR 648.50 (a) and (b) for more information.
21. What is the amount of a stipend?
The institution shall pay the fellow a stipend at a level of support equal to that provided by the National Science Foundation graduate fellowships, except that this amount must be adjusted as necessary so as not to exceed the fellow's demonstrated level of financial need as determined under Part F of Title IV of the Higher Education Act. The Secretary announces the amount of the stipend in a notice published in the Federal Register. See program regulations 34 CFR 648.51 for more information.
STIPEND AMOUNTS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE ANNUALLY.
22. What is the amount of the institutional payment?
The Secretary adjusts the amount of the institutional payment annually in accordance with inflation as determined by the United States Department of Labor's Consumer Price Index for the previous calendar year. The Secretary announces the amount of the institutional payment in a notice published in the Federal Register. For more information see program regulations 34 CFR 648.52.
INSTITUTIONAL PAYMENT IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE ANNUALLY.
What are the Administrative Responsibilities of the Institution?
23. When does an academic department make a commitment to a fellow to provide stipend support?
An academic department makes a commitment to a fellow at any point in his or her graduate study for the length of time necessary for the fellow to complete the course of graduate study, but in no case longer than five years. See program regulation 34 CFR 648.60.
24. How must the academic department supervise the progress and training of fellows?
The institution must ensure that the GAANN fellow is performing satisfactory progress during the fellow's study. The institution shall provide to fellows at least one academic year of supervised training in instruction at the graduate or undergraduate level at the schedule of at least one-half-time teaching assistant.
25. How can the institutional payment be used?
The institutional payment must be first applied against a fellow's tuition and fees. After payment of a fellow's tuition and fees, the institutional payment may be applied against educational expenses of the fellow that are not covered by tuition and fees and are related to the academic program in which the fellow is enrolled. These expenses include the following:
For more information see program regulation 34 CFR 648.62.
26. How can the institutional matching contribution be used?
The institutional matching contribution may be used to:
An institution may not use its institutional matching contribution to fund fellowships that were funded by the institution prior to the award of the grant.
27. What are unallowable costs?
Neither grant funds nor the institutional matching funds may be used to pay for general operational overhead costs of the academic department. General operational overhead costs are defined as means of non-instructional expenses incurred by an academic department in the normal administration and conduct of its academic program, including the costs of supervision, recruitment, capital outlay, debt service, indirect costs, or any other costs not included in the determination of tuition and non-refundable fee charges.
28. What records and reports are required from the institution?
An institution of higher education that receives a grant shall provide to the Secretary, prior to the receipt of grant funds for disbursement to a fellow, a certification that the fellow is enrolled in, is making satisfactory progress in, and is devoting essentially full time to study in the academic field for which the grant was made.
An institution of higher education that receives a grant shall keep records necessary to establish:
29. Are GAANN stipends taxable?
It is important that students selected to receive GAANN funding be aware that they are responsible for taxes on their award. Because the tax laws change, it is the student's responsibility to contact the Internal Revenue Service at the beginning of their award to determine their financial responsibility.
Last Modified: 03/13/2009
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