FR Doc E8-25184[Federal Register: October 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 205)]
[Notices]
[Page 62969-62973]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22oc08-39]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information:
Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad (FRA) Fellowship Program; Notice
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.019A.
DATES: Applications Available: October 22, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: December 3, 2008.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad
Fellowship Program offers opportunities to faculty of Institutions of
Higher Education (IHEs) to engage in research abroad in modern foreign
languages and area studies.
Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), this
priority is from the regulations for this program (34 CFR 663.21(d)).
Absolute Priority: For FY 2009, this priority is an absolute
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that
meet this priority.
This priority is:
A research project that focuses on one or more of the following
geographic areas: Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific
Islands, South Asia, the Near East, East Central Europe and Eurasia,
and the Western Hemisphere (excluding the United States and its
territories). Please note that applications that propose projects
focused on Western Europe are not eligible.
Within this absolute priority, we give competitive preference to
applications that address the following priority.
Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2009, this priority is a
competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105 (c)(2)(i) and 34
CFR 663.21(d), we award an additional five (5) points to an application
that meets this priority.
This priority is:
Projects that focus on any of the seventy-eight (78) languages
deemed critical on the U.S. Department of Education's list of Less
Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs).
The LCTL list includes the following languages: Akan (Twi-Fante),
Albanian, Amharic, Arabic (all dialects), Armenian, Azeri
(Azerbaijani), Balochi, Bamanakan (Bamana, Bambara, Mandikan, Mandingo,
Maninka, Dyula), Belarusian, Bengali (Bangla), Berber (all languages),
Bosnian, Bulgarian, Burmese, Cebuano (Visayan), Chechen, Chinese
(Cantonese), Chinese (Gan), Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Min), Chinese
(Wu), Croatian, Dari, Dinka, Georgian, Gujarati, Hausa, Hebrew
(Modern), Hindi, Igbo, Indonesian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada,
Kashmiri, Kazakh, Khmer (Cambodian), Kirghiz, Korean, Kurdish
(Kurmanji), Kurdish (Sorani), Lao, Malay (Bahasa Melayu or Malaysian),
Malayalam, Marathi, Mongolian, Nepali, Oromo, Panjabi, Pashto, Persian
(Farsi), Polish, Portuguese (all varieties), Quechua, Romanian,
Russian, Serbian, Sinhala (Sinhalese), Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Tajik,
Tamil, Telugu, Thai, Tibetan, Tigrigna, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian,
Urdu, Uyghur/Uigur, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Wolof, Xhosa, Yoruba, and Zulu.
Program Authority: 22 U.S.C. 2452(b)(6).
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 81, 82,
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 34
CFR part 663.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants redistributed as fellowships to
individual beneficiaries.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$13,372,000 for the International Education and Foreign Language
Studies Overseas programs for FY 2009, of which we propose to allocate
$1,395,000 for new awards for this program. 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 Fellowship Awards: $25,000-$115,000.
Estimated Average Size of Fellowship Awards: $70,000.
Estimated Number of Fellowship Awards: 23.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
[[Page 62970]]
Project Period: The institutional project period is 18 months
beginning July 1, 2009. Faculty may request funding for a period of no
less than three months and no more than twelve months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs. As part of the application process,
faculty submit individual applications to the IHE. The IHE then
officially submits all eligible individual faculty applications with
its grant application to the Department.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Both IHEs and faculty
applicants can obtain an application package by contacting Carla White,
International Education Programs Service, U.S. Department of Education,
1990 K Street, NW., Room 6000, Washington, DC 20006-8521. Telephone:
(202) 502-7700; or by e-mail: carla.white@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed in this section.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
Page Limit: The application narrative is where the faculty
applicant addresses the selection criteria that reviewers use to
evaluate the application. The faculty applicant must limit the
application narrative to no more than 10 pages and the bibliography to
no more than two (2) pages, using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5 x 11, on one side
only, with 1 margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative. However, faculty applicants may
single space all text in charts, tables, figures, graphs, titles,
headings, footnotes, endnotes, quotations, bibliography, and captions.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger, or no
smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch). However, faculty
applicants may use a 10 point font in charts, tables, figures, graphs,
footnotes, and endnotes. However, these items are considered part of
the narrative and counted within the 10 page limit.
Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier,
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font
(including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
The page limit only applies to the application narrative and
bibliography. The page limit does not apply to the Application for
Federal Assistance face sheet (SF 424); the supplemental information
form required by the Department of Education; and the assurances and
certification. However, faculty applicants must include their complete
responses to the selection criteria in the application narrative.
We will reject a faculty applicant's application if the faculty
applicant exceeds the page limits.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: October 22, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: December 3, 2008.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e-
Application) available through the Department's e-Grants system. For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit an IHE's
application electronically, or in paper format by mail or hand delivery
if an IHE qualifies for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, please refer to Section IV. 6. Other Submission
Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in Section VII
in this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the
application process, the individual's application remains subject to
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this program must be submitted electronically, unless an IHE qualifies
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the
instructions in this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research
Abroad Fellowship Program, CFDA Number 84.019A, must be submitted
electronically using e-Application available through the Department's
e-Grants system, accessible through the e-Grants portal page at:
http://e-grants.ed.gov.
We will reject an application if an IHE submits it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, the IHE qualifies for
one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and
submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a
written statement to the Department that the IHE qualifies for one of
these exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date
that is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided
later in this section under Exception to Electronic Submission
Requirement.
While completing the electronic application, both the IHE and the
faculty applicant will be entering data online that will be saved into
a database. Neither the IHE nor the faculty applicant may e-mail an
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
Please note the following:
The process for submitting applications electronically
under the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Fellowship Program has
several parts. The following is a brief summary of the process;
however, all applicants should review and follow the detailed
description of the application process that is contained in the
application package. In summary, the major parts are as follows: (1)
IHEs must e-mail the following information to carla.white@ed.gov: Name
of university, and full name and e-mail address of potential project
director. We recommend that applicant IHEs submit this information as
soon as possible to ensure that applicant IHEs obtain access to the e-
Application system well before the application deadline date. We
suggest that applicant IHEs send this information no later than 2 weeks
prior to the application deadline date, in order to facilitate timely
submission of their applications; (2) Faculty must complete their
individual applications and submit them to their IHE's project director
using e-Application; (3) Persons providing references for individual
faculty must complete and submit
[[Page 62971]]
reference forms for the faculty to the IHE's project director using e-
Application; and (4) The IHE's project director must officially submit
the IHE's application, which must include all eligible individual
faculty applications, reference forms, and other required forms, using
e-Application. Unless an IHE applicant qualifies for an exception to
the electronic submission requirement in accordance with the procedures
in this section, all portions of the application must be submitted
electronically.
The IHE must complete the electronic submission of the
grant application by 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC, time on the
application deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an
application for this program after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC, time
on the application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that
both the IHE and the faculty applicant not wait until the application
deadline date to begin the application process.
The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site
are 6:00 a.m. Monday until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; and 6:00 a.m. Thursday
until 8:00 p.m. Sunday Washington, DC, time. Please note that the
system is unavailable between 8:00 p.m. on Sundays and 6:00 a.m. on
Mondays, and between 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6:00 a.m. on
Thursdays, Washington, DC, time for maintenance. Any modifications to
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
Faculty applicants will not receive additional point value
because the faculty applicant submits his or her application in
electronic format, nor will we penalize the IHE or faculty applicant if
the IHE or the faculty applicant qualifies for an exception to the
electronic submission requirement, as described elsewhere in this
section, and submits an application in paper format.
IHEs must submit all documents electronically, including
the Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Supplement to the
SF 424, and all necessary assurances and certifications. Both IHEs and
faculty applicants must attach any narrative sections of the
application as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF
(Portable Document) format. If an IHE or a faculty applicant uploads a
file type other than the three file types specified above or submits a
password protected file, we will not review that material.
Both the IHE's and the faculty applicant's electronic
application must comply with any page limit requirements described in
this notice.
Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
After the individual faculty applicant electronically
submits his or her application to the IHE, the faculty member will
receive an automatic acknowledgment. In addition, the applicant IHE's
project director will receive a copy of this acknowledgment by e-mail.
After a person submits a reference electronically, he or she will
receive an online confirmation. After the applicant IHE submits its
application, including all eligible individual faculty applications, to
the Department, the applicant IHE will receive an automatic
acknowledgment, which will include a PR/Award Number (an identifying
number unique to the IHE's application).
Within three working days after submitting the IHE's
electronic application, the IHE must fax a signed copy of the SF 424 to
the Application Control Center after following these steps:
(1) Print SF 424 from e-Application.
(2) The applicant IHE'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 SF 424.
(4) Fax the signed SF 424 to the Application Control Center at
(202) 245-6272.
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
the SF 424 and other forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System
Unavailability: If an IHE is prevented from electronically submitting
its application on the application deadline date because the e-
Application system is unavailable, we will grant the IHE an extension
of one business day to enable the IHE to transmit its application
electronically, by mail, or by hand delivery. We will grant this
extension if--
(1) The IHE is a registered user of e-Application and the IHE has
initiated an electronic application for this competition; and
(2)(a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date; or
(b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date.
We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability
before granting the IHE an extension. To request this extension or to
confirm our acknowledgement of any system unavailability, an IHE may
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (Section VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If the e-Application system is
unavailable due to technical problems with the system and, therefore,
the application deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all
registered users who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions
referred to in this section apply only to the unavailability of the
Department's e-Application system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: An IHE qualifies
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement and may
submit its application in paper format if the IHE is unable to submit
an application through the e-Application system because--
The IHE or a faculty applicant does not have access to the
Internet; or
The IHE or a faculty applicant does not have the capacity
to upload large documents to the Department's e-Application system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days; or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), the IHE mails or faxes a written
statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an
exception prevent the IHE from using the Internet to submit its
application. If an IHE mails a written statement to the Department, it
must be postmarked no later than two weeks before the application
deadline date. If an IHE faxes its written statement to the Department,
we must receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the
application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax this statement to: Carla White, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 6000, Washington, DC
20006-8521. FAX: (202) 502-7860.
The IHE's paper application must be submitted in accordance with
the mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If an IHE qualifies for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, the IHE may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) its application to the Department. The IHE must
mail the original and two copies of the application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the
[[Page 62972]]
Department at the applicable following address: U.S. Department of
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number
84.019A), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington,
DC 20202-4260.
You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service,
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier, or
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If the IHE mails its application through the U.S. Postal Service,
we do not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark, or
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If the IHE's application is postmarked after the application
deadline date, we will not consider its application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, the IHE should check with
its local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If an IHE qualifies for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, the IHE (or a courier service) may deliver its paper
application to the Department by hand. The IHE must deliver the
original and two copies of the application, by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.019A) 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If an IHE
mails or hand delivers its application to the Department--
(1) The IHE must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided
by the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA Number, and
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which the IHE is
submitting its application; and
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to the IHE. If the IHE does not receive the
grant application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days
from the application deadline date, the IHE should call the U.S.
Department of Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-
6288.
V. Application Review Information
1. General: Faculty applications are divided into seven categories
based on the world area focus of their research projects, as described
in the absolute priority listed in this notice. Language and area
studies experts in seven discrete world area-based panels will review
the faculty applications. Each panel reviews, scores, and ranks its
applications separately from the applications assigned to the other
world area panels. However, all fellowship applications will be ranked
together from the highest to lowest score for funding purposes.
2. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition
are from 34 CFR 663.21 and are listed in the following paragraphs. The
maximum score for all of the criteria, including the competitive
preference priority, is 105 points. The maximum score for each
criterion is indicated in parentheses.
Quality of proposed project (60 points): In determining the quality
of the research project proposed by the applicant, the Secretary
considers (1) The statement of the major hypotheses to be tested or
questions to be examined, and the description and justification of the
research methods to be used (10 points); (2) The relationship of the
research to the literature on the topic and to major theoretical issues
in the field, and the project's originality and importance in terms of
the concerns of the discipline (10 points); (3) The preliminary
research already completed or plans for research prior to going
overseas, and the kinds, quality and availability of data for the
research in the host country or countries (10 points); (4) The
justification for overseas field research and preparations to establish
appropriate and sufficient research contacts and affiliations abroad
(10 points); (5) The applicant's plans to share the results of the
research in progress with scholars and officials of the host country or
countries and the American scholarly community (10 points); and (6) The
objectives of the project regarding the sponsoring institution's plans
for developing or strengthening, or both, curricula in modern foreign
languages and area studies (10 points).
Qualifications of the applicant (40 points): In determining the
qualifications of the applicant, the Secretary considers (1) The
overall strength of the applicant's academic record (teaching,
research, contributions, professional association activities) (10
points); (2) The applicant's excellence as a teacher or researcher, or
both, in his or her area or areas of specialization (10 points); (3)
The applicant's proficiency in one or more of the languages (other than
English and the applicant's native language) of the country or
countries of research, and the specific measures to be taken to
overcome any anticipated language barriers (15 points); and (4) The
applicant's ability to conduct research in a foreign cultural context,
as evidenced by the applicant's previous overseas experience, or
documentation provided by the sponsoring institution, or both (5
points).
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If a faculty application is successful, we notify
the IHE's U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send the IHE a
Grant Award Notice (GAN). We may notify the IHE informally, also.
If a faculty application is not evaluated or not selected for
funding, we notify the IHE.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section in this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates its approved application as part of its binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of the project period, the IHE must submit
a final performance report, including the final reports of all of the
IHE's fellows, and financial information, as directed by the Secretary.
The IHE and fellows are required to use the electronic reporting
International Resource Information System (IRIS) to complete the final
report.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993, the objective of the Fulbright-Hays Faculty
Research Abroad (FRA) Fellowship Program is to provide grants to
institutions of higher education to fund faculty to maintain and
improve their area studies and language skills by conducting research
abroad for periods of 3-to-12 months.
The Department will use the following FRA measures to evaluate its
success in meeting this objective.
Performance Measure 1: The average language competency score of
Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad program recipients at the end of
their period of
[[Page 62973]]
research minus their average language competency at the beginning of
the period.
Performance Measure 2: Percentage of projects judged successful by
program officers, based on information provided in annual performance
reports.
Efficiency measure: Cost per fellow increasing language competency
by at least one level in one (or all three) area.
The information provided by grantees in their performance report
submitted via IRIS will be the source of data for this measure.
Reporting screens for institutions and fellows may be viewed at:
http://www.ieps-iris.org/iris/pdfs/FRA_ fellow.pdf,
http://www.ieps-iris.org/iris/pdfs/FRA_director.pdf.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carla White, International Education
Programs Service, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW.,
Room 6000, Washington, DC 20006-8521. Telephone: (202) 502-7631 or by
e-mail: carla.white@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll-free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document and a copy of the application package in an alternative format
(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on
request to the program contact person under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT in Section VII in this notice.
Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Dated: October 17, 2008.
Cheryl A. Oldham,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E8-25184 Filed 10-21-08; 8:45 am]
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