FR Doc E8-30404[Federal Register: December 22, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 246)]
[Notices]
[Page 78345-78348]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22de08-67]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Fund for
the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)--Special Focus
Competition: European Union-United States Atlantis Program; Notice
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.116J.
Dates:
Applications Available: December 22, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 23, 2009.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 25, 2009.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the program is to provide grants
to or enter into cooperative agreements with eligible applicants to
improve postsecondary education.
Priority: Under this competition, we are particularly interested in
applications that address the following priority.
Invitational Priority: For FY 2009, this priority is an
invitational priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an
application that meets this invitational priority a competitive or
absolute preference over other applications.
This priority is:
This priority is designed to support the formation of educational
consortia of American and European institutions to support cooperation
in the coordination of curricula, the exchange of students, and the
opening of educational opportunities between the United States (U.S.)
and the European Union (EU). This priority relates to the purpose of
the European Union-United States Atlantis (Atlantis) Program to develop
and implement undergraduate joint or dual degree programs, or short-
term exchange programs.
This invitational priority is established in cooperation with the
EU. These awards support only the participation of U.S. institutions
and students in the educational consortia established under this
priority. EU institutions participating in any consortium proposal
responding to the invitational priority may apply to the Directorate-
General for Education and Culture (DG EAC), European Commission, for
funding under a separate but parallel EU competition.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1138-1138d.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education (IHEs) only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested
$37,433,000 for the FIPSE programs, of which we intend to allocate
$4,486,000 for new awards for the European Union-United States Atlantis
program in FY 2009. 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: $35,000-$116,000 for the first year
only.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $35,000 for a Policy Oriented
Measures grant, $45,000 for a Mobility grant, and $116,000 for a
Transatlantic Degree grant. These figures are for the first year of
funding in a multi-year grant. You can find a detailed description of
each of these three types of grants in the program guidelines in the
application package for this competition.
Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a
budget exceeding $150,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education may change the maximum
amount through a notice published in the Federal Register.
Estimated Number of Awards: 45.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 48 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) or
combinations of IHEs and other public and private nonprofit
institutions and agencies.
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: You can obtain an
application package via the Internet or from the Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs). To obtain a copy via the Internet, use the following
address: www.Grants.gov. To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write, fax, or
call the following: Education Publications Center, P.O. Box 1398,
Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone, toll free: 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301)
470-1244. If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD),
call, toll free: 1-877-576-7734.
You can contact ED Pubs at its Web site, also:
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html or at its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this program or competition as follows: CFDA number 84.116J.
Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape,
or computer diskette) by contacting the person or team listed under
Accessible Format in section VIII of this notice.
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 competition.
Word Limit and Application Format: The application narrative (Part
III of the application) is where you, the applicant, address the
selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. You
must limit the application narrative (Part III) to no more than 6000
words. The page format for the application must comply with 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, including titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
Use a font that is either 12 point or larger or no smaller
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier,
Courier
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New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font (including
Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
The 6000-word limit applies only to the application narrative (Part
III). It does not apply to Part I, the Application for Federal
Assistance sheet (SF 424); the supplemental information form required
by the Department of Education; Part II, the budget summary form (ED
Form 524); and Part IV, the assurances, certifications, and survey
forms. In addition, the 6000-word limit does not apply to the one-page
abstract, appendices, the short bios, letters of commitment, line item
budget, or a table of contents. If you include any attachments or
appendices not specifically requested, these items will be counted as
part of the program narrative (Part III) for the purpose of the word
limit. You must include your complete response to the selection
criteria in the program narrative.
We will reject your application if you exceed the 6000-word limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: December 22, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 5, 2009.
Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically, or in paper format by mail or hand delivery
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, please refer to section IV. 6. Other Submission
Requirements of 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
of 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. Deadline for
Intergovernmental Review: May 4, 2009.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under
Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this
competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this competition must be submitted electronically unless you qualify
for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the
instructions in this section.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the EU-U.S. Atlantis Program, CFDA
Number 84.116J, must be submitted electronically using the
Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site at www.Grants.gov. Through this
site, you will be able to download a copy of the application package,
complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You
may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify 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 you qualify 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.
You may access the electronic grant application for the EU-U.S.
Atlantis Program at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the
downloadable application package for this competition by the CFDA
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search
(e.g., search for 84.116, not 84.116J).
Please note the following:
When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find
information about submitting an application electronically through the
site, as well as the hours of operation.
Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must
be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00
p.m., Washington, DC, time, on the application deadline date. Except as
otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC, time, on the application
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply
with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from
Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application
because it was date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system after
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC, time, on the application deadline date.
The amount of time it can take to upload an application
will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
You should review and follow the Education Submission
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures
pertaining to Grants.gov at
http:// e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf
To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include
(1) registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2)
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative
(AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization.
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step
Registration Guide (see
http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf).
You also must provide on your
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please
note that the registration process may take five or more business days
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
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You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms:
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and
certifications.
You must attach any narrative sections of your application
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password-protected file,
we will not review that material.
Your electronic application must comply with any word-
limit requirements described in this notice.
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification
indicates that the Department has received your application and has
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified
identifying number unique to your application).
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
forms at a later date. Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of
Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing
problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact
the Grants.gov Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must
obtain a Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number and must keep a record of
it.
If you are prevented from electronically submitting your
application on the application deadline date because of technical
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension
until 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person
listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this
notice and provide an explanation of the technical problem you
experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk
Case Number. We will accept your application if we can confirm that a
technical problem occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that
problem affected your ability to submit your application by 4:30:00
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The
Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether
your application will be accepted.
Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the Grants.gov system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Grants.gov 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), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline
date. If you fax your 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 your statement to: Frank Frankfort, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6152, Washington, DC
20006-8544. FAX: (202) 502-7877.
Your 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 you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center,
Attention: (CFDA Number 84.116J) 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.
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark.
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your 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 84.116J) 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 you
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department--
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are
submitting your application; and
(2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not
receive this notification within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education
[[Page 78348]]
Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
from 34 CFR 75.210 of EDGAR and are listed in the application package.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notice
(GAN). We may notify you informally, also.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
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 of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as directed by the Secretary
under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent
performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements
on reporting, please go to http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act of 1993 (GPRA), the following two measures will be used by
the Department in assessing the performance of the FIPSE program as a
whole:
(1) The percentage of FIPSE grantees who report project
dissemination to others; and
(2) The percentage of FIPSE projects that report
institutionalization on their home campuses.
In addition, the program has developed two performance measures
specifically for the FIPSE European Union-United States Atlantis
Program:
(1) The percentage of students pursuing a joint or dual degree who
persist from one academic year to the next (persistence); and
(2) The percentage of students who graduate within the project's
stated time for completing a joint or dual degree (graduation).
If funded, you will be asked to collect and report data in your
project's annual performance report (EDGAR, 34 CFR 75.590) on the
program's four measures. Consequently, applicants are advised to
include these four measures in conceptualizing the design,
implementation, and evaluation of their proposed projects.
Consideration of the performance measures is an important part of many
of the review criteria. Thus, it is important to the success of your
application that you include these measures. These measures should be a
part of the project evaluation plan, along with any measures of your
progress on the goals and objectives that are specific to your project.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Frank Frankfort, Fund for the
Improvement of Postsecondary Education, European Union-United States
Atlantis Program, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6152, Washington, DC 20006-
8544. Telephone: (202) 502-7513 or by e-mail: frank.frankfort@ed.gov.
The contact person does not mail application materials and does not
accept applications.
If you use a TDD, call the Federal Relay Service (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 listed 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: December 17, 2008.
Vickie L. Schray,
Acting Deputy, Secretary Higher Education Programs.
[FR Doc. E8-30404 Filed 12-19-08; 8:45 am]
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