[Federal Register: February 5, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 24)]
[Notices]
[Page 5272-5274]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr05fe02-41]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[CFDA Nos. 84.031A, 84.031N, 84.031W]
Office of Postsecondary Education; Strengthening Institutions,
and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs;
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002
Purpose of Programs: The Strengthening Institutions, and Alaska
Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs are authorized
under Title III, Part A of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended
(HEA). These programs will be referred to collectively in this notice
as the ``Title III, Part A Programs.'' The FY 2002 competition for new
planning, development, and construction grants under another Title III,
Part A Program, the American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and
Universities Program, will be announced in a separate Federal Register
notice. Each Title III, Part A Program provides grants to eligible
institutions of higher education to enable them to improve their
academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability, and
increase their self-sufficiency. The grants thereby support the
elements of the National Education Goals that are relevant to these
institutions' unique missions.
Eligible Applicants: To qualify as an eligible institution under
either of the programs included in this notice, an accredited or
preaccredited institution must, among other requirements, have a high
enrollment of needy students, and its Educational and General (E&G)
expenditures per full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student must
be low in comparison with the average E&G expenditures per FTE
undergraduate student of institutions that offer similar instruction.
The complete eligibility requirements are found in 34 CFR 607.2-607.5.
The regulations may also be accessed by visiting the following
Department of Education Web site http://www.gov.ed.gov/legislation/
FedRegister.
Note 1: A grantee under the Developing Hispanic-Serving
Institutions (HSI) Program, authorized under Title V of the HEA, may
not receive a grant under any Title III, Part A
[[Page 5273]]
Program. Further, an HSI Program grantee may not give up that grant
in order to receive a grant under any Title III, Part A Program.
Therefore, a current HSI Program grantee may not apply for a grant
under any Title III, Part A Program in FY 2002.
Note 2: An institution that does not fall within the limitation
described in NOTE 1 may apply for a FY 2002 grant under all Title
III, Part A Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the
HSI Program. An applicant may receive only one grant.
Applications Available: February 6, 2002.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 22, 2002.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 21, 2002.
Estimated Available Funds: Congress has appropriated $73.625
million for the Strengthening Institutions Program, and $6.5 million
for the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Program
for FY 2002.
Estimated Range of Awards: $330,000--$365,000 per year for 5-year
development grants under the Strengthening Institutions Program; and
$30,000--$35,000 for 1-year planning grants under the Title III, Part A
Programs.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $350,000 per year for 5-year
development grants under the Strengthening Institutions Program; and
$32,500 for 1-year planning grants under the Title III, Part A
Programs.
Estimated Number of Awards: 14 planning grants under the Title III,
Part A programs; 16 development grants under the Strengthening
Institutions Program; and two development grants under the Alaska
Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Program.
Project Period: 60 months for development grants and 12 months for
planning grants.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice. Applicants should periodically check the Title III, Part A
Web site for further information on these programs. The address is
http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/HEP/idues/title3a.html.
Page Limit: We have established mandatory page limits for the
individual development grant, the cooperative arrangement development
grant, and the planning grant applications. You must limit the
narrative application to the equivalent of no more than 100 pages for
the individual development grant, 140 pages for the cooperative
arrangement development grant and 30 pages for the planning grant,
using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins top, bottom, right and left.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, including titles and headings.
However, you may single space footnotes, quotations, references,
captions, charts, forms, tables, figures and graphs.
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 application cover sheet (ED
424) or the assurances and certifications. However, the page limitation
applies to all other parts of the application.
We will reject your application if--
You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the
page limit.
Special Funding Considerations: In tie-breaking situations
described in 34 CFR 607.23 of the governing regulations, we award one
additional point to an applicant institution that has an endowment fund
for which the 1998-1999 market value per full-time equivalent (FTE)
student was less than the comparable average per FTE student at similar
type institutions. We also award one additional point to an applicant
institution that had 1998-1999 expenditures for library materials per
FTE student that were less than the comparable average per FTE student
at similar type institutions.
For the purpose of these funding considerations, an applicant must
demonstrate that the market value of its endowment fund per FTE
student, and library expenditures per FTE student, were less than the
national averages for the year 1998-1999.
If a tie remains, after applying the additional point or points, we
will determine the ranking of applicants based on the lowest combined
library expenditures per FTE student and endowment values per FTE
student.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82,
85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; and, (b) The regulations for this program in 34
CFR part 607.
Applicability of Executive Order 13202: Applicants that apply for
construction funds under these programs must comply with the Executive
order 13202 signed by President Bush on February 17, 2001 and amended
on April 26, 2001. This Executive order provides that recipients of
Federal construction funds may not ``require or prohibit bidders,
offerors, contractors, or subcontractors to enter into or adhere to
agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same or other
construction project(s)'' or ``otherwise discriminate against bidders,
offerors, contractors, or subcontractors for becoming or refusing to
become or remain signatories or otherwise adhere to agreements with one
or more labor organizations, on the same or other construction
project(s).'' However, the Executive order does not prohibit
contractors or subcontractors from voluntarily entering into these
agreements.
Projects funded under this program that include construction
activity will be provided a copy of this Executive order and will be
asked to certify that they will adhere to it.
Application Procedures
Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for
transmitting applications differ from those in the 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 Fiscal Year 2002, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing
to expand its pilot project of electronic submission of applications to
include additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary
grant competitions. The Title III, Part A Programs (CFDA Nos. 84.031A,
84.031N, and 84.031W) are included in the pilot project. If you are an
applicant under the Title III, Part A Program, 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, formerly e-GAPS) portion of the
Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS). We request your
participation in this pilot project. We shall continue to evaluate its
success and solicit suggestions for improvement.
If you participate in this e-APPLICATION pilot, please note the
following:
Your participation is strictly voluntary.
You will not receive any additional point value or penalty
because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper format.
You can submit all grant documents electronically
including the Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), Budget
Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary
assurances and certifications.
Within three working days of submitting your electronic
application
[[Page 5274]]
fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424) to
the Application Control Center after following these steps:
1. Print ED 424 from the
e-APPLICATION system.
2. Make sure that the institution's Authorizing Representative
signs this form.
3. Before faxing this form, submit your electronic application via
the e-APPLICATION system. You will receive an automatic
acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an identifying
number unique to your application).
4. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of ED
424.
5. Fax ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202) 260-1349.
We may request that you give us original signatures on all
other forms at a later date.
You may access the electronic grant application for the Title III,
Part A programs at http://e-grants.ed.gov.
We have included additional information about the e-APPLICATION
pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic
Applications) in the application package.
For Applications or Further Information Contact: Darlene B.
Collins, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW, 6th Floor,
Washington, DC 20202-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7777 or via Internet
darlene.collins@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under For
Applications or Further Information Contact.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format by contacting that person. However,
the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative format the
standard forms included in the application package.
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 Web
site 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. 1057-1059d.
Dated: January 30, 2002.
Kenneth W. Tolo,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning and Innovation,
Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-2703 Filed 2-4-02; 8:45 am]
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