FR Doc 2010-18253
[Federal Register: July 26, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 142)]
[Notices]
[Page 43502-43510]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26jy10-43]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Vocational and Adult Education; Overview Information;
Financial Education for College Access and Success Program; Notice
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215W.
Dates: Applications Available: July 26, 2010.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: August 5, 2010.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 9, 2010.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Financial Education for College Access and
Success program is authorized under the Fund for the Improvement of
Education Program (FIE), title V, part D, subpart 1, sections 5411
through 5413 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as
amended (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 7243-7243b). FIE supports nationally
significant programs to improve the quality of elementary and secondary
education at the State and local levels and help all children meet
challenging State academic content and student academic achievement
standards. Through the Financial Education for College Access and
Success Program, we will support State-led efforts to develop,
implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of personal finance
instructional materials and corresponding teacher training, with the
express purpose of providing high school students with knowledge and
skills to make sound financial aid and other personal finance
decisions, particularly in relation to obtaining access to, persisting
in, and completing postsecondary education.
Background: President Barack Obama, in his February 24, 2009
address to a Joint Session of Congress, asked every American to commit
to at least one year or more of higher education or career training, in
a community college, in a four-year postsecondary institution, through
career and technical education courses, or in an apprenticeship.
President Obama stated that ``This country needs and values the talents
of every American'', and set a new goal that by 2020, the United States
of America would once again have the highest proportion of college
graduates in the world.
One of the barriers to achieving this goal is the lack of financial
literacy in America, especially among youth. Studies indicate that many
Americans do not have the skills they need to make sound financial
decisions, including decisions about postsecondary education, for
themselves or their families. For example--
(1) Debt literacy--an understanding of how borrowing money works
and the ability to perform related calculations--is low across age
groups, and this has been found to correlate with making unfavorable
borrowing choices; \1\
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\1\ Lusardi, Annamaria, and Tufano, Peter. ``Debt Literacy,
Financial Experience, and Overindebtedness.'' Preliminary Draft,
2008.
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[[Page 43503]]
(2) High school students generally have low levels of financial
literacy across a variety of topics according to their results on
personal finance exams; \2\
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\2\ Mandell, Lewis ``Results of the 2008 National Jump$tart
Coalition: Survey of College Seniors and College Students,''
Jump$tart Coalition[supreg] for Personal Literacy, 2008.
The National Financial Capability Challenge at, http://
www.challenge.treas.gov.
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(3) Families often overestimate the price of college and believe it
is out of their financial reach, perhaps confusing advertised and
actual prices; \3\
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\3\ Getting Ready to Pay for College: What Students and Their
Parents Know About the Cost of College Tuition and What They Are
Doing to Find Out U.S., Department of Education, National Center for
Educational Statistics, 2003.
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(4) Nearly two million low- and moderate-income undergraduates do
not submit a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) to apply
for Federal financial aid, even though many of them are eligible for
Pell Grants, which they would not have to repay; \4\ and
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\4\ American Council on Education. Missed Opportunities Revised:
New Information on Students Who Do Not Apply for Financial Aid.
Issue Brief, February 2006.
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(5) A 2009 report by The Institute for College Access and Success
found that 64 percent of students who took on costly private loans had
not yet exhausted their eligibility for more flexible and affordable
Federal loans.\5\
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\5\ The Project on Student Debt: An Initiative for College
Access and Success. Private Loans: Facts and Trends, Aug. 2009.
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Together, these problems have major consequences for students. Only
31 percent of students from low-income families attend some form of
postsecondary education, as compared to 56 percent of students from
middle-income families and 75 percent of students from high-income
families.\6\ Once students enroll in postsecondary education, one of
the primary reasons they drop out of college is because they lack the
financial resources to continue.\7\ And students who do graduate from
college finish with more and more accumulated credit card and student
loan debt each year.\8\
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\6\ Institute for Higher Education Policy, Cost Perceptions and
College-Going for Low-Income Students. Research Policy Brief, Spring
2010.
\7\ Johnson, Jean, and Rochkind, Jon. ``With Their Whole Lives
Ahead of Them: Myths and Realities About Why So Many Students Fail
to Finish College.'' A Public Agenda Report for the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, 2009.
\8\ SallieMae Champions for Higher Education. How Undergraduate
Students Use Credit Cards: Sallie Mae's National Study of Usage
Rates and Trends 2009. 2009.
The Project on Student Debt: An Initiative for College Access
and Success. Student Debt and the Class of 2008. 2009.
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Research has also shown that students appear to receive limited
support from counselors and teachers in the area of personal finance
decision-making. A Public Agenda survey of young adults found that they
give very low marks to guidance counselors when it comes to preparing
them to make decisions about college.\9\ A national survey of teachers
conducted by the University of Wisconsin found that teachers are
overwhelmingly underprepared to teach personal finance to their
students.\10\ In the teacher study, 64 percent of teachers responding
to the survey said they felt unqualified to utilize their State's
personal finance standards. When asked about professional development
needs, the teachers listed financial education subject matter and
pedagogy, ways to integrate financial concepts throughout multiple
disciplines, and how to use the State standards as those areas in which
further professional development was needed.
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\9\ Johnson, Jean, and Rochkind, Jon. ``With Their Whole Lives
Ahead of Them: Myths and Realities About Why So Many Students Fail
to Finish College.'' A Public Agenda Report for the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation, 2009.
\10\ Way, Wendy L, and Holden, Karen. ``Teachers' Background and
Capacity to Teach Personal Finance: Results of a National Study.''
National Endowment for Financial Education, 2010.
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Even though there have been a number of financial literacy efforts
initiated across the country, and notwithstanding the growing focus on
improving awareness and delivery of student financial aid, too few
financial literacy initiatives prepare teachers to provide students
with financial decision-making skills that lead to college access and
success. Therefore, the Secretary is establishing an absolute priority
and associated requirements for applications that propose to develop,
implement, and evaluate personal finance instructional materials and
corresponding teacher training toward that end.
While the Secretary recognizes, as do many teachers, that students
should begin learning about personal finance and the benefits of
postsecondary education in early elementary grades, this program
focuses on high school students because high school is a time when most
students make critical decisions related to postsecondary
education.\11\
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\11\ Otter, Dan. ``Teacher Attitudes and Beliefs About Teaching
Financial Literacy.'' Pollinate, the Teacher Financial Literacy
Project, 2010.
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The Secretary additionally recognizes that, to be most successful,
this effort to improve students' financial literacy must leverage other
resources to ensure effective implementation and continuous
improvement. For this reason, the Secretary is establishing a
competitive preference priority for States that propose to provide
funds or in-kind contributions to support the project through existing
State and local resources, or funding from philanthropic organizations
or private sector sources.
Priorities: We are establishing these priorities for the FY 2010
grant competition, and any subsequent year in which we make awards from
the list of unfunded applicants from this competition, in accordance
with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA),
20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1).
Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only
applications that meet this priority.
This priority is:
Absolute Priority--Financial Education for College Access and
Success Program.
Under this priority, the Department provides funding to support
projects that are designed to develop, implement, and evaluate (1)
personal finance instructional materials that focus on knowledge and
skills to help high school students in high-need LEAs make sound
financial decisions regarding student financial aid and other financial
matters in order to obtain access to, persist in, and complete
postsecondary education; and (2) training that prepares teachers to
integrate the instructional materials in one or more high school
courses (e.g., career and technical education (CTE) courses, social
studies, economics, mathematics, personal finance).
Competitive Preference Priority: This priority is a competitive
preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to an
additional 5 points to a State, depending on how well the State's
application meets this priority.
This priority is:
Competitive Preference Priority--Commitment of Additional Funding
to the Project.
We give competitive preference to applications where States propose
to provide funds or in-kind contributions to support the project
through existing State and local resources, or funding from
philanthropic organizations or private sector sources (See 34 CFR 80.24
for information on cost sharing and third party in-kind contributions).
For each 10 percent of the State's proposed budget that will be
contributed from such other sources, up to a maximum of 50 percent, 1
point will be awarded, up to a maximum of 5 points. Non-Federal
contributions may include in-kind contributions such as facilities,
equipment, supplies, services, and other resources.
[[Page 43504]]
Invitational Priority: 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:
Invitational Priority--Service-learning.
The Department is interested in applications from States that
include the use of service-learning as an approach in support of its
project, such as college students engaging with high school students,
or high school students engaging with elementary school students, on
the topics covered by this notice.
Application Requirements: We are establishing these application
requirements for the FY 2010 grant competition, and any subsequent year
in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this
competition, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, 20 U.S.C.
1232(d)(1).
(a) To be considered for funding under the Financial Education for
College Access and Success program, a State must meet the absolute
priority and the requirements specified in the priority; and
demonstrate that its proposed project will improve the ability of high
school students to make sound financial decisions regarding student
financial aid and other financial matters in order to obtain access to,
persist in, and complete postsecondary education.
(b) The State's application must describe a plan for the entire 4-
year project period, including goals and objectives for each year of
the project. To this end, the State must demonstrate, in the narrative
section of the application, how it would meet the following
requirements.
Development and implementation of instructional materials.
The State must demonstrate how--
(a) The personal finance instructional materials will be developed
as open education resources, which are teaching, learning, and research
resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under
an intellectual property license that permits their free use or
repurposing by others, designed to be--
(1) Multi-unit, portable instructional materials that can be
implemented as stand-alone units, integrated into one or more high
school courses, and, to the extent feasible and appropriate, integrated
to form a comprehensive personal finance curriculum that covers a
variety of college-related personal finance topics;
(2) Interactive and experiential (i.e., activity-focused, not
primarily lecture-focused, including the use of real documents when
possible and connecting with social networking opportunities and
interfaces), and enable personalization for each student;
(3) Based on research on effective instructional design that is
informed by relevant areas of economic research, including the
psychology of decision-making and behavioral economics;
(4) Designed to incorporate online components; and
(5) Updated regularly, with input from teachers and other
stakeholders involved in this project, to keep pace with changes in
student financial aid information and with online and mobile
technologies, such as online banking, electronic credit reports, and
mobile budgeting alerts;
(b) The instructional materials will be developed to--
(1) Promote the basic numeracy and number sense skills students
need to make sound financial decisions, including, but not limited to--
(i) Proportional reasoning;
(ii) Interest rates, charges, and compounding;
(iii) Inflation; and
(iv) The comparison of costs for different financial products and
services;
(2) Align with the appropriate State standards, including the
State's mathematics and personal finance standards;
(3) At a minimum, cover--
(i) Federal student aid, including the role of the FAFSA; the types
of aid available, including grants, loans, and work-study; Federal loan
repayment options, such as income-based repayment and public service
loan forgiveness; and a comparison of Federal student aid and other
college financing options, such as credit cards and private loans, and
Federal grants and work-study;
(ii) Scholarships;
(iii) Credit products, including--
(A) Credit cards and debit cards, and proper handling of these
cards to avoid bad credit; and
(B) Credit scores and credit reports as they relate to borrowing
ability and borrowing costs, insurability, and employability;
(iv) Financial institutions, services, and products available to
students and the risks and costs associated with them, including--
(A) Banks and credit unions and the proper handling of accounts to
avoid fees or being denied access to accounts; and
(B) Alternative financial services, such as payday lenders and
check-cashing services, and the fees associated with these services;
(v) The costs and benefits of postsecondary education, including--
(A) The advertised price versus net price and the role of State and
institutional financial aid;
(B) Projected earnings for different careers, with and without
postsecondary education; and
(C) Projected debt and related interest costs for different
postsecondary programs at various institutions;
(vi) United States Department of Veterans Affairs Education
Benefits;
(vii) Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards;
(viii) Student and family contributions to education expenses from
income and savings; and
(ix) Taxes, including Federal and State income tax returns;
(c) The State will make use of available materials and other
resources from the Federal government, States, national organizations,
or other sources, as appropriate; and best practices in developing,
disseminating, and promoting use of open education resources, including
optimal licensing arrangements, that would be used to inform the
development and use of the instructional materials;
(d) The State will design project activities and identify
participant schools in a way that takes into account and leverages
other courses and programs that provide financial literacy and related
instruction (such as TRIO Talent Search, TRIO Upward Bound, GEAR-UP,
and College Access Challenge Grants). In addition, where available, the
State should provide information on whether secondary schools and LEAs
in the State will be participating in the FAFSA completion project
(http://www2.ed.gov/finaid/info/apply/fafsa-project.html) to identify
students who have not completed a FAFSA, in order to better target
assistance, and describe how this information will be used when
identifying participant schools and conducting the required project
evaluation described elsewhere in this notice;
(e) The State will identify or develop interim and summative
assessments that produce valid and reliable information on student
progress in the mastery of the content included in the proposed
personal finance instructional materials and could be used for the
program evaluation; and
(f) The State will--
(1) Identify one or more high school courses into which the
proposed instructional materials are intended and proposed to be
integrated. The primary
[[Page 43505]]
venue for the instructional materials must be high school classrooms.
However, States may propose to implement the instructional materials in
additional settings, such as after-school programs, and student
financial aid workshops;
(2) Ensure that the proposed instructional materials in the
selected school courses will be of sufficient duration and offered to a
sufficient number of students attending schools in high-need LEAs to
determine the effectiveness of the project and include in the
application an estimate of the number of students expected to enroll in
the selected school courses in each participating high-need LEA and the
number of teachers who would be teaching students in the selected
courses. For the purposes of this competition, we are using the
definition of high-need LEA used in section 14013 of the American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which is an LEA (a) that
serves not fewer than 10,000 children from families with incomes below
the poverty line; or (b) for which not less than 20 percent of the
children served by the LEA are from families with incomes below the
poverty line; and
(3) Identify two or more high-need LEAs in which the instructional
materials would be implemented, beginning in year 2, and include a list
of these high-need LEAs in its application. By the end of year 1, and
continuing each year for years 2 through 4 of the project, the grantee
must obtain written commitment from each participating LEA, or a school
within an LEA if the entire LEA will not participate, that will
implement the instructional materials.
Teacher training on personal finance instructional materials.
The State must demonstrate how--
(a) The personal finance training provided to high school teachers
who would be teaching the personal finance instructional materials to
students is of sufficient quality, intensity, and duration to lead to
improvements in practice among the teachers that receive the training,
and include in the application an estimated number of teachers to be
trained each year during the project period;
(b) Training, ongoing support, and technical assistance will be
provided to teachers and LEAs within the State, such as providing
opportunities for collaboration among teachers, using a train-the-
trainer model whereby teachers train other teachers, and using distance
learning components, such as interactive television; and
(c) The State will provide incentives for high school teacher
participation in personal finance training, such as by providing
participating teachers with stipends, graduate degree credit, or
Continuing Education Units for participating in the training. The
primary audience for the training must be high school teachers.
However, in furtherance of project goals and purposes, States may also
propose to provide personal finance training to individuals other than
high school teachers, including, but not limited to, guidance
counselors and after-school program staff.
Project Team.
The State must--
(a) Demonstrate that the project team proposed by the State that
will work with the State to carry out the project--
(1) Has experience and expertise in each of the following areas--
(i) Instructional materials development;
(ii) Teacher training;
(iii) Program evaluation;
(iv) Financial literacy;
(v) Financial aid;
(vi) Student debt; and
(vii) College access and success programs;
(2) Includes individuals who represent the needs of or work with
students in high-need LEAs;
(3) Includes representatives from--
(i) State agencies administering elementary and secondary
education, career and technical education (CTE), and postsecondary
education (both two- and four-year institutions);
(ii) State agencies, commissions, or other entities focused
explicitly on financial literacy, college access, or student financial
aid issues (e.g., Treasurer, Comptroller, Department of Banking,
Corporation for National and Community Service State Office and
Commission, the State agency that administers the College Access
Challenge Grant Program); and, at the discretion of the State,
(iii) Institutions of higher education (IHEs), including professors
or financial aid administrators;
(iv) LEAs (including high-need LEAs), including superintendents,
principals, and teachers; and
(v) Non-profit organizations, companies, or philanthropic
organizations; and
(b) Include in its application--
(1) The title and position description of each confirmed and
potential member of the project team, including the project director,
principal investigator, and other key project personnel;
(2) A description of the roles and responsibilities of each member;
(3) A description of how the project team will function, including
how the project team will elicit ongoing input from stakeholders and
develop a collaborative network of stakeholders to ensure the
continuing success of the project;
(4) When and how often the team will meet; and
(5) A resume for each of the confirmed members of the project team
(as an attachment or appendix to the application).
State's existing financial literacy activities.
The State must describe--
(a) The State's existing financial literacy education requirements,
including the State's personal finance standards and current State
requirements for their implementation at the LEA level; and
(b) The State's existing K-12 State efforts related to financial
literacy education activities and college access and success, such as--
(1) Teacher training, curriculum, and assessment development;
(2) High school courses, or course components;
(3) Extracurricular programs, such as college readiness and student
financial aid training; and
(4) The collection of assessment data on student outcomes for
students enrolled in those courses or programs.
Project evaluation.
The State must demonstrate that--
(a) The State will have a comprehensive plan for evaluating the
effectiveness of the project in preparing high school students with
knowledge and skills to make sound financial decisions regarding
student financial aid and other financial matters in order to obtain
access to, persist in, and complete postsecondary education; and for
evaluating whether the training provided to teachers adequately
prepared them to integrate the personal finance instructional materials
into courses and effectively instruct students using the instructional
materials. To this end, the State, in its application, must--
(1) Propose an evaluation design that will assess the effects of
the project on participant outcomes. Where feasible, applicants must
propose an experimental or quasi-experimental evaluation design for the
project that will allow an accurate assessment of the effect of the
project on participating students and teachers relative to appropriate
comparison or control groups. The design should take into account the
participation in other courses and programs (such as TRIO Talent
Search, TRIO Upward Bound, GEAR UP, and College Access Challenge
[[Page 43506]]
Grants) that provide students with financial literacy and related
instruction. At a minimum, the design must assess the effects of the
project on participant outcomes by administering a pre-test and
multiple post-tests.
(2) Describe the State's proposed sampling plans, data collection
methodology (including any plans to use information available through
State longitudinal data systems), methodology for identifying
appropriate control or comparison groups, strategies for dealing with
missing data, assessment instruments, and data analysis plans in
sufficient detail to allow reviewers of applications to judge the
appropriateness of the proposed methods; and
(b) The State's project evaluation plan must, at a minimum, include
plans to--
(1) Measure the effect of the project on students' knowledge and
behaviors, including rates of FAFSA completion (the Department will
assist entities that participate in the FAFSA completion project with
tracking FAFSA completion, and hopes to expand this program in the
future), college enrollment, decisions regarding financial aid, and use
of financial products and services; the evaluation plan may also
measure the effect of the program on participating students' attitudes;
(2) Measure the effect of the project on the knowledge, attitudes,
and instructional skills of participating teachers;
(3) Annually examine project performance by comparing actual
accomplishments with the goals and objectives established for each
project year;
(4) Describe how data will be used to manage project
implementation, inform decision-making, engage stakeholders, and
measure success; and
(5) Ensure that the use of data will be consistent with the
requirements and protections contained in the Family Educational Rights
and Privacy Act (FERPA).
Dissemination.
The State must demonstrate that it will work closely with the
Department to disseminate and promote the use of personal finance
instructional materials and teacher training materials found to be
effective, including implementing strategies to:
(a) Make materials widely available and accessible to LEAs within
the State--
(i) Through open education resource repositories, Web sites, and
other mechanisms, so others can use and customize the materials, such
as having them translated into multiple languages, and for use in
multiple settings; and
(ii) At low or no cost to participating LEAs for hard-copy
materials, and at no cost for online components;
(b) Make available to other States through open education resource
repositories, Web sites, and other mechanisms, its personal finance
instructional materials, teacher training materials, and other
practical information about the project that would be useful to other
States in their efforts to implement financial literacy programs; and
(c) Ensure that all project materials available to States, LEAs,
teachers, and, if appropriate, students will be accessible to
individuals with disabilities consistent with the requirements and
protections contained in Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973,
as amended.
Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure
Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally offers interested parties
the opportunity to comment on proposed priorities, definitions, and
requirements. Section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, however, allows the Secretary
to exempt from rulemaking requirements regulations governing the first
grant competition under a new or substantially revised program
authority. This is the first grant competition for the Financial
Education for College Access and Success program and, therefore,
qualifies for this exemption. In order to ensure timely grant awards,
the Secretary has decided to forgo public comment on the priorities,
definitions, and requirements under section 437(d)(1) of GEPA. These
priorities, definitions, and requirements will apply to the FY 2010
grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards based
on the list of unfunded applicants from this competition.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7243-7243b.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 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 part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $1,700,000.
Estimated Average Size of Award: $1,700,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 1.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 48 months. Applicants under this competition
are required to provide detailed budget information for each year of
the proposed project and for the total grant. The Department will
negotiate funding levels for each 12-month period of the grant at the
time of the award.
Note: The Secretary has concluded that 4-year awards are
necessary for the grantee to fulfill the purpose of the Financial
Education for College Access and Success Program. As outlined in
this notice, 4-year funding will: (a) Allow the grantee to develop
the instructional materials and assessments; (b) allow time for the
instructional materials, teacher training, and assessments to be
used with a sufficient number of participants to determine their
effectiveness; and (c) allow the grantee sufficient time to collect
student and teacher outcome data.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: State educational agencies (SEAs), as
defined in section 9101(41) of the ESEA, that have included personal
finance in their State education standards and have included in their
applications documentation that they have such standards.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This competition does not require cost
sharing or matching.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Laura Messenger, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 11028, Potomac
Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-7241. Telephone: (202) 245-7840 or
by e-mail: laura.messenger@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 accessible 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
competition.
Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application)
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that
reviewers use to evaluate your application.
While you are not required to do so, we strongly suggest that you
limit the
[[Page 43507]]
application narrative [Part III] to the equivalent of no more than 40
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, 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 New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font
(including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
The suggested page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet;
Part II, the budget section, including the narrative budget
justification; Part IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-
page abstract, the resumes, the memorandum of understanding, or the
match commitment. However, the suggested page limit does apply to all
of the application narrative section [Part III].
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: July 26, 2010.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: August 5, 2010.
The Department will be able to develop a more efficient process for
reviewing grant applications if it has a better understanding of the
number of entities that intend to apply for funding under this
competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly encourages each
potential applicant to notify the Department by sending a short e-mail
message indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application for
funding. The e-mail should include only the applicant's intent to
submit an application; it does not need to include information
regarding the content of the proposed application. This e-mail
notification should be sent no later than August 5, 2010 to Laura
Messenger at: laura.messenger@ed.gov. You must include ``FinanceEd
Intent to Apply'' in the subject line of your electronic message. The
notice of intent to apply is optional. We will consider an application
submitted by the deadline for transmittal of applications even if the
applicant did not provide an e-mail notification of its intent to
apply.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 9, 2010.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e-
Application) accessible through the Department's e-Grants site. 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.7. 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.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program 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. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification
Number, and Central Contractor Registry: To do business with the
Department of Education, (1) you must have a Data Universal Numbering
System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN); (2)
you must register both of those numbers with the Central Contractor
Registry (CCR), the Government's primary registrant database; and (3)
you must provide those same numbers on your application.
You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number
can be created within one business day.
If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or
organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service.
If you need a new TIN, please allow 2-5 weeks for your TIN to become
active.
The CCR registration process may take five or more business days to
complete. If you are currently registered with the CCR, you may not
need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN
associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will
need to update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This may take
three or more business days to complete.
7. 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 Financial Education for College
Access and Success program, CFDA Number 84.215W, must be submitted
electronically using e-Application, accessible through the Department's
e-Grants Web site at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
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.
While completing your electronic application, you will be entering
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
Please note the following:
You must complete the electronic submission of your grant
application by 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date. E-Application 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 you do not wait
until the application deadline date to begin the application process.
The 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, because of
maintenance, 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. Any modifications to these hours are
posted on the e-Grants Web site.
[[Page 43508]]
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.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
all information you typically provide on the following forms: the
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, the Financial Education
for College Access and Success Budget Spreadsheet(s), 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 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 you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgment that will include a PR/Award number
(an identifying number unique to your application).
Within three working days after submitting your electronic
application, 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'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
other forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically submitting
your application on the application deadline date because e-Application
is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of one business day to
enable you to transmit your application electronically, by mail, or by
hand delivery. We will grant this extension if--
(1) You are a registered user of e-Application, and you have
initiated an electronic application for this competition; and
(2)(a) E-Application 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) E-Application is unavailable for any period of time between
3:30 p.m. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date.
We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to
confirm our acknowledgment of any system unavailability, you may
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under For
Further Information Contact (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If e-Application 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 e-Application.
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 e-Application because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
e-Application; 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
prevents 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: Laura Messenger, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., PCP, room 11028,
Washington, DC 20006-8524. FAX: (202) 245-7170.
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 submit your application in paper format by mail (through the
U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), you must mail the
original and two copies of your application, 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 84.215W), 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 submit your application in paper format by hand delivery,
you (or a courier service) 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
84.215W), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza,
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30:00 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
[[Page 43509]]
(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 Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The following selection criteria are from 34
CFR 75.210 in EDGAR.
The maximum score for all the selection criteria is 100 points. The
maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses with the
criterion. The selection criteria are as follows:
(1) Significance (up to 20 points).
(a) The Secretary considers the significance of the proposed
project.
(b) In determining the significance of the proposed project, the
Secretary considers--
(i) The significance of the problem or issue to be addressed by the
proposed project;
(ii) The extent to which the proposed project is likely to build
local capacity to provide, improve, or expand services that address the
needs of the target population;
(iii) 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;
(iv) 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 effectively in a
variety of other settings; and
(v) The extent to which the results of the proposed project are to
be disseminated in ways that will enable others to use the information
or strategies.
(2) Quality of the project design (up to 25 points).
(a) The Secretary considers the quality of the design of the
proposed project.
(b) In determining the quality of the design of the proposed
project, the Secretary considers--
(i) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable;
(ii) The extent to which the design of the proposed project
includes a thorough, high-quality review of the relevant literature, a
high-quality plan for project implementation, and the use of
appropriate methodological tools to ensure successful achievement of
project objectives;
(iii) The extent to which the proposed development efforts include
adequate quality controls and, as appropriate, repeated testing of
products;
(iv) The extent to which the proposed project will be coordinated
with similar or related efforts, and with other appropriate community,
State, and Federal resources; and
(v) The extent to which the proposed project is part of a
comprehensive effort to improve teaching and learning and support
rigorous academic standards for students.
(3) Quality of project personnel (up to 15 points).
(a) The Secretary considers the quality of the project personnel
who will carry out the proposed project.
(b) In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary
considers the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for
employment from persons who are members of groups that have
traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national
origin, gender, age, or disability;
(c) In addition, the Secretary considers--
(i) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience,
of the project director and principal investigator;
(ii) The qualifications, including relevant training and
experience, of key project personnel; and
(iii) The qualifications, including relevant training and
experience, of project consultants or subcontractors.
(5) Quality of the management plan (up to 10 points).
(a) The Secretary considers the quality of the management plan for
the proposed project.
(b) In determining the quality of the management plan of the
proposed project, the Secretary considers--
(i) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing
project tasks;
(ii) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and
continuous improvement in the operation of the proposed project; and
(iii) The extent to which the time commitments of the project
director and principal investigator and other key project personnel are
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed
project.
(6) Adequacy of resources (up to 10 points).
(a) The Secretary considers the adequacy of resources for the
proposed project.
(b) In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers--
(i) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project;
(ii) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to
the objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed
project; and
(iii) The potential for the incorporation of project purposes,
activities, or benefits into the ongoing program of the agency or
organization at the end of Federal funding.
(7) Quality of the project evaluation (up to 20 points).
(a) The Secretary considers the quality of the evaluation to be
conducted of the proposed project.
(b) In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary
considers--
(i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed project;
(ii) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use
of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the
intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and
qualitative data to the extent possible; and
(iii) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance
about effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other
settings.
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
Notification (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 in 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
[[Page 43510]]
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, Federal departments and agencies must clearly
describe the goals and objectives of programs, identify resources and
actions needed to accomplish goals and objectives, develop a means of
measuring progress made, and regularly report on achievement. In order
for the Department to be able to determine the overall effectiveness of
projects funded under this competition, the grantee must be prepared to
measure and report on the following measures of effectiveness:
The percentage of participating students who make an
educationally significant improvement in their understanding of
personal finance.
The percentage of participating low income students who
complete the FAFSA.
The percentage of participating low-income students who
enroll in college.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Laura Messenger, U.S. Department
of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 11028, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-7241. Telephone: (202) 245-7772, or by e-
mail: laura.messenger@ed.gov. If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll
free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document and a copy of the application package in an accessible 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 of 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.
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: July 21, 2010.
Brenda Dann-Messier,
Assistant Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2010-18253 Filed 7-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P