[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 61 (Thursday, March 28, 1996)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 14006-14011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-7593]




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_______________________________________________________________________

Part VII





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



34 CFR Part 657



Higher Education Programs in Modern Foreign Language Training and Area 
Studies--Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program; 
Proposed Rule

  Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 61 / Thursday, March 28, 1996 / 
Proposed Rules  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

34 CFR Part 657

RIN 1840-AC28


Higher Education Programs in Modern Foreign Language Training and 
Area Studies--Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Rulemaking.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes to amend the regulations governing the 
Higher Education Programs in Modern Foreign Language Training and Area 
Studies--Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowships Program. 
These amendments are needed in order to improve the application review 
process and to update the regulations in light of developments in the 
field of foreign language, area, and international studies. In the 
spirit of reinventing government, the goal of the proposed changes is 
to markedly reduce the burden associated with the application review 
process. These regulations are intended to (a) reduce the burden on 
applicants and readers by clarifying and restructuring selection 
criteria to remove ambiguity and eliminate repetition of information 
presented in applications, (b) facilitate funding decisions by 
providing a larger possible point spread for greater differentiation of 
rankings, (c) simplify the application process for applicants, improve 
the cost-effectiveness of the program, and standardize program 
management by adopting the fellowship award allocation system currently 
used to administer other Federal fellowship programs, and (d) improve 
program quality, efficiency, and flexibility by adopting changes 
program management experience shows to be appropriate.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before April 29, 1996.

ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed regulations should be 
addressed to Sara West, U.S. Department of Education, 600 Independence 
Avenue, S.W., Suite 600B, Portals Building, Washington, D.C. 20202-
5331. Comments may also be sent through the Internet to ``FLAS--
F[email protected]''.
    Comments that concern information collection requirements must be 
sent to the Office of Management and Budget at the address listed in 
the Paperwork Reduction Act section of this preamble. A copy of those 
comments may also be sent to the Department representative named in the 
preceding paragraph.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sara West. Telephone: (202) 401-9782. 
Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 
between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program is one of 
several international education programs authorized under Part A of 
Title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The 
main provisions of the regulations govern the awarding of grants 
designed to provide fellowship assistance to students enrolled in 
advanced programs of modern foreign language and area or international 
studies.
    In the spirit of reinventing government, it is the Secretary's goal 
to simplify the application process and management of the Foreign 
Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program to benefit the public. 
The Secretary intends the proposed changes to add clarity to the review 
process, to decrease the current burden on applicants and peer 
reviewers, to facilitate the application of uniform standards among 
peer reviewers and in Federal fellowship program management, to 
increase cost-effectiveness of the program, and to increase flexibility 
in program management for funded grantees and for the Secretary.
    The Secretary proposes to amend the regulations for the Foreign 
Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program by modifying the 
selection criteria for applications, by eliminating references to 
undergraduate programs and fellowship recipients in keeping with 
statutory requirements, by adopting a new system of allocating 
fellowship awards, and by easing restrictions on the use of fellowship 
awards abroad and clarifying that only academic year awards may be used 
for research abroad.
    Selection Criteria. The selection criteria currently used are very 
general, leading to some misinterpretation of questions asked, frequent 
repetition of information, and inclusion of information that is not 
pertinent to the purpose of the Foreign Language and Area Studies 
Fellowships Program. The proposed changes seek to retain much of the 
sense of the current criteria while removing ambiguity regarding 
requested information. The purpose of the changes is to clarify what 
information should be presented so that (a) all applicants will provide 
more focused information necessary for evaluation of a proposal under 
this program, (b) applicants will be able to present all relevant 
information within fewer pages of the proposal narrative, and (c) peer 
reviewers will be able to more easily and accurately evaluate and rank 
proposals based on comparative strengths.
    A reorganized, broader point scale and clearly identified point 
allocations for individual paragraphs of the technical review criteria 
are proposed in order to (a) enable peer reviewers to score more 
carefully and accurately differentiate between proposals of high 
caliber, (b) discourage peer reviewers from overlooking any individual 
question to be scored, and (c) clarify for peer reviewers and 
applicants exactly what requested information corresponds to each point 
value.
    Undergraduate References. The Higher Education Amendments of 1992, 
Pub. L. 102-325, amended section 603 of the HEA to limit the awarding 
of FLAS fellowships to graduate students. For that reason, the 
Secretary eliminates references to undergraduate students or programs 
and use of ambiguous terms such as ``advanced.'' The purpose of these 
changes is to bring the regulations in line with the authorizing 
statute and to clarify program requirements for applicants and 
grantees.
    System of Allocation. The Secretary proposes to increase cost-
effectiveness, simplify the application process and program management 
for grantees, and bring the Foreign Language and Area Studies 
Fellowships Program more in line with other government fellowship 
programs by amending the system of allocation. Under the system of 
allocation currently used to administer this program, a FLAS fellowship 
consists of a student subsistence allowance and tuition plus all 
required fees. Grantees are expected to submit in their proposal 
budgets a variety of tuition rates for graduate students at differing 
levels of study and enrolled in different academic programs; for 
example, public institutions provide different rates based upon 
residency requirements, while both public and private institutions 
often have varying tuition rates for graduate students enrolled in arts 
and sciences or professional degree programs or at the dissertation 
level. Grant monies are then allocated based on a combination of awards 
at a variety of tuition rates for an individual grantee institution. 
Because the rates supplied are projections based on rates in effect at 
the time of application and not actual prospective tuition rates, and 
because the grantee institutions do not know at

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the time of the grant competition which students will compete 
successfully for awards, the current system of allocation is imprecise. 
While the Secretary might allocate funds for five awards to an 
institution, there is no guarantee that the institution will make five 
awards in the amounts assumed. Depending on the students selected, it 
might actually make two awards at a high tuition rate or seven awards 
at a low tuition rate.
    Under the proposed system of allocation, a FLAS fellowship consists 
of a student subsistence allowance and a standard institutional payment 
(rather than full tuition plus fees) to be established by the Secretary 
and announced in the application notice. This system of allocation is 
commonly referred to as the ``cost-of-education allowance'' system. By 
applying for an allocation of fellowship awards, the institution agrees 
to accept the institutional payment published in the application notice 
in lieu of any additional costs of tuition and fees. In cases in which 
the institutional payment is greater than the actual cost of tuition 
and fees at the institution, the excess institutional payment funds 
must be applied toward additional fellowship awards. The purpose of 
this amendment is to (a) simplify the budget portion of the application 
process for applicants; (b) make the Foreign Language and Area Studies 
Fellowships Program more ``user-friendly'' for the public by adopting a 
system of allocation currently used for a variety of Federal fellowship 
programs administered by the U.S. Department of Education and other 
agencies; (c) simplify grantee institutions' own competitions for 
fellowship candidates by treating each applicant equally, regardless of 
tuition rate; (d) eliminate imprecision in how funds will actually be 
used by grantees and increase the accountability of grantee 
institutions by requiring them to make a minimum number of awards with 
their grant allocations; and (e) increase the cost-effectiveness of the 
program by requiring institutions with high tuition rates to accept a 
standard institutional payment in lieu of full tuition and fees.
    Easing Limits on Overseas Use of Fellowships. Proposed changes to 
the limitations on the use of funds for overseas fellowships seek to 
expand grantees' program management options and clarify the appropriate 
use of awards. The requirement that students using awards at overseas 
language programs be at the advanced level of language study is 
expanded to include intermediate-level study for all eligible languages 
as well as beginning-level study of languages for which appropriate 
instruction is not available in the United States. Additional 
modifications are intended to clarify that only academic year awards 
may be used abroad for research, and summer fellowships are to be used 
for intensive language training rather than for short-term dissertation 
research.

Explanation of Changes

    The Secretary proposes to make the following changes:

Section 657.1  What is the Foreign Language and Area Studies 
Fellowships Program?

    Section 657.1(a). The Secretary proposes to modify this section to 
clarify that only graduate-level students are eligible to receive 
awards since the 1992 reauthorization of the HEA. The current language 
indicates that students who receive fellowships must be enrolled in 
``advanced'' training. The Secretary believes that substituting the 
word ``graduate'' for ``advanced'' more clearly states the statutory 
requirement.

Section 657.2  Who is eligible to receive an allocation of fellowships?

    Section 657.2(d). The Secretary proposes to eliminate the reference 
to the Undergraduate International Studies and Foreign Language Program 
because undergraduate students are no longer eligible to receive awards 
since the 1992 reauthorization of the HEA.

Section 657.3  Who is eligible to receive a fellowship?

    Section 657.3(a)(3). The Secretary proposes to eliminate the entire 
paragraph referring to students who are permanent residents of the 
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, because there is no longer a 
Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands.

Section 657.20  How does the Secretary evaluate an institutional 
application for an allocation of fellowships?

    Section 657.20(b). The Secretary proposes to expand the range of 
possible points for applications in order to enable peer reviewers in 
scoring to more carefully and accurately differentiate between 
proposals of high caliber. It has been the Secretary's experience that 
competition for grants under the Foreign Language and Area Studies 
Fellowships Program is strong; recent winning applicants have scored 
within a 15-point range on the current scale. As a result, there has 
been narrow point differentiation among winning applicants and the 
highest scoring unsuccessful applicants. The Secretary believes that 
expanding the possible point range would facilitate funding decisions 
by providing peer reviewers with a larger scale on which to rank 
applications, allowing for greater differentiation of scores for 
applications of similar but different merit. The changed point scale, 
reflecting changes in the selection criteria and their point 
allocations, would add 40 possible points for competitions for which 
there are no announced competitive priorities and 50 possible points 
for competitions for which competitive priorities have been announced.

Section 657.21  What criteria does the Secretary use in selecting 
institutions for an allocation of fellowships?

    The Secretary proposes extensive changes in this section in order 
to improve the program's application review process and to reflect 
current standards in the field of foreign language, area and 
international studies. The proposed selection criteria identify 
specific information to be provided in an application, thereby 
facilitating proposal writing for applicants and evaluation for peer 
reviewers. The proposed criteria incorporate most aspects of the 
current criteria but are restructured to enable applicants to present 
information in a more succinct and less repetitious manner.
    Section 657.21(a). The Secretary proposes to eliminate the current 
Plan of operation criterion and substitute a Foreign language and area 
studies awardee selection procedures criterion that incorporates 
elements of the current Plan of operation and Need and potential impact 
criteria. It has been the Secretary's experience that the language of 
the current criterion has led to some confusion among grantees and peer 
reviewers regarding what information should be presented. For example, 
one question in the Plan of operation criterion asks about the extent 
to which the objectives of the project relate to the purpose of the 
program. Applicants and peer reviewers are often uncertain whether 
``program'' refers to the Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships 
Program or to the applicant's training program. The Secretary believes 
that the proposed language would eliminate uncertainty and assist 
applicants in writing, and peer reviewers in evaluating, proposals for 
fellowship awards.
    Section 657.21(b). The Secretary proposes to replace the Quality of 
key personnel criterion with a criterion called Quality of staff 
resources. The staff resources criterion would ask the same kind of 
questions as the current key personnel criterion, but would also 
require explicit information to be

[[Page 14008]]

presented regarding faculty and staff involvement in fellowship program 
activities and oversight and professional development opportunities.
    Section 657.21(c). The Secretary proposes to eliminate the current 
Evaluation plan criterion. The Secretary proposes an Impact and 
evaluation criterion that would combine related aspects of the current 
Need and potential impact, Evaluation plan, and Plan of operation 
criteria. Combining elements of these criteria is logical due to the 
interrelatedness of questions about past performance and evaluating 
future performance.
    Section 657.21(d). The Secretary proposes to modify the language of 
the Commitment to the subject area on which the center or program 
focuses criterion by clarifying those areas for which institutional 
support should be identified. In the past, some applicant institutions 
have shown support for the applicant's students by offering matching 
funds or tuition waivers for fellowship grants received. Although the 
Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program does not have a 
cost-matching requirement, the Secretary would like to encourage 
institutional efforts to promote the cost-effectiveness of the program 
as well as institutional commitment to the applicant's training 
program. For this reason, this criterion also asks applicants to 
provide information about the extent to which the institution provides 
financial support to graduate students in fields related to the 
applicant's teaching program.
    Section 657.21(e). The Secretary proposes to modify and redesignate 
the Strength of library criterion. Due to the changes in information 
technology and the rising costs of maintaining traditional collections, 
a library's book and periodical holdings are no longer the only factor 
that should be considered in evaluating the strength of an applicant 
institution's library. The proposed regulations would clarify 
information to be presented and take into account that library 
resources can be provided in print and non-print media, through 
cooperative collections and access arrangements with other library 
collections, and through on-line, electronic data bases.
    Section 657.21(f). The Secretary proposes to add a new criterion 
called Quality of the applicant's non-language instructional program. 
The proposed criterion would incorporate related elements of the 
current Quality of the applicant's instructional program and Quality of 
the applicant's relationships within the institution criteria. The 
Secretary believes that including all questions related to non-language 
course offerings in one section would allow grantees to streamline 
their proposals and avoid repetition. It has been the Secretary's 
experience that combining questions about non-language and language 
courses in the same criterion can lead to applicants neglecting to 
provide full information about both non-language and language training. 
For that reason, the Secretary proposes to ask parallel questions 
regarding the quality of language and non-language training under two 
separate criteria. It is the opinion of the Secretary that separate 
criteria would emphasize the importance to the Foreign Language and 
Area Studies Fellowships Program of both language and area or 
international studies training.
    Section 657.21(g). The Secretary proposes to address under this 
criterion the Quality of the applicant's language instructional 
program. Questions asked under this criterion are similar to questions 
currently asked under Quality of the applicant's instructional program 
criterion but more specifically identify information to be provided.
    Section 657.21(h). The Secretary proposes to replace the current 
Overseas activities criterion with a criterion called Quality of 
curriculum design. Relevant questions about overseas activities would 
be asked under the proposed Quality of curriculum design, Commitment to 
the subject area on which the applicant focuses, and Quality of staff 
resources criteria. It has been the Secretary's experience in this 
program that overseas activities have been critical to providing 
successful training options for students and professional development 
opportunities for faculty. Therefore, the Secretary believes that it is 
more appropriate and more clearly related to the purpose of the Foreign 
Language and Area Studies Fellowships Program to ask questions 
regarding overseas activities in the context of curriculum design and 
staff resources. The proposed Quality of curriculum design criterion 
would combine elements of the current Overseas activities and Quality 
of the applicant's relationships within the institution criteria. The 
new criterion would allow applicants to focus on the issue of training 
options for students within the context of a single criterion.
    Section 657.21(i). The Secretary proposes to eliminate the current 
Need and potential impact criterion because related questions would be 
asked under the proposed Foreign language and area studies fellowships 
awardee selection procedures and Impact and evaluation criteria. The 
Secretary proposes to redesignate the current Priorities criterion as 
Sec. 657.21(i) and to decrease the point value from 20 points to 10. It 
has been the Secretary's experience that most proposals submitted for 
competitions under this program succeed in securing almost all of the 
points allocated to the competitive priority. A 20-point allocation to 
the competitive priority can result in applications with weaker scores 
on the mandatory criteria ranking higher than quality proposals that do 
not meet the priority. A 10-point competitive priority allocation would 
continue to ensure that quality proposals that meet the competitive 
priority are funded before quality proposals that do not meet the 
priority. The Secretary proposes to decrease the total possible points 
allocated for priorities in order to maintain proportion in the 
competition and to ensure that only high quality proposals are funded.
    Section 657.21(j). The Secretary proposes to eliminate this 
paragraph because the Priorities criterion would be included under 
Sec. 657.21(i).

Section 657.31  What is the amount of a fellowship?

    The Secretary proposes to change the system of allocation of 
fellowship award monies in order to simplify the administration of 
awards for grantees, increase cost-effectiveness of the program, and 
increase uniformity of procedures among federally funded fellowship 
programs. The Secretary proposes to specify that each fellowship 
awarded would consist of a standard institutional payment and a 
subsistence allowance to be announced in the application notice 
published in the Federal Register. The Secretary also proposes to 
delete references to education levels of recipients since all 
recipients must be at the graduate level.

Section 657.32  What is the payment procedure for fellowships?

    Section 657.32(d). The Secretary proposes to limit the use of 
fellowship funds by stating that funds not used by one fellowship 
recipient for reasons of withdrawal are to be used for alternate 
recipients to the extent that funds are available for a full 
subsistence allowance. In addition, if actual tuition rates are less 
than the institutional payment, excess funds must be used to fund 
additional fellowships to the extent that funds are available for a 
full subsistence allowance. This provision would maximize the cost-
efficiency of the fellowship funds by ensuring that low-tuition 
institutions use excess funds to support additional fellows.

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Section 657.33  What are the limitations on the use of funds for 
overseas fellowships?

    The Secretary proposes changes to this section that would ease 
restrictions on and clarify appropriate use of overseas awards. It has 
been the Secretary's experience that students at an intermediate level 
of language study can benefit as much from an overseas study experience 
as advanced students if enrolled in a high-quality language program. 
Furthermore, appropriate instruction (particularly for less-commonly-
taught languages) is not always available in the United States.
    Section 657.33(b)(1). The Secretary proposes to allow students at 
the intermediate level of language study to enroll in overseas language 
programs. Currently, only advanced students may use awards abroad. 
Additionally, the Secretary proposes to allow the use of fellowship 
awards for overseas study at the beginning level of languages for which 
instruction is frequently not available in the United States.
    Section 657.33(b)(2). In order to clarify for grantees that summer 
fellowships are to be used for intensive language training rather than 
short-term dissertation research, the Secretary proposes to specify 
that awards may be approved for dissertation research during the 
academic year only.

Executive Order 12866

Clarity of the Regulations

    Executive Order 12866 requires each agency to write regulations 
that are easy to understand.
    The Secretary invites comments on how to make these proposed 
regulations easier to understand, including answers to questions such 
as the following: (1) Are the requirements in the regulations clearly 
stated? (2) Do the regulations contain technical terms or other wording 
that interferes with their clarity? (3) Does the format of the 
regulations (grouping and order of sections, use of headings, 
paragraphing, etc.) aid or reduce their clarity? Would the regulations 
be easier to understand if they were divided into more (but shorter) 
sections? (A ``section'' is preceded by the symbol ``Sec. '' and a 
numbered heading; for example, Sec. 657.2 Who is eligible to receive an 
allocation of fellowships?) (4) Is the description of the proposed 
regulations in the ``Supplementary Information'' section of this 
preamble helpful in understanding the proposed regulations? How could 
this description be more helpful in making the proposed regulations 
easier to understand? (5) What else could the Department do to make the 
regulations easier to understand?
    A copy of any comments that concern how the Department could make 
these proposed regulations easier to understand should also be sent to 
Stanley M. Cohen, Regulations Quality Officer, U.S. Department of 
Education, 600 Independence Avenue, S.W. (Room 5100 FB-10B), 
Washington, D.C. 20202-2241.

Regulatory Flexibility Act Certification

    The Secretary certifies that these proposed regulations would not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.
    These proposed regulations merely correct or simplify and clarify 
provisions contained in previous regulations and would impose minimal 
requirements to ensure the proper expenditure of program funds. The 
small entities that would be affected by these proposed regulations are 
institutions of higher education receiving Federal funds under this 
program. However, the regulations would not have a significant economic 
impact on the institutions affected because the regulations would not 
impose excessive regulatory burdens or require unnecessary Federal 
supervision.

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

    Section 657.21 contains information collection requirements. As 
required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3507(d)), 
the Department of Education has submitted a copy of this section to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for its review.
    Collection of Information: Foreign Language and Area Studies 
Fellowships Program.
    Institutions of higher education and consortia of institutions of 
higher education are eligible to apply for grants under these 
regulations. The information to be collected is specified by the 
proposed technical review criteria and includes information currently 
collected under regulations for this program. This information is 
needed and used by the Department to make grants.
    The Secretary estimates that this information collection will 
decrease the current estimated burden of 155 hours per response to 100 
hours per response. The estimated burden includes the time for 
reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and 
maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the 
application to be submitted. Competitions for the Foreign Language and 
Area Studies Fellowships Program are held every three years, with 
approximately 160 respondents per competition.
    Organizations and individuals desiring to submit comments on the 
information collection requirements should direct them to the Office of 
Information and Regulatory Affairs, OMB, Room 10235, New Executive 
Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20503; Attention: Wendy Taylor.
    The Department considers comments by the public on this proposed 
collection of information in--
     Evaluating whether the proposed collection of information 
is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the 
Department, including whether the information will have practical 
utility;
     Evaluating the accuracy of the Department's estimate of 
the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhancing the quality, usefulness, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and
     Minimizing the burden of the collection of information on 
those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology; e.g., permitting 
electronic submission of responses.
    OMB is required to make a decision concerning the collection of 
information contained in these proposed regulations between 30 and 60 
days after publication of this document in the Federal Register. 
Therefore, a comment to OMB is best assured of having its full effect 
if OMB receives it within 30 days of publication. This does not affect 
the deadline for the public to comment to the Department on the 
proposed regulations.

Intergovernmental Review

    This program is subject to the requirements of Executive Order 
12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR Part 79. The objective of the 
Executive order is to foster an intergovernmental partnership and a 
strengthened federalism by relying on processes developed by State and 
local governments for coordination and review of proposed Federal 
financial assistance.
    In accordance with the order, this document is intended to provide 
early notification of the Department's specific plans and actions for 
this program.

[[Page 14010]]


Invitation to Comment

    Interested persons are invited to submit comments and 
recommendations regarding these proposed regulations. All comments 
submitted in response to these proposed regulations will be available 
for public inspection, during and after the comment period, in Suite 
600B, Portals Building, 1280 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, D.C. 
between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday of 
each week, except Federal holidays.

Assessment of Educational Impact

    The Secretary particularly requests comments on whether the 
proposed regulations in this document would require transmission of 
information that is being gathered by or is available from any other 
agency or authority of the United States.

List of Subjects in 34 CFR Part 657

    Colleges and universities, Education, International education, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number 84.015)

    Dated: March 25, 1996.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.

    The Secretary proposes to amend Title 34 of the Code of Federal 
Regulations by revising Part 657 as follows:

PART 657--FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND AREA STUDIES FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM

    1. The authority citation for Part 657 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1122, unless otherwise noted.


Sec. 657.1  [Amended]

    2. Section 657.1 is amended by revising the heading by removing the 
word ``Fellowship'' and adding, in its place, the word ``Fellowships'' 
and by removing the word ``advanced'' and adding, in its place, 
``graduate'' in paragraph (a).


Sec. 657.2  [Amended]

    3. Section 657.2 is amended by removing ``or the Undergraduate 
International Studies and Foreign Language Program, 34 CFR part 658,'' 
in paragraph (d).


Sec. 657.3  [Amended]

    4. Section 657.3 is amended by removing paragraph (a)(3), adding 
the word ``or'' at the end of paragraph (a)(1), and removing the word 
``or'' at the end of paragraph (a)(2).
    5. Section 657.20 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 657.20  How does the Secretary evaluate an institutional 
application for an allocation of fellowships?

* * * * *
    (b) In general, the Secretary awards up to 140 possible points for 
these criteria. However, if priority criteria are used, the Secretary 
awards up to 150 possible points. The maximum possible points for each 
criterion are shown in parentheses.
    6. Section 657.21 is revised to read as follows:


Sec. 657.21  What criteria does the Secretary use in selecting 
institutions for an allocation of fellowships?

    (a) Foreign language and area studies fellowships awardee selection 
procedures. (15 points) The Secretary reviews each application to 
determine--
    (1) Whether the selection plan is of high quality, showing how 
awards will be advertised, how students apply, what selection criteria 
are used, who selects the fellows, when each step will take place, and 
how the process will result in awards being made to correspond to any 
announced priorities; and
    (2) Whether the applicant provides information about current and 
prospective applicant/award ratios.
    (b) Quality of staff resources. (15 points) The Secretary reviews 
each application to determine--
    (1) The extent to which teaching faculty and other staff are 
qualified for the current and proposed activities and training 
programs, are provided professional development opportunities 
(including overseas experience), and participate in teaching, 
supervising, and advising students (5 points);
    (2) The adequacy of applicant staffing and oversight arrangements 
and the extent to which faculty from a variety of departments, 
professional schools, and the library are involved (5 points); and
    (3) The extent to which the applicant, as part of its 
nondiscriminatory employment practices, encourages applications for 
employment from persons who are members of groups that have been 
traditionally underrepresented, such as members of racial or ethnic 
minority groups, women, persons with disabilities, and the elderly (5 
points).
    (c) Impact and evaluation. (20 points) The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine--
    (1) The extent to which the applicant's activities and training 
programs have contributed to an improved supply of specialists on the 
program's subject as shown through indices such as graduate enrollments 
and placement data; and the extent to which the applicant supplies a 
clear description of how the applicant will provide equal access and 
treatment of eligible project participants who are members of groups 
that have been traditionally underrepresented, such as members of 
racial or ethnic minority groups, women, persons with disabilities, and 
the elderly (15 points); and
    (2) The extent to which the applicant provides an evaluation plan 
that will be comprehensive and objective and that will produce 
quantifiable, outcome-measure-oriented data; and the extent to which 
recent evaluations have been used to improve the applicant's program (5 
points).
    (d) Commitment to the subject area on which the applicant or 
program focuses. (10 points) The Secretary reviews each application to 
determine--
    (1) The extent to which the institution provides financial and 
other support to the operation of the applicant, teaching staff for the 
applicant's subject area, library resources, and linkages with 
institutions abroad (5 points); and
    (2) The extent to which the institution provides financial support 
to graduate students in fields related to the applicant's teaching 
program (5 points).
    (e) Strength of library. (15 points) The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine--
    (1) The strength of the institution's library holdings (both print 
and non-print, English and foreign language) for graduate students; and 
the extent to which the institution provides financial support for the 
acquisition of library materials and for library staff in the subject 
area of the applicant (10 points); and
    (2) The extent to which research materials at other institutions 
are available to students through cooperative arrangements with other 
libraries or on-line databases (5 points).
    (f) Quality of the applicant's non-language instructional program. 
(25 points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine--
    (1) The quality and extent of the applicant's course offerings in a 
variety of disciplines, including the extent to which courses in the 
applicant's subject matter are available in the institution's 
professional schools (10 points);
    (2) The extent to which the applicant offers depth of specialized 
course coverage in one or more disciplines on the applicant's subject 
area (5 points);
    (3) The extent to which the institution employs a sufficient number 
of teaching faculty to enable the applicant to carry out its purposes 
and the extent to which

[[Page 14011]]
teaching assistants are provided with pedagogy training (5 points); and
    (4) The extent to which interdisciplinary courses are offered for 
graduate students (5 points).
    (g) Quality of the applicant's language instructional program. (20 
points) The Secretary reviews each application to determine--
    (1) The extent to which the applicant provides instruction in the 
languages of the applicant's subject area and the extent to which 
students enroll in those language courses (5 points);
    (2) The extent to which the applicant provides three or more levels 
of language training and the extent to which courses in disciplines 
other than language, linguistics, and literature are offered in 
appropriate foreign languages (5 points);
    (3) Whether sufficient numbers of language faculty are available to 
teach the languages and levels of instruction described in the 
application and the extent to which language teaching staff (including 
faculty and teaching assistants) have been exposed to current language 
pedagogy training appropriate for performance-based teaching (5 
points); and
    (4) The quality of the language program as measured by the 
performance-based instruction being used or developed, the adequacy of 
resources for language teaching and practice, and language proficiency 
requirements (5 points).
    (h) Quality of curriculum design. (20 points) The Secretary reviews 
each application to determine--
    (1) The extent to which the applicant's curriculum provides 
training options for graduate students from a variety of disciplines 
and professional fields and the extent to which these programs and 
their requirements (including language requirements) are appropriate 
for an applicant in this subject area and result in graduate training 
programs of high quality (10 points);
    (2) The extent to which the applicant provides academic and career 
advising services for students (5 points); and
    (3) The extent to which the applicant has established formal 
arrangements for students to conduct research or study abroad and the 
extent to which these arrangements are used; and the extent to which 
the institution facilitates student access to other institutions' study 
abroad and summer language programs (5 points).
    (i) Priorities. (10 points) If one or more priorities have been 
established under Sec. 657.22, the Secretary reviews each application 
for information that shows the extent to which the center or program 
meets these priorities.

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1122)

    7. Section 657.31 is amended by revising paragraphs (a)(2) and 
(b)(1), and adding new paragraph (a)(3) to read as follows:


Sec. 657.31  What is the amount of a fellowship?

    (a) * * *
    (2) Each fellowship includes an institutional payment and a 
subsistence allowance to be determined by the Secretary.
    (3) If the institutional payment determined by the Secretary is 
greater than the tuition and fees charged by the institution, the 
institutional payment portion of the fellowship is limited to actual 
tuition and fees. The difference between actual tuition and fees and 
the Secretary's institutional payment shall be used to fund additional 
fellowships to the extent that funds are available for a full 
subsistence allowance.
    (4) If permitted by the Secretary, the fellowship may include an 
allowance for travel and an allowance for dependents.
    (b) The Secretary announces in an application notice published in 
the Federal Register--
    (1) The amounts of the subsistence allowance and the institutional 
payment for an academic year and the subsistence allowance and the 
institutional payment for a summer session;
* * * * *
    8. Section 657.32 is amended by adding a new paragraph (d) to read 
as follows:


Sec. 657.32  What is the payment procedure for fellowships?

* * * * *
    (d) Funds not used by one recipient for reasons of withdrawal are 
to be used for alternate recipients to the extent that funds are 
available for a full subsistence allowance.
    9. Section 657.33 is amended by revising paragraph (b) to read as 
follows:


Sec. 657.33  What are the limitations on the use of funds for overseas 
fellowships?

* * * * *
    (b) The Secretary may approve the use of a fellowship outside the 
United States if the student is--
    (1) Enrolled in an overseas program approved by the institution at 
which the student is enrolled in the United States for study at an 
intermediate or advanced level or at the beginning level if appropriate 
equivalent instruction is not available in the United States; or
    (2) Engaged during the academic year in research that cannot be 
done effectively in the United States and is affiliated with an 
institution of higher education or other appropriate organization in 
the host country.

[FR Doc. 96-7593 Filed 3-27-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P