[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 19 (Wednesday, January 29, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4396-4397]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-2195]



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_______________________________________________________________________

Part III





Department of Education





_______________________________________________________________________



Postsecondary Education Improvement Fund; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 19 / Wednesday, January 29, 1997 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116J]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Special 
Focus Competition: Higher Education Collaboration Between the United 
States and the European Community; Notice Inviting Application for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1997

    Purpose of Program: To provide grants to enter into cooperative 
agreements to improve postsecondary education opportunities by focusing 
on problem areas or improvement approaches in postsecondary education.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education or 
combinations of such institutions and other public and private 
nonprofit educational institutions and agencies.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 16, 1997.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 15, 1997.
    Applications Available: January 30, 1997.
    Available Funds: $1,150,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$175,000 for three years.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $160,000 for three years.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 5-10.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR Parts 74, 75 [except as 
noted in 34 CFR 630.4(a)(2)], 77, 79, 82, 85, and 86; and (b) the 
regulations for this program in 34 CFR Part 630.

Priority

Invitational Priority

    Under 34 CFR 630.11(b)(1), the Secretary is particularly interested 
in applications that meet the invitational priority in the next 
paragraph. However, an application that meets this invitational 
priority does not receive competitive or absolute preference over other 
applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
    Invitational Priority: Projects that support consortia of 
institutions of higher education that promote institutional cooperation 
and student mobility between the United States and the member states of 
the European Union.

Selection Criteria

    In evaluating applications for grants under this program 
competition, the Secretary uses the following selection criteria chosen 
from those listed in 34 CFR 630.32:
    (a) Significance for Postsecondary Education. The Secretary reviews 
each proposed project for its significance in improving postsecondary 
education by determining the extent to which it would--
    (1) Achieve the purposes of the particular program competition as 
referenced in 34 CFR 630.11(b)(1);
    (2) Address the program priorities for the particular program 
competition;
    (A) Encourage cooperation by consortia of American and European 
universities in the coordination of curricula, the exchange of 
students, and the opening of educational opportunities on the two 
continents; and
    (B) Encourage cooperation by consortia of American and European 
universities in instilling in their respective student bodies greater 
familiarity with the languages and cultures of the other continent;
    (3) Address an important problem or need;
    (4) Represent an improvement upon, or important departure from, 
existing practice;
    (5) Involve learner-centered improvements;
    (6) Achieve far-reaching impact through improvements that will be 
useful in a variety of ways and in a variety of settings; and
    (7) Increase the cost-effectiveness of services.
    (b) Feasibility. The Secretary reviews each proposed project for 
its feasibility by determining the extent to which--
    (1) The proposed project represents an appropriate response to the 
problem or need addressed;
    (2) The applicant is capable of carrying out the proposed project, 
as evidenced by, for example--
    (i) The applicant's understanding of the problem or need;
    (ii) The quality of the project design, including objectives, 
approaches, and evaluation plan;
    (iii) The adequacy of resources, including money personnel, 
facilities, equipment, and supplies;
    (iv) The qualifications of key personnel who would conduct the 
project; and
    (v) The applicant's relevant prior experience;
    (3) The applicant and any other participating organizations are 
committed to the success of the proposed project, as evidenced by, for 
example--
    (i) Contribution of resources by the applicant and by participating 
organizations;
    (ii) Their prior work in the area; and
    (iii) The potential for continuation of the proposed project beyond 
the period of funding (unless the project would be self-terminating); 
and
    (4) The proposed project demonstrates potential for dissemination 
to or adaptation by other organizations, and shows evidence of interest 
by potential users.
    (c) Appropriateness of funding projects. The Secretary reviews each 
application to determine whether support of the proposed project by the 
Secretary is appropriate in terms of availability of other funding 
sources for the proposed activities.

Methods for Applying Selection Criteria

    In accordance with 34 CFR 630.32 the Secretary announces the 
methods that will be used in applying the selection criteria.
    The Secretary gives equal weight to the selection criteria on 
significance, feasibility, and appropriateness. Within each of these 
criteria, the Secretary gives equal weight to each of the subcriteria 
listed under the selection criteria section of this notice. In applying 
the criteria, the Secretary first analyzes an application in terms of 
each individual criterion and subcriterion. The Secretary then bases 
the final judgement of an application on an overall assessment of the 
degree to which the applicant addresses all selection criteria.

FOR APPLICATIONS OR INFORMATION CONTACT: Fund for the Improvement of 
Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 600 
Independence Avenue, S.W., Room 3100, ROB-3, Washington, D.C. 20202-
5175; telephone: (202) 708-5750 between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., 
Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday. Individuals may request 
applications by submitting the name of the competition, their name, and 
postal mailing address to the e-mail address ([email protected]). 
Individuals may obtain the application text from Internet address 
(http://www.ed.gov/prog-info/FIPSE/). 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.
    Information about the Department's funding opportunities, including 
copies of application notices for discretionary grant competitions, can 
be viewed on the Department's electronic bulletin board (ED Board), 
telephone (202) 260-9950; on the Internet Gopher Server (at gopher://
gcs.ed.gov); or on the World Wide Web (at http://gcs.ed.gov). However, 
the official application notice

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for a discretionary grant competition is the notice published in the 
Federal Register.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1135-1135a-3.

    Dated: January 23, 1997.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 97-2195 Filed 1-28-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P