[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6830-6831]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3282]



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Part VII





Department of Education





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Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)--Special 
Focus Competition: European Community/United States of America Joint 
Consortia for Cooperation in Higher Education and Vocational Education; 
Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 27 / Tuesday, February 10, 1998 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116J]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)--
Special Focus Competition: European Community/United States of America 
Joint Consortia for Cooperation in Higher Education and Vocational 
Education

    Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 
1998.
    Purpose of Program: To provide grants or 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 institutions and other public and private nonprofit 
educational institutions and agencies.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 17, 1998.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 17, 1998.
    Applications Available: February 17, 1998.
    Available Funds: $1,485,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$175,000 for up to three years.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $160,000 for up to three years.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 8.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.
    Project Period: Up to 36 months.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
82, 85 and 86.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For FY 1998, the competition also includes 
an invitational priority to encourage proposals designed to support the 
formation of educational consortia of institutions in the U.S. and the 
European Union to encourage cooperation in the coordination of 
curricula, the exchange of students and the opening of educational 
opportunities between the U.S. and the European Union. The invitational 
priority is issued in cooperation with the European Union. European 
institutions participating in any consortium proposal responding to the 
invitational priority may apply to the European Commission Directorate 
Generale for Education, Training, and Youth for additional funding 
under a separate European competition.

Priority

Invitational Priority

    The Secretary is particularly interested in applications that meet 
the following invitational priority. 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.

Methods for Applying Selection Criteria

    The Secretary gives equal weight to the listed criteria. Within 
each of the criteria, the Secretary gives equal weight to each of the 
factors.

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 75.210.
    1. The significance of the proposed project, as determined by--
    a. The significance of the problem or issue to be addressed by the 
proposed project;
    b. 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;
    c. The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely to 
be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in 
teaching and student achievement;
    d. The potential replicability of the proposed project or 
strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation 
in a variety of settings; and
    e. 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 in a variety of 
other settings.
    2. The quality of the design of the proposed project, as determined 
by--
    a. The extent to which the design of the proposed project is 
appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target 
population or other identified needs;
    b. The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable; 
and
    c. The quality of the proposed demonstration design and procedures 
for documenting project activities and results.
    3. The adequacy of resources, as determined by--
    a. The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the 
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project;
    b. The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in the 
proposed project to the implementation and success of the project;
    c. The potential for continued support of the project after Federal 
funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated commitment of 
appropriate entities to such support.

FOR APPLICATIONS OR INFORMATION CONTACT: Fund for the Improvement of 
Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 7th & D 
Streets, S.W., Room 3100, ROB-3, Washington, D.C. 20202-5175. You may 
also request application forms by calling 732-544-2504 (fax on demand), 
or application guidelines by calling 202-358-3041 (voice mail) or 
submitting the name of the competition and your name and postal address 
to [email protected] (e-mail). Applications are also listed on the FIPSE Web 
Site <http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE>. For additional program 
information call Beverly Baker at the FIPSE office (202-708-5750) 
between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through 
Friday. 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.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternate format, also, by contacting that person. 
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternate format 
the standard forms included in the application package.

Electronic Access to This Document

    Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or 
portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the 
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
    To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office toll free at 1-888-293-6498.
    Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an 
electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511

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or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option 
G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins, and Press Releases.

    Note: The official version of a document is the document 
published in the Federal Register.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1135-1135a-3.

    Dated: January 29, 1998.
David A. Longanecker,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 98-3282 Filed 2-9-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P