[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 193 (Wednesday, October 6, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54278-54279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-26093]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116N]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Special 
Focus Competition (Invitational Priority: Institutional Cooperation and 
Student Mobility in Postsecondary Education Among the United States, 
Canada and Mexico); Notice Inviting Application for New Awards for 
Fiscal Year (FY) 2000

    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: November 19, 1999.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: January 19, 2000.
    Applications Available: October 6, 1999.
    Available Funds: $250,000 for FY 2000. The estimated amount of 
funds available for awards is based on the Administration's request for 
this program for FY 2000. The actual level of funding, if any, is 
contingent upon final congressional action.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $20,000-25,000 for FY 2000. $185,000-
$205,000 for four-year duration of grant.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $25,000 for FY 2000. $200,000 for 
four-year duration of grant.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10.

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

    Project Period: Up to 48 months.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR Parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This program is a Special Focus Competition 
to support projects addressing a particular problem area or improvement 
approach in postsecondary education. The competition also includes an 
invitational priority to encourage proposals designed to support the 
formation of educational consortia of American, Canadian and Mexican 
institutions to encourage cooperation in the coordination of curricula, 
the exchange of students and the opening of educational opportunities 
throughout North America. The invitational priority is issued in 
cooperation with Canada and Mexico. Canadian and Mexican institutions 
participating in any consortium proposal responding to the invitational 
priority may apply, respectively, to Human Resources Development Canada 
and the Mexican Department of Public Education for additional funding 
under separate Canadian and Mexican competitions.

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 among the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

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 extent to which the proposed project involves the 
development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on, 
or are alternatives to, existing strategies;
    (b) 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; and
    (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.
    (2) The quality of the design of the proposed project, as 
determined by--
    (a) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable; 
and
    (b) 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.
    (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 potential for continued support of the project after FIPSE/
HDRC/SEP funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated 
commitment of appropriate entities to such support; and
    (c) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in 
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project.
    (4) The quality of the project personnel, as determined by--
    (a) the qualifications, including training and experience, of key 
project personnel; and
    (b) the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for 
employment from persons who are members that have traditionally been 
under-represented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, 
or disability.
    For Applications or Information Contact: Fund for the Improvement 
of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 7th & 
D Streets, SW., Room 3100, ROB-3,

[[Page 54279]]

Washington, DC 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>. 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. For additional program information call Cindy Fisher at the 
FIPSE office (202-708-5750) between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 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 also may obtain a copy of the 
application package in an alternate format 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

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (pdf) on the Internet at 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 (GPO) toll free at 1-888-293-6498; or in the Washington DC, area 
at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at http://www.access.gpo.gov/
nara/index.html

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1138-1138d.

    Dated: October 1, 1999.
Claudio Prieto,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-26093 Filed 10-5-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-P