[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 241 (Thursday, December 16, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70226-70228]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-32670]


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

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA Nos. 84.116A; 84.116B]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--
Comprehensive Program (Preapplications and Applications) Notice 
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2000

    Purpose of Program: To provide grants or enter into cooperative 
agreements to improve postsecondary education opportunities.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education or 
combinations of those institutions and other public and private 
nonprofit educational institutions and agencies.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Preapplications: February 11, 2000.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Final Applications: May 19, 2000.

    Note: All applicants must submit a preapplication to be eligible 
to submit a final application.

    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 18, 2000.
    Applications Available: December 17, 1999.
    Available Funds: It is anticipated that approximately $19,000,000 
will be available for an estimated 150 new awards under the 
Comprehensive Program. In FY 1998, the Secretary held separate Special 
Focus competitions for the Controlling the Cost of Postsecondary 
Education Program and the Disseminating Proven Reforms Program. In 
order to increase, through targeted outreach efforts, the number of 
applications for projects on cost control and dissemination, the 
Secretary plans to include these topics as invitational priorities 
under this Comprehensive Program competition. The actual level of 
funding, if any, is contingent on the number and quality of 
applications.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $50,000 to $200,000 per year.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $127,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 150.

    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, 77, 79, 80, 
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

Priorities

Invitational Priorities

    While applicants may propose any project within the scope of 20 
U.S.C. 1138(a), under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) the Secretary is particularly 
interested in applications that meet one or more of the following 
invitational priorities. However, an application that meets one or more 
of these invitational priorities does not receive competitive or 
absolute preference over other applications:
    Invitational Priority 1--Projects to make more productive use of 
resources to improve teaching and learning; and to increase learning 
productivity--that is, to transform programs and teaching to promote 
more student learning relative to institutional resources expended.
    Invitational Priority 2--Projects to disseminate innovative 
postsecondary educational programs that have already been locally 
developed, implemented, and evaluated.
    Invitational Priority 3--Projects to support new ways of ensuring 
equal access to postsecondary education, and to improve rates of 
retention and program completion, especially for low-income and 
underrepresented minority students, whose retention and completion 
rates continue to lag disturbingly behind those of other groups.
    Invitational Priority 4--Projects to improve campus climates for 
learning by creating an environment that is safe, welcoming, and 
conducive to academic growth for all students.
    Invitational Priority 5--Projects to support innovative reforms of 
undergraduate, graduate, and professional curricula that improve not 
only what students learn, but how they learn.
    Invitational Priority 6--Projects to support the professional 
development of full- and part-time faculty by assessing and rewarding 
effective teaching; promoting new and more effective teaching methods; 
and improving the preparation of graduate students who will be future 
faculty members.
    Invitational Priority 7--Projects to promote innovative school-
college partnerships and to improve the preparation of K-12 teachers, 
in order to enhance students' preparation for, access to, and success 
in college.

Methods for Applying Selection Criteria

    For preapplications (preliminary applications) and final 
applications (applications), the Secretary gives equal weight to each 
of the selection criteria. Within each of these criteria, the Secretary 
gives equal weight to each of the factors.

Selection Criteria

    In evaluating preapplications and final applications for grants 
under this program competition, the Secretary uses the following 
selection criteria chosen from those listed in 34 CFR 75.210.
    Preapplications. In evaluating preapplications, the Secretary uses 
the following selection criteria:
    (a) Need for project. The Secretary reviews each proposed project 
for its need, as determined by the following factors:
    (1) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the 
proposed project.
    (2) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or 
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project.
    (b) Significance. The Secretary reviews each proposed project for 
its significance, as determined by the following factors:
    (1) The potential contribution of the proposed project to increased 
knowledge or understanding of educational problems, issues, or 
effective strategies.
    (2) 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.
    (3) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely 
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in 
teaching and student achievement.
    (4) The potential replicability of the proposed project or 
strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation 
in a variety of settings.

[[Page 70227]]

    (c) Quality of the project design. The Secretary reviews each 
proposed project for the quality of its design, as determined by 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.
    (d) Quality of the project evaluation. The Secretary reviews each 
proposed project for the quality of its evaluation, as determined by 
the extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about 
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings.
    Final Applications. In evaluating final applications, the Secretary 
uses the following selection criteria:
    (a) Need for the project. The Secretary reviews each proposed 
project for its need, as determined by the following factors:
    (1) The magnitude or severity of the problem to be addressed by the 
proposed project.
    (2) The magnitude of the need for the services to be provided or 
the activities to be carried out by the proposed project.
    (b) Significance. The Secretary reviews each proposed project for 
its significance, as determined by the following factors:
    (1) The potential contribution of the proposed project to increased 
knowledge or understanding of educational problems, issues, or 
effective strategies.
    (2) 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.
    (3) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely 
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in 
teaching and student achievement.
    (4) The potential replicability of the proposed project or 
strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation 
in a variety of settings.
    (c) Quality of the project design. The Secretary reviews each 
proposed project for the quality of its design, as determined by the 
following factors:
    (1) 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.
    (2) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable.
    (3) The extent to which the design for implementing and evaluating 
the proposed project will result in information to guide possible 
replication of project activities or strategies, including information 
about the effectiveness of the approach or strategies employed by the 
project.
    (d) Quality of the project evaluation. The Secretary reviews each 
proposed project for the quality of its evaluation, as determined by 
the following factors:
    (1) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about 
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings.
    (2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, 
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the 
proposed project.
    (3) 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.
    (d) The quality of the management plan. The Secretary reviews each 
proposed project for the quality of its management plan, as determined 
by the plan's adequacy to achieve the objectives of the proposed 
project on time and within budget, including clearly defined 
responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project 
tasks.
    (e) Quality of project personnel. The Secretary reviews each 
proposed project for the quality of project personnel who will carry 
out the proposed project, as determined by the following factors:
    (1) 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.
    (2) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of key project personnel.
    (f) Adequacy of resources. The Secretary reviews each proposed 
project for the adequacy of its resources, as determined by the 
following factors:
    (1) The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the 
proposed project.
    (2) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the 
objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project.
    (3) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in 
the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project.
    (4) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment, 
supplies, and other resources, from the applicant organization or the 
lead applicant organization.
    (5) 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 Contact: Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), 
P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-
7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. Individuals who use a telecommunications 
device for the deaf (TDD) may call (toll free): 1-877-576-7734. You may 
also contact ED Pubs via its Web site (http://www.ed.gov/pubs/
edpubs.html) or its E-mail address ([email protected]). If you request 
an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this competition as 
follows: CFDA number 84.116A.
    For Further Information Contact: Fund for the Improvement of 
Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 
Street, NW., Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone: (202) 502-7500. The 
application text may be obtained from the Internet address http://
www.ed.gov/FIPSE/
 Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact 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 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

[[Page 70228]]

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: December 9, 1999.
A. Lee Fritschler,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 99-32670 Filed 12-15-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U