[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 63 (Monday, April 2, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17537-17538]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-7124]


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

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116J]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE)--
Special Focus Competition: European Community-United States of America 
Cooperation Program in Higher Education and Vocational Education and 
Training; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2001

    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 and 
vocational education and training or combinations of institutions and 
other public and private nonprofit educational institutions and 
agencies.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 29, 2001.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 30, 2001.
    Applications Available: April 2, 2001.
    Available Funds: $840,000 in fiscal year 2001; $2,370,000 over 
three years.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $25,000-$200,000 total for up to three 
years.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $25,000 for one-year preparatory 
projects; $50,000 per year for one- or two-year complementary 
activities projects; $50,000 for year one of a three-year consortia 
implementation project, with a $200,000 three-year total.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 10-15.

    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, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the Special Focus Competition, we will 
award grants or enter into cooperative agreements that focus on problem 
areas or improvement approaches in postsecondary education. We have 
included an invitational priority to encourage proposals designed to 
support the formation of educational consortia of institutions and 
organizations 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's Directorate General for Education and 
Culture 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 and vocational education and training 
to 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 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 Federal 
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.
    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. If you use a telecommunications device for 
the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free) 1-877-576-7734.
    You may also contact ED Pubs at its web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.
    Or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    If you request an application from Ed Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.116J.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Baker, U.S. Department of 
Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 8034, Washington, DC 20006-8544, 
Telephone 202-502-7500.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you 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

[[Page 17538]]

request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION 
CONTACT. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the 
application package in an alternative format, also, by contacting that 
person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an 
alternative 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; or http://www.ed.gov/news.html.
    To use PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader which is 
available free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions 
about using PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll 
free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in Washington, DC at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of a document is the document as 
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. 1135-1135a-3.
    Dated: March 19, 2001.
Maureen McLaughlin,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy, Planning, and Innovation, Office 
of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 01-7124 Filed 3-30-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P