[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 218 (Friday, November 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56661-56662]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-28149]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116M]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Special 
Focus Competition: US-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program 
(Institutional Cooperation and Student Mobility in Postsecondary 
Education Between the United States and Brazil); Notice inviting 
applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002.

    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 
institutions and agencies.
    Applications Available: November 9, 2001.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 29, 2002.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 28, 2002.
    Estimated Available Funds: $300,000. The estimated amount of funds 
available for awards is based on the Administration's request for this 
program for FY 2002. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on 
final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to 
allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress 
appropriates funds for this program.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $25,000-$30,000 for FY 2002; $190,000-
$210,000 for 4-year duration of grant.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $30,000 for FY 2002; $200,000 for 
4-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 
under the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (Title 
VII, Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended) 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 and Brazilian 
institutions to encourage cooperation in the coordination of curricula, 
the exchange of students, and the opening of educational opportunities 
between the United States and Brazil. The invitational priority is 
issued in cooperation with Brazil. These awards support only the 
participation of US institutions and students in these consortia. 
Brazilian institutions participating in any consortium proposal 
responding to the invitational priority may apply, respectively, to the 
Coordination of Improvement of Personnel of Superior Level (CAPES), 
Brazilian Ministry of Education, for additional funding under a 
separate but parallel Brazilian competition.

Priority

Invitational Priority

    We are particularly interested in applications that meet the 
following invitational priority:
    Projects that support consortia of institutions of higher education 
that promote institutional cooperation and student mobility between the 
United States and Brazil.
    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets 
the priority a competitive or absolute preference over other 
applications.

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 effectively 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.
    (4) The quality of the project personnel, as determined by--
    (a) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of key project personnel; and
    (b) 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.
    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

[[Page 56662]]

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 84.116M.
    For Applications and Further Information Contact: Copies of the 
application materials and further program information may also be 
obtained from Levenia Ishmell, Fund for the Improvement of 
Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 
Street, NW., 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone: (202) 
502-7500. You may also request application guidelines by submitting the 
name of the competition (US-Brazil) and your name and postal address 
to: [email protected]
    Applications are also available on the FIPSE Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE/Brazil/
    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 person listed under For 
Applications and Further Information Contact.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format 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 the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using 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: November 6, 2001.
Maureen A. McLaughlin,
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy Planning and Innovation, Office 
of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 01-28149 Filed 11-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-U