[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 242 (Tuesday, December 17, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77242-77244]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-31690]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.116N]


Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Special 
Focus Competition (Institutional Cooperation and Student Mobility in 
Postsecondary Education among the United States, Canada and Mexico); 
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003

    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: December 17, 2002.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 11, 2003.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 15, 2003.
    Available Funds: Approximately $300,000 for FY 2003.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $30,000 for FY 2003. $200,000-$215,000 
for four-year duration of grant.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $30,000 for FY 2003. $210,000 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.
    Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant, 
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your 
application. You must limit your narrative to the equivalent of no more 
than twenty (20) double-spaced pages using the following standards:
    [sbull] A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'' on one side only, with 1'' 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
    [sbull] Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in 
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
    [sbull] Use a font that is either 12-point or larger or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
    The page limit does not apply to the title page, the budget 
section, including the narrative budget justification, the assurances 
and certifications, the resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of 
support.
    Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application narrative 
that--
    [sbull] Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
    [sbull] Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other 
standards.
    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

[[Page 77243]]

additional funding under separate Canadian and Mexican competitions.

Priority

    We are particularly interested in applications that meet the 
following invitational priority.
    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets 
the invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over 
other applications.

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

    We give equal weight to the listed criteria. Within each of the 
criteria, we give equal weight to each of the factors.

Selection Criteria

    In evaluating applications for grants under this program 
competition, we use selection criteria chosen from those listed in 34 
CFR 75.210 of EDGAR.

FOR APPLICATIONS OR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  Fund for the 
Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of 
Education, 1990 K Street, NW, 8th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-8544. 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.FIPSE.
    e-APPLICATIONS are available at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call 
the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339. For 
additional program information call the FIPSE office 202-502-7500 
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 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact number listed under FOR 
APPLICATIONS OR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
    Individuals with disabilities also may obtain a copy of the 
application package in an alternative format by contacting that number. 
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 
format the standard forms included in the application package.

Application Procedures:

    Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for 
transmitting electronic applications differ from those in the 
Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR)(34 
CFR 75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) 
the Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity 
to comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make 
procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy. 
Therefore, under 5 U.S.C.553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined 
that proposed rulemaking is not required.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

    In FY 2003, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing to 
expand its project of electronic submission of applications to include 
additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary grant 
competitions. The Program for North American Mobility in Higher 
Education (CFDA No. 84.116N) is one of the programs included in this 
project. If you are an applicant under the Program for North American 
Mobility in Higher Education, you may submit your application to us in 
either electronic or paper format.
    The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant 
Application System (e-Application) portion of the Grant Administration 
and Payment System (GAPS). Users of e-Application will be entering data 
on-line while completing their applications. You may not e-mail a soft 
copy of a grant application to us. If you participate in this voluntary 
pilot project by submitting an application electronically, the data you 
enter on-line will be saved into a database. We request your 
participation in e-Application. We shall continue to evaluate its 
success and solicit suggestions for improvement.
    If you participate in this e-Application pilot, please note the 
following:
    [sbull] Your participation is voluntary.
    [sbull] You will not receive any additional point value or penalty 
because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper format, 
nor will we penalize you if you submit an application in paper format. 
When you enter the e-Application system, you will find information 
about its hours of operation.
    [sbull] You may submit all documents electronically, including the 
Title Page, (substitutes for the ED Form 424), Budget Summary Form 
(substitutes for the ED Form 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
    [sbull] After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award 
number (an identifying number unique to your application).
    [sbull] Within three working days of submitting your electronic 
application, fax a signed copy of the Title Page (replaces ED 424) to 
the Application Control Center after following these steps:
    (1) Print the Title Page from the e-Application system.
    (2) The institution's Authorizing Representative must sign this 
form.
    (3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the 
Title Page.
    (4) Fax the Title page to the Application Control Center at 202 
260-1349 within three working days of submitting your electronic 
application.
    [sbull] We may request that you give us original signatures on all 
other forms at a later date.
    [sbull] Closing Date Extension in Case of System Unavailability: If 
you elect to participate in the e-Application pilot for the Program for 
North American Mobility in Higher Education and you are prevented from 
submitting your application on the closing dates because the e-
Application system is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of 
one business day in order to transmit your application electronically, 
by mail, or by hand delivery. For us to grant this extension--
    (1) You must be a registered user of e-Application, and have 
initiated an e-Application for this competition; and
    (2) (a) The e-Application system must be unavailable for 60 minutes 
or more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC 
time, on the deadline date; or
    (b) The e-Application system must be unavailable for any period of 
time during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time 
between 3:30 and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the deadline date. 
The Department must acknowledge and confirm these periods of 
unavailability before granting you an extension. To request this 
extension you must contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in 
this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT or (2) the e-Grants 
help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the Program for 
North American Mobility in Higher Education at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    We have included additional information about the e-Application 
pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic

[[Page 77244]]

Applications) in the application package.

    Note: Due to the upgrading of software, we anticipate that the 
e-Application system will be unavailable for several days in mid-
December.

    The tentative schedule for this down time is from 7 p.m., December 
12 until 6 a.m., December 16, Washington, DC time. Please check http://e-grants.ed.gov for any updates on the unavailability of the e-
Application system.

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: December 12, 2002.
Sally Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-31690 Filed 12-16-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-P