[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 165 (Tuesday, August 26, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51259-51261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-21814]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.022A]


Office of Postsecondary Education; Fulbright-Hays Doctoral 
Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004

    Purpose of Program: The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation 
Research Abroad Fellowship Program provides opportunities for graduate 
students to engage in full-time dissertation research abroad in modern 
foreign languages and area studies.
    For FY 2004 the competition for new awards focuses on projects 
designed to meet the priority we describe in the PRIORITY section of 
this application notice.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education.
    Applications Available: August 26, 2003.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: October 20, 2003.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$4,580,000 for Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad 
Fellowship Program new awards for FY 2004. 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: $15,000-$60,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Fellowship Awards: $26,941.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 170 fellowships.

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

    Project Period: The institutional project period is 18 months 
beginning July 1, 2004. Students may request funding for 6-12 months.
    Page Limit: The application narrative is where the student 
applicant addresses the selection criteria that reviewers use to 
evaluate the application. The student must limit the narrative to the 
equivalent of no more than 10 pages, and the references to the 
equivalent of no more than 2 pages, using the following standards:
    [sbull] A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1[sec] 
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 cover sheet; the budget 
section, including the narrative budget justification; the assurances 
and certifications; or the bibliography. However, the student must 
include the complete response to the selection criteria in the 
application narrative.
    We will reject an application if--
    [sbull] You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
    [sbull] You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 81, 82, 
85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; and (b) The regulations for this program in 34 
CFR part 662.

Priority

    This competition focuses on projects designed to meet a priority in 
the regulations for this program (34 CFR 662.21(d)).
    Absolute Priority: A research project that focuses on one or more 
of the following areas: Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia and the 
Pacific Islands, South Asia, the Near East, East Central Europe and 
Eurasia, and the Western Hemisphere (Canada, Central and South America, 
Mexico, and the Caribbean). Please note that applications that propose 
projects focused on Western Europe will not be funded.
    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet 
the priority.
    Performance Measures: The effectiveness of the Fulbright-Hays 
Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program will be 
measured by the improvement in the language proficiency of fellows. All 
grantees will

[[Page 51260]]

be expected to provide documentation of the improved language 
proficiency of fellows through the Department's Evaluation of Exchange, 
Language, International and Area Studies (EELIAS) electronic reporting 
system for the purposes of assessing the effectiveness of individual 
projects and the program overall.
    Application Procedures: The Government Paperwork Elimination Act 
(GPEA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-277) and the Federal Financial Assistance 
Management Improvement Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107) encourage us to 
undertake initiatives to improve our grant processes. Enhancing the 
ability of individuals and entities to conduct business with us 
electronically is a major part of our response to these Acts. 
Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt the Internet as our chief means 
of conducting transactions in order to improve services to our 
customers and to simplify and expedite our business processes.

    Note: Some of the procedures in these instructions for 
transmitting 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.

    We are requiring that applications for grants for FY 2004 under the 
Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program 
be submitted electronically using e-Application available through the 
Department's e-GRANTS system. The e-GRANTS system is accessible through 
its portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    An applicant who is unable to submit an application through the e-
GRANTS system may submit a written request for a waiver of the 
electronic submission requirement. In the request, the applicant should 
explain the reason or reasons that prevent the applicant from using the 
Internet to submit the application. The request should be addressed to: 
Karla Ver Bryck Block or Sara Starke, U.S. Department of Education, 
1990 K St., NW., Suite 6000, Washington, DC 20006-8521. Please submit 
your request no later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date.
    If, within two weeks of the application deadline date, an applicant 
is unable to submit an application electronically, the applicant must 
submit a paper application by the application deadline date in 
accordance with the transmittal instructions in the application 
package. The paper application must include a written request for a 
waiver documenting the reasons that prevented the applicant from using 
the Internet to submit the application.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications

    In FY 2004, the Department is continuing to expand its pilot 
project for electronic submission of applications to include additional 
formula grant programs and additional discretionary grant competitions. 
The Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship 
Program--CFDA 84.022A is one of the programs included in the pilot 
project. If you are an applicant under the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral 
Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program, you must submit your 
application to us in electronic format or receive a waiver.
    The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant 
Application System (e-Application). 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. The data you enter on-
line will be saved into a database. We shall continue to evaluate the 
success of e-Application and solicit suggestions for its improvement.

    Note: In order for institutions to apply electronically, 
potential project directors must email the following information to 
[email protected]: first and last name of potential project director, 
university, and email address. This information must be submitted no 
later than September 8, 2003.

    If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
    [sbull] When you enter the e-Application system, you will find 
information about its hours of operation. We strongly recommend that 
you do not wait until the application deadline date to initiate an e-
Application package.
    [sbull] You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit a grant application in electronic format, nor will we penalize 
you if you submit an application in paper format.
    [sbull] You must submit all documents electronically, except 
transcripts, including the Application for Federal Education Assistance 
(ED 424), and all necessary assurances and certifications. Transcripts 
must be mailed separately.
    [sbull] Your e-Application must comply with any page limit 
requirements described in this notice.
    [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 after submitting your electronic 
application, fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Education 
Assistance (ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following 
these steps:
    1. Print ED 424 from e-Application.
    2. The institution's Authorizing Representative must sign this 
form.
    3. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the 
hard copy signature page of the ED 424.
    4. Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202) 
260-1349.
    [sbull] We may request that you give us original signatures on 
other forms at a later date.
    [sbull] Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System 
Unavailability: If you are prevented from submitting your application 
on the application deadline date 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 application 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 application 
deadline date.
    The Department must acknowledge and confirm these periods of 
unavailability before granting you an extension. To request this 
extension or to confirm the Department's acknowledgement of any system 
unavailability, you may 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 Fulbright-
Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship Program at: 
http://e-grants.ed.gov.

    Note: An applicant institution of higher education must submit 
all individual applications in electronic format unless the 
institution receives a waiver of this requirement. Individuals 
interested in funding under this program must check with

[[Page 51261]]

the applicant institution to see if the institution is participating 
in e-Application, or has requested a waiver.


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Karla Ver Bryck Block or Sara Starke, 
International Education and Graduate Programs Service, U.S. Department 
of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Suite 6000, Washington, DC 20006-
8521. Telephone: (202) 502-7632 or via Internet: [email protected].
    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 request to the program contact person listed under FOR 
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.
    You may also view this document in PDF at the following site: 
http://www.ed.gov/HEP/iegps/.

    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:  22 U.S.C. 2452(b)(6).

    Dated: August 21, 2003.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 03-21814 Filed 8-25-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P