[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 249 (Tuesday, December 30, 2003)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75221-75224]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-32063]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Fund for 
the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--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) 2004

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.116J.

DATES: Applications Available: January 16, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 16, 2004.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 16, 2004.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education and 
vocational education and training or combinations of these institutions 
and other public and private nonprofit educational institutions and 
agencies.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$700,000 under this program 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: $25,000-$200,000 total for up to three 
years.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $25,000 for one-year preparatory 
projects; $75,000 for 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: 12.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    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. 
This program is a Special Focus Competition under the Fund for the 
Improvement of Postsecondary

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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.
    Priority: Under this program we are particularly interested in 
applications that meet the following priority.
    Invitational Priority: For FY 2004 this priority is an invitational 
priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that 
meets this invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference 
over other applications.
    This priority is to encourage proposals designed to support the 
formation of educational consortia of institutions and organizations in 
the United States and the European Union to encourage cooperation in 
the coordination of curricula, the exchange of students and the opening 
of educational opportunities between the United States and the European 
Union. This includes the new member States scheduled to join the 
European Union in Summer 2004. 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.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1138-1138d.

    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.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of 
higher education only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants or cooperative agreements.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$700,000 under this program 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: $25,000-$200,000 total for up to three 
years.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $25,000 for one-year preparatory 
projects; $75,000 for 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: 12.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education and 
vocational education and training or combinations of these institutions 
and other public and private nonprofit educational institutions and 
agencies.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: 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: 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.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program office at 
FIPSE, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th floor, 
Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone: 202-502-7500 or via the Internet 
at www.ed.gov/FIPSE. However, the Department is not able to reproduce 
in an alternative format the standard forms included in the application 
package.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
    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 also are 
available on the FIPSE Web site: http://www.ed.gov/FIPSE.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: January 16, 2004.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 16, 2004.
    The dates and times for the transmittal of applications by mail or 
by hand (including a courier service or commercial carrier) are in the 
application package for this program. The application package also 
specifies the hours of operation of the e-Application Web site.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 16, 2004.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive 
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. Information about 
Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under Executive Order 
12372 is in the application package for this program.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Instructions and requirements for 
the transmittal of applications by mail or by hand (including a courier 
service or commercial carrier) are in the application package for this 
program.
    Application Procedures:

    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.

    Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications: We are 
continuing to expand our pilot project for electronic submission of 
applications to include additional formula grant programs and 
additional discretionary grant competitions. The European Community-
United States of America Cooperation Program in Higher Education and 
Vocational Education and Training--CFDA Number 84.116J is one of the 
programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant under 
the EC-US Cooperation Program 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). If you use e-Application, you will 
be entering data online while completing your

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application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant 
application to us. If you participate in this voluntary pilot project 
by submitting an application electronically, the data you enter online 
will be saved into a database. We request your participation in e-
Application. We shall continue to evaluate its success and solicit 
suggestions for its improvement.
    If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
    [sbull] Your participation is voluntary.
    [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 may submit all documents electronically, including the 
application for the EC-US Cooperation Program in Higher Education and 
Vocational Education and Training, the EC-US Program Budget, the US and 
EC partner identification forms, and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
    [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 the EC-US 
Cooperation Program in Higher Education and Vocational Education and 
Training to the Application Control Center after following these steps:
    1. Print the application for the EC-US Cooperation Program in 
Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training 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 application for the EC-US Cooperation 
Program in Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training.
    4. Fax the signed application for the EC-US Cooperation Program in 
Higher Education and Vocational Education and Training 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.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System 
Unavailability: If you elect to participate in the e-Application pilot 
for the EC-US Cooperation Program in Higher Education and Vocational 
Education and Training and 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. We will grant this extension if--
    1. You are a registered user of e-Application, and you have 
initiated an e-Application for this competition; and
    2. (a) The e-Application system is 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 is unavailable for any period of time 
during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time 
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the 
application deadline date.
    We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability 
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to 
confirm our acknowledgement of any system unavailability, you may 
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the EC-US 
Cooperation Program in Higher Education and Vocational Education and 
Training at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
in 34 CFR 75.210.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notice 
(GAN). We may also notify you informally.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and 
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also 
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding 
commitments under the grant.
    3. Reporting: At the end of your project, you must submit a final 
performance report, including financial information as directed by the 
Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an annual 
performance report that provides the most current performance and 
financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in 34 
CFR 75.118.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), FIPSE performance is focused on (1) the extent to 
which funded projects are being replicated--i.e., adopted or adapted--
by others; and (2) the manner in which projects are being 
institutionalized and continued after grant funding. These two results 
constitute FIPSE's indicators of the success of our program. 
Consequently, applicants for FIPSE grants are advised to give careful 
consideration to these two outcomes in conceptualizing the design, 
implementation, and evaluation of the proposed project. If funded, you 
will be asked to collect and report data in your project's annual 
performance report on steps taken toward these goals.

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beverly Baker, Fund for the 
Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 
1990 K Street, NW., suite 6140, Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone: 
(202) 502-7503 or by e-mail: [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 in this 
section.
    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.

VIII. Other Information

    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

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    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: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: December 23, 2003.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 03-32063 Filed 12-29-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P