[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3830-3834]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-829]



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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; 
Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.031S.

DATES: Applications Available: January 24, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 10, 2006.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: March 27, 2006.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) that 
qualify as eligible HSIs are eligible to apply for new Individual 
Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants under 
the HSI Program. To be an eligible HSI, an IHE must--
    (1) Be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized 
accrediting agency or association that the Secretary has determined to 
be a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training 
offered;
    (2) Be legally authorized by the State in which it is located to be 
a junior college or to provide an educational program for which it 
awards a bachelor's degree;
    (3) Be designated as an ``eligible institution'' by demonstrating 
that it: (A) Has an enrollment of needy students as described in 34 CFR 
606.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 
606.4;
    (4) At the time of application, have an enrollment of undergraduate 
FTE students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic students; and
    (5) Provide assurances that not less than 50 percent of its 
Hispanic students are low-income individuals.
    For purposes of making the determinations described in paragraphs 
(4) and (5) above, IHEs shall use student enrollments for the fall 2005 
academic year.
    The Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for FY 2006 was published in the Federal Register on 
December 16, 2005 (70 FR 74781). The HSI eligibility requirements are 
in 34 CFR 606.2 through 606.5 and can be accessed from the following 
Web site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/34cfr606_01.html.

Relationship Between HSI and Title III, Part A Programs

    Note 1: A grantee under the HSI Program, which is authorized by 
Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), may 
not receive a grant under any HEA, Title III, Part A Program. The 
Title III, Part A Programs include: the Strengthening Institutions 
Program, the American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and 
Universities Program; and the Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-
Serving Institutions Programs. Further, a current HSI Program 
grantee may not give up its HSI grant in order to receive a grant 
under any Title III, Part A Program.


    Note 2: An eligible HSI that does not fall within the limitation 
described in Note 1, i.e., is not a current grantee under the HSI 
Program, may apply for a FY 2006 grant under all Title III, Part A 
Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the HSI Program. 
However, a successful applicant may receive only one grant.


    Note 3: An eligible HSI that previously received a five-year 
Individual Development Grant under the HSI Program must wait for two 
years after the date the five-year grant ended, including any time 
extensions the grant may have received, to apply for another 
Individual Development Grant under the HSI Program.


    Note 4: An eligible HSI that submits more than one application 
may only be awarded one Individual Development Grant or one 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant in a fiscal year. 
Furthermore, we will not award a second Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant to an otherwise eligible HSI for the same award 
year as the institution's existing Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant award.

    Estimated Available Funds: $20,433,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: Individual Development Grant: $300,000-
$575,000. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $400,000-$700,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: Individual Development Grant: 
$500,000. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $600,000.
    Maximum Awards: Individual Development Grant: $575,000 per year; 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $700,000 per year.
    We will not fund any application at an amount exceeding the maximum 
amounts specified above for a single budget period of 12 months. We may 
choose not to further consider or review applications with budgets that 
exceed the maximum amounts specified above, if we conclude, during our 
initial review of the application, that the proposed goals and 
objectives cannot be obtained with the specified maximum amount.
    Estimated Number of Awards: Individual Development Awards: 22. 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Awards: 14.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice. Applicants should periodically check the HSI Program Web 
site for further information. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/index.html.

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The HSI Program provides grants to assist HSIs 
to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the academic 
attainment of, Hispanic students. The HSI Program grants also enable 
HSIs to expand and enhance their academic offerings, program quality, 
and institutional stability.

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1101-1101d, 1103-1103g.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 
34 CFR part 606.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grant. Five-year Individual 
Development Grants and Five-year Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants will be awarded in FY 2006. Planning grants will not be awarded 
in FY 2006.
    Estimated Available Funds: $20,433,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: Individual Development Grant: $300,000-
$575,000. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $400,000-$700,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: Individual Development Grant: 
$500,000. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $600,000.
    Maximum Awards: Individual Development Grant: $575,000. Cooperative 
Arrangement Development Grant: $700,000.
    We will not fund any application at an amount exceeding the maximum 
amounts specified above for a single budget period of 12 months. We may 
choose not to further consider or review applications with budgets that 
exceed the maximum amounts specified above, if we conclude, during our 
initial review of the application, that the proposed goals and 
objectives cannot be obtained with the specified maximum amount.
    Estimated Number of Awards: Individual Development Awards: 22. 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Awards: 14.


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    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice. Applicants should periodically check the HSI Program Web 
site for further information. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/index.html.

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    Eligible Applicants: IHEs that qualify as eligible HSIs are 
eligible to apply for new Individual Development Grants and Cooperative 
Arrangement Development Grants under the HSI Program. To be an eligible 
HSI, an IHE must--
    (1) Be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized 
accrediting agency or association that the Secretary has determined to 
be a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training 
offered;
    (2) Be legally authorized by the State in which it is located to be 
a junior college or to provide an educational program for which it 
awards a bachelor's degree;
    (3) Be designated as an ``eligible institution'' by demonstrating 
that it: (A) Has an enrollment of needy students as described in 34 CFR 
606.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
FTE undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 606.4;
    (4) At the time of application, have an enrollment of undergraduate 
FTE students that is at least 25 percent Hispanic students; and
    (5) Provide assurances that not less than 50 percent of its 
Hispanic students are low-income individuals.
    For purposes of making the determinations described in paragraphs 
(4) and (5) above, IHEs shall use student enrollments for the fall 2005 
academic year.
    The Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for FY 2006 was published in the Federal Register on 
December 16, 2005 (70 FR 74781). The HSI eligibility requirements are 
in 34 CFR 606.2 through 606.5 and can be accessed from the following 
Web site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/34cfr606_01.html.

Relationship Between HSI and Title III, Part A Programs

    Note 1: A grantee under the HSI Program, which is authorized by 
Title V of the HEA, may not receive a grant under any HEA, Title 
III, Part A Program. The Title III, Part A Programs include: the 
Strengthening Institutions Program; the American Indian Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities Program; and the Alaska Native 
and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs. Further, a 
current HSI Program grantee may not give up its HSI grant in order 
to receive a grant under any Title III, Part A Program.


    Note 2: An eligible HSI that does not fall within the limitation 
described in Note 1, i.e., is not a current grantee under the HSI 
Program, may apply for a FY 2006 grant under all Title III, Part A 
Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the HSI Program. 
However, a successful applicant may receive only one grant.


    Note 3: An eligible HSI that previously received a five-year 
Individual Development Grant under the HSI Program must wait for two 
years after the date the five-year grant ended, including any time 
extensions the grant may have received, to apply for another 
Individual Development Grant under the HSI Program.


    Note 4: An eligible HSI that submits more than one application 
may only be awarded one Individual Development Grant or one 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant in a fiscal year. 
Furthermore, we will not award a second Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant to an otherwise eligible HSI for the same award 
year as the institution's existing Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant award.

    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: There are no cost sharing or matching 
requirements, unless the grantee uses a portion of its grant for 
establishing or improving an endowment fund. If a grantee uses a 
portion of its grant for endowment fund purposes, it must match those 
grant funds with non-Federal funds. (20 U.S.C. 1101c).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: J. Alexander Hamilton, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7583 or by e-mail: 
[email protected]
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    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 contact 
person listed in this section.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission:
    a. Applicants must provide, as an attachment to the application, 
the documentation the institution relied upon in determining that, for 
the fall 2005 academic year, at least 25 percent of the institution's 
undergraduate FTE students are Hispanic, and at least 50 percent of the 
enrolled Hispanic students are low-income individuals.

    Note: The 25 percent requirement applies only to undergraduate 
Hispanic students and is calculated based upon FTE students. The 50 
percent low-income requirement includes the institution's total 
enrollment of Hispanic students and is calculated based upon head 
count. Instructions for formatting and submitting the verification 
documentation to Grants.gov are in the application package.

    b. Additional requirements concerning the content of an 
application, together with the forms you must submit, are in the 
application package for this program.
    Page Limits: The program narrative (Part III of the application) is 
where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers 
use to evaluate your application. We have established mandatory page 
limits for both the Individual Development Grant and the Cooperative 
Arrangement Development Grant applications. You must limit the section 
of the narrative that addresses the selection criteria to no more than 
50 pages for the Individual Development Grant application and 70 pages 
for the Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant application, using 
the following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1 inch 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
     Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative, except titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, references, captions and all text in charts, 
tables, and graphs.
     Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New, or Arial. Applications submitted in any other font 
(including Times Roman and Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
     Use font size 12.
    The page limit does not apply to Part I, the application for 
federal assistance face sheet (SF 424); the supplemental information 
form required by the Department of Education; Part II, the budget 
information summary form (ED Form 524); and Part IV, the assurances and 
certifications. The page limit also does not apply to a table of 
contents or the program abstract. If you include any attachments or 
appendices other than those specifically requested, these items will be 
counted as part of the program narrative (Part III) for purposes of the 
page limit requirement. You must include your complete response to the 
selection criteria in the program narrative.
    We will reject your application if--
     You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
     You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: January 24, 
2006. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 10, 2006.

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    Applications for grants under this program competition must be 
submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). 
For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify 
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer 
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: March 27, 2006.
    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 the regulations outlining 
funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this 
notice.
     Applicability of Executive Order 13202. Applicants that 
apply for construction funds under the HSI Program must comply with 
Executive Order 13202, signed by President Bush on February 17, 2001 
and amended on April 6, 2001. This Executive order provides that 
recipients of Federal construction funds may not ``require or prohibit 
bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors to enter into or 
adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same 
or other construction project(s)'' or ``otherwise discriminate against 
bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors for becoming or 
refusing to become or remain signatories or otherwise adhere to 
agreements with one or more labor organizations, on the same or other 
construction project(s).'' However, the Executive order does not 
prohibit contractors or subcontractors from voluntarily entering into 
these agreements. Projects funded under this program that include 
construction activity will be provided a copy of this Executive order 
and grantees will be asked to certify that they will adhere to it.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program competition must be submitted electronically unless you 
qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the 
instructions in this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the HSI Program (CFDA Number 84.031S) 
must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site at: 
http://www.grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to download 
a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload 
and submit your application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a 
grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the HSI Program 
at: http://www.grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable 
application package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include 
the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search.
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are time and date 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your application 
if it is date/time stamped by the Grants.gov system later than 4:30 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. When we 
retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are 
rejecting your application because it was date/time stamped by the 
Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this program competition to 
ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the 
Grants.gov system. You can also find the Education Submission 
Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov at http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see 
http://www.Grants.gov/GetStarted). These steps include (1) registering 
your organization, (2) registering yourself as an Authorized 
Organization Representative (AOR), and (3) getting authorized as an AOR 
by your organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the 
Grants.gov 3-Step Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/assets/GrantsgovCoBrandBrochure8X11.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to successfully submit an application via Grants.gov.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information typically included on the Application for Federal 
Education Assistance (SF 424), Budget Information--Non-Construction 
Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications. You 
must attach any narrative sections of your application as files in a 
.DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable Document) format. 
If you upload a file type other than the three file types specified 
above or submit a password protected file, we will not review that 
material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an automatic acknowledgment from Grants.gov that contains a 
Grants.gov tracking number. The Department will retrieve your 
application from Grants.gov and send you a second confirmation by e-
mail that will include

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a PR/Award number (an ED-specified identifying number unique to your 
application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
with the Grants.gov System: If you are prevented from electronically 
submitting your application on the application deadline date because of 
technical problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an 
extension until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business 
day to enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by 
hand delivery. You also may mail your application by following the 
mailing instructions as described elsewhere in this notice. If you 
submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere in this 
notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an 
explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, 
along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number (if available). We 
will accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem 
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your 
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after 
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

    Note: Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the 
unavailability of or technical problems with the Grants.gov system. 
We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register 
to submit your application to Grants.gov before the deadline date 
and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to 
the Grants.gov system.

    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you 
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax 
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed 
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: J. Alexander Hamilton, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6052, 
Washington, DC 20006-8513 FAX: (202) 502-7861.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail 
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable 
following address:
    By mail through the U.S. Postal Service:

U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.031S), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-
4260 or,

    By mail through a commercial carrier:

U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center--Stop 4260, 
Attention: (CFDA Number 84.031S), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 
20785-1506.

    Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing 
consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service,
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier, or
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark, or
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.

    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original 
and two copies of your application by hand, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:

U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.031S), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.

    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays and Federal holidays.
    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail 
or hand deliver your application to the Department:
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the 
Department--in Item 4 of the Application for Federal Education 
Assistance (SF 424) the CFDA number--and suffix letter, if any--of the 
competition under which you are submitting your application.
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application 
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant 
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
in 34 CFR 606.22(a)-(g). Applicants must address each of the following 
selection criteria (separately for each proposed activity). The total 
weight of the selection criteria is 100 points; the weight of each 
criterion is noted in parentheses.
    (a) Quality of The Applicant's Comprehensive Development Plan 
(Total 25 Points).
    (b) Quality of Activity Objectives (Total 15 Points).
    (c) Quality of Implementation Strategy (Total 20 Points).
    (d) Quality of Key Personnel (Total 7 Points).
    (e) Quality of Project Management Plan (Total 10 Points).

[[Page 3834]]

    (f) Quality of Evaluation Plan (Total 15 Points).
    (g) Budget (Total 8 Points).
    2. Review and Selection Process: Tiebreaker for Development Grants. 
In tie-breaking situations for development grants described in 34 CFR 
606.23(b), the HSI Program regulations require that we award one 
additional point to an application from an IHE that has an endowment 
fund for which the market value per FTE student is less than the 
comparable average per FTE student at a similar type of IHE. We also 
award one additional point to an application from an IHE that had 
expenditures for library materials per FTE student that are less than 
the comparable average per FTE student at a similar type IHE.
    For the purpose of these funding considerations, we use 2003-2004 
data.
    If a tie remains after applying the tiebreaker mechanism above, 
priority will be given in the case of applicants for: (a) Individual 
Development Grants to applicants that addressed the statutory priority 
found in section 511(d) of the HEA; and (b) Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grants to applicants in accordance with section 514(b) of 
the HEA, if the Secretary determines that the cooperative arrangement 
is geographically and economically sound or will benefit the applicant 
HSI.
    If a tie still remains after applying the additional point(s), and 
the relevant statutory priority, we will determine the ranking of 
applicants based on the lowest endowment values per FTE student.

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 
Notification (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 period, 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, 34 CFR 75.720, and in 34 CFR 606.31.
    4. Performance Measures: The Secretary has established the 
following key performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of 
the HSI Program: (1) The percentage of full-time undergraduate students 
who were in their first year of postsecondary enrollment in the 
previous year and are enrolled in the current year at the same 
institution; (2) The percentage of students enrolled at 4-year HSIs 
graduating within 6 years of enrollment; and (3) The percentage of 
students enrolled at 2-year HSIs graduating within 3 years of 
enrollment.

VII. Agency Contacts

    For Further Information Contact: J. Alexander Hamilton, U.S. 
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 
20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7583 or by e-mail: 
[email protected] or Carnisia Proctor, Telephone: (202) 502-
7606 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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.

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: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
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free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
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    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
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    Dated: January 19, 2006.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
 [FR Doc. E6-829 Filed 1-23-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P