[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 97 (Friday, May 19, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29130-29135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-7684]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; 
Strengthening Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled 
Colleges and Universities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-
Serving Institutions Programs; Notice Inviting Applications for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.031A, 
84.031T, 84.031N and 84.031W.

    Dates:
    Applications Available: May 19, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 3, 2006.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: September 5, 2006.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) that 
qualify as eligible institutions under the Strengthening Institutions 
Program (SIP), American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and 
Universities (TCCU) Program, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-
Serving Institutions (ANNH) Programs may apply for grants under this 
notice. These programs are authorized by Title III, Part A, of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), and are known 
collectively as the Title III, Part A Programs. To qualify as an 
eligible institution under any Title III, Part A Program, an 
institution must, among other requirements--
    (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 
607.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 
607.4; 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 complete eligibility requirements 
for the Title III, Part A Programs are in 34 CFR 607.2 through 607.5 
and can be accessed from the following Web site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/34cfr607_05.html.

Relationship Between the Title III, Part A Programs and the Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSI) Program

    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. 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 IHE that previously received a five-year 
Individual Development Grant under the SIP 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 SIP Program.


    Note 4: An eligible IHE that submits more than one application 
may be awarded only 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 IHE for the same award 
year as the institution's existing Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant award.

    Estimated Available Funds: $12,320,000 for new awards under SIP, 
$16,605,000 for new awards under the

[[Page 29131]]

TCCU Program and $4,325,000 for new awards under the ANNH Program.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: See chart.
    Maximum Award Amounts: See chart. We will not fund any application 
at an amount exceeding the maximum amounts specified in the chart 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, 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: See chart.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                 Program name and type of award                    Maximum award     number of     average size
                                                                      amount          awards         of awards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Strengthening Institutions Program (83.031A)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--5-year Individual Development Grants..........................        $400,000              34         $300,00
--5-year Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants.............         500,000               5         400,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Program (84.031T)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--5-year Individual Development Grants..........................         500,000              15         500,000
--1-year Construction Grants....................................       1,500,000               6       1,500,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                        Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Programs (84.031N and 84.031W)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--5-year Individual Development Grants..........................         500,000               2         500,000
--1-year Renovation Grants......................................         750,000               5         650,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice. Applicants should periodically check the Title III Part A 
Programs Web site for further information. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/index.html.


    Project Period: Up to 60 months for development grants and up to 12 
months for construction and renovation grants.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The SIP, TCCU, and ANNH Programs provide grants 
to eligible IHEs to enable them to improve their academic quality, 
institutional management, and fiscal stability, and increase their 
self-sufficiency and strengthen their capacity to make a substantial 
contribution to the higher education resources of the Nation.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1057-1059d.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for these programs in 
34 CFR part 607.

II. Award Information

    Type of Awards: Discretionary grants. Five-year Individual 
Development Grants; five-year Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants; one-year TCCU Construction Grants, and one-year ANNH Renovation 
Grants will be awarded in FY 2006. Planning grants will not be awarded 
in FY 2006.
    Estimated Available Funds: $12,320,000 for new awards under SIP, 
$16,605,000 for new awards under the TCCU Program and $4,325,000 for 
new awards under the ANNH Program.
    For specific funding information, see the chart in this section.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: See chart.
    Maximum Award Amounts: See chart. We will not fund any application 
at an amount exceeding the maximum amounts specified in the chart 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, 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: See chart.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                 Program name and type of award                    Maximum award     number of     average size
                                                                      amount          awards         of awards
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Strengthening Institutions Program (83.031A)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--5-year Individual Development Grants..........................        $400,000              34        $300,000
--5-year Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants.............         500,000               5         400,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities program (84.031T)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--5-year Individual Development Grants..........................         500,000              15         500,000
--1-year Construction Grants....................................       1,500,000               6       1,500,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                         Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian program (84.031N and 84.031W)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
--5-year Individual Development Grants..........................         500,000               2         500,000
--1-year Renovation Grants......................................         750,000               5         650,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



[[Page 29132]]

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice. Applicants should periodically check the Title III Part A 
Programs Web site for further information. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/index.html.

    Project Period: Up to 60 months for development and up to 12 months 
for construction and renovation grants.
    III. Eligibility Information
    1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs that qualify as eligible institutions 
under the SIP, TCCU, and ANNH Programs may apply for grants under this 
notice. These programs are authorized by Title III, Part A, of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), and are known 
collectively as the Title III, Part A Programs. To qualify as an 
eligible institution under any Title III, Part A Program, an 
institution must, among other requirements--
    (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 
607.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 
607.4;
    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 complete eligibility requirements 
for the Title III, Part A Programs are in 34 CFR 607.2 through 607.5 
and can be accessed from the following Web site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/34cfr607_05.html. Relationship 
between the Title III, Part A Programs and the HSI Program.


    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. 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 IHE that previously received a five-year 
Individual Development Grant under the SIP 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 SIP Program.


    Note 4: An eligible IHE that submits more than one application 
may be awarded only 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 IHE 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 one to one with non-Federal funds. 20 U.S.C. 1057(d)(2) and 
1059c (c)(3)(B).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Dr. Maria E. Carrington, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7548 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: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package and instructions for these 
programs.
    Page Limits: We have established mandatory page limits for the 
applications to be submitted under this notice. You must limit your 
application to the equivalent of no more than 50 pages for an 
Individual Development Grant; 70 pages for a Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant; and 35 pages for a TCCU Construction or ANNH 
Renovation Grant under the Title III, Part A Programs, 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. Page numbers and an 
identifier may be within the 1'' margin.
     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 be rejected.
     Use not less than 12-point font.
    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 nor the program abstract. If you include any attachments or 
appendices, these items will be counted as part of the Program 
Narrative (Part III of the application) 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: May 19, 2006.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 3, 2006.
    Applications for grants under this 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: September 5, 2006.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: These programs are 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 these programs.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference the regulations outlining 
funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this 
notice.

[[Page 29133]]

    Applicability of Executive Order 13202.
    Applicants that apply for construction funds under the Title III, 
Part A Programs, must comply with Executive Order 13202 signed by 
President George W. 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 these programs that include construction activity 
will be provided a copy of this Executive order and will be asked to 
certify that they will adhere to it.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
these programs 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 SIP, TCCU and ANNH Programs (CFDA Numbers 84.031A, 84.031T, 
84.031N and 84.031W) 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 Title III, 
Part A Programs at: http://www.grants.gov. You must search for the 
downloadable application package for these programs 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 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://eGrants.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 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

[[Page 29134]]

(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: Dr. Maria E. Carrington, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 6033, 
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: 
84.031A, 84.031T, 84.031N or 84.031W), 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: 
84.031A, 84.031T, 84.031N or 84.031W), 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: 
84.031A, 84.031T, 84.031N or 84.031W), 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 (ED 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 607.22(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. Additional information for these 
selection criteria is listed in the application package for these 
programs.
    (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).
    (f) Quality of Evaluation Plan (Total 15 Points).
    (g) Budget (Total 8 Points).
    Review and Selection Process: For five-year Individual Development 
Grants and five-year Cooperative Development Grants, awards will be 
made in rank order according to the average score received from a panel 
of three readers.
    Tie-breaker for Development Grants. In tie-breaking situations 
described in 34 CFR 607.23(b) for Development Grants, regulations for 
the Title III Part A Programs 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 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.

[[Page 29135]]

    For the purpose of these funding considerations, we will use 2003-
2004 data.
    If a tie remains after applying the tie-breaker mechanism above, 
priority will be given in the case of applicants for: (a) Individual 
Development Grants to applicants that have the lowest endowment values 
per FTE student; and (b) Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants to 
applicants in accordance with section 394(b) of the HEA, if the 
Secretary determines that the cooperative arrangement is geographically 
and economically sound or will benefit the applicant institution.

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 607.31.
    4. Performance Measures: The Secretary has established the 
following key performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of 
the Title III, Part A Programs: (1) The number of full-time degree-
seeking undergraduates enrolling at IHEs. Note that this is a long-term 
measure, which will be used to periodically gauge performance, 
beginning in FY 2009; (2) 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; (3) The percentage of students enrolled at 4-year IHEs 
graduating within 6 years of enrollment; and (4) The percentage of 
students enrolled at 2-year IHEs graduating within 3 years of 
enrollment.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Maria E. Carrington, U.S. 
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 
20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7777 or by e-mail: 
[email protected]; or Karen W. Johnson, Telephone: (202) 502-7642 
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.
    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.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: May 16, 2006.
James F. Manning,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
 [FR Doc. E6-7684 Filed 5-18-06; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P