[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 92 (Monday, May 14, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27098-27102]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 07-2341]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Fund for 
the Improvement of Postsecondary Education--Comprehensive Program; 
Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.116B

DATES: Applications Available: May 14, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 13, 2007.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 13, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) or 
combinations of those institutions and other public and private 
nonprofit institutions and agencies.
    Estimated Available Funds: $3,400,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$250,000 per year.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $160,000 per year.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $250,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The 
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education may change the maximum 
amount through a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 16-20.

    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: The Comprehensive Program supports innovative 
grants and cooperative agreements to improve postsecondary education. 
It supports reforms, innovations, and significant improvements of 
postsecondary education that respond to problems of national 
significance and serve as national models.
    Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(i), we are 
particularly interested in applications that meet the following 
invitational priorities.
    Invitational Priorities: For FY 2007 these priorities are 
invitational priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an 
application that meets these invitational priorities a competitive or 
absolute preference over other applications.
    These priorities are:
    Invitational Priority 1:
    Projects encouraging higher levels of access, persistence, and 
completion of graduation requirements for higher education.
    Invitational Priority 2:
    Projects aligning curriculum on a state or multi-state level 
between high schools and colleges, and between two-year and four-year 
postsecondary programs, to ensure continuing academic progress and 
transferability of credits.
    Invitational Priority 3:
    Projects improving the mathematics and science proficiency of 
postsecondary students including preservice math and science teachers.
    Invitational Priority 4:
    Projects to enable postsecondary students, including preservice 
teachers, to achieve proficiency or advanced proficiency or 
postsecondary institutions to develop programs in one or more of the 
less commonly taught languages: Arabic, Chinese, Korean, Japanese, 
Russian, and languages in the Indic, Iranian, and Turkic language 
families.
    Invitational Priority 5:
    Projects designed to disseminate successful strategies to achieve 
the goals of any of the above invitational priorities serving 
postsecondary education.

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

    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

[[Page 27099]]

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

    Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to IHEs only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants or cooperative agreements.
    Estimated Available Funds: $3,400,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000-$250,000 per year.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $160,000 per year.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any application that proposes a 
budget exceeding $250,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The 
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education may change the maximum 
amount through a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 16-20.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs or combinations of those institutions 
and other public and private nonprofit institutions and agencies.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: Although this program does not require 
cost sharing or matching for eligibility, it is expected that 
applicants will provide an institutional financial commitment to the 
project.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Levenia Ishmell, Fund 
for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6147, Washington, DC 20006-8544. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7668 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 for this program.
    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that 
reviewers use to evaluate the application. You must limit your 
narrative to the equivalent of no more than 20 pages, using the 
following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5 x 11, on one side 
only, with 1 margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. 
Page numbers and an identifier may be outside of 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, and captions. Charts, tables, 
figures, and graphs in the application narrative may be singled spaced 
and will count toward the page limit.
     Use a font that is either 12-point or larger or no smaller 
than 10 pitch (characters per inch). However, you may use a 10-point 
font in charts, tables, figures, 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.
     The page limit does not apply to Part I, the Title Page; 
Part II, the Budget Summary form (ED Form 524); Part IV, the assurances 
and certifications; the table of contents, the appendix, which shall 
only include letters of support, or the response to section 427 of the 
Department of Education's General Education Provisions Act (GEPA). If 
you include any attachments or appendices not specifically requested, 
these items will be counted as part of the program narrative (Part III) 
for purposes of the page limit requirement.
    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 14, 
2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 13, 2007.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 13, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this program 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 by 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.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in Section VII 
of this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    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: Applications for grants under the 
Comprehensive Program 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 Comprehensive Program, CFDA 
Number 84.116B must be submitted electronically using the 
Governmentwide 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 
Comprehensive 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 (e.g., 
search for 84.116, not 84.116B).
    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.

[[Page 27100]]

     Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date and 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 and 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 and 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 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 steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps include (1) 
registering your organization, a multi-part process that includes 
registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (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/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.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 submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In 
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual 
basis. This may take three to five days to complete.
     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 you typically provide on the following forms: Application 
for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education 
Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the 
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have 
replaced ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
     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 in this paragraph 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 from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The 
Department will then retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification 
indicates that the Department has received your application and has 
assigned your application 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 experiencing problems submitting 
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov 
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support 
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    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. 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 
application 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: Levenia Ishmell, FIPSE 
Comprehensive Program Assistant, U.S.

[[Page 27101]]

Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6147, Washington, DC 
20006-8544. FAX: (202) 502-7877.
    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 
84.116B), 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 
84.116B), 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.
    (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.
    (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 84.116B), 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 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number including 
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a 
notification of receipt of your application. If you do not receive 
this notification 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

    Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
from 34 CFR 75.210 and are listed in the application package.

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. Grantees are required to use the electronic data 
instrument provided by the program office to complete the annual and 
final reports.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act (GPRA), the following measures will be used by the 
Department in assessing the performance of the Fund for the Improvement 
of Postsecondary Education's Comprehensive Program:
    (1) The percentage of projects that are adopted in full or in part, 
or whose materials are used by other institutions; and
    (2) The percentage of projects with a high likelihood of 
sustainability beyond Federal funding, based on the project officer's 
determination.
    If funded, you will be asked to collect and report data in your 
project's annual performance report (EDGAR, 34 CFR 75.590) on steps 
taken toward these goals. Consequently, applicants are advised to 
include these two indicators in conceptualizing the design, 
implementation and evaluation of the proposed project. Consideration of 
the two performance indicators is an important part of many of the 
review criteria. Thus, it is important to the success of your 
application that you include these indicators. Their measure should be 
a part of the project evaluation plan, along with measures of goals and 
objectives specific to your project.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact:
    Levenia Ishmell, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6147, 
Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone: (202) 502-7668 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.

[[Page 27102]]

    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 8, 2007.
James F. Manning,
Delegated the Authority of the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 07-2341 Filed 5-11-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P