[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 140 (Monday, July 21, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42338-42340]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16630]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Jacob K. 
Javits Fellowship Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards 
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.170A.

    Dates:
    Applications Available: July 21, 2008.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 4, 2008.
    Deadline for Transmittal of the Free Application for Federal 
Student Aid (FAFSA): January 31, 2009.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Jacob K. Javits (JKJ) 
Fellowship Program is to award fellowships to eligible students of 
superior ability, selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement, 
financial need, and exceptional promise, to undertake graduate study in 
specific fields in the arts, humanities, and social sciences leading to 
a doctoral degree or to a master's degree in those fields in which the 
master's degree is the terminal highest degree awarded in the selected 
field of study at accredited institutions of higher education. The 
selected fields in the arts are: Creative writing, music performance, 
music theory, music composition, music literature, studio arts 
(including photography), television, film, cinematography, theater 
arts, playwriting, screenwriting, acting, and dance. The selected 
fields in the humanities are: Art history (including architectural 
history), archeology, area studies, classics, comparative literature, 
English language and literature, folklore, folk life, foreign languages 
and literature, foreign languages that are less commonly taught as 
follows: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Indic family 
(including Hindi, Urdu, Sinhala, Bengali, Nepali, Punjabi, Marathi, 
Gujarati, Oriya, Assamese); Iranian family (including Dari, Farsi, 
Tajiki, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi); and Turkic family (including 
Turkish, Azerbaijani/Azeri, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek, Uyghur), 
history, linguistics, philosophy, religion (excluding study of 
religious vocation), speech, rhetoric, and debate. The selected fields 
in the social sciences are: Anthropology, communications and media, 
criminology, economics, ethnic and cultural studies, geography, 
political science, psychology (excluding clinical psychology), public 
policy and public administration, and sociology (excluding the master's 
and doctoral degrees in social work).

    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1134-1134d.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75 (except as 
provided in 34 CFR 650.3(b)), 77, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99. (b) 
The regulations for this program in 34 CFR part 650.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grant.

[[Page 42339]]

    Estimated Available Funds: $1,861,599.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $43,293.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 43.

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

    Project Period: Up to 48 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Individuals who at the time of application: 
(1) will be entering a doctoral program in academic year 2009-2010 or 
who, at the time of application, have not yet completed their first 
full year of study in the doctoral program for which they are seeking 
support; (2) will be entering a Master of Fine Arts program in academic 
year 2009-2010 in which the master's degree is the terminal highest 
degree awarded in the selected field of study; (3) are eligible to 
receive grant, loan, or work assistance pursuant to Section 484 of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA); and (4) intend to 
pursue a doctoral or master's degree in fields selected by the JKJ 
Fellowship Board at accredited U.S. institutions of higher education. 
To be eligible to receive a JKJ Fellowship, an individual must be a 
citizen or national of the United States, a permanent resident of the 
United States, in the United States for other than a temporary purpose 
and intending to become a permanent resident, or a citizen of any one 
of the Freely Associated States.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: You can obtain an 
application package via the Internet or from the Department. To obtain 
a copy via the Internet, use the following address for the JKJ 
Fellowship Program Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/jacobjavits/index.html. To obtain a copy from the Department, write, fax, or call 
the following: Carmen Gordon, Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program, U.S. 
Department of Education, Teacher and Student Development Programs 
Service, 1990 K St., NW., room 6089, Washington, DC 20006-8524. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7542 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the 
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the person listed under 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in Section VII in this notice.

    Note: The FAFSA can be obtained from the institution of higher 
education's financial aid office or accessed at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.

    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.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: July 21, 2008.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 4, 2008.
    Deadline for Transmittal of the FAFSA: January 31, 2009.
    Applications for grants under this program must be submitted in 
paper format by mail or hand delivery. For information (including dates 
and times) about how to submit your application by mail or hand 
delivery, 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.
    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 
in this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the 
application process, the individual's application remains subject to 
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding 
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program must be submitted in paper format by mail or hand 
delivery.
    a. Submission of Applications by Mail.
    If you submit your application by mail (through the U.S. Postal 
Service or a commercial carrier), 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 84.170A), 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 
84.170A), 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.

    b. Submission of Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you submit your application by hand delivery, you (or a courier 
service) must deliver the original and three 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 84.170A), 550 12th Street, SW., 
Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 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 the CFDA Number, including 
suffix letter, 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 grant 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.


[[Page 42340]]



V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
established by the JKJ Program Fellowship Board, pursuant to Section 
702(a)(2) of the HEA and 34 CFR 650.20(a). The selection criteria for 
applications in the humanities and social sciences are: (a) Statement 
of purpose (150 points); (b) Letters of recommendation (100 points); 
(c) Academic record (100 points); and (d) Scholarly awards/honors (50 
points). The selection criteria for applications in the arts are: (a) 
Statement of purpose (100 points); (b) Letters of recommendation (100 
points); (c) Academic record (50 points); (d) Scholarly awards/honors 
(50 points); and (e) Supporting arts materials (100 points).
    2. Review and Selection Process: The review and selection process 
for the JKJ Fellowship Program consists of a two-part process. Eligible 
applications are read and rated by a panel of distinguished scholars 
and academics in the arts, humanities, and social sciences on the basis 
of demonstrated scholarly achievements and exceptional promise. The 
second part of the evaluation is a determination of financial need.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we will notify 
you by telephone and we will send a Grant Award Notice (GAN) directly 
to the institution you will be attending.
    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 in 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: On an annual basis, fellows must submit their Student 
Aid Report to the Javits Program Coordinator at their institution, as 
directed by the Secretary, pursuant to 34 CFR 650.37. In addition, 
Javits fellows are required to submit an annual performance report. The 
Department will contact fellows regarding the completion of the annual 
performance report.
    4. Performance Measures: The effectiveness of the JKJ Fellowship 
Program will be measured by graduate completion rates, time-to-degree 
completion rates, and the costs per Ph.D or master's degree of talented 
graduate students with demonstrated financial need who are pursuing the 
highest degree available in their designated fields of study. 
Institutions of higher education in which the fellows are enrolled are 
required to submit an annual report documenting the fellows' 
satisfactory academic progress and the determined financial need. 
Javits fellows are also required to submit an annual performance report 
to assist program staff in tracking time-to-degree completion rates, 
graduation rates, as well as the employment status of individual 
fellows. The Department will use the reports to assess the program's 
success in assisting fellows in completing their course of study and 
receiving their degree.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carmen Gordon, Jacob K. Javits 
Fellowship Program, U.S. Department of Education, Teacher and Student 
Development Programs Service, 1990 K St., NW., Room 6089, Washington, 
DC 20006-8524. Telephone: (202) 502-7542 or e-mail: [email protected]. If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-
877-8339.

VIII. Other Information

    Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package in an alternative format 
(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on 
request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT in Section VII in this notice.
    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: July 15, 2008.
Sara Martinez Tucker,
Under Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. E8-16630 Filed 7-18-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P