[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 11 (Friday, January 16, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3005-3009]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-958]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Higher 
Education Disaster Relief; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards 
for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.938R.

DATES: Applications Available: January 16, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Pre-Applications: January 27, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 26, 2009.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Higher Education Disaster Relief Grants 
Program provides funds to institutions of higher education (IHEs) that 
are located in an area affected by hurricanes, floods, and other 
natural disasters occurring during 2008 for which the President 
declared a major disaster under Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford 
Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974. The funds may 
only be used to defray the expenses incurred by IHEs that were forced 
to close, or relocate, or whose operations were impaired as a result of 
damage directly caused by such hurricanes, floods, and other natural 
disasters occurring during 2008. Funds may be used to cover lost 
revenue, reimbursement for expenses already incurred, and for 
construction. Funds may also be used to enable these IHEs to provide 
grants to their students who attend the IHE for academic years 
beginning on or after July 1, 2008.
    Criteria for Awarding Funds: Under the Consolidated Security, 
Disaster Assistance, and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 
110-329), only IHEs as defined in section 101 or section 102(c) of the 
Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), that are located in an 
area in which a major disaster was declared in accordance with section 
401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 
Act during calendar year 2008, are eligible to apply for funds under 
this program. A list of these areas is available at: http://www.gismaps.fema.gov/2008pages/lcurrent.shtm.
    Public Law 110-329 authorizes the Department to make these funds 
available based on criteria established by the Secretary. Accordingly, 
the Secretary establishes the following factors as criteria that will 
be used in allocating these funds:
    (1) The expenses that would have been covered by revenues lost by 
the IHE as a direct result of the major disaster;
    (2) The expenses incurred by the IHE in remedying the effects of 
the disaster;
    (3) The costs of construction associated with physical damage 
caused by the disaster; and
    (4) Any amount of any insurance settlement or other reimbursement 
received by the IHE including from a Federal or other relief agency. An 
IHE must include information responsive to each of these criteria in 
its pre-application. After reviewing the pre-applications, the 
Secretary may decide to use the number or amount of Pell Grants 
received at any time during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 award years, as 
reflected in the Department's records, as a factor in determining the 
amount of the individual grants to ensure a fair distribution of funds 
in accordance with statutory requirements.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure 
Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553), and section 437 of

[[Page 3006]]

the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) (20 U.S.C. 1232), the 
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to 
comment on proposed selection criteria. However, Public Law 110-329 
specifically exempts the establishment of criteria by the Secretary for 
the award of funds under this program from the rulemaking requirements 
of the APA and GEPA.
    Program Authority: The Consolidated Security, Disaster Assistance, 
and Continuing Appropriations Act, 2009 (Pub. L. 110-329) and 20 U.S.C. 
1138.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 82, 
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $15,000,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $10,000--$1,000,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: $300,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 50.

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

    Project Period: 12 months, except for construction grants, which 
may be up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs (as defined in section 101 or section 
102(c) of the HEA) that are located in an area affected by hurricanes, 
floods, and other natural disasters occurring during 2008, for which 
the President declared a major disaster under Title IV of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974, are 
eligible to apply for funds under this program. A list of these areas 
is available at: http://www.gismaps.fema.gov/2008pages/lcurrent.shtm.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application or Pre-Application Package: 
Cassandra Courtney, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary 
Education, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6166, 
Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone: (202) 502-7506 or by e-mail: 
[email protected] or [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 
or pre-application package in an accessible 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.
    Pre-Application: IHEs intending to submit an application for funds 
under the Higher Education Disaster Relief Grant Program must first 
complete and submit a pre-application data information form from which 
institutional allotments will be calculated. Data forms and 
instructions can be downloaded from: http://www.ed.gov/OPE (click on 
the Higher Education Disaster Relief link). Complete the form and send 
it to: [email protected] by the date established under Deadline for 
Transmittal of Pre-Applications. Within one week of the Pre-Application 
Deadline, the Department will calculate the applicant IHE's allotment 
and e-mail the amount back to the contact person identified by the IHE 
on the pre-application form. The eligible IHEs will then have until 
February 26, 2009 to submit their application and budget information to 
the Department through Grants.gov.
    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that 
reviewers use to evaluate your application. You must limit the 
application narrative [Part III] to the equivalent of no more than 25 
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.
     Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in 
charts, tables, figures, and graphs.
     Use a font that is either 12 point or larger; or, no 
smaller than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
     Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font 
(including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
    The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II, 
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part 
IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the 
resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, the page 
limit does apply to all of the application narrative section [Part 
III].
    We will reject your application if you exceed the page limit; or, 
if you apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the page 
limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: January 16, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Pre-Applications: January 27, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: February 26, 2009.
    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 in paper format 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 of 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 
of 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: Funds can be used only to defray the 
expenses (including lost revenue, reimbursement for expenses already 
incurred, and for construction) incurred by IHEs that were forced to 
close, or relocate, or whose operations were impaired as a result of 
damage directly caused by hurricanes, floods, and other natural 
disasters occurring during 2008 for which the President declared a 
major disaster under Title IV of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974, and to enable these IHEs to 
provide grants to their students who attend the IHE for academic years 
beginning on or after July 1, 2008.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program must be submitted

[[Page 3007]]

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 Higher Education Disaster Relief 
Program, CFDA number 84.938R, 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 Higher 
Education Disaster Relief Grant 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 84.938, not 84.938R).
    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 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 4:30:00 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if 
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov 
system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply 
with the deadline requirements. 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 
4:30:00 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://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 or more business 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.
     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 then will 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, toll free, 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 4:30:00 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 described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person 
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of this 
notice 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 4:30:00 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. The

[[Page 3008]]

Department will contact you after a determination is made on whether 
your application will be accepted.

    Note: The extensions to which we refer 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: Cassandra Courtney, Fund 
for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of 
Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6166, Washington, DC 20006-8544. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7506. 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 following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.938R) LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    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 84.938R) 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 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 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.

V. Application Review Information

    Selection Criteria: The Secretary will award funds to eligible IHEs 
that submit applications under this program and will allocate funds 
among the eligible institutions using the following factors as criteria 
for the distribution of funds:
    (1) The expenses that would have been covered by revenues lost by 
the IHE as a direct result of the major disaster;
    (2) The expenses incurred by the IHE in remedying the effects of 
the disaster; the costs of construction associated with physical damage 
caused by the disaster; and
    (3) Any amount of any insurance settlement or other reimbursement 
received including from a Federal or other relief agency. After 
reviewing the pre-applications, the Secretary may decide to use the 
number or amount of Pell Grants received at any time during the 2006-07 
and 2007-08 award years, as reflected in the Department's records, as a 
factor in determining the amount of the individual grants to ensure a 
fair distribution of funds in accordance with statutory requirements.

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 notify you informally, also.
    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 directed by the Secretary 
under 34 CFR 75.118. The Secretary may also require more frequent 
performance reports under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements 
on reporting, please go to: http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.

[[Page 3009]]

VII. Agency Contact

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Cassandra Courtney, Fund for the 
Improvement of Postsecondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, 
1990 K Street, NW., room 6166, Washington, DC 20006-8544. Telephone: 
(202) 502-7506 or by e-mail: [email protected] or [email protected].
    If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

VIII. Other Information

    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package in an accessible 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 of this notice.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You can 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 (20) 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: January 12, 2009.
Vickie L. Schray,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs.
 [FR Doc. E9-958 Filed 1-15-09; 8:45 am]
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