[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 93 (Friday, May 15, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22905-22909]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-11414]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; 
Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 Catalog of 
Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.031S.

    Dates:
    Applications Available: May 15, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 15, 2009.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 13, 2009.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The HSI Program provides grants to assist HSIs 
to expand educational opportunities for, and improve the academic 
attainment of, Hispanic students. The HSI Program grants also enable 
HSIs to expand and enhance their academic offerings, program quality, 
and institutional stability.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1101-1101d, 1103-1103g.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 
34 CFR part 606.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grant. Five-year Individual 
Development Grants and Five-year Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants will be awarded in FY 2009. Planning grants will not be awarded 
in FY 2009.
    Estimated Available Funds: $16,914,300.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $462,000-$700,000.
    Estimate Average Size of Awards: Individual Development Grants:

[[Page 22906]]

$462,000. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants: $625,000.
    Maximum Awards: Individual Development Grants: $575,000. 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants: $700,000. We will not fund 
any application at an amount exceeding these maximum amounts 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: Individual Development Grants: 20. 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants: 9.

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

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHES) 
that qualify as eligible HSIs are eligible to apply for new Individual 
Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants under 
the HSI Program. To be an eligible HSI, an IHE must--
    (1) Be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized 
accrediting agency or association that the Secretary has determined to 
be a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training 
offered;
    (2) Be legally authorized by the State in which it is located to be 
a junior college or to provide an educational program for which it 
awards a bachelor's degree;
    (3) Be designated as an ``eligible institution'' by demonstrating 
that it: A) Has an enrollment of needy students as described in 34 CFR 
606.3; and B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 
606.4; and
    (4) Have an enrollment of undergraduate FTE students that is at 
least 25 percent Hispanic students at the end of the award year 
immediately preceding the date of application.
    Effective September 30, 2006, the Third Higher Education Extension 
Act of 2006 amended Section 502(a) of the HEA by requiring that 
institutions report their undergraduate Hispanic FTE percentage at the 
end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application. 
Funds for the HSI Program are awarded each fiscal year; thus, for this 
program, the end of the award year refers to the end of the fiscal year 
prior to the application due date. The end of the fiscal year occurs on 
September 30 for any given year. Therefore, for purposes of making the 
determination described in paragraph (4), IHEs must report their 
undergraduate Hispanic FTE percent based on the student enrollment 
count closest to, but not after, September 30, 2008.

    Note: The Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) 
amended section 503(b) of the HEA to include, among the authorized 
activities under the HSI program, activities to improve student 
services, including innovative and customized instruction courses 
designed to help retain students and move the students into core 
courses; articulation agreements and student support programs 
designed to facilitate the transfer of students from 2-year to 4-
year institutions; and providing education, counseling services, and 
financial information designed to improve the financial and economic 
literacy of students or their families. The list of authorized 
activities in section 503(b) was also amended to use the term 
``distance education technologies'' in place of ``distance learning 
academic instruction capabilities.''

    The Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for FY 2009 was published in the Federal Register on 
January 21, 2009 (74 FR 3579). The HSI eligibility requirements are in 
34 CFR 606.2 through 606.5 and can be accessed from the following Web 
site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/34cfr606_01.html. 
These regulations do not reflect the changes made to the HSI program 
requirements by the Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2006 or the 
HEOA.

Relationship Between HSI and Title III, Part A Programs

    Note 1: A grantee under the HSI Program, which is authorized by 
Title V of the HEA, may not receive a grant under any HEA, Title 
III, Part A Program. The Title III, Part A Programs include: the 
Strengthening Institutions Program; the American Indian Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities Program; the Alaska Native and 
Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs; the Asian American 
and Native American Pacific Islander-Serving Institutions Program; 
and the Native American-Serving Non-Tribal Institutions 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 HSI that does not fall within the limitation 
described in Note 1 may apply for a FY 2009 grant under all Title 
III, Part A Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the 
HSI Program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one 
grant.


    Note 3: An eligible HSI that submits more than one application 
may only be awarded one Individual Development Grant or one 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant in a fiscal year. 
Furthermore, we will not award a second Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant to an otherwise eligible HSI for the same award 
year as the HSI's existing Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grant.


    Note 4: The Department will cross-reference for verification, 
data reported to the Department's Integrated Postsecondary Education 
Data System (IPEDS), the IHE's State-reported enrollment data, and 
the institutional annual report. If there are any differences in the 
percentages reported in IPEDS and the percentages reported in the 
grant application, the IHE should explain the differences as a part 
of its eligibility documentation.

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

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Carnisia M. Proctor, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7606 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 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.
    Page Limits: The application narrative (Part III of the 
application) is where you, the applicant, address the selection 
criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. We have 
established mandatory page limits for both the Individual Development 
Grant and the Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant applications. 
You must limit the section of the narrative that addresses the 
selection criteria to no more than 50 pages for the Individual 
Development Grant application and 70 pages for the Cooperative 
Arrangement Development

[[Page 22907]]

Grant application, 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, except titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, references, captions and all text in charts, 
tables, 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 and 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, 
activity detail budget, and the five-year plan. 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.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: May 15, 2009.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 15, 2009.
    Applications for grants under this program must be submitted 
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e-
Application) accessible through the Department's e-Grants Web site. 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 of this notice.
    We will 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 the 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.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 13, 2009.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program competition 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 
competition.
    5. Funding Restrictions: We reference the regulations outlining 
funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this 
notice.
    Applicability of Executive Order 13202.
    Applicants that apply for construction funds under the HSI Program 
must comply with Executive Order 13202 signed by former 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 this program 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 
this program competition must be submitted electronically unless you 
qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the 
instruction in this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the HSI Program (CFDA Number 84.031S) 
must be submitted electronically using e-Application, accessible 
through the Department's e-Grants Web site at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
    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.
    While completing your electronic application, you will be entering 
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    Please note the following:
     You must complete the electronic submission of your grant 
application by 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application 
for this program after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do 
not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application 
process.
     The hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site are 6:00 
a.m. Monday until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; and 6:00 a.m. Thursday until 
8:00 p.m. Sunday, Washington, DC time. Please note that, because of 
maintenance, the system is unavailable between 8:00 p.m. on Sundays and 
6:00 a.m. on Mondays, and between 7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6:00 a.m. 
on Thursdays, Washington, DC time. Any modifications to these hours are 
posted on the e-Grants Web site.
     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: the 
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.
     Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may 
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive an

[[Page 22908]]

automatic acknowledgement that will include a PR/Award number (an 
identifying number unique to your application).
     Within three working days after submitting your electronic 
application, fax a signed copy of the SF 424 to the Application Control 
Center after following these steps:
    (1) Print SF 424 from e-Application.
    (2) The applicant's Authorizing Representative must sign this form.
    (3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the 
hard-copy signature page of the SF 424.
    (4) Fax the signed SF 424 to the Application Control Center at 
(202) 245-6272.
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
other forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application 
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically submitting 
your application on the application deadline date because e-Application 
is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of one business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically, by mail, or by 
hand delivery. We will grant this extension if--
    (1) You are a registered user of e-Application and you have 
initiated an electronic application for this competition; and
    (2) (a) E-Application is unavailable for 60 minutes or more between 
the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date; or
    (b) E-Application is unavailable for any period of time between 
3:30 p.m. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date.
    We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability 
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to 
confirm our acknowledgement of any system unavailability, you may 
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If e-Application is unavailable due 
to technical problems with the system and, therefore, the application 
deadline is extended, an e-mail will be sent to all registered users 
who have initiated an e-Application. Extensions referred to in this 
section apply only to the unavailability of e-Application.
    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 e-Application because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
e-Application; 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: Carnisia M. Proctor, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, 
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 following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.031S), 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 84.031S), 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, D.C. 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

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
in 34 CFR 606.22. In addition to these selection criteria, we evaluate 
an applicant's performance under a previous Development Grant under 34 
CFR 606.24.
    2. Review and Selection Process:
    (A) Applicants must provide, as an attachment to the application, 
the documentation the IHE relied upon in determining that at least 25 
percent of the IHE's undergraduate FTE students are Hispanic.

    Note: The 25 percent requirement applies only to undergraduate 
Hispanic students and is calculated based upon FTE students. 
Instructions for formatting and submitting

[[Page 22909]]

the verification documentation to e-Application are in the 
application package for this competition.

    (B) Tiebreaker for Development Grants. In tie-breaking situations 
for development grants described in 34 CFR 606.23(b), the HSI Program 
regulations require that we award one additional point to an 
application from an IHE that has an endowment fund of which the current 
market value, per FTE enrolled student, is less than the average 
current market value of the endowment funds, per FTE enrolled student, 
at comparable institutions that offer similar instruction. We also 
award one additional point to an application from an IHE that had 
expenditures for library materials per FTE enrolled student that are 
less than the average expenditures for library materials per FTE 
enrolled student at comparable institutions that offer similar 
instruction.
    For the purpose of these funding considerations, we use 2006-2007 
data.
    If a tie remains after applying the tiebreaker mechanism above, 
priority will be given (a) for Individual Development Grants, to 
applicants that addressed the statutory priority found in section 
521(d) of the HEA, as amended; and (b) for Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grants, to applicants in accordance with section 524(b) of 
the HEA, under which the Secretary determines that the cooperative 
arrangement is geographically and economically sound or will benefit 
the applicant HSI.
    If a tie still remains after applying the additional point(s), and 
the relevant statutory priority, we will determine the ranking of 
applicants based on the lowest endowment values per FTE enrolled 
student.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN). We may 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 in 
34 CFR 75.118, 34 CFR 75.720 and in 34 CFR 606.31.
    4. Performance Measures: The Secretary has established the 
following key performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of 
the HSI Program: (1) The percentage change, over the five-year grant 
period, of the number of full-time degree-seeking undergraduate 
students enrolled at HSIs. (2) The percentage of first-time, full-time 
degree-seeking 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 Hispanic-serving institution. (3) The 
percentage of first-time, full-time degree-seeking 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 
four-year Hispanic-serving institution. (4) The percentage of first-
time, full-time degree-seeking 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 two-year Hispanic-serving 
institution. (5) The percentage of first-time, full-time degree-seeking 
undergraduate students enrolled at four-year HSIs graduating within six 
years of enrollment. (6) The percentage of first-time, full-time 
degree-seeking undergraduate students enrolled at two-year HSIs 
graduating within three years of enrollment. (7) Federal cost per 
undergraduate and graduate degree at institutions in the Developing 
HSIs program.

VII. Agency Contacts

For Further Information Contact: Carnisia M. Proctor, U.S. Department 
of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-8513. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7606 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

VIII. Other Information

    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities may obtain this 
document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the program contact 
person listed in this section.
    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.

    Delegation of Authority: The Secretary of Education has delegated 
authority to Daniel T. Madzelan, Director, Forecasting and Policy 
Analysis for the Office of Postsecondary Education to perform the 
functions of the Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.

    Dated: May 12, 2009.
Daniel T. Madzelan,
Director, Forecasting and Policy Analysis.
[FR Doc. E9-11414 Filed 5-14-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P