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Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Program Competition – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Title VI National Resource Centers (NRC) (84.015A) and 

Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) (84.015B) Fellowships

General/Application Content........................................................................................................................ 2

FY 2022 Competition..................................................................................................................................... 4

Timing........................................................................................................................................................ 4

Content ..................................................................................................................................................... 4

COVID-19................................................................................................................................................... 4

Priorities........................................................................................................................................................ 5

Languages ..................................................................................................................................................... 7

World Regions............................................................................................................................................... 8

FLAS............................................................................................................................................................... 9

Diverse Perspectives and Areas of National Need...................................................................................... 11

Narrative ..................................................................................................................................................... 12

Selection Criteria......................................................................................................................................... 12

Outreach ..................................................................................................................................................... 13

Impact and Evaluation ................................................................................................................................ 13

Budget......................................................................................................................................................... 14

FLAS Budgets........................................................................................................................................... 14

NRC Budgets............................................................................................................................................ 15

Subgrants/Subawards......................................................................................................................... 15

NRC Budget Support for Salaries and Specific Positions..................................................................... 15

Appendices.................................................................................................................................................. 17

Course Lists............................................................................................................................................. 17

Letters of Support................................................................................................................................... 17

Position Descriptions .............................................................................................................................. 18

CVs........................................................................................................................................................... 18

Page and Formatting Limits/Recommendations ........................................................................................ 19

Application Processing................................................................................................................................ 20

Panel Review Process and Application Evaluation ..................................................................................... 21

Award Process............................................................................................................................................. 22

Other Questions.......................................................................................................................................... 23
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General/Application Content

What does the U.S. Department of Education (the “Department”) consider helpful for 

presenting the application narrative and other important information?

Here are a few pieces of guidance that may be useful to new and returning applicants to the 

NRC and FLAS programs:

• First, carefully read the official Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) and the Application 

Instructions/Package Word document that will be posted on the NRC and FLAS programs’ 

“Applicant Info” webpages when they are available.

• Order your narratives to match the order of the criteria as they are listed on the Technical 

Review Form (TRF). The TRF is the form that reviewers use to score your application 

according to the selection criteria for that program. Reviewers appreciate when they can go 

through the form as they're reading and easily find the answers to the various criteria on the 

TRF. Blank TRFs are provided in the application instructions for the NRC and FLAS programs.

• Use visuals (tables and charts) along with traditional “narrative” to tell the story of your 

center or institution. An application narrative does not mean that everything must be in 

narrative form.

For example, you could include a visual to show numbers related to outreach (e.g., “we 

conducted X number of things for K-12 outreach, we did Y number of things for 

postsecondary outreach, Z number of things for business media and the general public”). 

Using visuals will free up space for you to use narrative to explain other aspects of your 

project. Refer to Funded NRC and FLAS Applications, FY 2018-2021 for the list of applications 

funded for FY 2018-2021 to see how some institutions used a balance between visuals and 

actual narration. 

• Cross-reference your budget with page numbers and/or navigation indicators corresponding 

to the narrative.

• Read the selection criteria/TRF criteria closely and make sure you are responding to each 

element of the question. Sometimes a reviewer will say that an applicant generally 

answered the question but did not mention a specific element of the criterion, and they feel 

obliged to award fewer points in those instances. Be detailed yet succinct and use the TRF 

criteria crosswalk--which will be available under “Applicant Info” on the website alongside 

the application package--to make sure you are maximizing your points on each criterion.

• Review the successful past applications that are posted on our IRIS project monitoring 

website (Funded NRC and FLAS Applications, FY 2018-2021). That is a great place to start to 

see how other institutions have successfully applied in the past (how they've formatted

budgets, how they have described projects in their narratives, etc.) so that you don’t have to 

start from scratch.

• If you have applied before, look at the feedback you received via the Technical Review 

Forms that were sent to you last time. See where points were deducted and make sure 

those issues are addressed this time around.
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Our center has received NRC and/or FLAS grants in the past. Is it appropriate to refer to this 

in our application?

It is appropriate to mention previous grants and what has been institutionalized or enhanced in 

terms of area studies, international studies, and language training as a result of previous Title VI 

grants. The discussion should be sufficiently succinct to “set the stage” for the current 

application narrative, and not be a lengthy retrospective.

We suggest refraining from referring to your proposal as an application for "renewal" of your 

grant. In selecting applications for funding, no preference is given to applicants who have 

received NRC and FLAS grants in the past.

May more than one center at an institution submit an NRC and/or a FLAS application?

Yes. More than one center or program or institute at an institution may submit applications to 

the NRC and/or FLAS program(s).

Do you have any advice for institutions planning to submit applications for multiple centers, 

each focused on a different world region?

How do we strike a balance between using resources efficiently and signaling the advantages 

of collaboration (e.g., teaming up on certain projects), but still having each application stand 

alone and be feasible in case not all applications are chosen for funding?

This question applies to institutions that have multiple centers on campus AND to applicants 

who are proposing to work with outside institutions on specific projects (e.g., several centers

each contributing funds to support a collaborative project) where each request depends on the 

other in some way. 

After applications are submitted, the panels review and score applications based on program 

selection criteria. We rank the applications and select as many quality applications as possible to 

fund at reasonable levels based on available funding. Program officers then work with selected 

applicants on budget negotiations and revisions. At that time, based on the results of the 

competition, you would be able to make modifications to projects if necessary . If a proposed 

project is no longer feasible in the same way as originally anticipated, you can decide at this 

time to adjust the project and/or budget (e.g., continue the project at a reduced level, secure 

additional funding from other sources, rethink how the project will be funded, etc.). Similarly, if

multiple institutions included funding for a group project in their proposed budgets but not all 

institutions were selected for funding, the funded institutions will have an opportunity to 

reconsider the activity and reallocate or adjust funding as necessary during the budget 

negotiation process. 

Note: Each application will be evaluated on its own merits. Accordingly, each application should

stand alone and make its argument independently. Reviewers will only see the applications 

assigned to their specific world region; e.g., reviewers on an Africa panel will not be able to 

access applications in the East Asia world area, and vice versa. If your institution is submitting 

applications in 5 world areas, those applications will be reviewed by 5 different panels. You can 

repurpose collaboration-related language from one application and use it in another because 

the reviews will take place separately. 
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FY 2022 Competition

TIMING

When will the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) be available?

We cannot provide ex-ante a specific date on which the NIAs become available. Once IFLE drafts 

an NIA it goes to several other offices in the Department for review and approval. This review 

process seeks to ensure that the NIA policy statements, the absolute priorities, the competitive 

priorities, and other components are in alignment with the Secretary’s agenda and the 

Department’s agenda and mission more broadly. This review process is exhaustive and, given 

the number of stakeholders in Title VI programs, takes some time. However, once the review is 

completed, the NIA is provided a publication date for the Federal Register. That window can be 

as short as a week. 

Is there anything we can monitor to anticipate the release of the NIA?

You can monitor this site for the NIA: Federal Register Documents | U.S. Department of 

Education. The site also includes an RSS feed if you want to subscribe to updates.

When are applications due?

Applications will be due 60 days after the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) is published in the 

Federal Register.

When would award announcements be made?

We hope to announce the new cohort of NRC/FLAS grants by early August 2022.

CONTENT

Could you list the order of content for the FY 2022 NIAs, please?

The order is available under the “Selection Criteria” section.

COVID-19

How should we address COVID-19 in our applications? Will the effects of potentially lower 

course enrollments/remote teaching/travel restrictions due to COVID, etc. be taken into 

consideration? Should we account for a continued pandemic in our proposed activities and 

budget?

Everyone is in the same position with regards to the pandemic, and we encourage you to do

your best to present the information that will be most relevant to the reviewers to determine

the strengths of your center or program. We suggest you modify or adjust your application as 

necessary to factor in the pandemic environment while still making your case for why your 

application merits funding.
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It is reasonable to mention the effects that COVID-19 had on activities and numbers in 2020-

2021 and to provide additional information that would be useful to reviewers to demonstrate 

your “normal” capacity and capabilities in non-pandemic times. You can mention the ways in 

which your center pivoted or made changes to continue your work during the pandemic.

You may propose “normal” activities like travel and in-person programming in your budgets as 

we do not know what the landscape will look like for the next 4 years. You may ALSO provide 

information about contingency plans and/or virtual/hybrid offerings in case of future 

disruptions.

Use common sense to address these questions. Think about what you would want to see if you 

were a reviewer to allay concerns. Reviewers will understand the context of COVID-19, but will 

also still want to see that your center is ready and able to achieve what you are proposing in the 

application.

Remember that it is not only pandemics that can disrupt activities, but also natural disasters, 

geopolitical issues, etc. We always work with our NRC and FLAS grantees to find reasonable and 

allowable solutions to adapt activities and plans as necessary in response to unexpected events.

Regarding using academic year (AY) 20-21 data and explanations relating to COVID to explain 

some of the variation, can we mention AY 21-22 positive enrollment trends?

Yes, of course. This information would be of use to reviewers as they consider your proposal.

Priorities

What are the priorities for the FY 2022 NRC and FLAS competitions?

For the FY 2022 NRC competition, there are two Absolute Priorities and one Competitive 

Preference Priority.

• Absolute Priority 1. 

Applications that (1) explain how the activities funded by the grant will reflect diverse 

perspectives and a wide range of views and generate debate on world regions and 

international affairs; and (2) describe how the applicant will encourage government 

service in areas of national need, as identified by the Secretary, as well as in areas of 

need in the education, business, and non-profit sectors. 

• Absolute Priority 2. 

Applications that propose teacher training activities on the language, languages, area 

studies, or thematic focus of the Center.

• Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2022 and any subsequent year in which we 

make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, this priority 

is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an 

additional five points to an application, depending on how well the application meets 

the priority.
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This priority is: 

Partnership with Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) or Community Colleges (up to 5 

additional points). 

Under this priority, an applicant must demonstrate that the project will be 

implemented by or in partnership with one or more of the following entities:

(1) Community colleges (as defined in this notice). 

(2) Historically Black colleges and universities (as defined in this notice). 

(3) Tribal Colleges and Universities (as defined in this notice).

(4) Minority-serving institutions (as defined in this notice).

For the FY 2022 FLAS competition, there are two Competitive Preference Priorities.

Under 34 CFR 75.105(C)(2)(i), we award an additional five points to an application that meets 

Competitive Preference Priority 1, and an additional five points to an application that meets 

Competitive Preference Priority 2. An applicant may receive a total of up to 10 additional points 

under the competitive preference priorities.

These priorities are:

• Competitive Preference Priority 1: Fellowships for Students Who Demonstrate Financial 

Need. (0 or 5 points)

Applications that propose to give preference when awarding fellowships to 

undergraduate students, graduate students, or both, to students who demonstrate 

financial need as indicated by the students’ expected family contribution, as determined 

under part F of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). This 

need determination will be based on the students’ financial circumstances and not on 

other aid. The applicant must describe how it will ensure that all fellows who receive 

such preference show potential for high academic achievement based on such indices as 

grade point average, class ranking, or similar measures that the institution may 

determine.

• Competitive Preference Priority 2--Academic Year FLAS Fellowships Awarded in the Less 

Commonly Taught Languages. (0 or 5 points)

Applications that propose to award at least 25 percent of academic year FLAS 

fellowships in modern foreign languages other than French, German, and Spanish.

A full description of the priorities may be found in the Notice Inviting Applications published in 

the Federal Register and in the NRC and FLAS program application instructions documents.

Is there only one competitive preference priority for the NRC program this time?

Yes, there is only one competitive preference priority for the FY 2022 NRC competition. Please 

see Priorities for the FY 2022 NRC and FLAS competitions above.
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For the NRC competitive preference priority, how do we determine if an institution meets the 

definition of a Minority-Serving Institution (MSI) or community college?

Applicants should visit the following website, where they can download the “2021 Eligibility 

Matrix”:

• Website: www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/eligibility.html

• 2021 Eligibility Matrix:

https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ope/idues/2021eligibilitymatrix.xlsx

A “YES” in Column AK (ELIGIBLE) indicates whether an institution meets the requirements to be 

considered an MSI or community college for this priority.

What is the difference between an Absolute Priority and a Competitive Preference Priority?

An applicant must address all absolute priorities in order to be considered for funding under a 

program competition.

An applicant may receive additional qualitative points for responding to a competitive 

preference priority (CPP), depending upon how well the application meets the CPP. 

Our center engages in outreach activities. Does that mean that we have fulfilled Absolute 

Priority 2 for National Resource Centers?

Not necessarily. "Outreach activities" include many projects that are not teacher training. To 

meet the absolute priority, applicants must include information that demonstrates the 

existence, development, and expansion of effective teacher training activities. Collaboration 

with Schools of Education, and Local and State Education Agencies are good means by which to 

address this requirement.

For the FLAS competitive preference priority about financial need, I understand that the EFC 

will be going away in the next year or two (to be replaced by a new metric). Will this have any 

impact on that priority?

If the way of determining financial need changes from what is described in the FLAS competitive 

preference priority, then we will advise the FLAS grantee community at that time of how to best 

respond to maintain the intent of the priority. For now, for the purposes of the FY 2022 

application, centers/institutions may provide information about the current process for 

determining financial need.

Languages

Are these programs only for less commonly taught languages (LCTLs)?

No. The NRC and FLAS programs support the study of all languages and world regions. While 

there is a particular interest in and emphasis on programming for LCTLs, NRC and FLAS funding 

may also be used for programming related to French, German, and Spanish.
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I found a list of acceptable languages on IFLE’s website. Are only those languages allowed?

Regarding the Consultation with Federal Agencies on Areas of National Need, all modern foreign 

languages are relevant to the NRC and FLAS programs. This site may help you shape how you 

describe how your application will address national needs.

Do you designate certain languages as “priority languages”?

No. While past NRC and FLAS competitions have designated specific “priority languages”, we no 

longer make this designation. All modern foreign languages are relevant to the NRC and FLAS 

programs. There is a particular interest in activities that support less commonly taught 

languages (LCTLs), defined as any language other than French, German, or Spanish.

World Regions

Where do you draw the lines for what is included in a world region? For example, is 

Afghanistan in South Asia? What about Iran?

We do not determine the world region assignment for centers. You do that in your application 

via the “Application Profile Form”. That form allows you to indicate under which regional 

category you would like your application to be considered. You are in the best position to 

determine the regional category that best aligns with your center’s work.

For example, Afghanistan might be included in the work of a South Asia or a Middle East NRC, 

depending on a center’s focus. Similarly, some Eastern European countries can be included in 

the work of a Western Europe/Europe center. That said, if the center’s work is exclusively 

focused on Eastern Europe (with little or no inclusion of broader European topics or Western 

European countries), then your center would be better grouped in the Russia, Eastern Europe, 

and Eurasian category. 

If your center’s focus is on something topical and not region-specific (for instance, looking at 

climate change across all world regions), that would fall under the International category. The 

International NRC category is for centers that are doing work that spans the globe and is not 

confined to a particular world region.

If you need guidance on which world region would be most appropriate for your center’s 

application, then please reach out to the NRC and FLAS team at NRC-FLAS@ed.gov and we can 

assist.

Regarding the combination of Latin America and Canada into an area, is there more specific 

information available on this change and how it may impact centers or affect the next 

competition? 

Nothing significant will change with this new world region designation. We expect to make a 

similar number of awards with similar funding levels as for the FY 2018-2021 cycle for the 

Canada and Latin America world regions combined. 
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A center applying under the Western Hemisphere category may still have a particular focus on 

Canada or on Latin America and the Caribbean. Reviewers will still have relevant expertise in the 

countries/regions pertaining to the applications on their panel. Canadian area studies specialists 

will review Canadian NRC/FLAS applications and Latin American area specialists will review Latin 

American NRC/FLAS applicants.

Does the new Western Hemisphere world area mean that we can include indigenous 

languages to the U.S. in our proposal?

A Western Hemisphere NRC and/or FLAS program may include indigenous languages that apply 

to North America as long as the focus is international (i.e., on Latin America, the Caribbean, 

and/or Canada) and not domestic (i.e., on the United States). The focus of Title VI programs is 

international and the programs are supposed to prepare U.S. citizens to better engage with the 

world beyond the United States. 

Example: It is acceptable to include languages that are indigenous to Mexico but that are also 

found in certain communities in the United States provided the focus would be on the 

language’s use in Mexico. Similarly, a Canada-focused NRC may include a language like Inuktitut 

that is used both in Alaska and Canada, provided the focus would be on the use of the language 

in Canada. It would not be appropriate to include a language that is indigenous only to the 

United States.

FLAS

Can you confirm whether FLAS-only applicants need to apply for both graduate and 

undergraduate scholarships? Could we apply for undergraduate support only or graduate 

support only?

Institutions may request FLAS awards for only undergraduate students, only graduate students, 

or a combination of the two. Please note, however, that if you request FLAS fellowships for only 

one type of student (undergraduate or graduate) and are selected for funding, you will be held 

to those terms for the full grant cycle. That is, if you request only undergraduate fellowships, 

you cannot change mid-cycle to start making graduate awards also, and vice-versa.

Are undergraduate students eligible to receive FLAS fellowships?

Yes. Undergraduate students may be eligible to receive FLAS fellowships if they are studying a 

Less Commonly Taught Language (any language other than French, German, or Spanish) at the 

intermediate or advanced level of study in combination with area or international studies.

Do FLAS graduate students need to be in doctoral programs? Are students still eligible if the 

master’s (or a professional degree like a JD) is the terminal degree?

IFLE considers graduate students to be all students above the bachelor's degree level; MA, JD, 

MPH, PhD, EdD and non-degree graduate students are therefore all eligible for FLAS funding

provided that the institution’s FLAS application included awards to graduate students (i.e., did 

not request only undergraduate FLAS awards).
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If you are only requesting FLAS training stipends for graduate students, would the narrative 

include programming (courses, advising resources, career support, etc.) that is specific to 

undergraduates or only that which serves graduate students?

Regardless of likely recipients for FLAS fellowships, applicants must respond to all selection 

criteria for the FLAS program in the project narrative, which may involve addressing graduate 

and undergraduate students/education.

How do we determine which languages are FLAS eligible?

Applicants will provide a list of languages for which they are requesting FLAS awards. In order to

offer awards in a particular language, you must demonstrate in your application that your 

institution has qualified instructors for the language AND that your institution offers courses in 

each language at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Languages that meet these 

criteria will become your “FLAS-eligible” languages for which you may make awards freely 

during the grant cycle. (Grantees may also request approval for ‘one-time’ awards in languages 

that are not part of the pre-approved “FLAS-eligible” list. If your application is selected to 

receive funding, you will receive more information about this possibility.)

For FLAS languages, can a center or institution shift outside of its NRC world area? For 

example, can an East Asia center include South and West Asian languages? Could we list 

Hindi, Arabic, etc. in addition to East Asian languages?

This answer depends on what type of center you have/are proposing and if the languages in 

question make sense in the context of your center and proposal. For instance, if you are a Pan 

Asia center, then it would be okay to include languages like Hindi, Arabic, or other languages 

that are used in Asia more broadly (meaning, beyond the borders of what is traditionally 

considered East Asia). On the other hand, if your center is an East Asia center and the core of

your narrative focuses on teaching what is traditionally understood to be East Asia (China, 

Japan, Korea), then it may not make sense to include additional languages..

If a 1st year (freshman) student is applying for FLAS, can they base/demonstrate their merit 

on their performance in their high-school language courses?

A freshman student could, in theory, receive a FLAS award, but would need to be selected via a 

competitive application process managed by the college/university. It is extremely rare for a 

FLAS award to go to a freshman as they have not yet demonstrated their academic commitment 

to the study of the world region/language at the postsecondary level, but it does sometimes 

happen.

Can a student who has intermediate or advanced language proficiency in one critical language 

apply for FLAS funding to study a new critical language if they have a strong proposal?

Once selected to receive funding, an institution/center must implement an 

application/competition process to select qualified fellows to receive FLAS awards. Fellows must 

meet program eligibility requirements for students, which may be viewed at:

FLAS Eligibility Requirements Website

FY 2018-2021 Program Administration Manual for the NRC and FLAS programs
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Fellowships may not be awarded for the study of the first 12 semester hours or the equivalent 

(i.e., the beginning level) of a commonly taught language (Spanish, French, and German).

HEA section 602(b)(1)(B)(i) is unequivocal that undergraduate students must be in the 

intermediate or advanced study of a less commonly taught language to receive a fellowship.

Graduate students may also not receive fellowships for the beginning level of a language study. 

See section 602(b)(1)(B)(ii) (U.S. Department of Education, Office of the General Counsel). 

Note: An exception might be made for the beginning level of a less commonly taught language if 

a graduate student has achieved advanced proficiency in another language of the world area of 

specialization, and if learning a second language of that world area is required for the student’s 

overall training and expertise. This requires pre-approval from IFLE. 

Diverse Perspectives and Areas of National Need

What exactly does “diverse perspectives” mean? Multiple political sides? Domestic vs. 

international perspectives from the region? Something else?

Your statement should address how the activities funded by the grant will reflect diverse 

perspectives and a wide range of views and generate debate on world regions and international 

affairs. “Diverse perspectives” means making sure that as many relevant views as reasonably 

possible about any topic are presented or addressed. We recommend approaching this the way 

an academic would; that is, treat all relevant sides and include information to address them. 

This requirement has been in place since 2008 when amendments were added to the Higher 

Education Act (HEA). Among the amendments was the inclusion of diverse perspectives, 

activities that promote debate on certain world regions, and promote greater understanding in 

areas of national need. This emerged after a Congressional review of the program’s purpose, 

which is to prepare people to have a fuller understanding of regions and countries, after which 

they deemed it appropriate that centers provide training that helps prepare students to think 

critically about different sides of a given issue.

What this is asking you to do is to show that your center’s mission, programming, and curricula

presents diverse perspectives to help students understand and think critically on a range of 

issues and to enables them to effectively debate different sides of an issue .

Note: The reviewers will see this statement; however, it is not evaluated as part of the Technical 

Review Form (TRF) and selection criteria.

Do reviewers have access to the statement regarding diverse perspectives and responding to 

areas of national need that we will upload with our application?

Yes, the reviewers will have access to everything you submit as part of your application package. 

Grants.gov combines all your application materials into one packet that is fully available to the 

reviewers.
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Is there an official definition of “areas of national need”?

Your statement responding to “areas of national need” should be a description of how you will 

encourage government service in areas of national need, as identified by the Secretary, as well 

as in areas of needs in education, business, and nonprofit sectors.

The areas of national need, as identified by the Secretary, may be viewed here (see FY 2022 list): 

Consultation with Federal Agencies on Areas of National Need.

Narrative

If an institution isn’t a current grantee, should the narrative refer to activities over the past 

four years, since that's the NRC cycle?

In general, your application should be forward-looking, not backward-looking, whether you're a 

current grantee or not. You could include past programs as examples, but your focus should be 

on what you are seeking funding to do in the future.

For returning centers, we always encourage you to not rest too much on your laurels. This is not 

a competition to decide who was the best grantee over the last four years, but rather it's a 

competition to determine who is going to be a good grantee for the next four years. You can 

include what your what you've accomplished over the last four years to lay the foundation for 

your application, but don't look backwards the whole time. 

Selection Criteria

Can we assume that the order of the selection criteria presented in the webinar is the same 

as the anticipated Technical Review Form (TRF)/scoring sheet?

Yes, the order of the criteria presented here is the order that we expect to present them on the 

actual TRF:

NRC:

A. Commitment to the subject area on which the Center focuses

B. Quality of the Center’s language instructional program

C. Quality of the Center’s non-language instructional program

D. Quality of curriculum design

E. Quality of staff resources

F. Strength of library

G. Impact and evaluation

H. Outreach activities

I. Program planning and budget

J. Competitive preference priorities

FLAS:

A. Commitment to the subject area on which the applicant focuses
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B. Quality of the applicant’s language instructional program

C. Quality of the applicant’s non-language instructional program

D. Quality of curriculum design

E. Quality of staff resources

F. Strength of library

G. Impact and evaluation

H. FLAS awardee selection procedures

I. Competitive preference priorities

Outreach

Should we describe in the application our center's "outreach" to institutions, organizations, 

and people in other countries?

Yes, but not in response to the "Outreach Activities" selection criterion, which asks applicants to 

describe their regional, national, and local domestic (i.e., within the U.S.) outreach activities.

You may describe linkages with overseas institutions of higher education and organizations, 

overseas professional development opportunities that contribute to the teaching and research 

of the center, and other international initiatives as applicable to other selection criteria.

Impact and Evaluation

Should the Impact and Evaluation section of the narrative address past activities or proposed 

activities?

The selection criteria in this category address both past activities and future activities. For 

example, this section asks you to address both records of student placement and future plans 

for providing equal access for and treatment of eligible project participants who are members of 

groups that have been traditionally underrepresented. Similarly, another criterion addresses the 

need for an evaluation plan as well as evidence that similar plans have been used to improve 

project-related activities.

Are there any detailed expectations around evaluation and the use of external and/or 

independent evaluators?

Evaluators need not necessarily be external, but you should do whatever you can to convince 

your reviewers that evaluators are unbiased.

Reviewers tend to be particular about potential bias among evaluators. Whether using internal 

or external evaluators, you still need to demonstrate that they are unbiased and that there isn't 

some potential conflict of interest that could imperil the quality of the evaluation.

Does the evaluation plan describe a methodology for establishing a baseline and tracking the 

project’s progress during the project? Do evaluation techniques use quantitative (e.g., hard 

data, statistics) and qualitative (e.g., interviews, surveys, observations) data, as appropriate, 
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to measure and report results? Will the center use an evaluator to assess the success of the 

project, and will that evaluator be unbiased? 

Basically, you should develop a plan for evaluating the work of the center over the course of 4-

year grant period and you should clearly transmit that plan in that section of your application.

Differently reiterating the evaluation question, can you address expectations for the "use of 

recent evaluations to inform current plan" on external/internal evaluators for our program?

It is a good practice to use recent evaluations to inform an evaluation plan, though it is not 

necessary. If you have recent evaluations, those can help your readers better understand your 

evaluation plan or can contribute to the explanation of your evaluation plan.

Budget

How much money should we request for an NRC or FLAS grant?

The requested funds should be reasonable, necessary, and appropriate for implementing the 

proposed project. IFLE suggests that applicants limit requests to the estimated range for awards 

announced in the Federal Register Notice Inviting Applications (NIA).

Is there a matching or cost sharing requirement for the NRC or FLAS program?

No. There is no matching or cost sharing requirement for either program. Applicants are not 

required to fill out Section B of the ED-524 form, but if they do, and cite institutional 

commitment, then the grantee and host institution will be held to that commitment for 

however long the applicant indicated it will be provided.

That said, institutional commitment must be addressed in the narrative portion of the grant 

application. Higher levels of institutional commitment will strengthen an application. 

Information provided to demonstrate “commitment to the subject area on which the center 

focuses” does not constitute cost sharing or cost matching.

Is there a separate budget narrative for each year of the project?

Present all budget years (i.e., Year 1 2022-2023, Year 2 2023-2024, Year 3 2024-2025, Year 4 

2025-2026) in your budget. In addition to your detailed, line-item budget, we recommend 

including a one-page overview that allows the reviewer and program officer to view requested 

funding for each category across the entire project period.

FLAS BUDGETS

It’s great that the FLAS total has increased, but does that mean we should all request larger 

FLAS grants? Or is IFLE saying that they will be awarding fewer FLAS awards? 

Once we have an appropriation bill for FY 22, we will determine the totals available for each 

Title VI program. Should Title VI be level funded, we may need to stretch the funding and fund 

fewer FLAS fellowships to absorb the increase to the graduate stipend, but we hope to increase 

the overall FLAS funding.
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Would a FLAS budget include the 8% overhead (indirect costs)?

FLAS budgets should NOT include indirect costs (overhead) and should ONLY include the costs of 

the actual fellowships. Similarly, it is not appropriate for a FLAS budget to include any support 

for staff or non-fellowship costs.

NRC BUDGETS

Can NRC budgets vary year by year? Or are you expecting them to be identical? 

The yearly budget for NRC can vary from year to year. That said, it is useful to note that often we 

are only able to level fund awards for years 2, 3, and 4 of the grant, which means that often the 

entire grant amount will be four times the year 1 amount.

Are we allowed to include project evaluation costs in our NRC budget and is there any 

limitation on the amount?

Including project evaluation costs in the NRC budget is appropriate and allowable. Applications 

should request an amount that is reasonable and justifiable in terms of the overall project scope 

and total budget request.

Would Title VI Project Director meetings be every year or just once during the 4-year grant 

cycle?

There would be one Title VI Project Directors meeting for the FY 2022-2025 grant cycle. The 

meeting would most likely take place in year 1 or early in year 2 of the grant.

SUBGRANTS/SUBAWARDS

Are subgrants allowed this grant cycle?

Subawards are still allowed, but would not affect the ED 524 budget form submission (which 

should cover everything you are asking for, including the subgrant amount).

If we conduct a subaward, what category should that be listed under?

It is most appropriate to include the subaward information under the “Other” category.

NRC BUDGET SUPPORT FOR SALARIES AND SPECIFIC POSITIONS

Would someone who acts as a LCTL coordinator (administrative) as well as teaches a LCTL 

language be someone who could be supported at 100%?

Yes, it would be ok to include salary support for a LCTL coordinator/LCTL instructor in your NRC 

proposal. Again, we recommend considering these requests from the viewpoint of a reviewer 

(i.e., is there a good reason for using X amount of NRC funds to support this person’s salary, is 

the person’s work directly related to the mission of the center and the successful 

implementation of the grant, etc.).
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Can we use a visiting instructor for language teaching? Sometimes it is difficult to find a parttime instructor for some languages.

Yes, visiting instructors may teach languages as part of an NRC’s programming.

Can we include support for the Executive Director or Program Managers?

Do not request support for the Project Director (Principal Investigator). 

Other positions working on the grant may be funded in part or in full using NRC funding, but

remember that your budget and proposal will be reviewed and scored based on reasonableness 

and other considerations. The core budget-related question for reviewers is always, “is this a 

good use of taxpayer money?” We generally recommend that institutions try to fund salaries 

from institutional or other sources of funding whenever/to the maximum extent possible so that 

NRC funding may be directed to support programming and activities.

It is common for NRCs to direct some funding toward salary support for an outreach 

coordinator, less commonly taught language instructor, etc. (i.e., positions where the day-to-day 

work is directly related to the mission of the NRC). You may see how past successful applications 

have structured their budgets and staff salaries by reviewing funded applications from the FY 

2018 competition: Funded NRC and FLAS Applications, FY 2018-2021.

Any recommendations for institutions that are in very high cost-of-living areas? A 

'reasonable' salary for someone to oversee all the NRC programming at our D.C. area 

university, even with a 15% salary cost-share from the center, is still quite high. If our HR 

people identify a certain salary band for a given position, will we be penalized for including 

the position at that (high) level in the application? 

We understand that some areas of the country are much more expensive to live in than others 

and salary amounts vary accordingly. We know these are difficult decisions for centers in high 

cost-of-living areas of the country, but it is up to each center to decide what to propose in the 

budget. Generally, we recommend trying to minimize putting salaries on the grant as much as 

possible (in favor of using institutional or other sources of funding), and instead directing NRC 

funds to support activities.

There is no easy answer to this, but practically speaking, try to put yourself in the shoes of a 

reviewer reading your proposal. For example, if you were a reviewer, what would you think if a 

center proposed to pay for 100% of someone’s salary in an expensive area? While the reviewers 

will likely understand the institution is in an area with a high cost of living, that doesn’t 

necessarily mean this would be a good use of funding. Reviewers may have questions like, 

“Could this center have proposed 50% NRC funding and 50% institutional funding? Could they 

have found another way to support that position?” It’s all about whether a proposed expense is 

a good use of taxpayer money.
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Appendices

Can we include additional appendices beyond the four listed (i.e., CVs, position descriptions, 

course list, and letters of support)?

Yes, you may include additional appendices (e.g., project timeline) if it makes sense in the 

context of your grant application. That said, do not include unnecessary documents that will 

only add length to your proposal without providing much benefit. We remind applicants that 

reviewers have a lot to read--each application consists of hundreds of pages and each panel 

includes around 10 applications. You do not want to annoy the reviewer or make their jobs 

harder! Please be mindful of the total number of pages that you are submitting for review. 

Can we include an NRC project timeline as an appendix? 

Yes, you may include a timeline in your proposal appendix section. Reviewers generally 

appreciate timelines as they demonstrate that you have thought through the time frame for 

implementing the various elements of your project.

COURSE LISTS

Would it be favorable to include syllabi for any new courses or outlines for proposed events 

in appendix or unnecessary?

It is not necessary to include syllabi in your proposal. We encourage you to be mindful of the 

length of your application package and not include unnecessary materials. You might consider 

an appendix constituted of a list of proposed courses or activities.

On course lists, besides enrollment and course names/departments, what other information 

should be included?

The previous application packet offered the following guidance on course lists: 

Recommended tips for the course list 

• Include an index to show how the course list is organized.

• Indicate the 25% - 100% area studies or international studies content.

• Provide descriptions for area studies courses or international studies courses when the 

titles do not explicitly convey areas studies or international studies content. 

• Include the course credits, if applicable. If institutional policies dictate that certain 

relevant courses may not be credit-bearing, explain why.

• Indicate courses that are cross listed.

LETTERS OF SUPPORT

How many letters of support will we be allowed? Is there a limit?

We recommend a maximum of 5 letters of support. While this is a recommendation and not a 

requirement, we again urge you to consider the reviewer. You would not want to overburden 

them.
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If you are serving the community, is it useful to have a letter of support from a community 

partner, not just from within your own institution?

This might be useful depending on the relationship between the center and the community 

partner. There is a recommended limit of 5 letters of support, so be strategic in which persons 

and institutions you choose to include.

POSITION DESCRIPTIONS

Should position descriptions be included only for staff and faculty who have not yet been 

identified/hired and will have their salaries at least partially supported by the grant? Or 

existing positions as well?

You should include position descriptions for any position that is involved in the administration of 

the grant (even if the position is currently filled and you are providing that person’s CV). 

Reviewers want to see how the parts of the center work together to deliver the project.

If our external reviewer will be conducting year over year comprehensive review, would it be 

required to include them in center personnel?

We recommend including position descriptions for roles that are directly involved in the grant 

(whether they're being funded by the grant or not) to show your reviewers that you have a clear 

plan in place and the necessary positions to carry out the tasks that you propose in your grant

application. 

CURRICULA VITAE

What CVs do we need to include? CVs for only those persons who are directly working on the 

grant, or ALL relevant faculty at the university and other affiliates? Where do we draw the 

limit for number of CVs collected?

It is essential to submit CVs for those persons who will be principally involved in and who will 

contribute to the grant. It is up to you to decide how to define “principal involvement” and 

“contribution to the grant”. 

It is ok to cast a wide net with CVs. You may include CVs for affiliated personnel, faculty from 

professional schools, etc., if it makes sense in the context of your proposal. You do not 

necessarily have to include ALL affiliates. Reviewers use the CVs submitted to ensure that 

people working on the grant have the right qualifications to be involved in the way that they 

are.

You may find it useful to review past successful proposals to get a sense of what types and how 

many CVs were included: Funded NRC and FLAS Applications, FY 2018-2021.

How detailed should the CVs be considering the large number?

We recommend submitting 1-page CVs. The previous application packet offered the following 

guidance for the suggested contents of CV:

• Department and tenure status
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• Education

• Academic experience

• Overseas experience

• Language(s) and level of proficiency 

Note: include a legend to explain the metric for the proficiency level

• Language pedagogy training 

• Instructional content area expertise represented as a percentage 

• Number of area studies, international studies, language courses taught

• Research and training specialization

• Number of recent publications

• Number of dissertations and/or theses supervised in the past five years

• Recent Recognitions/Awards/Honors

Can you submit 2-page CVs instead of the suggested format for CVs?

You can submit 2-page CVs, but it is not recommended.

Page and Formatting Limits/Recommendations

What are the formatting requirements? Is the page limit for single-spaced or double-spaced 

pages? 

The formatting requirements will be outlined in the official Notice Inviting Applications (NIA). 

They will most likely remain the same as for the FY 2018 competition. Those requirements are:

• 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, and captions.

Charts, tables, figures, and graphs in the application narrative may be single spaced and 

will count toward the recommended 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.

• The recommended page limit applies to the entirety of the application narrative. 

However, the recommended page limit does not apply to Part I, the Application for 

Federal Assistance face sheet (SF 424); the supplemental SF 424 form; Part II, Budget 

Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524); the detailed line item budget; Part 

IV, the assurances and certifications and the response to section 427 of the General 

Education Provisions Act; the project abstract; the table of contents; the list of 

acronyms; the response to the diverse perspectives/areas of need requirements; the 

NRC/FLAS project profile form, and the appendices (curriculum vitae, course list, 

performance measure form, and letters of support).
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Are budget forms and appendices included in the recommended page limit?

No. The 50-page (single institution) or 60-page (consortium) recommended page limit applies 

only to the “Application Narrative”. Other elements of the application (budget, profile form, 

other appendices) do not count toward the page limit.

Are institutions applying for both National Resource Centers and FLAS Fellowship funding 

permitted a longer page limit than institutions applying for a grant under only one program?

No. Narrative page limits are 50 pages for single institution applications and 60 double-spaced 

pages for consortia applications, regardless of whether they are for undergraduate or 

comprehensive NRC funding or FLAS fellowships or both. Please see the Notice Inviting 

Applications in the Federal Register for the official requirements.

Are consortia with more than two members permitted a longer page limit than two-member 

consortia?

No. All consortia are encouraged to comply with the 60 double-spaced page narrative limit.

Application Processing

What happens to my application after the Department receives it?

Applications are assigned a unique identifying number (PR/Award number, e.g., P015A22----

P015B22----) and then screened to ensure eligibility and compliance with the competition 

requirements. Applications are also screened for world area or thematic focus so that they may 

be assigned to the appropriate panel for review.

Separate panels of experts will be arranged for world areas or thematically based 

applications. The panels of experts read and score each eligible application. IFLE then makes

funding recommendations to Department officials based on reviewers’ scores and 

comments. Once recommendations are approved, grant award notifications (GANs) are issued

based on available funding.

What happens if the Department deems an application ineligible?

The application is not submitted into the peer review process. Section 75.216 of the Education 

Department General Administrative Requirements (EDGAR) and Other Applicable Grant 

Regulations and 34 CFR 75.216 prohibit the Department from evaluating an application if it does 

not meet the program eligibility criteria, or does not otherwise comply with application 

requirements. We will notify you with a letter indicating the reason(s) why the application was 

deemed ineligible.
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Panel Review Process and Application Evaluation

What information does the Department consider when selecting applications for new FY 2022 

NRC and/or FLAS grants?

We rely on the panel review process (i.e., the peer reviewers’ expertise) to identify the highly 

competitive applicants that merit funding consideration. Reviewers score each application using 

the selection criteria published in the Federal Register as part of the program regulations. 

Reviewers use the Technical Review Form that is included at the end of the application 

instructions document to record their comments and scores for each selection criterion. 

Reviewers are instructed to use only the published criteria and to base their evaluation strictly 

on information provided in the application.

Also, as described in the “Award Basis” section of the FY 2022 Notice Inviting Applications, the 

Department will consider, among other things, the applicant’s performance and use of funds 

under a previous or existing award under any Department program.

Who serves on the peer review panels, and what is involved in the peer review process? 

Each peer review panel is constituted of three readers from outside the U.S. Department of 

Education: two area studies experts (representing a variety of disciplines) and a language 

expert. Peer reviewers are selected from the pool of field readers whose profiles have been 

submitted into the Department’s G5 system and who are qualified to review Title VI NRC and 

FLAS applications. 

The experts are required to use the program statute and regulations, the program selection 

criteria, and any priorities and other requirements that have been published in the Federal 

Register as guidance in reviewing the applications. The review panels provide written comments 

and scores to support their evaluations about the quality, significance, and impact of the 

proposed project. Those comments are shared with the applicants.

The total of the three scores for each program is divided by three to determine the application’s 

average score. Funding recommendations are based on the ranking of the average scores within 

a world area. The recommended awards are reviewed by several Department offices, with final 

review and approval by the Secretary of Education. After the slates are signed by the Secretary 

and Congressional notifications have been completed, IFLE notifies grantees and issues Grant 

Award Notifications (GANs).

Is the peer reviewer information public?

We do not provide a list of the reviewers. The reviewers are professionals with specific training 

in the world area and/or languages they are reviewing. We recruit and select panel reviewers 

throughout the year who meet specific criteria. See the peer reviewer recruitment flyer on IFLE's 

website.

How long does it take the Department to complete the review process?

Most review processes take about six to eight months from the announcement date through the 

issuance of the signed Grant Award Notification (GAN).
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The external peer review will be conducted over a two-week period. After that, we hope to 

complete all grant-making activities so that we can notify new FY 22 grantees by early August, 

2022. 

Award Process

How does ED decide the allocations of awards for each world area?

These decisions are based on a variety of factors including how many quality applications come 

in for each world region. Just because fewer applications are received for a world region doesn't 

necessarily mean that there would be fewer grants awarded for that world region. There isn’t 

necessarily a correlation between the number of applications received and the number of 

applications funded for a given world region. What matters is quality. If we receive a lot of 

excellent quality applications in one world region and another world region doesn't have as 

many, then at that point there are discussions about shifting funding among the world regions.

How will decisions about continuation funding be made?

Grantees are required to submit annual performance reports on time to the International 

Resource Information System (IRIS) that describe the projects' accomplishments, GPRA data, 

and budgetary status. These reports assist IFLE staff in determining continuation funding. 

Although estimated funding levels for all four years of the grant are established at the time of 

the initial grant award notification, the amount of funding received in Years 2, 3 and 4 of the 

grant can increase or decrease depending on:

1. the on-time submission of all required reports, 

2. evidence in the reports that you have made substantial progress toward meeting 

original grant objectives, 

3. program officers' review and analysis of report data, 

4. information from site visits, such as programmatic or fiscal findings, 

5. the Congressional appropriation of funds for the programs, and 

6. A-133 audit information that IFLE might receive regarding a specific grant.

Successful applicants will receive instructions for submitting electronic performance reports 

through IRIS soon after their grants have been awarded. To view the NRC and FLAS reporting 

screens, please visit the IRIS web site at:

http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/NRC.pdf

http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/FLAS_director.pdf

http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/FLAS_fellow.pdf
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Other Questions

Who do we contact if we have other questions?

You may email NRC-FLAS@ed.gov and your message will be directed to the appropriate program 

officer for your world region of interest. You may also reach out directly to the relevant program 

officer or office contact listed below.

Assignment Contact Person Email Address

Advanced Training and Research Division 

Director

Sarah Beaton sarah.beaton@ed.gov

Africa Brian Cwiek brian.cwiek@ed.gov

East Asia, Pan Asia Carolyn Collins carolyn.collins@ed.gov

International Brian Cwiek brian.cwiek@ed.gov

Middle East Tim Duvall timothy.duvall@ed.gov

Russia, East Europe, and Eurasia Dana Sapatoru dana.sapatoru@ed.gov

South Asia Cheryl Gibbs cheryl.gibbs@ed.gov

Southeast Asia Ariana Maki ariana.maki@ed.gov

Western Europe Tim Duvall timothy.duvall@ed.gov

Western Hemisphere (Canada, Latin America 

and Caribbean)

Carolyn Collins carolyn.collins@ed.gov

Closeouts and Administrative Support Mone’t Peterson-Cox monet.peterson-cox@ed.gov