Augustus F. Hawkins 

Centers of Excellence 

(Hawkins) Program

FY22

Pre-Application Webinar

September 19, 2022

Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education

Office of Postsecondary Education
DISCLAIMER

• The purpose of this webinar is to provide information about the Augustus F. 

Hawkins Centers of Excellence (Hawkins) program. The webinar provides the 

U.S. Department of Education’s interpretation of various statutory provisions 

and does not impose any requirements beyond those included in the Hawkins 

Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the 2022 grant competition; and other 

applicable laws and regulations. 

• Do not rely solely on the information in this webinar. 

• Please refer to the NIA published in the Federal Register for additional 

information, as this is the official document governing the competition. The 

application package is available in grants.gov. 

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AGENDA

• Welcome & Introductions

• Overview

• Eligibility

• Competition Priorities

• Selection Criteria

• Logic Model

• Application 

Requirements

• Grants.gov

• Resources

• Contact Information

• Q’s and A’s

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OVERVIEW

• The Hawkins Program, authorized under Part B of Title II of the Higher Education Act of 

1965, as amended (HEA) is designed to support centers of excellence at institutions of 

higher education (IHEs). 

• The selected centers of excellence must be established at HBCUs; TCUs; or MSIs, such as 

HSIs, with a State-accredited teacher preparation program, to help increase the number 

of well-prepared teachers of color, including supporting teaching assistant initiatives at 

HBCUs, TCUs, MSIs that have partnerships with high-need LEAs, resulting in a more 

diverse teacher workforce. 

• This program focuses on the various aspects of the teacher preparation pipeline, 

including the recruitment, preparation, support, placement, and retention of teachers of 

color in high-need LEAs to support underserved students. Through this program, the 

Secretary seeks to fund applicants that propose to incorporate evidence-based 

components and practices into their teacher preparation program. 4
Eligibility

An IHE that has a qualified teacher preparation program that is—

(1) Part B institution (a Historically Black College or University) (as defined in section 322 of the HEA);

(2) Hispanic-serving institution (as defined in section 502 of the HEA);

(3) Tribal College or University (as defined in section 316 of the HEA);

(4) Alaska Native-serving institution (as defined in section 317(b) of the HEA);

(5) Native Hawaiian-serving institution (as defined in section 317(b) of the HEA);

(6) Predominantly Black Institution (as defined in section 318 of the HEA);

(7) Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander-serving institution (as defined in section 320(b) of 

the HEA); or

(8) Native American-serving, nontribal institution (as defined in section 319 of the HEA);

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Characteristics of the Program 

Estimated available 

funds: $7,920,000

Estimated number of 

awards: Up to 5

Estimated Range: 

$1,500,000 - $1,600,000

Project Period: 4 years

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BACKGROUND

In light of the teacher shortages that existed prior to the pandemic and that have worsened 

since, the Department encourages applicants to consider how their program design can 

provide clinical experience for teacher candidates in high-need schools facing teacher 

shortages. For example, teacher candidates, as part of their clinical experience, can serve in 

schools as substitutes, paraprofessionals, or tutors as their academic schedules allow and 

as they complete requirements for teacher certification. 

Applicants can see this Department of Education fact sheet for examples of educator 

preparation programs supporting high need schools in this way: 

https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus/factsheets/teacher-shortage

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PRIORITIES

One Absolute Priority and two Competitive Preference Priorities (up to five points each).

We consider only applications that meet the Absolute Priority.

This priority is:

Projects that are evidence-based, comprehensive teacher preparation programs that 

provide extensive clinical experience. To meet this priority, the applicant must describe its 

record in graduating highly skilled, well-prepared and diverse teachers. The applicant 

must also address how it will—

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ABSOLUTE PRIORITY

(a) Examine the sources of inequity and inadequacy in resources and opportunity and implement 

pedagogical practices in teacher preparation programs that are inclusive with regard to race, 

ethnicity, culture, language, and disability status and that prepare teachers to create inclusive, 

supportive, equitable, unbiased, and identity-safe learning environments for their students;

(b) Prepare teacher candidates to integrate rigorous academic content, including through the 

effective use of technology, instructional techniques, and strategies consistent with universal 

design for learning principles in pedagogical practices and classroom features to improve student 

achievement;

(c) Prepare teacher candidates to design and deliver instruction in ways that are engaging and 

provide their students with opportunities to think critically and solve complex problems, apply 

learning in authentic and real world settings, communicate and collaborate effectively, and 

develop academic mindsets, including through project-based, work-based, or other experiential 

learning opportunities;

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ABSOLUTE PRIORITY cont’d

(d) Prepare teacher candidates to build meaningful and trusting relationships with their 

students’ families to support in-home, community-based, and in-school learning; and

(e) Provide sustained and high-quality preservice clinical experiences, including teaching 

assistant initiatives that facilitate the pathway to the teaching credential for those with 

paraprofessional experience; and provide mentoring of teacher candidates by 

exemplary teachers, which substantially increases interaction between the institution’s 

faculty and new teachers and school site and district administrators in high-need LEAs or 

hard-to-staff schools to support and retain teachers. In providing such experiences, the 

Department encourages applicants to consider opportunities to provide preservice 

clinical experience earlier in the teacher preparation program, as is practicable, and in 

ways that benefit students and teachers.

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COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITIES

• For FY 2022, the Department strongly encourages the use of Competitive Preference 

Priority 1 as part of a comprehensive effort to respond to and address the teacher 

shortage present in the nation’s high need public schools. For FY 2022 and any 

subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from 

this competition, these priorities are competitive preference priorities.

• An applicant may address one or both of the competitive preference priorities. The 

point value for each competitive preference priority is up to 5 points.

Competitive Preference Priority 1—Projects that are Designed to Increase and 

Retain the Number of Well- Prepared Teachers from Diverse Backgrounds

Competitive Preference Priority 2—Increasing the Number of Bilingual and/or 

Multilingual Teachers with Full Certification

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COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITY 1

• Projects that are designed to increase the number of well-prepared teachers and the diversity of 

the teacher workforce with a focus on increasing and retaining a diverse teacher workforce, and 

improving the preparation, recruitment, retention and placement of such teachers.

• Applicants must –

o describe how their project will integrate multiple services or initiatives across academic and 

student affairs, such as academic advising, counseling, stipends, childcare, 

structured/guided pathways, career services, or student financial aid, such as scholarships, 

with the goal of increasing program completion and credential attainment.

o include a plan for supporting teacher candidates underrepresented in the profession, 

including teacher candidates of color, from the beginning of the preparation program 

through graduation, including program entry rates, graduation rates, passage rates for 

certification and licensure exams, and successful employment placement between teacher 

candidate subgroups and an institution’s overall teacher candidate population.

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COMPETITIVE PREFERENCE PRIORITY 2

• Projects that are designed to prepare a new generation of effective and experienced bilingual and/or 

multilingual teachers for high-need schools by increasing the number of teachers across elementary and 

secondary schools who are fully certified to provide academic language instruction in a language other 

than English, including for ELs. These projects must prepare teacher candidates to lead students toward 

linguistic fluency and academic achievement in more than one language.

• Applicants must –

o describe how their project will integrate multiple services or initiatives across academic and student 

affairs, such as academic advising, counseling, stipends, childcare, structured/guided pathways, 

career services, or student financial aid, such as scholarships, and provide the necessary knowledge 

and skills so that teacher candidates can serve students from many different language 

backgrounds.

o include a plan for recruiting, supporting, and retaining bilingual and/or multilingual teacher 

candidates including those who may have a teaching credential but have not been teaching in 

bilingual and/or multilingual education settings; aspiring teachers; and for teaching assistants who 

are interested in becoming bilingual and/or multilingual teachers.
SELECTION CRITERIA

The points assigned to each criterion are:

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Selection Criteria Maximum 

Points

1 Quality of Project Design (30 Points)

2 Significance of the Project (20 Points)

3 Quality of the Project Services (25 Points)

4 Quality of the Management Plan (5 Points)

5 Quality of the Project Evaluation (20 Points)

Sub Total 100 Points

Absolute Priority (0 Points)

Competitive Priority - 1 (5 Points)

Competitive Priority - 2 (5 Points)

Total (110 Points)
QUALITY OF PROJECT DESIGN

• In determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, the Secretary considers the 

following factors:

The extent to which -

(1) the proposed project is part of a comprehensive effort to improve teaching and learning and 

support rigorous academic standards for students. (Up to 10 points)

(2) the design of the proposed project reflects up-to-date knowledge from research and effective 

practice. (Up to 5 points)

(3) the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly 

specified and measurable. (Up to 5 points)

(4) the design of the proposed project is appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of 

the target population or other identified needs. (Up to 5 points)

(5) the proposed project demonstrates a rationale (as defined in this notice). (Up to 5 points)

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SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROJECT

• In determining the significance of the proposed project, the Secretary considers the 

following factors:

(1) The likelihood that the proposed project will result in system change or 

improvement. (Up to 10 points)

(2) The extent to which the results of the proposed project are to be disseminated in 

ways that will enable others to use the information or strategies. (Up to 10 points)

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QUALITY OF THE PROJECT SERVICES

(1) In determining the quality of the services to be provided by the proposed project, the 

Secretary considers the quality and sufficiency of strategies for ensuring equal access and 

treatment for eligible project participants who are members of groups that have 

traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or 

disability. (Up to 10 points)

(2) In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors:

(i) The likely impact of the services to be provided by the proposed project on the 

intended recipients of those services. (Up to 10 points)

(ii) The extent to which the services to be provided by the proposed project involve the 

collaboration of appropriate partners for maximizing the effectiveness of project services. 

(Up to 5 points)

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QUALITY OF THE MANAGEMENT PLAN

• In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed project, the 

Secretary considers the adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives of 

the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly defined 

responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing project tasks.

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QUALITY OF THE PROJECT EVALUATION

• In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary considers the following 

factors:

(1) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about effective strategies 

suitable for replication or testing in other settings. (Up to 10 points)

(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback 

and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving intended outcomes. (Up 

to 10 points)

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LOGIC MODEL

Logic model (also referred to as a theory of action) means a framework that identifies key 

project components of the proposed project (i.e., the active ‘‘ingredients’’ that are 

hypothesized to be critical to achieving the relevant outcomes) and describes the 

theoretical and operational relationships among the key project components and relevant 

outcomes.

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Inter- mediate

Create 

teacher 

career 

pipelines

(Highly 

effective

teachers) 

Behavior 

Target Pop

Teacher 

candidates.of 

color interested 

in becoming 

teachers

Bilingual and/or 

multilingual 

teacher 

candidates 

interested in 

becoming 

teachers

Activities

1. Partner with LEAs 

create teacher 

career pipelines.

2. Recruit, prepare, 

place, retain teacher 

candidates of color.

3. Recruit, prepare, 

place, retain 

bilingual and/or 

multilingual teacher 

candidates.

Outputs

1. Diversify 

teacher 

workforce

2. High quality 

teacher prep 

programs.

3. Effective 

teachers of 

color in high- need schools.

Resources/ 

Inputs:

5 eligible 

institutions 

receive funds to 

implement robust 

teacher prep 

programs. 

Short-term

Students’ 

knowledge and 

college 

readiness

(Diverse 

teachers)

Attitudes

Long-term

Highly 

effective 

teachers who 

serve diverse 

communities

(Global 

economy)

Condition

External Influences (Sphere of Influence)

Factors outside of your control (positive or negative) that may influence the 

outcome and impact of your program/project. 

Teacher Prep Outcomes

HOW WHY

PROGRAM RESULTS FROM PROGRAM

Logic Model Elements

What the program 

actually does?

Who/what will 

change?
PERFORMANCE MEASURES

• The Department will use the following performance measures to evaluate the success of 

the Hawkins program grants:

(a) The number and percentage of teacher candidates who complete the teacher 

preparation program, disaggregated by race.

(b) The number and percentage of teacher candidates, disaggregated by race, served by 

the funded program who become fully certified and are placed as teachers of record in 

high-need LEAs or hard-to-staff schools.

(c) The number and percentage of bilingual and/or multilingual teacher candidates who 

complete the teacher preparation program.

(d) The number and percentage of bilingual and/or multilingual teacher candidates, 

served by the funded program who become fully certified and are placed as teachers of 

record in high need LEAs or hard-to-staff schools.

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Application Checklist

Application for Federal Assistance 

(SF 424)

Department of Education 

Supplemental Information for SF 

424 

Budget Information (ED Form 524)

Program Abstract (one page)

Project Narrative 

Budget Narrative

Other Attachments Form

– Narrative summaries of key personnel

– Short position descriptions for staff to be 

hired

– References cited in proposal narrative

– Project director resume 

– Absolute Priority 

– Competitive Preference Priorities

Assurances/Certifications

– GEPA Section 427

– Grants.gov Lobbying Form (ED 80-0013)

– Disclosure of Lobbying Activities (SF-LLL)

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Applying Through Grants.gov

• Electronic submission required through grants.gov. The application uploading process is 

time consuming. Please submit your application several days before the closing date. 

• If you experience problems with submitting your application, please contact:

– Support Desk e-Mail: support@Grants.gov 

– Support Desk Telephone: (800) 518-4726

Contact Telephone Hours: 24 hours, 7 days a week, except Federal holidays

– Grants.gov Self-Service Knowledge Base web portal at: https://grantsportal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants

• Also, refer to the “Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants” section found in the 

application package. 
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GRANTS.GOV SUBMISSION

 STEP 1 – REGISTER EARLY:

1) Grants.gov registration may take 7 to 10 business days to complete. You may 

begin working on your application while completing the registration process, but 

you cannot submit an application until all of the Registration steps are complete. 

 Detailed information on the Registration Steps may be found at 

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html. Once your registration is 

active, it will take 24-48 hours for the information to be available in 

Grants.gov, and before you can submit an application through Grants.gov. 
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GRANTS.GOV SUBMISSION

 STEP 2 – SUBMIT EARLY

1) We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the last day to submit your 

application. Grants.gov will put a date/time stamp on your application and then 

process it after it is fully uploaded. The time it takes to upload an application 

will vary depending on a number of factors including the size of the application 

and the speed of your Internet connection, and the time it takes Grants.gov to 

process the application will vary as well. If Grants.gov rejects your application 

(see step three below), you will need to resubmit successfully to Grants.gov 

before 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the October 7, 2022. 
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GRANTS.GOV SUBMISSION

 STEP 3 – VERIFY SUBMISSION IS OK

 You will want to verify that Grants.gov received your application submission on 

time and that it was validated successfully. Log in to Grants.gov and click on 

the Track My Application Link. For a successful submission, the date/time 

received should be earlier than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on October 7, 

2022, AND the application status should be: Validated, Received by Agency, or 

Agency Tracking Number Assigned. 

• If the date/time received is later than 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, on October 7, 

2022, your application is late. If your application has a status of “Received” it is 

still awaiting validation by Grants.gov. Once validation is complete, the status 

will either change to “Validated” or “Rejected with Errors.” If the status is 

“Rejected with Errors,” your application has not been received successfully. 
DATES TO REMEMBER

• August 23, 2022 application period opened

• October 7, 2022 at 11:59pm EST application period closes

• October 2022 peer review process

• November 2022 awards announced

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RESOURCES

Augustus F. Hawkins Centers of Excellence (Hawkins) program website: 

https://www2.ed.gov/programs/afhce/index.html

NIA and Application Package: 

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/08/23/2022-18273/applications-for-new-awards-augustus-fhawkins-centers-of-excellence-program

Department of Education fact sheet for examples of educator preparation programs supporting high need 

schools: https://www.ed.gov/coronavirus/factsheets/teacher-shortage

Grants.gov Support Desk e-Mail: support@Grants.gov 

Support Desk Telephone: (800) 518-4726

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Contact Information

DR. VICKI ROBINSON

DIRECTOR

EMAIL: 

VICKI.ROBINSON@ED.GOV

PHONE: 202-453-7907

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Contact Information

ASHLEY HILLARY

COMPETITION MANAGER

EMAIL: 

ASHLEY.HILLARY@ED.GOV

PHONE: 202-453-7880

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FAQs

• What are “centers of excellence”?

o The centers would be developed around the already existing teacher preparation 

program at the qualifying IHE.

• Can a high-need LEA be included in more than one grant application?

o Yes, the applicant should list the high-need and hard-to-staff schools that will be 

served in each project (application).

• Will this competition will run again in 2023?

o This program is funded through Congress, so we don’t know if this competition will 

run again in 2023.

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What are considered administrative costs?

Administrative costs encompass grant expenses associated with administering the grant. These costs can be 

both personnel and non-personnel, and both direct and indirect. Therefore, the limitation applies to the 

combined claims for indirect costs and direct administration costs. Generally, direct administrative costs differ 

from indirect charges in that the latter are considered organization-wide costs. 

• Examples of direct administrative costs are salaries, benefits, and other expenses of the recipient's staff 

that perform the following functions: 

–Overall program management, program coordination, and office management functions including the 

salaries and related costs of the executive director, project director and/or project evaluator; 

–Preparing program plans, budgets schedules, and related amendments; 

–Monitoring of programs, projects, subrecipients and related systems and processes; 

–Developing systems and procedures, including management information systems, for assuring compliance 

with program requirements; 

–Preparing reports and other documents related to the program requirements; 

–Evaluating program results against stated objectives; and 

–Divisional level administrative services such as program specific accounting, auditing or legal activities. 33
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