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[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 40 (Thursday, March 1, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9312-9318]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-3612]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; American 
Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-
Serving Institutions, and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions 
programs; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year 
(FY) 2007

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Numbers: 84.031T, 
84.031N and 84.031W.
    Dates:
    Applications Available: March 1, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 16, 2007.

[[Page 9313]]

    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 14, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) that 
qualify as eligible institutions under the American Indian Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities (TCCU), the Alaska Native-Serving 
Institutions (AN), and the Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions (NH) 
programs may apply for grants under this notice. These programs are 
authorized by Title III, Part A of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 
amended (HEA). To qualify as an eligible institution under any Title 
III, Part A program, an institution must, among other requirements--
    (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 
607.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 
607.4.
    The Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for FY 2007 was published in the Federal Register on 
January 8, 2007, 72 FR 760. The complete eligibility requirements for 
the Title III, Part A programs are in 34 CFR 607.2 through 607.5 and 
can be accessed from the following Web site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/34cfr607_05.html.

Relationship Between the Title III, Part A Programs and the Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSI) Program

    Note 1: A grantee under the Developing Hispanic-Serving 
Institutions (HSI) program, which is authorized under Title V of the 
HEA, may not receive a grant under any HEA, Title III, Part A 
programs. The Title III, Part A programs include: The Strengthening 
Institutions Program (SIP), the TCCU program, and the AN and NH 
programs. 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 eligible HSI that does not fall within the limitation 
described in Note 1, i.e., is not a current grantee under the HSI 
program, may apply for a FY 2007 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 IHE 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 IHE for the same award 
year as the IHE's existing cooperative arrangement development grant 
award.

    Note 4: The Department will make five-year awards for Individual 
Development Grants and five-year awards for Cooperative Development 
Grants in rank order from separate funding slates according to the 
average score received from a panel of three readers.

    However, the Department will use two funding slates each for the 
one-year construction grants under the TCCU program and the one-year 
renovations grants under the AN and NH programs. Slate number one will 
contain the rank order scores of applicants that did not receive a 
grant under the respective program in FY 2006. Slate number two will 
contain the rank order scores of all remaining applicants. Awards under 
the TCCU, AN and NH programs will be made first in rank order from 
slate number one of the respective program. If funds remain after 
awarding all approved applicants from slate number one, the remaining 
awards will be made in rank order from slate number two of the 
respective program. The Department has adopted this process for the 
construction and renovation grants to comply with Section 313(b) of the 
HEA, which directs the Secretary to give priority to applicants who are 
not currently receiving a grant.
    Estimated Available Funds: $23,570,000 for the TCCU program and 
$11,785,000 for the AN and NH program's for FY 2007. A competition will 
not be held in FY 2007 for the SIP. Instead, the Department intends to 
use the grant slate developed for the SIP in FY 2006 to make new awards 
in FY 2007 because a significant number of high-quality applicants 
remained on the FY 2006 slate and limited funding is expected to be 
available for new awards in FY 2007.
    For specific funding information, see the chart in the Award 
Information section of this notice.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: See chart.
    Maximum Award Amounts: See chart. We will not fund any application 
at an amount exceeding the maximum amounts specified in the chart 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: See chart.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                 Program name and type of award                    Maximum award     number of     average award
                                                                      amount          awards          amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities program (84.031T)
    --5-year individual development grants......................        $475,000               2        $450,000
    --1-year construction grants................................       1,650,000               7       1,577,000
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian programs (84.031N and 84.031W)
    --5-year individual development grants......................         500,000               1         500,000
    --1-year renovation grants..................................         750,000               4         710,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice. Applicants should periodically check the Title III Part A 
programs Web site for further information. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/index.html.

    Project Period: Up to 60 months for development grants and up to 12 
months for construction and renovation grants.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The TCCU, AN, and NH programs provide grants to 
eligible institutions of higher education to enable them to improve 
their academic quality, institutional

[[Page 9314]]

management, and fiscal stability, and increase their self-sufficiency 
and strengthen their capacity to make a substantial contribution to the 
higher education resources of the Nation.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1057-1059d.
    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 
84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 
CFR part 607.

II. Award Information

    Type of Awards: Discretionary grants. Five-year individual 
development grants; five-year cooperative arrangement development 
grants; one-year TCCU construction grants, and one-year AN and NH 
renovation grants will be awarded in FY 2007. Planning grants will not 
be awarded in FY 2007.
    Estimated Available Funds: $23,570,000 for the TCCU program and 
$11,785,000 for the AN and NH programs for FY 2007.
    A competition will not be held in FY 2007 for the SIP. Instead, the 
Department intends to use the grant slate developed for the SIP in FY 
2006 to make new awards in FY 2007 because a significant number of 
high-quality applicants remained on the FY 2006 slate and limited 
funding is expected to be available for new awards in FY 2007.
    For specific funding information, see the chart in the Award 
Information section of this notice.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: See chart.
    Maximum Award Amounts: See chart.
    We will not fund any application at an amount exceeding the maximum 
amounts specified in this notice 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: See chart.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                     Estimated       Estimated
                 Program name and type of award                    Maximum award     number of     average award
                                                                      amount          awards          amount
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities Program (84.031T)
    --5-year individual development grants......................        $475,000               2        $450,000
    --1-year construction grants................................       1,650,000               7       1,577,000
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian program (84.031N and 84.031W)
    --5-year individual development grants......................         500,000               1         500,000
    --1-year renovation grants..................................         750,000               4         710,000
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice. Applicants should periodically check the Title III Part A 
programs Web site for further information. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iduestitle3a/index.html.

    Project Period: Up to 60 months for development and up to 12 months 
for construction and renovation grants.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs that qualify as eligible institutions 
under the TCCU, AN and the NH programs may apply for grants under this 
notice. These programs are authorized by Title III, Part A, of the HEA. 
To qualify as an eligible institution under any Title III, Part A 
program, an institution must, among other requirements--
    (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 
607.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 
607.4.
    The Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for FY 2007 was published in the Federal Register on 
January 8, 2007, 72 FR 760. The complete eligibility requirements are 
in 34 CFR 607.2 through 607.5 and can be accessed from the following 
Web site: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_05/34cfr607_05.html.

Relationship Between the Title III, Part A Programs and the Hispanic-
Serving Institutions (HSI) Program

    Note 1: A grantee under the HSI program, which is authorized 
under 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 SIP program, the TCCU program, and the AN, and NH programs. 
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 eligible HSI that does not fall within the limitation 
described in Note 1, i.e., is not a current grantee under the HSI 
program, may apply for a FY 2007 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 IHE 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 institution for the same 
award year as the IHE's existing cooperative arrangement development 
grant award.

    Note 4: The Department will make five-year awards for Individual 
Development Grants and five-year awards for Cooperative Development 
Grants in rank order from separate funding slates according to the 
average score received from a panel of three readers.

    However, the Department will use two funding slates each for the 
one-year construction grants under the TCCU program and the one-year 
renovations grants under the AN and NH programs. Slate number one will 
contain the rank order scores of applicants that did not receive a 
grant under the respective program in FY 2006. Slate number two will 
contain the rank order scores of all remaining applicants. Awards under 
the TCCU, AN and NH programs will be made first in rank order from 
slate number one of the respective program. If funds remain after 
awarding all approved applicants from slate number one, the remaining 
awards will be made in rank order from slate number two of the 
respective program. The Department has adopted this process for the 
construction and renovation grants to comply with Section 313(b) of the 
HEA, which directs the Secretary to give

[[Page 9315]]

priority to applicants who are not currently receiving a grant.
    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. 1057(d)(2) and 
1059c(c)(3)(B).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: Darlene Collins, Team 
Leader, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7576 or by e-mail: 
[email protected]; or Kelley Harris, Telephone: (202) 219-7083 or 
by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative 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 these programs.
    Page Limits: We have established mandatory page limits for the 
applications to be submitted under this notice. You must limit your 
application to the equivalent of no more than 50 pages for an 
individual development grant; 70 pages for a cooperative arrangement 
development grant; and 35 pages for a TCCU construction or AN and NH 
renovation grant under the Title III, Part A programs, using the 
following standards:
     A ``page'' is 8.5 x 11, on one side 
only, with 1 inch margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. Page 
numbers and an identifier may be within the 1'' margin.
     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 one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New or Arial. Applications submitted in any other font 
(including Times Roman and Arial Narrow) will be rejected.
     Use not less than 12-point font.
    The page limit does not apply to Part I, the Application for 
Federal Assistance Face Sheet (SF 424); the Supplemental Information 
for SF 424 form required by the Department of Education; Part II, the 
Budget Information Summary Form (ED Form 524); and Part IV, the 
Assurances and Certifications. The page limit also does not apply to a 
Table of Contents and the Program Abstract. If you include any 
attachments or appendices, these items will be counted as part of the 
Program Narrative (Part III of the application) for purposes of the 
page limit requirement. You must include your complete response to the 
selection criteria in the program narrative.
    We will reject your application if--
     You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
     You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: March 1, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 16, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this competition must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For 
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically or 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 in this notice.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII 
of this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: June 14, 2007.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program 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 these programs.
    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 Title III, 
Part A Programs must comply with Executive Order 13202 signed by 
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 these programs 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 
these programs must be submitted electronically unless you qualify for 
an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in 
this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications. Applications for grants 
under the TCCU, AN and NH programs (CFDA Numbers 84.031T, 84.031N and 
84.031W) must be submitted electronically using the Grants.gov Apply 
site at: http://www.grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to 
download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and 
then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding the calculation of the date 
that is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided 
later in this section under Exception to Electronic Submission 
Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the TCCU, AN 
and NH programs at: http://www.grants.gov. You must search for the 
downloadable application package for this program by the CFDA number. 
Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g., 
search for 84.031, not 84.031W).
    Please note the following:

[[Page 9316]]

     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. 
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your 
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system 
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline 
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify 
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time 
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this competition to ensure that 
you submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov 
system. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures 
pertaining to Grants.gov at  http://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see 
http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps 
include (1) registering your organization, a multi-part process that 
includes registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2) 
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative 
(AOR), and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. 
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step 
Registration Guide (see http://www.grants.gov/section910/Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to successfully submit an application via Grants.gov. In 
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual 
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information typically provided on the following forms: Application 
for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education 
Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the 
Department of Education Supplemental Information form SF 424--have 
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance.)
     You must attach any narrative sections of your application 
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable 
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file 
types specified in this paragraph or submit a password protected file, 
we will not review that material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The 
Department will then retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second confirmation to you by e-mail. This second notification 
indicates that the Department has received your application and has 
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified 
identifying number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
With the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting 
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov 
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You may obtain a Grants.gov Support 
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically, or by hand 
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing 
instructions as described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the deadline date, please contact the person listed elsewhere in 
this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, and provide an 
explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, 
along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will accept your 
application if we can confirm that a technical problem occurred with 
the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your ability to 
submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 
application deadline date. The Department will contact you after a 
determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

    Note: The extensions to which we refer to in this section apply 
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the 
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed 
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before 
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem 
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system;
     and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you 
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax

[[Page 9317]]

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: Darlene Collins, U.S. 
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th floor, Washington, DC 
20006-8513 Telephone: (202) 502-7576 or by e-mail: 
[email protected]; FAX: (202) 502-7861 or Kelley Harris, 
Telephone: (202) 219-7083 or by e-mail: [email protected].
    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 applicable following 
address:
    By mail through the U.S. Postal Service:

U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.031T, 84.031N or 84.031W), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 
Washington, DC 20202-4260.

     or

    By mail through a commercial carrier:

U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center--Stop 4260, 
Attention: (CFDA Number 84.031T, 84.031N or 84.031W), 7100 Old Landover 
Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.

    Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing 
consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service,
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier, or
    (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, or
    (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 84.031T, 84.031N or 84.031W), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 
7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.

    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays and Federal holidays.

    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you 
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by 
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number,--and 
suffix letter, if any--of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application.
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application 
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant 
application receipt acknowledgment 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 607.22(a)-(g). Applicants must address each of the following 
selection criteria (separately for each proposed activity). The total 
weight of the selection criteria is 100 points; the weight of each 
criterion is noted in parentheses.
    (a) Quality of The Applicant's Comprehensive Development Plan 
(Total 25 Points).
    (b) Quality of Activity Objectives (Total 15 Points).
    (c) Quality of Implementation Strategy (Total 20 Points).
    (d) Quality of Key Personnel (Total 7 Points).
    (e) Quality of Project Management Plan (Total 10 Points).
    (f) Quality of Evaluation Plan (Total 15 Points).
    (g) Budget (Total 8 Points).
    2. Review and Selection Process: For five-year individual 
development grants, five-year cooperative arrangement development 
grants, and one-year construction and renovation grants, awards will be 
made in rank order according to the average score received from a panel 
of three readers.
    Tie-breaker for Development Grants. In tie-breaking situations for 
development grants described in 34 CFR 607.23(b), the regulations for 
the Title III Part A programs require that we award one additional 
point to an application from an IHE that has an endowment fund for 
which the market value per FTE student is less than the comparable 
average per FTE student at a similar type IHE. We also award one 
additional point to an application from an IHE that had expenditures 
for library materials per FTE student that are less than the comparable 
average per FTE student at a similar type IHE.
    For the purpose of these funding considerations, we use 2004-2005 
data.
    If a tie remains after applying the tie-breaker mechanism above, 
priority will be given in the case of applicants for: (a) Individual 
development grants to applicants that have the lowest endowment values 
per FTE student; and (b) cooperative arrangement development grants to 
applicants in accordance with section 394(b) of the HEA, if the 
Secretary determines that the cooperative arrangement is geographically 
and economically sound or will benefit the applicant institution.

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 also notify you informally.
    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

[[Page 9318]]

most current performance and financial expenditure information as 
specified 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 Title III, Part A programs: (1) The number of full-time degree-
seeking undergraduates enrolling at IHEs. Note that this is a long-term 
measure, which will be used to periodically gauge performance, 
beginning in FY 2009; (2) The percentage of full-time 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 
institution; (3) The percentage of students enrolled at 4-year IHEs 
graduating within 6 years of enrollment; and (4) The percentage of 
students enrolled at 2-year IHEs graduating within 3 years of 
enrollment.

VII. Agency Contacts

    For Further Information Contact: Darlene Collins, Team Leader, U.S. 
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 
20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7576 or by e-mail: 
darlene.collins.ed.gov or Kelley Harris, telephone: (202) 219-7083 or 
by e-mail: [email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this 
section.

VIII. Other Information

    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

    Dated: February 23, 2007.
James F. Manning,
Delegated the Authority of Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 
Education.
 [FR Doc. E7-3612 Filed 2-28-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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