44856 Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 163 / Friday, August 22, 1997 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA Nos. 84.116A; 84.116B]

Fund for the Improvement of

Postsecondary Education—

Comprehensive Program

(Preapplications and Applications)

Subect: Notice inviting applications

for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 1998.

Purpose of Program: To provide

grants or enter into cooperative

agreements to improve postsecondary

education opportunities.

Eligible Applicants: Institutions of

higher education or combinations of

such institutions and other public and

private nonprofit educational

institutions and agencies.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Preapplications: October 24, 1997.

Deadline for Transmittal of Final

Applications: March 20, 1998.

Note: All applicants must submit a

preapplication to be eligible to submit a final

application.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: May 19, 1998.

Applications Available: August 25,

1997.

Available Funds: The

Administration’s request for the Fund

for the Improvement of Postsecondary

Education for FY 1998 is $18,000,000.

Of this amount, it is anticipated that

approximately $5,000,000 will be

available for an estimated 72 new

awards under the Comprehensive

Program. The Congress has not yet

completed action on the FY 1998

appropriation. The estimates in this

notice assume passage of the

Administration’s request.

Estimated Range of Awards: $15,000

to $150,000 per year.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$70,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 72.

Note: The Department is not bound by any

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The

Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 82, 85,

and 86.

Priorities:

Invitational Priorities

While applicants may propose any

project within the scope of 20 U.S.C.

1135(a), pursuant to 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)

the Secretary is particularly interested

in applications that meet one or more of

the following invitational priorities.

However, an application that meets one

or more of these invitational priorities

does not receive competitive or absolute

preference over other applications:

Invitational Priority 1

Projects to support new ways of

ensuring equal access to postsecondary

education, and to improve rates of

retention and program completion,

especially for low-income and underrepresented minority students, whose

retention and completion rates continue

to lag disturbingly behind those of other

groups.

Invitational Priority 2

Projects to improve campus climates

for learning by creating an environment

that is safe, welcoming, and conducive

to academic growth for all students.

Invitational Priority 3

Projects to support innovative reforms

of undergraduate, graduate, and

professional curricula that improve not

only what students learn, but how they

learn.

Invitational Priority 4

Projects to make more productive use

of resources to improve teaching and

learning; and to increase learning

productivity—that is, to transform

programs and teaching to promote more

student learning relative to institutional

resources expended.

Invitational Priority 5

Projects to support the professional

development of full- and part-time

faculty by assessing and rewarding

effective teaching; promoting new and

more effective teaching methods; and

improving the preparation of graduate

students who will be future faculty

members.

Invitational Priority 6

Projects to promote innovative schoolcollege partnerships and to improve the

preparation of K–12 teachers, in order to

enhance students’ preparation for,

access to, and success in college.

Invitational Priority 7

Projects to disseminate innovative

postsecondary educational programs

which have already been locally

developed, implemented, and

evaluated.

Selection Criteria

In evaluating preapplications and

final applications for grants under this

program competition, the Secretary uses

the following selection criteria chosen

from those listed in 34 CFR 75.210.

Preapplications

In evaluating preapplications, the

Secretary uses the following selection

criteria:

(a) Need for Project

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for its need, as determined by

the following factors:

(1) The magnitude or severity of the

problem to be addressed by the

proposed project.

(2) The magnitude of the need for the

services to be provided or the activities

to be carried out by the proposed

project.

(b) Significance

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for its significance, as

determined by the following factors:

(1) The potential contribution of the

proposed project to increased

knowledge or understanding of

educational problems, issues, or

effective strategies.

(2) The extent to which the proposed

project involves the development or

demonstration of promising new

strategies that build on, or are

alternatives to, existing strategies.

(3) The importance or magnitude of

the results or outcomes likely to be

attained by the proposed project,

especially improvements in teaching

and student achievement.

(4) The potential replicability of the

proposed project or strategies,

including, as appropriate, the potential

for implementation in a variety of

settings.

(c) Quality of the Project Design

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for the quality of its design, as

determined by the extent to which the

design of the proposed project is

appropriate to, and will successfully

address, the needs of the target

population or other identified needs.

(d) Quality of the Project Evaluation

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for the quality of its evaluation,

as determined by the extent to which

the evaluation will provide guidance

about effective strategies suitable for

replication or testing in other settings.

Final Applications

In evaluating final applications, the

Secretary uses the following selection

criteria:

(a) Need for the Project

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for its need, as determined by

the following factors:
Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 163 / Friday, August 22, 1997 / Notices 44857

(1) The magnitude or severity of the

problem to be addressed by the

proposed project.

(2) The magnitude of the need for the

services to be provided or the activities

to be carried out by the proposed

project.

(b) Significance

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for its significance, as

determined by the following factors:

(1) The potential contribution of the

proposed project to increase knowledge

or understanding of educational

problems, issues, or effective strategies.

(2) The extent to which the proposed

project involves the development or

demonstration of promising new

strategies that build on, or are

alternatives to, existing strategies.

(3) The importance or magnitude of

the results or outcomes likely to be

attained by the proposed project,

especially improvements in teaching

and student achievement.

(4) The potential replicability of the

proposed project or strategies,

including, as appropriate, the potential

for implementation in a variety of

settings.

(c) Quality of the Project Design

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for the quality of its design, as

determined by the following factors:

(1) The extent to which the design of

the proposed project is appropriate to,

and will successfully address, the needs

of the target population or other

identified needs.

(2) The extent to which the goals,

objectives, and outcomes to be achieved

by the proposed project are clearly

specified and measurable.

(3) The extent to which the design for

implementing and evaluating the

proposed project will result in

information to guide possible

replication of project activities or

strategies, including information about

the effectiveness of the approach or

strategies employed by the project.

(d) Quality of the Project Evaluation

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for the quality of its evaluation,

as determined by the following factors:

(1) The extent to which the evaluation

will provide guidance about effective

strategies suitable for replication or

testing in other settings.

(2) The extent to which the methods

of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and

appropriate to the goals, objectives, and

outcomes of the proposed project.

(3) The extent to which the methods

of evaluation include the use of

objective performance measures that are

clearly related to the intended outcomes

of the project and will produce

quantitative and qualitative data to the

extent possible.

(d) The Quality of the Management Plan

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for the quality of its management

plan, as determined by the plan’s

adequacy to achieve the objectives of

the proposed project on time and within

budget, including clearly defined

responsibilities, timelines, and

milestones for accomplishing project

tasks.

(e) Quality of Project Personnel

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for the quality of project

personnel who will carry out the

proposed project, as determined by the

following factors:

(1) The extent to which the applicant

encourages applications for employment

from persons who are members of

groups that have traditionally been

underrepresented based on race, color,

national origin, gender, age, or

disability.

(2) The qualifications, including

relevant training and experience, of key

project personnel.

(f) Adequacy of Resources

The Secretary reviews each proposed

project for the adequacy of its resources,

as determined by the following factors:

(1) The extent to which the budget is

adequate to support the proposed

project.

(2) The extent to which the costs are

reasonable in relation to the objectives,

design, and potential significance of the

proposed project.

(3) The relevance and demonstrated

commitment of each partner in the

proposed project to the implementation

and success of the project.

(4) The adequacy of support,

including facilities, equipment,

supplies, and other resources, from the

applicant organization or the lead

applicant organization.

(5) The potential for continued

support of the project after Federal

funding ends, including, as appropriate,

the demonstrated commitment of

appropriate entities to such support.

For preapplications (preliminary

applications) and final applications

(applications), the Secretary gives equal

weight to each of the selection criteria.

Within each of these criteria, the

Secretary gives equal weight to each of

the factors.

For Applications or Information

Contact: Fund for the Improvement of

Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S.

Department of Education, 600

Independence Avenue SW., Room 3100,

ROB–3, Washington, DC 20202–5175.

Telephone: (202) 358–3041 to order

applications; or (202) 708–5750 between

the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern

time, Monday through Friday, for

information. Individuals may also

request applications by submitting the

name of the competition, their name,

and postal mailing address to the e-mail

address FIPSE@ED.GOV. Individuals

may obtain the application text from

Internet address http://www.ed.gov/

offices/OPE/FIPSE/. Individuals who

use a telecommunications device for the

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–

800–877–8339 between 8 a.m. and 8

p.m., Eastern time, Monday through

Friday.

Information about the Department’s

funding opportunities, including copies

of application notices for discretionary

grant competitions, can be viewed on

the Department’s electronic bulletin

board (ED Board), telephone (202) 260–

9950; on the Internet Gopher Server (at

gopher://gcs.ed.gov); or on the World

Wide Web (at http://gcs.ed.gov).

However, the official application notice

for a discretionary grant competition is

the notice published in the Federal

Register.

Program Authority: U.S.C. 1135–1135a–3.

Dated: August 19, 1997.

David A. Longanecker,

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary

Education.

[FR Doc. 97–22333 Filed 8–21–97; 8:45 am]

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