[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 36 (Thursday, February 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10727-10732]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-4239]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Applications for New Awards; Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad 
Program--Short-Term Projects and Advanced Overseas Intensive Language 
Training Projects

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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    Overview Information: Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad 
Program--Short-Term Projects and Advanced Overseas Intensive Language 
Training Projects; Notice inviting applications for new awards for 
fiscal year (FY) 2012.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.021A and 
84.021B.
    Dates: Applications Available: February 23, 2012. Deadline for 
Transmittal of Applications: April 23, 2012.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad (GPA) 
Program supports overseas projects in training, research, and 
curriculum development in modern foreign languages and area studies for 
groups of teachers, students, and faculty engaged

[[Page 10728]]

in a common endeavor. Short-term projects may include seminars, 
curriculum development, or group research or study. Long-term projects 
support advanced overseas intensive language projects, which give 
advanced language students the opportunity to study languages overseas.
    Priorities: This notice contains one absolute priority, three 
competitive preference priorities, and one invitational priority. In 
accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), the absolute priority is from 
the regulations for this program (34 CFR 664.32). Competitive 
Preference Priorities I (applicable to both the short-term (84.021A) 
and long-term (84.021B) competitions) and III (applicable only to the 
long-term (84.021B) competition) are from the regulations for this 
program (34 CFR 664.32), and Competitive Preference Priority II 
(applicable only to the short-term (84.021A) competition) is from the 
notice of final priorities published in the Federal Register on 
September 24, 2010 (75 FR 59050).
    Absolute Priority: For FY 2012 and any subsequent year in which we 
make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this competition, 
this priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we 
consider only applications that meet this priority.
    This priority is:
    Specific geographic regions of the world: A group project funded 
under this priority must focus on one or more of the following 
geographic regions of the world: Africa, East Asia, South Asia, 
Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the Western Hemisphere (Central and 
South America, Mexico, and the Caribbean), East Central Europe and 
Eurasia, and the Near East.
    Competitive Preference Priorities: Within this absolute priority, 
we give competitive preference to applications that address the 
following priorities. The competitive preference priorities announced 
in this notice correspond to the separate short-term and long-term 
competitions as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                Competition CFDA  Competitive preference
          Competition                  No.              priorities
------------------------------------------------------------------------
GPA Short-Term Projects.......           84.021A  <bullet> Competitive
                                                   Preference Priority
                                                   I--Training and focus
                                                   on priority
                                                   languages.
                                ................  <bullet> Competitive
                                                   Preference Priority
                                                   II--Inclusion of K-12
                                                   educators.
GPA Advanced Overseas                    84.021B  <bullet> Competitive
 Intensive Language Training                       Preference Priority
 Projects.                                         I--Training and focus
                                                   on priority
                                                   languages.
                                ................  <bullet> Competitive
                                                   Preference Priority
                                                   III--U.S. participant
                                                   travel to Brazil,
                                                   China, India, or
                                                   Russia.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), depending on how well the application 
meets these priorities, we award up to an additional five points to an 
application that meets Competitive Preference Priority I, up to an 
additional five points to an application that meets Competitive 
Preference Priority II, and up to an additional five points to an 
application that meets Competitive Preference Priority III. The maximum 
amount of competitive preference priority points an application can 
receive under either the short-term or long-term competition is 10 
points.

    Note: In order to receive preference under these competitive 
preference priorities, the applicant must identify the priority or 
priorities that it believes it meets and provide documentation 
supporting its claims.

    These priorities are:
    Competitive Preference Priority I--Training and focus on priority 
languages. (5 points)
    Projects that provide substantive training and thematic focus on 
any of the 78 priority languages selected from the U.S. Department of 
Education's list of Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) found below.
    This list includes the following: Akan (Twi-Fante), Albanian, 
Amharic, Arabic (all dialects), Armenian, Azeri (Azerbaijani), Balochi, 
Bamanakan (Bamana, Bambara, Mandikan, Mandingo, Maninka, Dyula), 
Belarusian, Bengali (Bangla), Berber (all languages), Bosnian, 
Bulgarian, Burmese, Cebuano (Visayan), Chechen, Chinese (Cantonese), 
Chinese (Gan), Chinese (Mandarin), Chinese (Min), Chinese (Wu), 
Croatian, Dari, Dinka, Georgian, Gujarati, Hausa, Hebrew (Modern), 
Hindi, Igbo, Indonesian, Japanese, Javanese, Kannada, Kashmiri, Kazakh, 
Khmer (Cambodian), Kirghiz, Korean, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Kurdish 
(Sorani), Lao, Malay (Bahasa Melayu or Malaysian), Malayalam, Marathi, 
Mongolian, Nepali, Oromo, Panjabi, Pashto, Persian (Farsi), Polish, 
Portuguese (all varieties), Quechua, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, 
Sinhala (Sinhalese), Somali, Swahili, Tagalog, Tajik, Tamil, Telugu, 
Thai, Tibetan, Tigrigna, Turkish, Turkmen, Ukrainian, Urdu, Uyghur/
Uigur, Uzbek, Vietnamese, Wolof, Xhosa, Yoruba, and Zulu.
    Competitive Preference Priority II--Inclusion of K-12 educators. (5 
points)
    Applications that propose short-term projects abroad that develop 
and improve foreign language studies, area studies, or both at 
elementary and secondary schools by including K-12 teachers or K-12 
administrators as at least 50 percent of the project participants.
    Competitive Preference Priority III--U.S. participant travel to 
Brazil, China, India or Russia (5 points): Applications that propose 
long-term projects abroad that plan to send U.S. educators and other 
eligible participants to Brazil, China, India, or Russia.
    Invitational Priority: For FY 2012 and any subsequent year in which 
we make awards based on the list of unfunded applicants from this 
competition, this priority is an invitational priority. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(1), we do not give an application that meets this priority a 
competitive or absolute preference over other applications.
    The invitational priority is:
    Invitational Priority I:
    Applications from any one of the following:
    (a) Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs), including those that are 
eligible to receive assistance under Part A or B of Title III or under 
Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).
    (b) Community colleges, including those that are eligible to 
receive assistance under Part A or B of Title III or under Title V of 
the HEA.
    (c) Novice applicants (as defined in this notice).
    Definitions: This definition is from the Education Department 
General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) 34 CFR 75.225. Novice 
applicant means any applicant for a grant from the Department that: Has 
never received a grant or subgrant under the program from which it 
seeks funding; has never been a member of a group application, 
submitted in accordance with 34 CFR 75.127-75.129, that received a 
grant under the program from which it seeks funding; and has not had an 
active discretionary grant from the Federal Government in the five 
years before the

[[Page 10729]]

deadline date for applications under the program.
    Program Authority: 22 U.S.C. 2452(b)(6).
    Applicable Regulations: (a) EDGAR in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 
81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for this 
program in 34 CFR part 664. (c) The notice of final priorities for this 
program, published in the Federal Register on September 24, 2010 (75 FR 
59050).

    Note:  The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions 
of higher education (IHEs) only.

II. Award Information

    Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
    Estimated Available Funds: $2,990,000.

    Note:  The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012 allows funds to 
be used in this program to support the participation of individuals 
who plan to apply their language skills and knowledge of countries 
vital to the United States' national security in fields outside 
teaching, including government, the professions, or international 
development (See The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, Division 
F, Title III, Pub. L. 112-74). Therefore, applicants may also 
propose projects for visits and study in foreign countries by 
individuals in these fields.

    Estimated Range of Awards:
    Short-term projects: $50,000-$125,000.
    Long-term projects: $50,000-$375,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards:
    Short-term projects: $82,500.
    Long-term projects: $125,000.
    Maximum Award: We will reject any short-term GPA application that 
proposes a budget exceeding $125,000 for a single budget period of 18 
months. We will reject any advanced overseas intensive language 
training long-term application that proposes a budget exceeding 
$375,000 for a single budget period of 12 months. The Assistant 
Secretary for Postsecondary Education may change the maximum award 
through a notice published in the Federal Register.
    Estimated Number of Awards:
    Short-term projects: 12.
    Long-term projects: 16.

    Note:  The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    Project Period:
    Short-term projects: Up to 18 months.
    Long-term projects: Up to 48 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: (1) Institutions of higher education, (2) 
State educational agencies (SEAs), (3) Private nonprofit educational 
organizations, and (4) Consortia of these entities.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: You can obtain an 
application package via the Internet or from the Education Publications 
Center (ED Pubs).
    To obtain a copy via the Internet, use the following address: 
http://grants.gov.
    To obtain a copy from ED Pubs, write, fax, or call the following: 
ED Pubs, U.S. Department of Education, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, VA 
22304. Telephone, toll free: 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (703) 605-6794. If 
you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text 
telephone (TTY), call, toll free: 1-877-576-7734.
    You can contact ED Pubs at its Web site, also: www.EDPubs.gov or at 
its email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#3e5b5a4e4b5c4d7e57505b4a105b5a10595148"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="4124253134233201282f24356f24256f262e37">[email protected]</span></a>.
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify the 
competition as follows: CFDA number 84.021A or 84.021B.
    Individuals with disabilities can obtain a copy of the application 
package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, 
or compact disc) by contacting the contact person listed under For 
Further Information Contact in section VII of this notice.
    2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements 
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you 
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
    Page Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant, 
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your 
application. You must limit the application narrative (Part III) to no 
more than 40 pages, using the following standards:
    <bullet> A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1'' 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
    <bullet> 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 page limit.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font 
(including Times Roman and Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
    <bullet> The 40-page limit does not apply to Part I, the 
Application for Federal Assistance face sheet (SF 424); the 
supplemental information form required by the Department of Education; 
Part II, the budget summary form (ED Form 524); Part IV, assurances, 
certifications, and the response to section 427 of the General 
Education Provisions Act (GEPA); the table of contents; the one-page 
project abstract; the appendices; or the line item budget. If you 
include any attachments or appendices not specifically requested, these 
items will be counted as part of the program narrative [Part III] for 
purposes of the page limit requirement.
    We will reject your application if you exceed the page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: February 23, 2012.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 23, 2012.
    Applications for grants under this program 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 in paper format by mail or hand delivery 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, please refer to section IV.7. Other Submission 
Requirements of this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact 
the person listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII 
of this notice. If the Department provides an accommodation or 
auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the 
application process, the individual's application remains subject to 
all other requirements and limitations in this notice.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to 
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
    5. Funding Restrictions: See 34 CFR 664.33. We reference additional 
regulations outlining funding restrictions in the Applicable 
Regulations section of this notice.
    6. Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification 
Number, and Central Contractor Registry: To do business with the 
Department of Education, you must--

[[Page 10730]]

    a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a 
Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);
    b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the Central 
Contractor Registry (CCR), the Government's primary registrant 
database;
    c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and
    d. Maintain an active CCR registration with current information 
while your application is under review by the Department and, if you 
are awarded a grant, during the project period.
    You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet. A DUNS number 
can be created within one business day.
    If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or 
organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service. 
If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal 
Revenue Service or the Social Security Administration. If you need a 
new TIN, please allow 2-5 weeks for your TIN to become active.
    The CCR registration process may take five or more business days to 
complete. If you are currently registered with the CCR, you may not 
need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN 
associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will 
need to update your CCR registration on an annual basis. This may take 
three or more business days to complete.
    In addition, if you are submitting your application via Grants.gov, 
you must (1) be designated by your organization as an Authorized 
Organization Representative (AOR); and (2) register yourself with 
Grants.gov as an AOR. Details on these steps are outlined at the 
following Grants.gov Web page: http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp.
    7. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program 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 GPA Program, CFDA numbers 84.021A 
and 84.021B, must be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide 
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 email 
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 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 Fulbright-
Hays GPA Programs at http://Grants.gov. You must search for the 
downloadable application package for this competition by the CFDA 
number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search 
(e.g., search for 84.021, not 84.021A or B).
    Please note the following:
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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 4:30:00 
p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. Except as 
otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if 
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov 
system--after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application 
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply 
with the deadline requirements. 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 
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> 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 under News and Events on the Department's G5 
system home page at http://www.G5.gov.
    <bullet> 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.
    <bullet> You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: The 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications.
    <bullet> You must upload any narrative sections and all other 
attachments to your application as files in a PDF (Portable Document) 
read-only, non-modifiable format. Do not upload an interactive or 
fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, 
non-modifiable PDF or submit a password-protected file, we will not 
review that material.
    <bullet> Your electronic application must comply with any page-
limit requirements described in this notice.
    <bullet> 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 then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second notification to you by email. 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).
    <bullet> 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, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. You must 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 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following

[[Page 10731]]

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 described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC 
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person 
listed under For Further Information Contact in section VII of this 
notice 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 4:30:00 
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 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--
    <bullet> You do not have access to the Internet; or
    <bullet> You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; and
    <bullet> No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days; or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
    If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be 
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must 
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the 
application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to:
    For GPA short-term projects (84.021A): Loveen Bains, Fulbright-Hays 
Group Projects Abroad Program, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 
Street NW., Room 6091, Washington, DC 20006-8521. FAX: (202) 502-7860.
    For GPA advanced overseas intensive language training long-term 
projects (84.021B): Michelle Guilfoil, Fulbright-Hays Group Projects 
Abroad Program, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street NW., Room 
6098, Washington, DC 20006-8521. FAX: (202) 502-7860.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail 
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.021A or 84.021B) LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland 
Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    You must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service.
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier.
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark.
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.

    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original 
and two copies of your application, by hand, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address: 
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: 
(CFDA Number 84.021A or 84.021B) 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 4:30:00 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, including 
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application; and
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a 
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not 
receive this notification within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

    1. General: For FY 2012, short-term project applications will be 
reviewed by separate panels according to world area. Each panel 
reviews, scores, and ranks its applications separately from the 
applications assigned to the other world area panels. However, all 
applications will be ranked against each other from the highest to the 
lowest score for funding purposes. Advanced overseas intensive language 
training long-term projects will be reviewed by one panel across world 
areas. A rank order from highest to lowest score will be developed for 
each of the two types of projects and will be used for funding 
purposes.
    2. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
from 34 CFR 664.31 and are as follows: (a) Plan of operation (20 
points); (b) Quality of key personnel (10 points); (c) Budget and cost 
effectiveness (10 points); (d) Evaluation plan (20 points); (e) 
Adequacy of resources (5 points); (f) Potential impact of the project 
on the development of the study of modern foreign languages and area 
studies in American education (15 points); (g) The project's relevance 
to the applicant's educational goals and its relationship to its 
program development in modern foreign languages and area studies (5 
points); and (h) The extent to which direct experience abroad is 
necessary to achieve the project's objectives and the effectiveness 
with which relevant host

[[Page 10732]]

country resources will be utilized (10 points). Additional information 
about these criteria is in the application package for this 
competition.
    3. Review and Selection Process: We remind potential applicants 
that in reviewing applications in any discretionary grant competition, 
the Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3), the past 
performance of the applicant in carrying out a previous award, such as 
the applicant's use of funds, achievement of project objectives, and 
compliance with grant conditions. The Secretary may also consider 
whether the applicant failed to submit a timely performance report or 
submitted a report of unacceptable quality.
    In addition, in making a competitive grant award, the Secretary 
also requires various assurances including those applicable to Federal 
civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or 
activities receiving Federal financial assistance from the Department 
of Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23).
    4. Special Conditions: Under 34 CFR 74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary 
may impose special conditions on a grant if the applicant or grantee is 
not financially stable; has a history of unsatisfactory performance; 
has a financial or other management system that does not meet the 
standards in 34 CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has not fulfilled 
the conditions of a prior grant; or is otherwise not responsible.

VI. Award Administration Information

    1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your 
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award 
Notification (GAN). We may notify you informally, also.
    If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, 
we notify you.
    2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify 
administrative and national policy requirements in the application 
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable 
Regulations section in this notice.
    We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of 
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in 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: (a) If you apply for a grant under this competition, 
you must ensure that you have in place the necessary processes and 
systems to comply with the reporting requirements in 2 CFR part 170 
should you receive funding under the competition. This does not apply 
if you have an exception under 2 CFR 170.110(b). (b) At the end of your 
project period, you must submit a final performance report, including 
financial information, as directed by the Secretary. If you receive a 
multi-year award, you must submit an annual performance report that 
provides the most current performance and financial expenditure 
information as directed by the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. Grantees 
are required to use the electronic data instrument International 
Resource Information System (IRIS) to complete the final report. The 
Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under 34 
CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to 
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
    4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and 
Results Act of 1993, the following measures will be used by the 
Department to evaluate the success of the program:
    a. The percentage of Fulbright-Hays Group Projects Abroad advanced 
overseas intensive language training long-term participants who 
demonstrate a significant increase in their pre-post scores on a 
standardized measure of language competency. (84.021B only)
    b. Percentage of all GPA projects judged to be successful by the 
program officer, based on a review of information provided in annual 
performance reports. (84.021A and 84.021B)
    The information provided by grantees in their performance reports 
submitted via IRIS will be the source of data for this measure. 
Reporting screens for institutions can be viewed at:
    For GPA short-term projects: http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/gpa_director.pdf and http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/gpa_participant.pdf.
    For GPA advanced overseas intensive language training projects: 
http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/gpa_lang_director.pdf and http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/gpa_lang_participant.pdf.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact:
    For GPA short-term projects (84.021A): Loveen Bains, Fulbright-Hays 
Group Projects Abroad Program, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K 
Street NW., Room 6091, Washington, DC 20006-8521. Telephone: (202) 502-
7709 or by email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#036f6c7566666d2d61626a6d704366672d646c75"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5d31322b383833733f3c34332e1d3839733a322b">[email protected]</span></a>.
    For GPA advanced overseas intensive language training long-term 
projects (84.021B): Michelle Guilfoil, Fulbright-Hays Group Projects 
Abroad Program, U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street NW., Room 
6098, Washington, DC 20006-8521. Telephone: (202) 502-7625 or by email: 
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#503d393338353c3c357e3725393c363f393c1035347e373f26"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7d10141e1518111118531a0814111b1214113d1819531a120b">[email protected]</span></a>. The agency contact person does not mail 
application materials and does not accept applications.
    If you use a TDD or a TTY, call the FRS, toll-free, at 1-800-877-
8339.

VIII. Other Information

    Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this 
document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format 
(e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disk) on request to 
the program contact person listed under For Further Information Contact 
in section VII of this notice.
    Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site, you can view this document, 
as well as all other documents of the Department published in the 
Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
this site. You may also access documents of the Department published in 
the Federal Register by using the article search feature at 
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Dated: February 17, 2012.
Eduardo M. Ochoa,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2012-4239 Filed 2-22-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P


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