Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 17039 

Washington 98315–1101, Attention: 

NWTT EIS/OEIS Project Manager. 

Correction: In the Federal Register (77 

FR 11497) of February 27, 2012, on page 

11498, in the third column, last 

paragraph, correct the comment period 

date to read: 

Written comments must be 

postmarked no later than April 27, 2012, 

and should be mailed to: Ms. Kimberly 

Kler, Naval Facilities Engineering 

Command, Northwest, 1101 Tautog 

Circle, Suite 203, Silverdale, 

Washington 98315–1101, Attention: 

NWTT EIS/OEIS Project Manager. 

Dated: March 16, 2012. 

J.M. Beal, 

Lieutenant Commander, Office of the Judge 

Advocate, U.S. Navy, Federal Register Liaison 

Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7018 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 3810–FF–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Application for New Awards; Training 

for Realtime Writers Program 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Overview Information 

Training for Realtime Writers Program 

Notice inviting applications for new 

awards for fiscal year (FY) 2012. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.116K. 

DATES: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2012. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 7, 2012. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: July 6, 2012. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The objective of 

this program is to provide grants to 

institutions of higher education (IHEs) 

that meet certain qualifications, to 

promote training and placement of 

individuals, including individuals who 

have completed a court reporting 

training program, as realtime writers in 

order to meet the requirements for 

closed captioning of video programming 

set forth in section 713 of the 

Communications Act of 1934 (47 U.S.C. 

613) and the regulations prescribed 

thereunder. 

Priorities: This notice contains one 

absolute priority and three competitive 

preference priorities. In accordance with 

34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), the absolute 

priority is from section 872(a)(3) of the 

Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (HEA), 20 U.S.C. 1161s(a)(3). 

The competitive preference priorities 

are from the notice of final 

supplemental priorities and definitions 

for discretionary grant programs 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 15, 2010 (75 FR 78486), and 

corrected on May 12, 2011 (76 FR 

27637). 

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. 

Applicants must: (1) Demonstrate 

they possess the most substantial 

capability to increase their capacity to 

train realtime writers; (2) demonstrate 

the most promising collaboration with 

educational institutions, businesses, 

labor organizations, or other community 

groups having the potential to train or 

provide job placement assistance to 

realtime writers; or (3) propose the most 

promising and innovative approaches 

for initiating or expanding training or 

job placement assistance efforts with 

respect to realtime writers. 

An eligible entity receiving a grant 

must use the grant funds for purposes 

relating to the recruitment, training and 

assistance, and job placement of 

individuals, including individuals who 

have completed a court reporting 

training program, as realtime writers, 

including: (1) Recruitment; (2) the 

provision of scholarships (subject to the 

requirements in section 872(c)(2) of the 

HEA); (3) distance learning; (4) further 

developing and implementing both 

English and Spanish curricula to more 

effectively train individuals in realtime 

writing skills, and education in the 

knowledge necessary for the delivery of 

high quality closed captioning services; 

(5) mentoring students to ensure 

successful completion of the realtime 

training and providing assistance in job 

placement; (6) encouraging individuals 

with disabilities to pursue a career in 

realtime writing; and (7) the 

employment and payment of personnel 

for the purposes described. 

Competitive Preference Priorities: 

Within this absolute priority, we give 

competitive preference to applications 

that address the following priorities. 

There are three competitive 

preference priorities: Competitive 

Preference Priority 1—Improving 

Productivity; Competitive Preference 

Priority 2—Enabling More Data-Based 

Decision-Making; and Competitive 

Preference Priority 3—Technology. 

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we 

award one additional point for each 

competitive priority that an application 

meets. The maximum competitive 

preference points an application can 

receive under this competition is three. 

Note: Applicants must include in the onepage abstract submitted with the application 

a statement indicating which competitive 

preference priority or priorities they are 

addressing. 

These priorities are: 

Competitive Preference Priority 1— 

Improving Productivity (1 Additional 

Point) 

Projects that are designed to 

significantly increase efficiency in the 

use of time, staff, money, or other 

resources while improving student 

learning or other educational outcomes 

(i.e., outcome per unit of resource). 

Such projects may include innovative 

and sustainable uses of technology, 

modification of school schedules and 

teacher compensation systems, use of 

open educational resources (as defined 

in this notice), or other strategies. 

Competitive Preference Priority 2— 

Enabling More Data-Based DecisionMaking (1 Additional Point) 

Projects that are designed to collect 

(or obtain), analyze, and use highquality and timely data, including data 

on program participant outcomes, in 

accordance with privacy requirements 

(as defined in this notice), in one or 

more of the following priority areas: 

(a) Improving postsecondary student 

outcomes relating to enrollment, 

persistence, and completion and leading 

to career success; and 

(b) Providing reliable and 

comprehensive information on the 

implementation of Department of 

Education programs, and participant 

outcomes in these programs, by using 

data from State longitudinal data 

systems or by obtaining data from 

reliable third-party sources. 

Competitive Preference Priority 3— 

Technology (1 Additional Point) 

Projects that are designed to improve 

student achievement (as defined in this 

notice) or teacher effectiveness through 

the use of high-quality digital tools or 

materials, which may include preparing 

teachers to use the technology to 

improve instruction, as well as 

developing, implementing, or evaluating 

digital tools or materials. 

Definitions 

These definitions are from the notice 

of final supplemental priorities and 

definitions for discretionary grant 

programs, published in the Federal 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
17040 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 

Register on December 15, 2010 (75 FR 

78486), and corrected on May 12, 2011 

(76 FR 27637), and they apply to the 

competitive preference priorities in this 

notice. 

Open educational resources (OER) 

means teaching, learning, and research 

resources that reside in the public 

domain or have been released under an 

intellectual property license that 

permits their free use or repurposing by 

others. 

Privacy requirements means the 

requirements of the Family Educational 

Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), 20 

U.S.C. 1232g, and its implementing 

regulations in 34 CFR part 99, the 

Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a, as well as all 

applicable Federal, State, and local 

requirements regarding privacy. 

Student Achievement Means 

(a) For tested grades and subjects: (1) 

A student’s score on the State’s 

assessments under the ESEA; and, as 

appropriate, (2) other measures of 

student learning, such as those 

described in paragraph (b) of this 

definition, provided they are rigorous 

and comparable across schools. 

(b) For non-tested grades and subjects: 

alternative measures of student learning 

and performance, such as student scores 

on pre-tests and end-of-course tests; 

student performance on English 

language proficiency assessments; and 

other measures of student achievement 

that are rigorous and comparable across 

schools. 

Note: Projects responding to competitive 

preference priority 3 must incorporate ways 

to improve student achievement (as defined 

in this notice) or teacher effectiveness 

through the use of high-quality digital tools 

or materials. The Department recognizes that 

some of the examples in the definition of 

student achievement may not be relevant to 

the TRTW program. Accordingly, applicants 

who are writing to this priority should 

address paragraph (a)(2) of the definition of 

‘‘student achievement,’’ which tells 

applicants to focus on other measures of 

student learning, and should address this 

competitive preference priority in a way that 

improves student achievement in a relevant 

higher education context. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1161s. 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 82, 84, 

85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of 

final supplemental priorities and 

definitions for discretionary grant 

programs, published in the Federal 

Register on December 15, 2010 (75 FR 

78486), and corrected on May 12, 2011 

(76 FR 27637). 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 

apply to all applicants except federally 

recognized Indian tribes. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$1,127,684. 

Contingent upon the availability of 

funds and the quality of applications, 

we may make additional awards in FY 

2013 from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition. 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$200,000–$300,000. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$281,921 for the entire performance 

period. 

Maximum Award: We will reject any 

application that proposes a budget 

exceeding $300,000 for the entire grant 

period. The Assistant Secretary for 

Postsecondary Education may change 

the maximum amount through a notice 

published in the Federal Register. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 4. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: An IHE that 

offers a court reporting program that: (1) 

Has a curriculum capable of training 

realtime writers qualified to provide 

captioning services; (2) is accredited by 

an accrediting agency or association 

recognized by the Secretary; and (3) is 

participating in student aid programs 

under Title IV of the HEA. 

2. (a) Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not require cost sharing or 

matching. 

(b) Supplement-Not-Supplant: This 

program includes a supplement-notsupplant requirement. Under section 

872(c)(4) of the HEA, grant amounts 

awarded under this program must 

supplement and not supplant other 

Federal or non-Federal funds of the 

grant recipient for purposes of 

promoting the training and placement of 

individuals as realtime writers. 

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: www.ed.gov/ 

fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html. 

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: edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application from ED 

Pubs, be sure to identify this program or 

competition as follows: CFDA number 

84.116K. 

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 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 this 

program. Page Limit: The application 

narrative (Part III of the application) is 

where you, the applicant, address the 

selection criteria that reviewers use to 

evaluate your application. Any 

application addressing the competitive 

preference priorities must address them 

in the abstract and the narrative. For 

purposes of determining compliance 

with the page limit, each page on which 

there are words will be counted as one 

full page. You must limit the 

application narrative to no more than 15 

pages, using the following standards: 

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′ x 11′′, on one side 

only, with 1′′ margins at the top, bottom, 

and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, except titles, 

headings, footnotes, endnotes, 

quotations, references, and captions. 

Charts, tables, figures, and graphs in the 

application narrative may be single 

spaced. 

• 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, graphs, footnotes, and endnotes. 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. An application submitted 

in any other font (including Times 

Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be 

accepted. 

The page limit does not apply to Part 

I, the Application for Federal Assistance 

(SF 424) and the Department of 

Education Supplemental Information for 

the SF 424 Form; the one-page Abstract; 

Budget Information—Non-Construction 

Programs (ED 524); or Part IV, the 

Assurances and Certifications. The page 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 17041 

limit also does not apply to a Table of 

Contents, if you include one. However, 

the page limit does apply to all of the 

project narrative section in Part III. 

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: March 23, 

2012. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: May 7, 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. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: July 6, 2012. 

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 this 

program. 

5. Funding Restrictions: Under section 

872(c)(3) of the HEA, a grantee under 

this program may not use more than five 

percent of the grant amount to pay 

administrative costs associated with 

activities funded by the grant. We 

reference regulations outlining 

additional 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— 

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: 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 

Training for Realtime Writers Program, 

CFDA number 84.116K, must be 

submitted electronically using the 

Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply site 

at 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 Training for Realtime 

Writers Program at www.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 84.116, not 

84.116K). 

Please note the following: 

• 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 accept your 

application if it is received—that is, date 

and time stamped by the Grants.gov 

system—after 4:30 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 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 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
17042 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 

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. 

• 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 

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—NonConstruction Programs (ED 524), and all 

necessary assurances and certifications. 

• You must upload any narrative 

sections and all other attachments to 

your application as files in a PDF 

(Portable Document) read-only, nonmodifiable format. Do not upload an 

interactive or fillable PDF file. If you 

upload a file type other than a readonly, non-modifiable PDF 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 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 EDspecified 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, 

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 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 described elsewhere in this 

notice. 

If you submit an application after 4:30 

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 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–– 

• 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 

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: Frederick Winter, Training 

for Realtime Writers Program, U.S. 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street 

NW., Room 6142, Washington, DC 

20006–8544. FAX: (202) 502–7877. 

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 84.116K), 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 84.116K), 550 12th 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 17043 

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, 

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. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 

75.210 and are listed in the application 

package. 

2. 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). 

3. 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. The Secretary 

may also require more frequent 

performance reports under 34 CFR 

75.720(c). For specific requirements on 

reporting, please go to www.ed.gov/ 

fund/grant/apply/appforms/ 

appforms.html. 

4. Performance Measures: The 

Department has established the 

following Government Performance and 

Results Act of 1993 (GPRA) performance 

measure for the Training for Realtime 

Writers Program: The number and 

percentage of participants who have 

completed the program who are 

employed as realtime writers. 

This measure constitutes the 

Department’s indicator of success for 

this program. Consequently, we advise 

an applicant for a grant under this 

program to give careful consideration to 

this measure in conceptualizing the 

approach and evaluation for its 

proposed project. 

If funded, you will be required to 

collect and report data in your project’s 

annual performance report (34 CFR 

75.590). 

5. Continuation Awards: In making a 

continuation award, the Secretary may 

consider, under 34 CFR 75.253, the 

extent to which a grantee has made 

‘‘substantial progress toward meeting 

the objectives in its approved 

application.’’ This consideration 

includes the review of a grantee’s 

progress in meeting the targets and 

projected outcomes in its approved 

application, and whether the grantee 

has expended funds in a manner that is 

consistent with its approved application 

and budget. In making a continuation 

grant, the Secretary also considers 

whether the grantee is operating in 

compliance with the assurances in its 

approved application, including those 

applicable to Federal civil rights laws 

that prohibit discrimination in programs 

or activities receiving Federal financial 

assistance from the Department (34 CFR 

100.4, 104.5, 106.4, 108.8, and 110.23). 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Frederick Winter, Training for Realtime 

Writers Program, U.S. Department of 

Education, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 

6142, Washington, DC 20006–8544. 

Telephone: (202) 502–7632 or by email: 

frederick.winter@ed.gov. 

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 disc) 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: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site, you 

can 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). 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. 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
17044 Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 57 / Friday, March 23, 2012 / Notices 

Dated: March 20, 2012. 

Eduardo M. Ochoa, 

Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

[FR Doc. 2012–7068 Filed 3–22–12; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Applications for New Awards; 

Strengthening Institutions Program 

(SIP) 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Overview Information 

Strengthening Institutions Program 

Notice inviting applications for new 

awards for fiscal year (FY) 2012. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.031A. 

Dates: 

Applications Available: March 23, 

2012. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: April 23, 2012. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: June 21, 2012. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The SIP provides 

grants to eligible institutions of higher 

education (IHEs) to help them become 

self sufficient and expand their capacity 

to serve low-income students by 

providing funds to improve and 

strengthen the institution’s academic 

quality, institutional management, and 

fiscal stability. 

Priorities: This notice includes one 

competitive preference priority and 

three invitational priorities. The 

competitive preference priority is from 

the Department’s notice of final 

supplemental priorities and definitions 

for discretionary grant programs, 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 15, 2010 (75 FR 78486), and 

corrected on May 12, 2011 (76 FR 

27637). 

Competitive Preference 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 a 

competitive preference priority. Under 

34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we award up to 

an additional five points to an 

application, depending on how well the 

application meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

Supporting Programs, Practices, or 

Strategies for Which There Is Strong or 

Moderate Evidence of Effectiveness 

Projects that are supported by strong 

or moderate evidence. A project that is 

supported by strong evidence (as 

defined in this notice) will receive more 

points than a project that is supported 

by moderate evidence (as defined in this 

notice). 

Note: In scoring this priority, applicants 

determined to have strong evidence will 

receive the full five points. Applicants 

determined to have moderate evidence will 

receive 2.5 points. The Department will 

screen applicants’ response to this 

competitive preference priority in accordance 

with the requirements in this notice and 

determine which applications have met the 

evidence standards in the priority. 

Invitational Priorities: For FY 2012 

and any subsequent year in which we 

make awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition, these 

priorities are invitational priorities. 

These priorities are: 

Invitational Priority 1—Increasing 

Postsecondary Success 

Projects that are designed to address 

the following priority area: 

Increasing the number and proportion 

of high-need students (as defined in this 

notice) who persist in and complete 

college or other postsecondary 

education and training. 

Invitational Priority 2—Technology 

Projects that are designed to improve 

student achievement or faculty 

effectiveness through the use of highquality digital tools or materials, which 

may include preparing faculty to use the 

technology to improve instruction, as 

well as developing, implementing, or 

evaluating digital tools or materials. 

Invitational Priority 3—Improving 

Productivity 

Projects that are designed to 

significantly increase efficiency in the 

use of time, staff, money, or other 

resources while improving student 

learning or other educational outcomes 

(i.e., outcome per unit of resource). 

Such projects may include innovative 

and sustainable uses of technology, 

alternative staffing models, competencybased learning, use of open educational 

resources (as defined in this notice), or 

other strategies. 

Definitions: The following definitions 

are from the notice of final 

supplemental priorities and definitions 

for discretionary grant programs 

published in the Federal Register on 

December 15, 2010 (75 FR 78486), and 

corrected on May 12, 2011 (76 FR 

27637), and apply to the priorities in 

this notice: 

Carefully matched comparison group 

design means a type of quasiexperimental study (as defined in this 

notice) that attempts to approximate an 

experimental study (as defined in this 

notice). More specifically, it is a design 

in which project participants are 

matched with non-participants based on 

key characteristics that are thought to be 

related to the outcome. These 

characteristics include, but are not 

limited to: 

(1) Prior test scores and other 

measures of academic achievement 

(preferably, the same measures that the 

study will use to evaluate outcomes for 

the two groups); 

(2) Demographic characteristics, such 

as age, disability, gender, English 

proficiency, ethnicity, poverty level, 

parents’ educational attainment, and 

single- or two-parent family 

background; 

(3) The time period in which the two 

groups are studied (e.g., the two groups 

are children entering kindergarten in the 

same year as opposed to sequential 

years); and 

(4) Methods used to collect outcome 

data (e.g., the same test of reading skills 

administered in the same way to both 

groups). 

Note: The examples cited in this definition 

are indications of the types of comparisons 

applicants could make when designing a 

carefully matched comparison group study. 

Applicants might want to consider 

comparisons that are proper in the higher 

education context—such as comparing the 

same entering cohort of students. 

Experimental study means a study 

that employs random assignment of, for 

example, students, teachers, classrooms, 

schools, or districts to participate in a 

project being evaluated (treatment 

group) or not to participate in the 

project (control group). The effect of the 

project is the average difference in 

outcomes between the treatment and 

control groups. 

Note: The types of random assignment 

mentioned above are provided as examples. 

Applicants might want to consider random 

assignment that is relevant in the higher 

education context. 

High-need children and high-need 

students means children and students at 

risk of educational failure, such as 

children and students who are living in 

poverty, who are English learners, who 

are far below grade level, or who are not 

on track to becoming college- or careerready by graduation, who have left 

school or college before receiving, 

respectively, a regular high school 

diploma or a college degree or 


srobinson on DSK4SPTVN1PROD with NOTICES