Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 186 / Wednesday, September 24, 2008 / Notices 55055 

proposed information collection, 

grouped by office, contains the 

following: (1) Type of review requested, 

e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or 

reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of 

the collection; (4) Description of the 

need for, and proposed use of, the 

information; (5) Respondents and 

frequency of collection; and (6) 

Reporting and/or Recordkeeping 

burden. OMB invites public comment. 

The Department of Education is 

especially interested in public comment 

addressing the following issues: (1) Is 

this collection necessary to the proper 

functions of the Department; (2) will 

this information be processed and used 

in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate 

of burden accurate; (4) how might the 

Department enhance the quality, utility, 

and clarity of the information to be 

collected; and (5) how might the 

Department minimize the burden of this 

collection on the respondents, including 

through the use of information 

technology. 

Dated: September 19, 2008. 

Angela C. Arrington, 

IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information 

Management Services, Office of Management. 

Institute of Education Sciences 

Type of Review: Revision. 

Title: Integrated Postsecondary 

Education Data System (IPEDS), WebBased Collection System. 

Frequency: Annually. 

Affected Public: Not-for-profit 

institutions (primary); Businesses or 

other for-profit State, Local, or Tribal 

Gov’t, SEAs or LEAs. 

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour 

Burden: 

Responses: 58,090. 

Burden Hours: 173,802. 

Abstract: The National Center for 

Education Statistics (NCES) is 

requesting an amendment to its threeyear clearance for the Integrated 

Postsecondary Education Data System 

(IPEDS) to run for the 2008–09, 2009– 

10, and 2010–2011 web-based data 

collections. Current authorization for 

IPEDS expires July 31, 2011 (OMB No. 

1850–0582). The Higher Education 

Opportunity Act (HEOA), which became 

law on August 14, 2008, after OMB had 

already granted IPEDS a three-year 

clearance, has several implications for 

the IPEDS annual Web-based data 

collection. The law requires the 

immediate implementation of several 

new institutional reporting 

requirements so that the data may be 

made available on the College Navigator 

Web site by August 2009. A change 

memo was sent to OMB on August 19, 

2008, that included a small number of 

non-substantive changes to the 2008–09 

data collection based on the new 

requirements; OMB provided clearance 

for those changes in a notice on August 

26, 2008. NCES now requests in this 

document a limited number of 

additional substantive changes to spring 

cycle of the 2008–09 IPEDS Web-based 

data collection, which opens on March 

4, 2009, in order to implement HEOA 

requirements. These changes are to: (1) 

Make previously approved changes to 

financial aid reporting required, rather 

than optional, in spring 2009; (2) collect 

additional financial aid data; (3) collect 

data on students with disabilities; and 

(4) collect additional graduation rate 

data. 

Requests for copies of the proposed 

information collection request may be 

accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, 

by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending 

Collections’’ link and by clicking on 

link number 3823. When you access the 

information collection, click on 

‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view. 

Written requests for information should 

be addressed to U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537. 

Requests may also be electronically 

mailed to ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed 

to 202–401–0920. Please specify the 

complete title of the information 

collection when making your request. 

Comments regarding burden and/or 

the collection activity requirements 

should be electronically mailed to 

ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 

Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1– 

800–877–8339. 

[FR Doc. E8–22480 Filed 9–23–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Postsecondary Education; 

Overview Information; Fulbright-Hays 

Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad 

(DDRA) Fellowship Program; Notice 

Inviting Applications for New Awards 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.022A. 

DATES: Applications Available: 

September 24, 2008. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: November 13, 2008. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The FulbrightHays Doctoral Dissertation Research 

Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship Program 

provides opportunities to doctoral 

candidates to engage in full-time 

dissertation research abroad in modern 

foreign languages and area studies. The 

program is designed to contribute to the 

development and improvement of the 

study of modern foreign languages and 

area studies in the United States. 

Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR 

75.105(b)(2)(ii), this priority is from the 

regulations for this program (34 CFR 

662.21(d)). 

Absolute Priority: For FY 2009, this 

priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 

CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only 

applications that meet this priority. 

This priority is: 

A research project that focuses on one 

or more of the following geographic 

areas: Africa, East Asia, Southeast Asia 

and the Pacific Islands, South Asia, the 

Near East, East Central Europe and 

Eurasia, and the Western Hemisphere 

(excluding the United States and its 

territories). Please note that applications 

that propose projects focused on 

Western Europe are not eligible. 

Within this absolute priority, we give 

competitive preference to applications 

that address the following priority. 

Competitive Preference Priority: For 

FY 2009, this priority is a competitive 

preference priority. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(i) and 34 CFR 

662.21(d)(2)(iii), we award an additional 

five (5) points to an application that 

meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

A research project that focuses on any 

of the seventy-eight (78) languages 

deemed critical on 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, 


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Urdu, Uyghur/Uigur, Uzbek, 

Vietnamese, Wolof, Xhosa, Yoruba, and 

Zulu. 

Program Authority: 22 U.S.C. 

2452(b)(6). 

Applicable Regulations: (a) The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 81, 82, 84, 85, 

86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations 

for this program in 34 CFR part 662. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

(IHEs) only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants 

redistributed as fellowships to 

individual beneficiaries. As part of its 

FY 2009 budget request, the 

Administration proposed to continue to 

allow funds to be used to support the 

applications of individuals who plan 

both to utilize their language skills in 

world areas vital to the United States 

national security and to apply their 

language skills and knowledge of these 

countries in the fields of government, 

international development, and various 

professions. Therefore, students 

planning to apply their language skills 

in such fields are eligible to apply for 

this program, in addition to those 

planning teaching careers. However, 

authority to use funds in this manner 

depends on final Congressional action. 

Applicants will be given an opportunity 

to amend their applications if such 

authority is not provided. 

Estimated Available Funds: The 

Administration has requested 

$13,372,000 for International Education 

and Foreign Language Studies Overseas 

Programs, of which we propose to 

allocate $4,731,000 for new awards for 

this program for FY 2009. The actual 

level of funding, if any, depends on 

final congressional action. However, we 

are inviting applications to allow 

enough time to complete the grant 

process if Congress appropriates funds 

for this program. 

Estimated Range of Fellowship 

Awards: $15,000–$60,000. 

Estimated Average Size of Fellowship 

Awards: $37,000. 

Estimated Number of Fellowship 

Awards: 127. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: The institutional 

project period is 18 months beginning 

July 1, 2009. Students may request 

funding for a period of no less than six 

months nor more than twelve months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: IHEs. As part of 

the application process, students submit 

individual applications to the IHE. The 

IHE then officially submits all eligible 

individual student applications with its 

grant application to the Department. 

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: Both IHEs and student 

applicants can obtain an application 

package by contacting Carla White, 

International Education Programs 

Service, U.S. Department of Education, 

1990 K Street, NW., room 6000, 

Washington, DC 20006–8521. 

Telephone: (202) 502–7700 or by e-mail: 

carla.white@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 

1–800–877–8339. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an alternative format (e.g., braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the program 

contact person listed in this section. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

program. 

Page Limit: The application narrative 

is where the student applicant addresses 

the selection criteria that reviewers use 

to evaluate the application. The student 

applicant must limit the application 

narrative to no more than 10 pages and 

the bibliography to no more than 2 

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. However, student 

applicants may single space all text in 

charts, tables, figures, graphs, titles, 

headings, footnotes, endnotes, 

quotations, bibliography, and captions. 

• Use a font that is either 12 point or 

larger; or, no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). Student applicants 

may use a 10 point font in charts, tables, 

figures, graphs, footnotes, and endnotes. 

However, these items are considered 

part of the narrative and counted within 

the 10 page limit. 

• 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 limits only apply to the 

application narrative and bibliography. 

The page limits do not apply to the 

Application for Federal Assistance face 

sheet (SF 424); the supplemental 

information form required by the 

Department of Education; and the 

assurances and certification. However, 

student applicants must include their 

complete responses to the selection 

criteria in the application narrative. 

We will reject a student applicant’s 

application if the student applicant 

exceeds the page limits. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: September 

24, 2008. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: November 13, 2008. 

Applications for grants under this 

program must be submitted 

electronically using the Electronic Grant 

Application System (e-Application) 

available through the Department’s 

e-Grants system. For information 

(including dates and times) about how 

to submit an IHE’s application 

electronically, or in paper format by 

mail or hand delivery if an IHE qualifies 

for an exception to the electronic 

submission requirement, please refer to 

section IV. 6. Other Submission 

Requirements in 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 in 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: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section in this notice. 

6. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under this 

program must be submitted 

electronically, unless an IHE qualifies 

for an exception to this requirement in 

accordance with the instructions in this 

section. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
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a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

Applications for grants under the 

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation 

Research Abroad Fellowship Program, 

CFDA Number 84.022A, must be 

submitted electronically using 

e-Application available through the 

Department’s e-Grants system, 

accessible through the e-Grants portal 

page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov. 

We will reject an application if an IHE 

submits it in paper format unless, as 

described elsewhere in this section, the 

IHE qualifies for one of the exceptions 

to the electronic submission 

requirement and submits, no later than 

two weeks before the application 

deadline date, a written statement to the 

Department that the IHE qualifies 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. 

While completing the electronic 

application, both the IHE and the 

student applicant will be entering data 

online that will be saved into a 

database. Neither the IHE nor the 

student applicant may e-mail an 

electronic copy of a grant application to 

us. 

Please note the following: 

• The process for submitting 

applications electronically under the 

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation 

Research Abroad Fellowship Program 

has several parts. The following is a 

brief summary of the process; however, 

all applicants should review and follow 

the detailed description of the 

application process that is contained in 

the application package. In summary, 

the major parts are as follows: (1) IHEs 

must e-mail the following information 

to ddra@ed.gov: Name of university, and 

full name and e-mail address of 

potential project director. We 

recommend that applicant IHEs submit 

this information as soon as possible to 

ensure that applicant IHEs obtain access 

to the e-Application system well before 

the application deadline date. We 

suggest that applicant IHEs send this 

information no later than two weeks 

prior to the closing date, in order to 

facilitate timely submission of their 

applications; (2) Students must 

complete their individual applications 

and submit them to their IHE’s project 

director using e-Application; (3) Persons 

providing references for individual 

students must complete and submit 

reference forms for the students and 

submit them to the IHE’s project 

director using e-Application; and (4) 

The IHE’s project director must 

officially submit the IHE’s application, 

which must include all eligible 

individual student applications, 

reference forms, and other required 

forms, using e-Application. Student 

transcripts, however, must be mailed or 

hand delivered to the Department on or 

before the application deadline date 

using the applicable mail or hand 

delivery instructions for paper 

applications in this notice. 

• The IHE must complete the 

electronic submission of the grant 

application by 4:30:00 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. The eApplication system will not accept an 

application for this program after 

4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on 

the application deadline date. 

Therefore, we strongly recommend that 

both the IHE and the student applicant 

not wait until the application deadline 

date to begin the application process. 

• The regular hours of operation of 

the e-Grants Web site are 6:00 a.m. 

Monday until 7:00 p.m. Wednesday; 

and 6:00 a.m. Thursday until 8:00 p.m. 

Sunday, Washington, DC time. Please 

note that the system is unavailable on 

Sundays after 8:00 p.m., and between 

7:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6:00 a.m. 

on Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for 

maintenance. Any modifications to 

these hours are posted on the e-Grants 

Web site. 

• Student applicants will not receive 

additional point value because the 

student submits his or her application 

in electronic format, nor will we 

penalize the IHE or student applicant if 

the applicant qualifies for an exception 

to the electronic submission 

requirement, as described elsewhere in 

this section, and submits an application 

in paper format. 

• IHEs must submit all documents, 

except for student transcripts, 

electronically, including the 

Application for Federal Assistance (SF 

424), the Supplement to the SF 424, and 

all necessary assurances and 

certifications. Both IHEs and student 

applicants must attach any narrative 

sections of the application as files in a 

.DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or 

.PDF (Portable Document) format. If an 

IHE or a student applicant uploads a file 

type other than the three file types 

specified above or submits a password 

protected file, we will not review that 

material. 

• Student transcripts must be mailed 

or hand delivered to the Department on 

or before the application deadline date 

in accordance with the applicable mail 

or hand delivery instructions for paper 

applications described in this notice. 

• Both the IHE’s and the student 

applicant’s electronic application must 

comply with any page limit 

requirements described in this notice. 

• Prior to submitting your electronic 

application, you may wish to print a 

copy of it for your records. 

• After the individual student 

applicant electronically submits his or 

her application to the student’s IHE, the 

student will receive an automatic 

acknowledgment. In addition, the 

applicant IHE’s project director will 

receive a copy of this acknowledgment 

by e-mail. After a person submits a 

reference electronically, he or she will 

receive an online confirmation. After 

the applicant IHE submits its 

application, including all eligible 

individual student applications, to the 

Department, the applicant IHE will 

receive an automatic acknowledgment, 

which will include a PR/Award Number 

(an identifying number unique to the 

IHE’s application). 

• Within three working days after 

submitting the IHE’s electronic 

application, the IHE must fax a signed 

copy of the SF 424 to the Application 

Control Center after following these 

steps: 

(1) Print SF 424 from e-Application. 

(2) The applicant IHE’s Authorizing 

Representative must sign this form. 

(3) Place the PR/Award Number in the 

upper right hand corner of the hardcopy signature page of the SF 424. 

(4) Fax the signed SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center at (202) 

245–6272. 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on the SF 424 and 

other forms at a later date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of e-Application System 

Unavailability: If an IHE is prevented 

from electronically submitting its 

application on the application deadline 

date because the e-Application system is 

unavailable, we will grant the IHE an 

extension of one business day to enable 

the IHE to transmit its application 

electronically, by mail, or by hand 

delivery. We will grant this extension 

if— 

(1) The IHE is a registered user of eApplication and the IHE has initiated an 

electronic application for this 

competition; and 

(2)(a) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for 60 minutes or more 

between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 

p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date; or 

(b) The e-Application system is 

unavailable for any period of time 

between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., 

Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. 


jlentini on PROD1PC65 with NOTICES
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We must acknowledge and confirm 

these periods of unavailability before 

granting the IHE an extension. To 

request this extension or to confirm our 

acknowledgement of any system 

unavailability, an IHE may contact 

either (1) the person listed elsewhere in 

this notice under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT (see section VII. 

Agency Contact) or (2) the e-Grants help 

desk at 1–888–336–8930. If the system 

is down and, therefore, the application 

deadline is extended, an e-mail will be 

sent to all registered users who have 

initiated an e-Application. Extensions 

referred to in this section apply only to 

the unavailability of the Department’s eApplication system. 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement: An IHE qualifies for an 

exception to the electronic submission 

requirement, and may submit its 

application in paper format, if the IHE 

is unable to submit an application 

through the e-Application system 

because— 

• The IHE or a student applicant does 

not have access to the Internet; or 

• The IHE or a student applicant does 

not have the capacity to upload large 

documents to the Department’s eApplication 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), the IHE mails or faxes a 

written statement to the Department, 

explaining which of the two grounds for 

an exception prevents the IHE from 

using the Internet to submit its 

application. If an IHE mails a written 

statement to the Department, it must be 

postmarked no later than two weeks 

before the application deadline date. If 

an IHE faxes its 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 this 

statement to: Amy Wilson, U.S. 

Department of Education, 1990 K Street, 

NW., room 6000, Washington, DC 

20006–8521. FAX: (202) 502–7860. 

The IHE’s 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 an IHE qualifies for an exception to 

the electronic submission requirement, 

the IHE may mail (through the U.S. 

Postal Service or a commercial carrier) 

its application to the Department. The 

IHE must mail the original and two 

copies of the application, on or before 

the application deadline date, to the 

Department at the applicable following 

address: 

By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: 

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, 

Attention: (CFDA Number 84.022A), 

400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20202–4260; or 

By mail through a commercial carrier: 

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center—Stop 

4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 

84.022A), 7100 Old Landover Road, 

Landover, MD 20785–1506. 

Regardless of which address the IHE 

uses, the IHE 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 the IHE mails its 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 the IHE’s application is postmarked 

after the application deadline date, we 

will not consider its application. 

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not 

uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before 

relying on this method, the IHE should check 

with its local post office. 

c. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Hand Delivery. 

If an IHE qualifies for an exception to 

the electronic submission requirement, 

the IHE (or a courier service) may 

deliver its paper application to the 

Department by hand. The IHE must 

deliver the original and two copies of 

the 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 84.022A), 550 12th 

Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 

Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

The Application Control Center 

accepts hand deliveries daily between 

8:00:00 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 an IHE mails or 

hand delivers its application to the 

Department: 

(1) The IHE must indicate on the 

envelope and—if not provided by the 

Department—in Item 11 of the SF 424 

the CFDA Number, and suffix letter, if 

any, of the competition under which the 

IHE is submitting its application. 

(2) The Application Control Center 

will mail a grant application receipt 

acknowledgment to the IHE. If the IHE 

does not receive the grant application 

receipt acknowledgment within 15 

business days from the application 

deadline date, the IHE should call the 

U.S. Department of Education 

Application Control Center at (202) 

245–6288. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. General: For FY 2009, student 

applications are divided into seven 

categories based on the world area focus 

of their research projects, as described 

in the absolute priority listed in this 

notice. Language and area studies 

experts in seven discrete world areabased panels will review the student 

applications. Each panel reviews, 

scores, and ranks its applications 

separately from the applications 

assigned to the other world area panels. 

However, all fellowship applications 

will be ranked together from the highest 

to lowest score for funding purposes. 

2. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this competition are from 34 

CFR 662.21 and are listed in the 

following paragraphs. The maximum 

score for all of the criteria, including the 

competitive preference priority, is 105 

points. The maximum score for each 

criterion is indicated in parentheses. 

Quality of proposed project (60 

points): In determining the quality of 

the research project proposed by the 

applicant, the Secretary considers (1) 

The statement of the major hypotheses 

to be tested or questions to be examined, 

and the description and justification of 

the research methods to be used (10 

points); (2) The relationship of the 

research to the literature on the topic 

and to major theoretical issues in the 

field, and the project’s originality and 

importance in terms of the concerns of 

the discipline (10 points); (3) The 

preliminary research already completed 

in the United States and overseas or 

plans for such research prior to going 

overseas, and the kinds, quality and 

availability of data for the research in 

the host country or countries (10 

points); (4) The justification for overseas 

field research and preparations to 

establish appropriate and sufficient 

research contacts and affiliations abroad 

(10 points); (5) The applicant’s plans to 

share the results of the research in 

progress and a copy of the dissertation 

with scholars and officials of the host 


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country or countries (10 points); and (6) 

The guidance and supervision of the 

dissertation advisor or committee at all 

stages of the project, including guidance 

in developing the project, 

understanding research conditions 

abroad, and acquainting the applicant 

with research in the field (10 points). 

Qualifications of the applicant (40 

points): In determining the 

qualifications of the applicant, the 

Secretary considers (1) The overall 

strength of the applicant’s graduate 

academic record (10 points); (2) The 

extent to which the applicant’s 

academic record demonstrates strength 

in area studies relevant to the proposed 

project (10 points); (3) The applicant’s 

proficiency in one or more of the 

languages (other than English and the 

applicant’s native language) of the 

country or countries of research, and the 

specific measures to be taken to 

overcome any anticipated language 

barriers (15 points); and (4) The 

applicant’s ability to conduct research 

in a foreign cultural context, as 

evidenced by the applicant’s references 

or previous overseas experience, or both 

(5 points). 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If a student 

application is successful, we notify the 

IHE’s U.S. Representative and U.S. 

Senators and send the IHE a Grant 

Award Notice (GAN). We may notify the 

IHE informally, also. 

If a student application is not 

evaluated or not selected for funding, 

we notify the IHE. 

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 its approved 

application as part of its binding 

commitments under the grant. 

3. Reporting: At the end of the project 

period, the IHE must submit a final 

performance report, including the final 

reports of all of the IHE’s fellows, and 

financial information, as directed by the 

Secretary. The IHE and fellows are 

required to use the electronic reporting 

system International Resource 

Information System (IRIS) to complete 

the final report. 

4. Performance Measures: Under the 

Government Performance and Results 

Act of 1993, the objective for The 

Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation 

Research Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship 

Program is to provide grants to colleges 

and universities to fund individual 

doctoral students to conduct research in 

other countries in modern foreign 

languages and area studies for periods of 

6 to 12 months. 

The Department will use the 

following DDRA measures to evaluate 

its success in meeting this objective: 

Performance Measure 1: The average 

language competency score of FulbrightHays Doctoral Dissertation Research 

Abroad (DDRA) Fellowship recipients at 

the end of their period of research 

minus their average score at the 

beginning of the period. 

Performance Measure 2: Percentage of 

projects judged successful by program 

officers, based on information provided 

in annual performance reports. 

Efficiency measure: Cost per fellow 

increasing language competency by at 

least one level in one (or all three) area. 

The information provided by grantees 

in their performance report submitted 

via IRIS will be the source of data for 

this measure. Reporting screens for 

institutions and fellows may be viewed 

at: http://www.ieps-iris.org/iris/pdfs/ 

DDRA_fellow.pdf and http://www.iepsiris.org/iris/pdfs/DDRA_director.pdf. 

VII. Agency Contact 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Amy Wilson, International Education 

Programs Service, U.S. Department of 

Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 

6000, Washington, DC 20006–8521. 

Telephone: (202) 502–7700 or by e-mail: 

amy.wilson@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Alternative Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

an alternative format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

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) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. 

To use PDF, you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

at this site. If you have questions about 

using PDF, call the U.S. Government 

Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1– 

888–293–6498; or in the Washington, 

DC area at (202) 512–1530. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated: September 19, 2008. 

Cheryl A. Oldham, 

Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary 

Education. 

[FR Doc. E8–22421 Filed 9–23–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

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Availability of the Bonneville 

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ACTION: Notice of document availability. 

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