59050 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2010 / Notices 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

International Education Programs 

Service; Fulbright-Hays Group 

Projects Abroad Program 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice of final priorities. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.021. 

SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for 

Postsecondary Education announces 

two priorities for the Fulbright-Hays 

Group Projects Abroad (GPA) Program 

administered by the International 

Education Programs Service. The 

Assistant Secretary may use these 

priorities for competitions in fiscal year 

(FY) 2011 and later years. 

We intend these two priorities to help 

increase the number of teachers at the 

Kindergarten–grade 12 (K–12) level with 

skills in a second language and 

knowledge of other cultures around the 

world by supporting short-term projects 

abroad (1) that provide pre-service 

teachers with training or courses in 

foreign languages and international area 

studies as part of a teacher education 

curriculum developed through 

collaboration between colleges or 

departments of education and colleges 

or departments of arts and sciences 

within institutions of higher education, 

and (2) in which at least 50 percent of 

participants are K–12 teachers, K–12 

administrators, or both. The first 

priority supports projects that will help 

give pre-service teachers a deeper 

knowledge of languages and cultures 

from around the world. The second 

priority supports projects that will help 

increase the study abroad opportunities 

for in-service teachers, giving these 

individuals exposure to another country 

and its culture. 

DATES: These priorities are effective 

October 25, 2010. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michelle Guilfoil. Telephone: (202) 

502–7625 or by e-mail: 

Michelle.Guilfoil@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. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of Program: The purpose of 

the Fulbright-Hays Group Projects 

Abroad Program is to provide grants for 

overseas projects in training, research, 

and curriculum development in modern 

foreign languages and area studies that 

will engage teachers, students, and 

faculty in a common endeavor. Projects 

may include short-term seminars, 

curriculum development, or group 

research or study. 

Program Authority: 22 U.S.C. 2452(b)(6). 

Applicable Program Regulations: 34 

CFR part 664. We published a notice of 

proposed priorities for this program in 

the Federal Register on May 13, 2010, 

75 FR 26945. That notice contained 

background information and our reasons 

for proposing the particular priorities. 

There are no differences between the 

proposed priorities and these final 

priorities. 

Public Comment: In response to our 

invitation in the notice of proposed 

priorities, one party submitted 

comments on the proposed priorities. 

Generally, we do not address 

technical and other minor changes, or 

suggested changes the law does not 

authorize us to make under the 

applicable statutory authority. In 

addition, we do not address general 

comments that raised concerns not 

directly related to the proposed 

priorities. 

Analysis of Comments: An analysis of 

the comment and any changes in the 

priorities since publication of the notice 

of proposed priorities follows. 

Priority 2—Greater Participation of K– 

12 Educators 

Comment: The commenter suggested 

that rather than offering a priority to 

those applicants that provide for 50 

percent or greater participation of K–12 

educators in a short-term project, the 

program should provide a certain 

percentage of awards to those projects 

that focus exclusively on K–12 

educators. The rationale provided was 

that the projects that are most effective 

are those that are offered exclusively to 

either K–12 or postsecondary educators 

as it is difficult to effectively design one 

project that fully addresses the needs of 

both of these groups. 

Discussion: While we agree with the 

commenter that addressing the needs of 

varying groups of educators within one 

project may present challenges, we do 

not believe that it is necessary to revise 

the priority to address this specific 

need. First, we note that nothing in the 

priority precludes applicants from 

proposing projects exclusively for either 

K–12 or postsecondary educators. 

Second, in our experience, the GPA 

program has supported numerous 

successful projects that have provided 

exceptional opportunities for varying 

groups of educators. These GPA 

program participants have experienced 

substantive learning, not only about 

host countries, cultures and languages, 

but from each other as well. This 

collaboration amongst educators at 

different levels of the education system 

often proves to be extremely productive 

and beneficial to GPA projects in 

providing for substantive follow-up 

opportunities, collaboration, and 

additional professional growth 

experiences. Accordingly, we believe it 

is important for applicants to have the 

option of structuring their projects to 

focus on varying groups of educators. 

Changes: None. 

Final Priorities 

Priority 1 

Applications that, through 

collaborative efforts between one or 

more colleges or departments of 

education and one or more colleges or 

departments of arts and sciences within 

a single institution of higher education 

or within a consortium of higher 

education institutions, propose shortterm projects abroad that provide preservice teachers with training or courses 

in foreign languages and international 

area studies as part of the teacher 

education curriculum. 

Priority 2 

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. 

Types of Priorities 

When inviting applications for a 

competition using one or more 

priorities, we designate the type of each 

priority as absolute, competitive 

preference, or invitation. The effect of 

each type of priority follows: 

Absolute priority: Under an absolute 

priority, we consider only applications 

that meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(3)). 

Competitive preference priority: 

Under a competitive preference priority, 

we give competitive preference to an 

application by (1) awarding additional 

points, depending on the extent to 

which the application meets the priority 

(34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting 

an application that meets the priority 

over an application of comparable merit 

that does not meet the priority (34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(ii)). 

Invitational priority: Under an 

invitational priority, we are particularly 

interested in applications that meet the 

priority. However, we do not give an 

application that meets the priority a 

preference over other applications (34 

CFR 75.105(c)(1)). 

This notice does not preclude us from 

proposing additional priorities, 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES3
Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 185 / Friday, September 24, 2010 / Notices 59051 

requirements, definitions, or selection 

criteria, subject to meeting applicable 

rulemaking requirements. 

Note: This notice does not solicit 

applications. In any year in which we choose 

to use one or more of these priorities, we 

invite applications through a notice in the 

Federal Register. 

Executive Order 12866: This notice of 

final priorities has been reviewed in 

accordance with Executive Order 12866. 

Under the terms of the order, we have 

assessed the potential costs and benefits 

of this regulatory action. 

The potential costs associated with 

this regulatory action are those resulting 

from statutory requirements and those 

we have determined as necessary for 

administering these programs effectively 

and efficiently. 

In assessing the potential costs and 

benefits—both quantitative and 

qualitative—of this regulatory action, 

we have determined that the benefits of 

the final priorities justify the costs. 

We have also determined that this 

regulatory action does not unduly 

interfere with State, local, and Tribal 

governments in the exercise of their 

governmental functions. 

Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. One of the objectives of the 

Executive order is to foster an 

intergovernmental partnership and a 

strengthened federalism. The Executive 

order relies on processes developed by 

State and local governments for 

coordination and review of proposed 

Federal financial assistance. 

This document provides early 

notification of our specific plans and 

actions for this program. 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

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

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT. 

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. 

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. 

Delegation of Authority: The Assistant 

Secretary of Postsecondary Education 

has delegated authority to Daniel T. 

Madzelan, Director, Forecasting and 

Policy Analysis for the Office of 

Postsecondary Education to perform the 

functions of the Assistant Secretary for 

Postsecondary Education. 

Dated: September 21, 2010. 

Daniel T. Madzelan, 

Director, Forecasting and Policy Analysis. 

[FR Doc. 2010–24002 Filed 9–23–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Postsecondary Education: 

Overview Information; Fulbright-Hays 

Group Projects Abroad Program; 

Notice Inviting Applications for New 

Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2011 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.021A. 

Dates: 

Applications Available: September 

24, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: October 26, 2010. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: December 27, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The FulbrightHays 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 

in a common endeavor. Projects are 

short-term and include seminars, 

curriculum development, or group 

research or study. 

Priorities: This notice contains one 

absolute priority, three competitive 

preference priorities, and one 

invitational priority. In accordance with 

34 CFR 75.105(b), the absolute priority 

and competitive preference priority I are 

from the regulations for this program (34 

CFR 664.32), and competitive 

preference priorities II and III are from 

the notice of final priorities published 

elsewhere in this issue of the Federal 

Register. 

Absolute Priority: For FY 2011, 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 are 

establishing the following competitive 

preference priorities. 

Competitive Preference Priority I: For 

FY 2011, this priority is a competitive 

preference priority. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(i) and 664.31(g), we award 

up to an additional five (5) points to an 

application that meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

Projects that provide substantive 

training and thematic focus on any of 

the seventy-eight (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: For 

FY 2011, this priority is a competitive 

preference priority. Under 34 CFR 

75.105(c)(2)(i) and 664.31(g), we award 

up to an additional five (5) points to a 

short-term project abroad application 

that meets this priority. 

This priority is: 

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: 

For FY 2011, this priority is a 


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