FR Doc 04-1140

[Federal Register: January 20, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 12)]
[Notices]
[Page 2706-2709]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr20ja04-31]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information;
Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2004

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.031S.

DATES: Applications Available: January 16, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 3, 2004.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3, 2004.
Eligible Applicants: Except as noted below, institutions of higher
education that qualify as eligible Hispanic-Serving Institutions are
eligible to apply for new Individual Development Grants and Cooperative
Arrangement Development Grants under the Developing Hispanic-Serving
Institutions Program. The requirements for satisfying the definition of
an eligible ``Hispanic-Serving Institution'' (HSI) are set forth in the
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible Institutions
for Fiscal Year 2004 that was published in the Federal Register on
December 9, 2003 (68 FR 68614). The complete HSI eligibility
requirements are contained in 34 CFR 606.2 through 606.5 and can be
accessed from the following Web site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister
.

Relationship Between HSI and Title III, Part A Programs

Notes: 1. A grantee under the Developing HSI Program, authorized
under Title V of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA),
may not receive a grant under any Title III, Part A Program. The
Title III, Part A Programs include the Strengthening Institutions,
American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and
Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs.
Further, a current Developing HSI Program grantee may not give up
its grant in order to receive a grant under any Title III, Part A
Program.
2. An HSI that does not fall within the limitation described in
Note 1 may apply for a FY 2004 grant under all Title III, Part A
Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the Developing
HSI Program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one
grant.

Estimated Available Funds: Although Congress has not enacted a
final appropriation for FY 2004, the Department is inviting
applications for this competition now so that it may be prepared to
make awards following final action on the Department's appropriations
bill. Based on the Congressional action to date, we estimate $17.776
million will be available for new awards under this program for FY
2004. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final
congressional action.
Estimated Range of Awards: $475,000-$700,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Individual Development Grant:
$475,000 per year. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $650,000
per year.
Estimated Number of Awards: Individual Development Awards: 26.
Cooperative Arrangement Development Awards: 8.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice. Applicants should periodically check the HSI Program Web
site for further information. The address is: http://www.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/index.html
.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The Developing HSI Program assists HSIs in
expanding their capacity to serve Hispanic and low-income students by
enabling them to improve their academic quality, institutional
management, and fiscal stability and to increase their self-
sufficiency.
Priorities: This competition includes two competitive preference
priorities taken from the statute for this program and four
invitational priorities. These priorities are as follows:
In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(iv), the following
priorities are from sections 511(d) and 514(b) of the HEA.
Competitive Preference Priorities: For FY 2004, these priorities
are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii) we
give preference to an application that meets these priorities over an
application of comparable merit that does not meet the priorities.
These priorities are:
Competitive Preference Priority 1: Section 511(d) of the HEA
provides that we must give priority to applications for development
grants that contain satisfactory evidence that the HSI has entered
into, or will enter into, a collaborative arrangement with at least one
local educational agency or community-based organization to provide
that agency or organization with assistance (from funds other than
funds provided under Title V of the HEA) in reducing dropout rates for
Hispanic students, improving rates of academic achievement for Hispanic
students, and increasing the rates at which Hispanic secondary school
graduates enroll in higher education.
Competitive Preference Priority 2: Section 514(b) of the HEA
provides that we must give priority to applications for cooperative
arrangement grants that are geographically and economically sound or
will benefit the applicant HSI.
We are particularly interested in applications that address the
following invitational priorities with respect to cooperative
arrangement grant applications only.
Invitational Priorities: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give
an application that meets these invitational priorities a competitive
or absolute preference over other applications.
These priorities are:
Invitational Priority 1
Cooperative arrangements between two-year and four-year
institutions that aim to increase the transfer of Hispanic students
from two-year to four-year institutions and the retention of Hispanic
students at the four-year institutions.
Invitational Priority 2
Cooperative arrangements between institutions that develop and
share

[[Page 2707]]

technological resources in order to enhance each institution's ability
to serve the needs of low-income communities or Hispanic populations.
Invitational Priority 3
Cooperative arrangements between institutions where one of the
institutions in the arrangement is not a current grantee under the
Developing HSI Program.
Invitational Priority 4
Cooperative arrangements that include institutions from more than
one university or college system.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1101-1101d, 1103-1103g.
Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81,
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in
34 CFR part 606.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Discretionary grant. Five-year Individual
Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants will
be awarded in FY 2004. Planning grants will not be awarded in FY 2004.
Estimated Available Funds: Although Congress has not enacted a
final appropriation for FY 2004, the Department is inviting
applications for this competition now so that it may be prepared to
make awards following final action on the Department's appropriations
bill. Based on the Congressional action to date, we estimate $17.776
million will be available for new awards under this program for FY
2004. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final
congressional action.
Estimated Range of Awards: $475,000-$700,000.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: Individual Development Grant:
$475,000 per year. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $650,000
per year.
Estimated Number of Awards: Individual Development Awards: 26.
Cooperative Arrangement Development Awards: 8.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: Except as noted below, institutions of
higher education that qualify as eligible HSI are eligible to apply for
new Individual Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement
Development Grants under the Developing HSI Program. The requirements
for satisfying the definition of an eligible HSI are set forth in the
Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible Institutions
for Fiscal Year 2004 that was published in the Federal Register on
December 9, 2003 68 FR 68614. The complete HSI eligibility requirements
are contained in 34 CFR 606.2 through 606.5 and can be accessed from
the following Web site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

Relationship between HSI and Title III, Part A Programs

Notes: 1. A grantee under the Developing HSI Program, authorized
under the HEA, may not receive a grant under any Title III, Part A
Program. The Title III, Part A Programs include the Strengthening
Institutions, American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and
Universities, and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving
Institutions Programs. Further, a current Developing HSI Program
grantee may not give up its grant in order to receive a grant under
any Title III, Part A Program.
2. An HSI that does not fall within the limitation described in
Note 1 may apply for a FY 2004 grant under all Title III, Part A
Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the Developing
HSI Program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one
grant.

Cost Sharing or Matching: There are no cost sharing or matching
requirements unless the grantee uses a portion of its grant for
establishing or improving an endowment fund. If it does, it must match
with non-Federal funds the amount of grant funds used for this purpose.
(20 U.S.C. 1101c).

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Address to Request Application Package: Darlene Collins, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC
20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7576 or by e-mail:
Darlene.Collins@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may 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. However, the Department is not able to
reproduce in an alternative format the standard forms included in the
application package.
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: We have established mandatory page limits for both the
Individual Development Grant and the Cooperative Arrangement
Development Grant applications. You must limit your entire application
to the equivalent of no more than 85 pages for the Individual
Development Grant and 120 pages for the Cooperative Arrangement
Development Grant, using the following standards:
[sbull] A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
[sbull] Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, including titles and headings.
You may single space the abstract, footnotes, quotations, references,
captions, tables, and forms (including the ED Forms), however, you must
still use font size 12.
[sbull] Use a font that is size 12.
We will reject your application if--
[sbull] You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
[sbull] You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the
page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: January 16, 2004.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 3, 2004.
The dates and times for the transmittal of applications by mail or
by hand (including a courier service or commercial carrier) are in the
application package for this program. The application package also
specifies the hours of operation of the e-Application Web site.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 3, 2004.
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: We specify unallowable activities in 34
CFR 606.10. We reference additional regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Instructions and requirements for
the transmittal of applications by mail or by hand (including a courier
service or commercial carrier) are in the

[[Page 2708]]

application package for this program. Application Procedures: The
Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 105-277)
and the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement Act of 1999
(Pub. L. 106-107) encourage us to undertake initiatives to improve our
grant processes. Enhancing the ability of individuals and entities to
conduct business with us electronically is a major part of our response
to these Acts. Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt the Internet as
our chief means of conducting transactions in order to improve services
to our customers and to simplify and expedite our business processes.
Some of the procedures in these instructions for transmitting
applications differ from those in the Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 75.102). Under the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department generally
offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed
regulations. However, these amendments make procedural changes only and
do not establish new substantive policy. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C.
553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined that proposed rulemaking is not
required.
We are requiring that applications for grants under the Developing
HSI Program--CFDA Number 84.031S be submitted electronically using the
Electronic Grant Application System (e-Application) available through
the Department's e-GRANTS system. The e-GRANTS system is accessible
through its portal page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

If you are unable to submit an application through the e-GRANTS
system, you may submit a written request for a waiver of the electronic
submission requirement. In your request, you should explain the reason
or reasons that prevent you from using the Internet to submit your
application. Address your request to: Darlene Collins, U.S. Department
of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6032, Washington, DC 20006-8513.
Please submit your request no later than two weeks before the
application deadline date.
If, within two weeks of the application deadline date, you are
unable to submit an application electronically, you must submit a paper
application by the application deadline date in accordance with the
transmittal instructions in the application package. The paper
application must include a written request for a waiver documenting the
reasons that prevented you from using the Internet to submit your
application.
Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of Applications: We are
continuing to expand our pilot project for electronic submission of
applications to include additional formula grant programs and
additional discretionary grant competitions. The Developing HSI
Program--CFDA Number 84.031S is one of the programs included in the
pilot project. If you are an applicant under the Developing HSI
Program, you must submit your application to us in electronic format or
receive a waiver.
The pilot project involves the use of e-Application. If you use e-
Application, you will be entering data online while completing your
application. You may not e-mail an electronic copy of a grant
application to us. The data you enter online will be saved into a
database. We shall continue to evaluate the success of e-Application
and solicit suggestions for its improvement.
If you participate in e-Application, please note the following:
[sbull] When you enter the e-Application system, you will find
information about its hours of operation. We strongly recommend that
you do not wait until the application deadline date to initiate an e-
Application package.
[sbull] You will not receive additional point value because you
submit a grant application in electronic format, nor will we penalize
you if you submit an application in paper format.
[sbull] You must submit all documents electronically, including the
Application for Federal Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget
Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary
assurances and certifications.
[sbull] Your e-Application must comply with any page limit
requirements described in this notice.
[sbull] After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award
number (an identifying number unique to your application).
[sbull] Within three working days after submitting your electronic
application, fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Education
Assistance (ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following
these steps:
1. Print ED 424 from e-Application.
2. The institution's Authorizing Representative must sign this
form.
3. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the
hard copy signature page of the ED 424.
4. Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at (202)
260-1349.
[sbull] We may request that you give us original signatures on
other forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of System
Unavailability: If you are prevented from submitting your application
on the application deadline date because the e-Application system is
unavailable, we will grant you an extension of one business day in
order to transmit your application electronically, by mail, or by hand
delivery. We will grant this extension if--
1. You are a registered user of e-Application and you have
initiated an e-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
during the last hour of operation (that is, for any period of time
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time) on the
application deadline date.
We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to
confirm our acknowledgement of any system unavailability, you may
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under For
Further Information Contact (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) the e-
GRANTS help desk at 1-888-336-8930.
You may access the electronic grant application for the Developing
HSI Program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

V. Application Review Information

1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are
in 34 CFR 606.21 and 606.22.
2. Review and Selection Process: Additional factors we consider in
selecting an application for an award are as follows: In tie-breaking
situations described in 34 CFR 606.23, the HSI Program regulations
require that we award one additional point to an application from an
IHE that has an endowment fund for which the 2000-2001 market value per
full-time equivalent (FTE) student was less than the comparable average
per FTE student at a similar type IHE. We also award one additional
point to an application from an IHE that had expenditures for library
materials in 2000-2001 per FTE student that were less than the
comparable average per FTE student at a similar type IHE.
For the purpose of these funding considerations, an applicant must
be able to demonstrate that the market

[[Page 2709]]

value of its endowment fund per FTE student and library expenditures
per FTE student were less than the average expenditure per FTE student
when calculated using the data submitted by applicants for the year
2000-2001.
If a tie still remains after applying the additional point(s), we
will determine the ranking of applicants based on the lowest combined
library expenditures per FTE student and endowment values per FTE
student.

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 also notify you informally.
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 of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of 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: 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 specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118, 34 CFR 75.720 and in 34 CFR 606.31.
4. Performance Measures: The Secretary has established the
following key performance measures for assessing the effectiveness of
the Developing HSI Program: (1) The percentage of Title V project goals
relating to the improvement of academic quality that are met or
exceeded will increase or be maintained over time. (2) The percentage
of Title V project goals relating to the improvement of student
services and student outcomes that are met or exceeded will increase or
be maintained over time. (3) The percentage of Title V project goals
relating to the improvement of institutional management and fiscal
stability that are met or exceeded will increase or be maintained over
time.

VII. Agency Contact

For Further Information Contact: Darlene Collins, U.S. Department of
Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-8513.
Telephone: (202) 502-7576 or by e-mail: Darlene.Collins@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.

VIII. Other Information

Electronic Access to This Document: You may 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: January 14, 2004.
Sally L. Stroup,
Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 04-1140 Filed 1-14-04; 3:00 pm]

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