[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 58 (Friday, March 25, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16741-16743]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-7126]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Applications for New Awards; Erma Byrd Scholarship Program
AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice.
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Overview Information
Erma Byrd Scholarship Program
Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY)
2011.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.116E.
Dates: Applications Available: March 25, 2011.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 25, 2011.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Erma Byrd Scholarship Program provides
scholarships to individuals pursuing a course of study that will lead
to a career in industrial health and safety occupations, including mine
safety. This program is designed to increase the skilled workforce in
these fields at both the fundamental skills level and the advanced
skills level. The program has a service obligation component, which
requires recipients of the scholarship to begin employment in a career
position related to industrial health and safety no later than six
months after completion of the degree program, and to continue to work
in a career position related to industrial health and safety, including
mine safety, for a period of one year.
The scholarships are available to students in the following
eligible areas of study related to industrial health and safety: Mining
and mineral engineering, industrial engineering, occupational safety
and health technology/technician, quality control technology/
technician, industrial safety technology/technician, hazardous
materials information systems technology/technician, mining technology/
technician, and occupational health and industrial hygiene.
Program Authority: For FY 2011, the authority for the Erma Byrd
Scholarship Program is established under division D, title III of
the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010, Public Law 111-117. FY
2010 funds are being used in FY 2011 to make new awards.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts, 75, 77, 81, 82, 84,
85, 86, and 99.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grant.
Estimated Available Funds for New Awards: $205,767.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $2,500 (associate's degree
student); $5,000 (bachelor's degree student); $10,000 (graduate degree
student).
Estimated Number of Awards: 41. The number of scholarships awarded
will be allocated between undergraduate students and graduate students
in the same proportion as the number of fundable applications received
from those groups of students, taking into account the size of the
awards to be made to students in those groups.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 24 months.
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III. Eligibility Information and Program Requirements
1. Eligible Applicants: Individuals who, at the time of
application, are: (1) Enrolled or planning to enroll in an associate's,
bachelor's, or graduate degree program at an accredited U.S.
institution of higher education; (2) within two years of completing a
degree in an eligible field of study under the Erma Byrd Scholarship
Program; (3) a citizen, national, or permanent resident of the United
States; and (4) eligible to receive Federal grants, loans, or work
assistance pursuant to section 484 of the Higher Education Act of 1965,
as amended (HEA).
2. Program Requirements:
(a) Satisfactory Academic Progress. Scholarship recipients must
maintain satisfactory academic progress in accordance with 34 CFR
668.34 throughout the period of funding; additionally, they must submit
a Student Activities Report to the Secretary at the end of each year of
funding, with a certification from an authorized representative of the
institution that the student is maintaining satisfactory academic
progress. If an Erma Byrd Scholarship recipient does not maintain
satisfactory academic progress throughout the period of funding or does
not submit a Student Activities Report to the Secretary at the end of
each year of funding, the recipient is not eligible for any additional
funding and must repay the scholarship amount as a Direct Unsubsidized
Student Loan with all the associated repayment conditions, including
interest charges and fees as provided under title IV, part D of the
HEA.
(b) Service Obligation. Scholarship recipients must be employed in
a career position related to industrial health and safety, including
mine safety, for a period of one year following the completion of their
degree program. Scholarship recipients must begin such employment no
more than six months after the completion of their degree program. A
scholarship recipient must submit a verification of employment report
to the Secretary no more than six months immediately after completion
of his or her degree program, reporting on post-graduation activities,
including changes in their permanent address, e-mail, phone number, and
employment status. Additionally, scholarship recipients must submit a
final employment report to the Secretary at the end of the one-year
service obligation period.
If an Erma Byrd Scholarship recipient does not fulfill the complete
service obligation within eighteen months after completion of his or
her degree program, the recipient must repay the scholarship amount as
a Direct Unsubsidized Student Loan with all the associated repayment
conditions, including interest charges and fees as provided under title
IV, part D of the HEA.
3. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not require cost
sharing or matching.
4. Applicability of Rulemaking Requirements. Under the
Administrative Procedure Act (APA) (5 U.S.C. 553) and section 437 of
the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1), the
Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to
comment on proposed eligibility and other program requirements.
Division D, title III, of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2010,
Public Law 111-117 provides, however, that the provisions of section
553 of the APA and section 437 of GEPA do not apply to this program.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: You can obtain an
application package via the Internet or from the Department. To obtain
a copy via the Internet, use the following address for the Erma Byrd
Scholarship Program Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/ermabyrd/index.html.
To obtain a copy from the Department, write, fax, or call the
following: Lorece Stanton, Erma Byrd Scholarship Program, U.S.
Department of Education, Student Service, 1990 K Street, NW., Room
7099, Washington, DC 20006-8524. Telephone: (202) 219-7077. Fax: (202)
502-7857 or by email: [email protected].
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 accessible format (e.g. braille, large print, audiotape,
or computer diskette) by contacting the 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.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: March 25, 2011.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: April 25, 2011.
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 of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: All applications must be
submitted electronically by e-mailing the application in the form of a
Microsoft Word (.DOC or .DOCX) document to [email protected].
Please note that an electronic application in a format other than
Microsoft Word will not be accepted.
If you are unable to submit your application by e-mail and wish to
submit your application by mail, you must submit a request for
permission to submit it by mail, no less than 10 days prior to the
application deadline date, to Lorece Stanton by e-mail to
[email protected] or by postal mail to U.S. Department of
Education, Student Service, 1990 K Street, NW., Room 7099, Washington,
DC 20006-8524. In your request, you must include the reason why you are
unable to submit the application electronically.
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.
V. Application Review Information
1. Selection Criteria:
All applicants are required to complete and submit the Erma Byrd
Scholarship Program Applicant Information Form, which will be used to
determine the applicant's eligibility for the scholarship.
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.
[[Page 16743]]
Additional factors we consider in selecting an application for an
award are as follows:
(a) Undergraduate Applicants. In selecting undergraduate students
to receive a scholarship, the Secretary will award scholarships to
students in the order that the applications are received. Priority will
be given first to students who have demonstrated financial need and are
eligible to receive a Federal Pell Grant.
Qualified undergraduate applicants who wish to have their Federal
Pell Grant eligibility considered as part of their application must
demonstrate financial need by submitting a Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA), which may be obtained at http://www.fafsa.ed.gov
or from their institution's financial aid office, and by submitting
their Social Security Number via postal mail using the Pell Grant
Eligibility Certification Sheet contained in the Erma Byrd Scholarship
Program application package. Applicants who have already submitted
their FAFSA for the 2010-2011 award year do not need to resubmit the
FAFSA.
The Secretary will award scholarships to applicants who are
eligible for Federal Pell Grants and who are enrolled in eligible
fields of study in the order that the applications are received.
If additional funds are available after awards are made to
undergraduate students who are eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, the
Secretary will award scholarships to qualified undergraduate students
who are not eligible for a Federal Pell Grant in the order that their
applications are received.
(b) Graduate Applicants. In selecting graduate students to receive
a scholarship, the Secretary will award scholarships to qualified
students in the order that the applications are received.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify you
and send a Grant Award Notification (GAN) directly to the institution
you will be attending. The institution will disburse funds to
scholarship recipients in accordance with its regular payment schedule.
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: Scholarship recipients must submit a Student
Activities Report to the Secretary at the end of each year of funding,
which includes certification from an authorized representative of the
institution that the student is maintaining satisfactory academic
progress. In addition, a scholarship recipient must submit a
verification of employment report to the Secretary no more than six
months immediately after completion of his or her degree program,
reporting on post-graduation activities, including changes in their
permanent address, e-mail, phone number, and employment status.
Finally, scholarship recipients must submit a final employment report
to the Secretary at the end of the service obligation period.
The student must provide written certification from an authorized
representative of the institution that the student is maintaining
satisfactory academic progress.
4. Performance Measures: The effectiveness of the Erma Byrd
Scholarship Program will be measured by graduation completion rates,
time-to-degree completion rates, and the percentage of students
fulfilling the one-year service obligation within eighteen months of
graduation. The Department will use the verification of employment and
final employment reports to assess the program's success in assisting
scholarship recipients in completing their course of study and
receiving their degree, and entering the specified fields.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lorece Stanton, Erma Byrd Scholarship
Program, U.S. Department of Education, Student Service, 1990 K Street,
NW., Room 7099, Washington, DC 20006-8524. Telephone: (202) 219-7077.
Fax: (202) 502-7857 or by e-mail: [email protected].
If you use a TDD, 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 computer diskette) on
request to the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of 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.
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 via the Federal Digital System at: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys.
Dated: March 22, 2011.
Eduardo M. Ochoa,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2011-7126 Filed 3-24-11; 8:45 am]
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