Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education-Special Focus Competition (Invitational Priority: Institutional Cooperation and Student Mobility in Postsecondary Education Between the United States and Brazil); Notice Inviting Application for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2001.

Purpose of Program: To provide grants or enter into cooperative agreements to improve postsecondary education opportunities by focusing on problem areas or improvement approaches in postsecondary education.

Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education or combinations of institutions and other public and private nonprofit institutions and agencies.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 30, 2001.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 29, 2001.

Applications Available: November 17, 2000.

Available Funds: $300,000 for FY 2001. The estimated amount of funds available for awards is based on the Administration's request for this program for FY 2001. The actual level of funding, if any, is contingent upon final congressional action.

Estimated Range of Awards: $25,000-$30,000 for FY 2001; $190,000-$210,000 for four-year duration of grant.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: $30,000 for FY 2001; $200,000 for four-year duration of grant.

Estimated Number of Awards: 10.

Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 48 months.

Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

This program is a Special Focus Competition to support projects addressing a particular problem area or improvement approach in postsecondary education. The competition also includes an invitational priority to encourage proposals designed to support the formation of educational consortia of American and Brazilian institutions to encourage cooperation in the coordination of curricula, the exchange of students and the opening of educational opportunities between the United States and Brazil. The invitational priority is issued in cooperation with Brazil. Brazilian institutions participating in any consortium proposal responding to the invitational priority may apply, respectively, to the Coordination of Improvement of Personnel of Superior Level (CAPES), Brazilian Ministry of Education for additional funding under a separate but parallel Brazilian competition.

Priority

Invitational Priority

We are particularly interested in applications that meet the following invitational priority. However, an application that meets this invitational priority does not receive a competitive or absolute preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).

Invitational Priority: Projects that support consortia of institutions of higher education that promote institutional cooperation and student mobility between the United States and Brazil.

Methods for Applying Selection Criteria

The Secretary gives equal weight to the listed criteria. Within each of the criteria, the Secretary gives equal weight to each of the factors.

Selection Criteria: In evaluating applications for grants under this program competition, the Secretary uses the following selection criteria chosen from those listed in 34 CFR 75.210.

(1) The significance of the proposed project, as determined by—

(a) The extent to which the proposed project involves the development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on, or are alternatives to, existing strategies;

(b) The likely utility of the products (such as information, materials, processes, or techniques) that will result from the proposed project, including the potential for their being used in a variety of other settings; and

(c) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in teaching and student achievement.

(2) The quality of the design of the proposed project, as determined by—

(a) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable; and

(b) The extent to which the design of the proposed project is appropriate to, and will successfully address, the needs of the target population or other identified needs.

(3) The adequacy of resources, as determined by—

(a) The extent to which the costs are reasonable in relation to the objectives, design, and potential significance of the proposed project;

(b) The potential for continued support of the project after FIPSE/CAPES funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated commitment of appropriate entities to such support; and

(c) The relevance and demonstrated commitment of each partner in the proposed project to the implementation and success of the project.

(4) The quality of the project personnel, as determined by—

(a) The qualifications, including training and experience, of key project personnel; and

(b) The extent to which the applicant encourages applications for employment from persons who are members of groups that have traditionally been underrepresented based on race, color, national origin, gender, age, or disability.

For Applications Contact: U.S. Department of Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827, fax 301-470-1244, e-mail: edpubs@inet.ed.gov

You may also contact EDPubs at its website: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.

If you request an application from EDPubs, be sure to identify the US-Brazil Competition as CFDA number 84.116M.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Copies of the application materials may also be obtained from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 8th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20006-8544, telephone 202-502-7500. For additional program information call Cindy Fisher at the FIPSE office (202-502-7500) between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. You may also request application guidelines by submitting the name of the competition (US-Brazil) and your name and postal address to fipse@ed.gov (e-mail). Applications are also available on the FIPSE website at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/offices/OPE/FIPSE/Brazil/

Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an alternative format, also, by contacting that person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternate format the standard forms included in the application package.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm

http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at either of the previous sites. 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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1138-1138d.