Section 656.1 - [Effective 8/15/2025] What is the purpose of the National Resource Centers Program?(a) Under the National Resource Centers Program for Foreign Language and Areas Studies (National Resource Centers Program), the Secretary awards grants to institutions of higher education and consortia of institutions to establish, strengthen, and operate comprehensive and undergraduate Centers that act cooperatively as national resources for- (1) Teaching of modern foreign languages, especially less commonly taught languages;(2) Instruction in fields of study needed to provide full understanding of areas, regions, or countries in which such languages are commonly used;(3) Research and training in international studies and the international and foreign language aspects of professional and other fields of study; and(4) Instruction and research on issues in world affairs that concern one or more countries.(b) Through the activities described in paragraph (a) of this section, the National Resource Centers Program contributes to the purposes of the programs authorized by part A of title VI of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, listed in § 655.5(a).