Section 657.21 - [Effective 8/15/2025] What selection criteria does the Secretary use to evaluate an institutional application for an allocation of fellowships?The Secretary evaluates an institutional application for an allocation of fellowships on the basis of the criteria in this section.
(a)Scope, personnel, and operations. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:(1) The extent to which the proposed allocation of fellowships meets the requirements in § 657.3(a) .(2) The extent to which the project director and other staff are qualified to administer the proposed allocation of fellowships, including the degree to which they engage in ongoing professional development activities relevant to their roles.(3) The adequacy of governance and oversight arrangements for the proposed allocation of fellowships, and, for a consortium, the extent to which the consortium agreement demonstrates commitment to a common objective.(4) The extent to which the institution provides or will provide financial, administrative, and other support for the administration of the proposed allocation of fellowships.(b)Quality of curriculum and instruction. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:(1) The extent to which the applicant's curriculum provides training options for students from a variety of disciplines and professional fields, and the extent to which the curriculum and associated requirements (including language requirements) are appropriate for the applicant's area of focus and result in educational programs of high quality for students who will be served by the proposed allocation of fellowships.(2) The extent to which the levels of instruction offered for the modern foreign languages relevant to the proposed allocation of fellowships, including intensive language instruction, and the frequency with which the courses are offered, is appropriate for advanced training in those languages.(3) The extent to which the institution's instruction in modern foreign languages relevant to the proposed allocation of fellowships is using or developing stated performance goals for functional foreign language use, as well as the degree to which stated performance goals are met or are likely to be met by students.(4) The extent to which instruction in modern foreign languages is integrated with area studies courses, for example, area studies courses taught in modern foreign languages.(c)Quality of faculty and academic resources. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:(1) The extent to which the institution employs faculty with strong language, area, and international studies credentials related to the proposed allocation of fellowships, including enough qualified tenured and tenure-track faculty with teaching and advising responsibilities to enable the applicant to carry out the instructional and training programs in the applicant's area of focus.(2) The extent to which the applicant provides or will provide students who will be served by the proposed allocation of fellowships with substantive academic and other relevant advising services that address compliance with fellowship requirements, the potential uses of their foreign language and area studies knowledge and training, and, as appropriate, safety while studying outside the United States.(3) The extent to which the institution's library holdings (print and non-print, physical and digital, English and foreign language), other research collections, and relevant staff support students who will be served by the proposed allocation of fellowships.(4) The extent to which the applicant has established formal arrangements for students to conduct research or study abroad relevant to the proposed allocation of fellowships and the extent to which these arrangements are used.(d)Project design and rationale. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:(1) The extent to which the proposed allocation of fellowships aligns with the applicant's educational programs, instructional resources, and language and area studies course offerings; and the ease of access to relevant instruction and training opportunities, including training from external providers.(2) The applicant's record of placing students into post-graduate employment, education, or training in areas of national need and the applicant's efforts to increase the number of such students that go into such placement.(3) The extent to which the allocation of fellowships will contribute to meeting national needs related to language and area studies expertise and support the generation of information for and dissemination of information to the public.(4) The extent to which the proposed project will reflect diverse perspectives, as defined in part 655, and a wide range of views and generate debate on world regions and international affairs.(e)Project planning and budget. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:(1) The extent to which the process for selecting fellows is thoroughly described and of high quality, including the institution-wide fellowship recruitment and advertisement process, the student application process, the FLAS Fellowships Program selection criteria and priorities, any supplemental institutional requirements consistent with the FLAS Fellowships Program requirements, the composition of the institution's selection committee, and the timeline for selecting and notifying students.(2) The extent to which the institution requesting an allocation of fellowships identifies barriers, if any, to equitable access to and participation in the FLAS Fellowships Program and how the institution proposes to address these barriers.(3) The extent to which the requested amount and proposed distribution of the allocation of fellowships is reasonable relative to the potential pool of eligible students with a demonstrated interest in relevant modern foreign language and area studies training and instruction.(f)Quality of project evaluation. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:(1) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the proposed project.(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving the proposed project's intended outcomes.(3) The qualifications, including relevant training, experience, and independence, of the evaluator(s).