Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, 37735-37740 [E7-13473]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 11, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37735-37740]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-13473]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; 
Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program; Notice Inviting 
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

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

    Dates:
    Applications Available: July 11, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 10, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education (IHEs) that 
qualify as eligible HSIs are eligible to apply for new Individual 
Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants under 
the HSI Program. To be an eligible HSI, an IHE must--
    (1) Be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized 
accrediting agency or association that the Secretary has determined to 
be a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training 
offered;
    (2) Be legally authorized by the State in which it is located to be 
a junior college or to provide an educational program for which it 
awards a bachelor's degree;
    (3) Be designated as an ``eligible institution'' by demonstrating 
that it: (A) Has an enrollment of needy students as described in 34 CFR 
606.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
full-time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 
606.4;
    (4) Have an enrollment of undergraduate FTE students that is at 
least 25 percent Hispanic students at the end of the award year 
immediately preceding the date of application.
    Effective September 30, 2006, the Third Higher Education Extension 
Act of 2006 (Pub. L. 109-292) amended section 502(a) of the Higher 
Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), by requiring that institutions 
report their undergraduate Hispanic FTE percentage at the end of the 
award year immediately preceding the date of application. Funds for the 
Developing HSI Program are awarded each fiscal year, thus, for this 
program, the end of the award year refers to the end of the fiscal year 
prior to the application due date. The end of the fiscal year occurs on 
September 30. Therefore, for purposes of making the determination 
described in paragraph (4) IHEs must report their undergraduate 
Hispanic FTE percentage based on the student enrollment count closest 
to, but not after, September 30, 2006.
    The Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2006 also amended 
section 502(a) of the HEA by eliminating the requirement in the HSI 
Program that an institution applying for a grant provide an assurance 
that not less than 50 percent of the institution's Hispanic students 
are low-income individuals.
    The Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for FY 2007 was published in the Federal Register on 
January 8, 2007 (72 FR 670). The HSI eligibility requirements are in 34 
CFR 606.2 through 606.5 and can be accessed from the following Web 
site: https://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/34cfr606_01.html.
    The regulations in 34 CFR part 606 do not reflect the changes made 
by the Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2006 that are mentioned 
above.

Relationship Between HSI and Title III, Part A Programs

    Note 1: A grantee under the HSI Program, which is authorized by 
Title V of the HEA, may not receive a grant under any HEA, Title 
III, Part A Program. The Title III, Part A Programs include: The 
Strengthening Institutions Program, the American Indian Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities Program; and the Alaska Native 
and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs. Further, a 
current HSI Program grantee may not give up its HSI grant in order 
to receive a grant under any Title III, Part A Program.


    Note 2: An HSI that does not fall within the limitation 
described in Note 1 may apply for a FY 2007 grant under all Title 
III, Part A Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the 
HSI Program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one 
grant.


    Note 3: An eligible HSI that submits more than one application 
may only be awarded one Individual Development Grant or one 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant in a fiscal year. 
Furthermore, we will not award a second Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant to an otherwise eligible HSI for the same award 
year as the HSI's existing Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grant.


    Note 4: The Department will cross-reference for verification, 
data reported to the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 
(IPEDS), the IHE's State-reported enrollment data, and the 
institutional annual report. If there are any differences in the 
percentages reported in IPEDS and the percentages reported in the 
grant application, the IHE should justify the differences as a part 
of its eligibility documentation.

    Estimated Available Funds: $17,181,510.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $550,000-$713,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards: Individual Development Grant: 
$575,000. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $713,000.
    Maximum Awards: Individual Development Grant: $575,000; Cooperative 
Arrangement Development Grant: $713,000. We will not fund any 
application at an amount exceeding these maximum amounts for a single 
budget period of 12 months. We may choose not to further consider or 
review applications with budgets that exceed the maximum amounts 
specified, if we conclude, during our initial review of the 
application, that the proposed goals and objectives cannot be obtained 
with the specified maximum amount.
    Estimated Number of Awards: Individual Development Grant: 15. 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: 12.

    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: https://www.ed.gov/
programs/idueshsi/.

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The HSI Program provides grants to assist HSIs 
to expand

[[Page 37736]]

educational opportunities for, and improve the academic attainment of, 
Hispanic students. The HSI Program grants also enable HSIs to expand 
and enhance their academic offerings, program quality, and 
institutional stability.
    Priorities: This notice contains one competitive preference 
priority and five invitational priorities. We are establishing the 
competitive preference priority for the FY 2007 grant competition only, 
in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education 
Provisions Act.
    Competitive Preference Priority: For FY 2007, this priority is a 
competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we will 
award an additional 25 points to an Individual Development Grant 
application that meets this priority.
    This priority is:
    We will give priority to applicants for Individual Development 
Grants that will not receive a non-competing continuation grant under 
the HSI Program in FY 2007. Applicants submitting multiple applications 
for Individual Development Grants who do not have non-competing 
continuations in FY 2007 may submit only one Individual Development 
Grant application under this competitive preference priority and must 
indicate which one of its Individual Development Grant applications is 
to be considered under this competitive preference priority.
    Background: We are establishing this competitive preference 
priority to ensure that eligible IHEs have a full opportunity to apply 
for and receive Individual Development Grants and that IHEs that 
already have a five-year Individual Development Grant do not receive 
additional funding until their current grant has ended.
    The Department believes that this approach is consistent with 
Congress' intent in enacting recent changes to the HSI program as part 
of the Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2006. As part of that 
law, Congress eliminated the provision in section 504(a) of the HEA 
that required grantees that received a five-year Individual Development 
Grant to wait for two years after completion of that grant before 
receiving a new grant. We believe that Congress intended to permit 
grantees to receive a new Individual Development Grant immediately 
after completing the old grant but did not necessarily intend this 
change to allow grantees to receive more than one Individual 
Development Grant at a time.
    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

    Individual Development or Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants that aim to expand and enhance the academic offerings and 
program quality of colleges and universities with significant numbers 
of Hispanic students and other low-income individuals by strengthening 
academic offerings and program quality in the following National 
Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (National SMART Grant) 
Program fields of study as delineated in 34 CFR 691.17: Computer 
science, engineering, technology, life sciences, mathematics, physical 
sciences and foreign languages, and in particular, for majors and 
critical foreign languages designated in Dear Colleague Letter (DCL) 
GEN-06-15. The Web site for DCL GEN-06-15 is: https://www.ifap.ed.gov/
dpcletters/Gen0615.html.

Invitational Priority 2

    Individual Development or Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants that aim to expand educational opportunities for and improve the 
academic attainment of Hispanic students and other low-income 
individuals by establishing or strengthening community outreach 
programs to middle school and high school students to provide 
information on rigorous secondary school program of study requirements 
as defined in 34 CFR 691.16 for the Academic Competitiveness Grant 
(ACG) Program. The Web site listing the recognized secondary school 
programs of study for each State for students graduating in 2005 or 
2006 is https://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/about/ac-smart/state-
programs06.html. The Web site listing the recognized rigorous secondary 
school programs of study for each State for students graduating in 2007 
is https://www.ed.gov/admins/finaid/about/ac-smart/2007/state-programs-
07.html.

Invitational Priority 3

    Individual Development or Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants that aim to improve the academic attainment of Hispanic students 
and other low-income individuals by establishing or improving tutoring, 
counseling, and student service programs designed to improve student 
academic success in the following National SMART Grant fields of study 
as delineated in 34 CFR 691.17: computer science, engineering, 
technology, life sciences, mathematics, physical sciences and foreign 
languages, and in particular, for majors and critical foreign languages 
designated in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-06-15. The Web site for DCL 
GEN-06-15 is: https://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/Gen0615.html.

Invitational Priority 4

    Individual Development or Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants that aim to expand educational opportunities of Hispanic 
students and other low-income individuals by improving or strengthening 
institutional capacity to evaluate student eligibility for the ACG and 
National SMART Grant Programs.

Invitational Priority 5

    Applications that include an external evaluator to assess the 
project's plan for a rigorous experimental design and evaluation to 
determine linkages between proposed project interventions and 
successful outcomes.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: Under the Administrative Procedure 
Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally offers interested parties 
the opportunity to comment on a competitive preference priority. 
Section 437(d)(1) of General Education Provisions Act, however, allows 
the Secretary to exempt from rulemaking requirements, regulations 
governing the first grant competition under a new or substantially 
revised program authority. This is the first grant competition for this 
program since the enactment of the amendments made by the Third Higher 
Education Extension Act of 2006 and therefore qualifies for this 
exemption. To make timely grant awards in FY 2007, the Secretary has 
decided to issue this application notice without first publishing this 
competitive preference priority for public comment. This competitive 
preference priority will apply to the FY 2007 grant competition only.
    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 Five-year Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants will be awarded in FY 2007. Planning grants will not be awarded 
in FY 2007.

[[Page 37737]]

    Estimated Available Funds: $17,181,510.
    Estimated Range of Awards: $550,000-$713,000.
    Estimate Average Size of Awards: Individual Development Grant: 
$575,000. Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: $713,000.
    Maximum Awards: Individual Development Grant: $575,000. Cooperative 
Arrangement Development Grant: $713,000. We will not fund any 
application at an amount exceeding these maximum amounts for a single 
budget period of 12 months. We may choose not to further consider or 
review applications with budgets that exceed the maximum amounts 
specified, if we conclude, during our initial review of the 
application, that the proposed goals and objectives cannot be obtained 
with the specified maximum amount.
    Estimated Number of Awards: Individual Development Grant: 15. 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant: 12.

    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: https://www.ed.gov/
programs/idueshsi/.

    Project Period: Up to 60 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    Eligible Applicants: IHEs that qualify as eligible HSIs are 
eligible to apply for new Individual Development Grants and Cooperative 
Arrangement Development Grants under the HSI Program. To be an eligible 
HSI, an IHE must--
    (1) Be accredited or preaccredited by a nationally recognized 
accrediting agency or association that the Secretary has determined to 
be a reliable authority as to the quality of education or training 
offered;
    (2) Be legally authorized by the State in which it is located to be 
a junior college or to provide an educational program for which it 
awards a bachelor's degree;
    (3) Be designated as an ``eligible institution'' by demonstrating 
that it: (A) Has an enrollment of needy students as described in 34 CFR 
606.3; and (B) has low average educational and general expenditures per 
FTE undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 606.4;
    (4) Have an enrollment of undergraduate FTE students that is at 
least 25 percent Hispanic students at the end of the award year 
immediately preceding the date of application.
    Effective September 30, 2006, the Third Higher Education Extension 
Act of 2006, amended section 502(a) of the HEA by requiring that 
institutions report their undergraduate Hispanic FTE percentage at the 
end of the award year immediately preceding the date of application. 
Funds for the HSI Program are awarded each fiscal year, thus, for this 
program, the end of the award year refers to the end of the fiscal year 
prior to the application due date. The end of the fiscal year occurs on 
September 30 for any given year. Therefore, for purposes of making the 
determination described in paragraph (4), IHEs must report their 
undergraduate Hispanic FTE percent based on the student enrollment 
count closest to, but not after, September 30, 2006.
    The Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2006 also amended 
section 502(a) of the HEA by eliminating the requirement in the HSI 
Program that an IHE applying for a grant provide an assurance that not 
less than 50 percent of the institution's Hispanic students are low-
income individuals.
    The Notice Inviting Applications for Designation as Eligible 
Institutions for FY 2007 was published in the Federal Register on 
January 8, 2007 (72 FR 760). The HSI eligibility requirements are in 34 
CFR 606.2 through 606.5 and can be accessed from the following Web 
site: https://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_01/34cfr606_01.html. 
These regulations do not reflect the changes made to the HSI program 
requirements by the Third Higher Education Extension Act of 2006.

Relationship Between HSI and Title III, Part A Programs

    Note 1: A grantee under the HSI Program, which is authorized by 
Title V of the HEA, may not receive a grant under any HEA, Title 
III, Part A Program. The Title III, Part A Programs include: The 
Strengthening Institutions Program; the American Indian Tribally 
Controlled Colleges and Universities Program; and the Alaska Native 
and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Programs. Further, a 
current HSI Program grantee may not give up its HSI grant in order 
to receive a grant under any Title III, Part A Program.


    Note 2: An HSI that does not fall within the limitation 
described in Note 1 may apply for a FY 2007 grant under all Title 
III, Part A Programs for which it is eligible, as well as under the 
HSI Program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one 
grant.


    Note 3: An eligible HSI that submits more than one application 
may only be awarded one Individual Development Grant or one 
Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant in a fiscal year. 
Furthermore, we will not award a second Cooperative Arrangement 
Development Grant to an otherwise eligible HSI for the same award 
year as the HSI's existing Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grant.


    Note 4: The Department will cross-reference for verification, 
data reported to the IPEDS, the IHE's State-reported enrollment 
data, and the institutional annual report. If there are any 
differences in the percentages reported in the IPEDS and the 
percentages reported in the grant application, the IHE should 
justify the differences as a part of its eligibility documentation.

    2. 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 a grantee uses a 
portion of its grant for endowment fund purposes, it must match those 
grant funds with non-Federal funds. (20 U.S.C. 1101b(c)(2)).

IV. Application and Submission Information

    1. Address to Request Application Package: J. Alexander Hamilton, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20006-8513. Telephone: (202) 502-7583 or by e-mail: 
Josephine.Hamilton@ed.gov.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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.
    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 
Limits: The application narrative (Part III) is where you, the 
applicant, address the selection criteria that reviewers use to 
evaluate your application. We have established mandatory page limits 
for both the Individual Development Grant and the Cooperative 
Arrangement Development Grant applications. You must limit the section 
of the narrative that addresses the selection criteria to no more than 
50 pages for the Individual Development Grant application and 70 pages 
for the Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant application, using 
the following standards:
     A page is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1 inch 
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides.
     Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) 
all text in the application narrative, except titles, headings, 
footnotes, quotations, references, captions and all text in charts, 
tables, and graphs.
     Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier, 
Courier

[[Page 37738]]

New or Arial. Applications submitted in any other font (including Times 
Roman and Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
     Use font size 12.
    The page limit does not apply to Part I, the application for 
federal assistance face sheet (SF 424); the supplemental information 
form required by the Department of Education; Part II, the budget 
information summary form (ED Form 524); Part III, the Project Abstract 
and the Five-year Plan; and Part IV, the assurances and certifications. 
The page limit also does not apply to a table of contents. If you 
include any attachments or appendices, these items will be counted as 
part of the Program Narrative (Part III) for purposes of the page limit 
requirement. You must include your complete response to the selection 
criteria in the program narrative.
    We will reject your application if--
     You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or
     You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the 
page limit.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: June 11, 2007.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: August 10, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this program must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For 
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically, or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify 
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer 
to section IV. 6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
    We do not consider an application that does not comply with the 
deadline requirements.
    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.
    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 reference the regulations outlining 
funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this 
notice.

Applicability of Executive Order 13202

    Applicants that apply for construction funds under the HSI Program 
must comply with Executive Order 13202 signed by President Bush on 
February 17, 2001, and amended on April 6, 2001. This Executive order 
provides that recipients of Federal construction funds may not 
``require or prohibit bidders, offerors, contractors, or subcontractors 
to enter into or adhere to agreements with one or more labor 
organizations, on the same or other construction project(s)'' or 
``otherwise discriminate against bidders, offerors, contractors, or 
subcontractors for becoming or refusing to become or remain signatories 
or otherwise adhere to agreements with one or more labor organizations, 
on the same or other construction project(s).'' However, the Executive 
order does not prohibit contractors or subcontractors from voluntarily 
entering into these agreements. Projects funded under this program that 
include construction activity will be provided a copy of this Executive 
order and will be asked to certify that they will adhere to it.
    6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under 
this program competition must be submitted electronically unless you 
qualify for an exception to this requirement in accordance with the 
instructions in this section.
    a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
    Applications for grants under the HSI Program (CFDA Number 84.031S) 
must be submitted electronically using the Government wide Grants.gov 
Apply site at https://www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be 
able to download a copy of the application package, complete it 
offline, and then upload and submit your application. You may not e-
mail an electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format 
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of 
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no 
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written 
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these 
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that 
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in 
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
    You may access the electronic grant application for the HSI Program 
at: https://www.Grants.gov You must search for the downloadable 
application package for this program by the CFDA number. Do not include 
the CFDA number's alpha suffix in your search (e.g. search for 84.031, 
not 84.031S).
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. 
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your 
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system 
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline 
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify 
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time 
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this program competition to 
ensure that you submit your application in a timely manner to the 
Grants.gov system. You can also find the Education Submission 
Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov at https://e-Grants.ed.gov/help/
GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all of the steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see 
https://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp). These steps 
include (1) registering your organization, a multi-part process that 
includes registration with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR); (2) 
registering yourself as an Authorized Organization Representative 
(AOR), and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your organization. 
Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-Step 
Registration Guide (see https://www.grants.gov/section910/
Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf). You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to submit successfully an application via

[[Page 37739]]

Grants.gov. In addition, you will need to update for CCR registration 
on an annual basis. This may take three or more business days to 
complete.
     You will not receive additional point value because you 
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you 
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your 
application in paper format.
     You must submit all documents electronically, including 
all information you typically provide on the following forms: 
Application for Federal Education Assistance (SF 424), the Department 
of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--
Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the 
Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424--have 
replaced the ED 424 (Application for Federal Education Assistance).
     You must attach any narrative sections of your application 
as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF (Portable 
Document) format. If you upload a file type other than the three file 
types specified above or submit a password protected file, we will not 
review that material.
     Your electronic application must comply with any page 
limit requirements described in this notice.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The 
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification 
indicates that the Department has received your application and has 
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified 
identifying number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting 
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov 
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support 
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand 
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing 
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed 
elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and 
provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with 
Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will 
accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem 
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your 
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after 
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

    Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply 
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the 
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed 
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before 
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem 
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

    Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an 
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your 
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application 
through the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; and
     No later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the 
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business 
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement 
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception 
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application.
    If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be 
postmarked no later than two weeks before the application deadline 
date. If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must 
receive the faxed statement no later than two weeks before the 
application deadline date.
    Address and mail or fax your statement to: J. Alexander Hamilton, 
U.S. Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, 
Washington, DC 20006-8513 FAX: (202) 502-7861.
    Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the 
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
    b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a 
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail 
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the 
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable 
following address:
    By mail through the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of 
Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.031S), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4260 or
    By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, 
Application Control Center--Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 
84.031S), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD 20785-1506.
    Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing 
consisting of one of the following:
    (1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark;
    (2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the 
U.S. Postal Service;
    (3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial 
carrier; or
    (4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the 
U.S. Department of Education.
    If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do 
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
    (1) A private metered postmark; or
    (2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
    If your application is postmarked after the application deadline 
date, we will not consider your application.

    Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated 
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your 
local post office.

    c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
    If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission 
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper 
application to the Department by

[[Page 37740]]

hand. You must deliver the original and two copies of your application 
by hand, on or before the application deadline date, to the Department 
at the following address: U.S. Department of Education, Application 
Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.031S), 550 12th Street, SW., 
Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays, 
Sundays and Federal holidays.

    Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you 
mail or hand deliver your application to the Department:
    (1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by 
the Department--in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including 
suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are 
submitting your application.
    (2) The Application Control Center will mail to you a 
notification of receipt of your grant application. If you do not 
receive this notification within 15 business days from the 
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of 
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.

V. Application Review Information

    1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program are 
in 34 CFR 606.22. In addition to these selection criteria, we evaluate 
an applicant's performance under a previous Development Grant under 34 
CFR 606.24.
    2. Review and Selection Process:
    (A) Applicants must provide, as an attachment to the application, 
the documentation the institution relied upon in determining that at 
least 25 percent of the institution's undergraduate FTE students are 
Hispanic.

    Note: The 25 percent requirement applies only to undergraduate 
Hispanic students and is calculated based upon FTE students. 
Instructions for formatting and submitting the verification 
documentation to Grants.gov are in the application package for this 
competition.

    (B) Tiebreaker for Development Grants. In tie-breaking situations 
for development grants described in 34 CFR 606.23(b), 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 market 
value per FTE student is 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 per 
FTE student that are less than the comparable average per FTE student 
at a similar type IHE.
    For the purpose of these funding considerations, we use 2004-2005 
data.
    If a tie remains after applying the tiebreaker mechanism above, 
priority will be given (a) for Individual Development Grants, to 
applicants that addressed the statutory priority found in section 
511(d) of the HEA; and (b) for Cooperative Arrangement Development 
Grants, to applicants in accordance with section 514(b) of the HEA, 
where the Secretary determines that the cooperative arrangement is 
geographically and economically sound or will benefit the applicant 
HSI.
    If a tie still remains after applying the additional point(s), and 
the relevant statutory priority, we will determine the ranking of 
applicants based on the lowest 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 HSI Program: (1) The number of full-time degree-seeking 
undergraduates enrolled at HSIs. (2) The percentage of first-time, 
full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students who were in their first 
year of postsecondary enrollment in the previous year and are enrolled 
in the current year at the same institution. (3) The percentage of 
first-time, full-time degree-seeking undergraduate students enrolled at 
four-year HSIs graduating within six years of enrollment. (4) The 
percentage of first-time, full-time degree-seeking undergraduate 
students enrolled at two-year HSIs graduating within three years of 
enrollment. (5) Federal cost for undergraduate and graduate degrees at 
institutions in the Developing HSIs program.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: J. Alexander Hamilton, U.S. Department 
of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., 6th Floor, Washington, DC 20006-8513. 
Telephone: (202) 502-7583 or by e-mail: Josephine.Hamilton@ed.gov or 
Carnisia Proctor, Telephone: (202) 502-7606 or by e-mail: 
Carnisia.Proctor@ed.gov.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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: https://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: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/
nara/.


    Dated: July 6, 2007.
James F. Manning,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E7-13473 Filed 7-10-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P