Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008, 27515-27518 [E8-10669]
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TEACH Grant. By signing the
Agreement to Serve, the student
promises to meet the teaching service
requirements of the TEACH Grant
program as described in the Agreement,
and to repay with interest the full
amount of any TEACH Grant as a Direct
Unsubsidized Loan if the student does
not complete the required teaching
service or otherwise fails to meet the
requirements of the TEACH Grant
Program.
Additional Information: The U.S.
Department of Education requests that
OMB grant an emergency clearance of
the Agreement to Serve to be used in the
TEACH Grant Program. Section 420N(b)
of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as
amended, requires an applicant for a
TEACH Grant to complete an Agreement
to Serve before receiving a TEACH
Grant. The TEACH Grant Program was
established under the HEA by the
College Cost Reduction and Access Act
of 1007 (the CCRAA). In accordance
with section 4200 of the CCRAA, the
effective date for the TEACH Grant
Program is July 1, 2008. The Department
is requesting an emergency clearance
because the regular clearance process
would not enable us to make an OMBapproved Agreement to Serve available
to TEACH Grant applicants by the
statutory effective date for the TEACH
Grant Program. The Department
requests emergency clearance of the
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ensure that systems work and testing
necessary to implement the electronic
Agreement to Serve can be completed
by July 1, 2008. Upon receiving
emergency clearance of the Agreement
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including notice of a 60-day public
comment period.
Frequency: On occasion.
Affected Public: Individuals or
household.
Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour
Burden:
Responses: 55,800.
Burden Hours: 27,900.
Requests for copies of the proposed
information collection request may be
accessed from https://edicsweb.ed.gov,
by selecting the ‘‘Browse Pending
Collections’’ link and by clicking on
link number 3685. When you access the
information collection, click on
‘‘Download Attachments’’ to view.
Written requests for information should
be addressed to U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
LBJ, Washington, DC 20202–4537.
Requests may also be electronically
mailed to the Internet address
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov or faxed to 202–
VerDate Aug<31>2005
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401–0920. Please specify the complete
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should be electronically mailed to
ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Individuals who
use a telecommunications device for the
deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–
800–877–8339.
[FR Doc. E8–10632 Filed 5–12–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education;
Overview Information; Underground
Railroad Educational and Cultural
Program; Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY)
2008
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) Number: 84.345A.
DATES: Applications Available: May
13, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: June 12, 2008.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: August 11, 2008.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The
Underground Railroad Educational and
Cultural Program (URR) makes grants to
nonprofit educational organizations that
are established to research, display,
interpret, and collect artifacts relating to
the history of the Underground
Railroad.
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1153.
Applicable Regulations: The
Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in
34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 82, 84,
85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86
apply to institutions of higher education
only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds:
$1,943,510
Contingent upon the availability of
funds and the quality of applications,
we may make additional awards in FY
2009 from the list of unfunded
applicants from this competition.
Estimated Average Size of Awards:
$500,000–$1,000,000 total for up to
three years.
Estimated Number of Awards: 2.
Note: The Department is not bound by any
estimates in this notice.
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Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit
educational organizations that are
established to research, display,
interpret, and collect artifacts relating to
the history of the Underground
Railroad.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: The
Federal Government may provide no
more than 20 percent of the total funds
for any project funded under this
competition. See 20 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2).
Applicants must provide the remaining
80 percent funding from private entities.
As part of the application process,
applicants will be required to
demonstrate their ability to meet the
cost sharing requirement.
3. Other: Each nonprofit educational
organization awarded a grant under this
competition must create an endowment
to fund any and all shortfalls in the
costs of the on-going operations of the
facility. Grantees must establish a
network of satellite centers throughout
the United States to help disseminate
information regarding the Underground
Railroad. These satellite centers must
raise 80 percent of the funds required to
establish the satellite centers from nonFederal public and private sources. In
addition, grantees must establish the
capability to electronically link the
facility with other local and regional
facilities that have collections and
programs that interpret the history of
the Underground Railroad. As part of
the application process, applicants will
be required to document their ability to
create an endowment, establish satellite
centers, and establish the electronic
capability described above. For specific
requirements on reporting, please go to
https://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/
appforms/appforms.html.
IV. Application and Submission
Information
1. Address to Request Application
Package: Claire D. Cornell,
Underground Railroad Program, Fund
for the Improvement of Postsecondary
Education (FIPSE), Office of
Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street,
NW., room 6145, Washington, DC
20006–8544. Telephone: (202) 502–7609
or by e-mail: claire.cornell@ed.gov.
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 alternative format (e.g., Braille,
large print, audiotape, or computer
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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 Limit: The application narrative
is where you, the applicant, address the
selection criteria that reviewers use to
evaluate your application. You must
limit the application narrative to the
equivalent of no more than 30 pages,
using the following standards:
• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5″ x 11″, on one side
only, with 1″ margins at the top, bottom,
and both sides. Page numbers and an
identifier may be outside of the 1″
margin.
• Double space (no more than three
lines per vertical inch) all text in the
application narrative, including titles,
headings, footnotes, quotations,
references, and captions, as well as all
text in charts, tables, figures and graphs.
• Use a font that is either 12-point or
larger or no smaller than 10 pitch
(characters per inch).
• Use one of the following fonts:
Times New Roman, Courier, Courier
New, or Arial. An application submitted
in any other font (including Times
Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be
accepted.
• The page limit does not apply to
Part I, the Application for Federal
Assistance Form (SF–424); Part II, the
budget section, including the narrative
budget justification; Part IV, the
assurances and certifications; or the
one-page abstract, the Table of Contents,
the resumes, the bibliography, or the
letters of support. However, the page
limit does apply to all of the application
narrative section.
We will reject your application if you
exceed the page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: May 13, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: June 12, 2008.
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, 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
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under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT in section VII in this notice.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: August 11, 2008.
We will not consider an application
that does not comply with the deadline
requirements.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This
program is subject to the requirements
of 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 specify
unallowable costs in 34 CFR 74.27. We
reference additional regulations
outlining funding restriction in the
Applicable Regulations section in this
notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements:
Applications for grants under this
program 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
Underground Railroad Educational and
Cultural Program, CFDA Number
84.345A, 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 Underground
Railroad Educational and Cultural
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 84.345, not
84.345A).
Please note the following:
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• 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 accept your
application if it is received—that is, date
and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system—after 4:30 p.m., Washington,
DC time, on the application deadline
date. We do not consider an application
that does not comply with the
application requirements. 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 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 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
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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
Grants.gov. In addition you will need to
update your 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
Assistance (SF 424), the Department of
Education Supplemental Information for
SF 424, Budget Information—NonConstruction 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 in this paragraph 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 EDspecified 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,
toll free, at 1–800–518–4726. You must
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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
4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on
the application deadline date, please
contact the person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in
section VII in this notice 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 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
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27517
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: Claire D. Cornell, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street,
NW., room 6145, Washington, DC
20006–8544. FAX: (202) 502–7877.
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 84.345A),
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
84.345A), 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.
(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.
(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.
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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
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 84.345A), 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; and
(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
Selection Criteria. The selection
criteria for this program are from 34 CFR
75.210 and include: Project significance
(10 points); quality of the project design
(40 points); adequacy of project
resources (20 points); quality of project
personnel (10 points); and quality of the
project evaluation (20 points).
Additional information regarding these
criteria is in the application package for
this competition.
In making grant awards for this
program, the Department will consider
information concerning the applicant’s
performance and use of funds from a
prior grant in this program or in any
other Department program and will
consider the applicant’s failure to
submit an acceptable performance
report for a grant in this program or in
any other Department program. 34 CFR
75.217(d)(3).
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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 notify you informally,
also.
If your application is not evaluated or
not selected for funding, we notify you.
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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 in this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining
the terms and conditions of an award in
the Applicable Regulations section in
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
and as outlined in the text below.
For each fiscal year for which an
organization receives funding under this
program, those organizations must
submit to the Department a report that
contains: (a) A description and
evaluation of the programs and
activities supported by the funding; (b)
the audited financial statement of the
organization for the preceding fiscal
year; and (c) a plan for the programs and
activities to be supported by the
funding. The Secretary may also require
more frequent performance reports
under 34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific
requirements on reporting, please go to:
https://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/
appforms/appforms/appforms.html and
review a more detailed explanation in
the application package.
4. Performance Measures: Under the
Government Performance and Results
Act (GPRA), the following measure will
be used by the Department in assessing
the performance of the Underground
Railroad Educational and Cultural
Program:
• The extent to which funded projects
have been institutionalized and
continued after URR funding ends.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact:
Claire D. Cornell, Underground Railroad
Educational and Cultural Program,
FIPSE, OPE, U.S. Department of
Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room
6145, Washington, DC 20006–8544.
Telephone: (202) 502–7609 or by e-mail:
claire.cornell@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll
free, at 1–800–877–8339.
VIII. Other Information
Alternative Format: Individuals with
disabilities can obtain this document
and a copy of the application package in
an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large
print, audiotape, or computer diskette)
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on request to the program contact
person listed in this section.
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/
index.html.
Dated: May 8, 2008.
Diane Auer Jones,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary
Education.
[FR Doc. E8–10669 Filed 5–12–08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education;
Overview Information; College Cost
Reduction and Access Act HispanicServing Institutions (CCRAA–HSI)
Program; Notice Inviting Applications
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY)
2008
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) Number: 84.031C.
DATES: Applications Available: May
13, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of
Applications: June 27, 2008.
Deadline for Intergovernmental
Review: August 26, 2008.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The College Cost
Reduction and Access Act HispanicServing Institutions (CCRAA–HSI)
Program provides grants to assist
Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs) to
develop and carry out activities to
improve and expand the HSI’s capacity
to serve Hispanic and other low-income
students.
Priorities: In accordance with 34 CFR
75.105(b)(2)(iv) and section 437(d)(1) of
the General Education Provisions Act,
these priorities are from section
499A(b)(2)(B) of the Higher Education
Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended by the
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 93 (Tuesday, May 13, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27515-27518]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-10669]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information;
Underground Railroad Educational and Cultural Program; Notice Inviting
Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2008
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.345A.
DATES: Applications Available: May 13, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 12, 2008.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 11, 2008.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Underground Railroad Educational and
Cultural Program (URR) makes grants to nonprofit educational
organizations that are established to research, display, interpret, and
collect artifacts relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.
Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1153.
Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80,
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $1,943,510
Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of
applications, we may make additional awards in FY 2009 from the list of
unfunded applicants from this competition.
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $500,000-$1,000,000 total for up
to three years.
Estimated Number of Awards: 2.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: Nonprofit educational organizations that
are established to research, display, interpret, and collect artifacts
relating to the history of the Underground Railroad.
2. Cost Sharing or Matching: The Federal Government may provide no
more than 20 percent of the total funds for any project funded under
this competition. See 20 U.S.C. 1153(b)(2). Applicants must provide the
remaining 80 percent funding from private entities. As part of the
application process, applicants will be required to demonstrate their
ability to meet the cost sharing requirement.
3. Other: Each nonprofit educational organization awarded a grant
under this competition must create an endowment to fund any and all
shortfalls in the costs of the on-going operations of the facility.
Grantees must establish a network of satellite centers throughout the
United States to help disseminate information regarding the Underground
Railroad. These satellite centers must raise 80 percent of the funds
required to establish the satellite centers from non-Federal public and
private sources. In addition, grantees must establish the capability to
electronically link the facility with other local and regional
facilities that have collections and programs that interpret the
history of the Underground Railroad. As part of the application
process, applicants will be required to document their ability to
create an endowment, establish satellite centers, and establish the
electronic capability described above. For specific requirements on
reporting, please go to https://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/
appforms.html.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address to Request Application Package: Claire D. Cornell,
Underground Railroad Program, Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary
Education (FIPSE), Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6145, Washington, DC
20006-8544. Telephone: (202) 502-7609 or by e-mail:
claire.cornell@ed.gov.
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 alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer
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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 Limit: The application narrative is where you, the applicant,
address the selection criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your
application. You must limit the application narrative to the equivalent
of no more than 30 pages, using the following standards:
A ``page'' is 8.5'' x 11'', on one side only, with 1''
margins at the top, bottom, and both sides. Page numbers and an
identifier may be outside of the 1'' margin.
Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch)
all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings,
footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in
charts, tables, figures and graphs.
Use a font that is either 12-point or larger or no smaller
than 10 pitch (characters per inch).
Use one of the following fonts: Times New Roman, Courier,
Courier New, or Arial. An application submitted in any other font
(including Times Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be accepted.
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the Application
for Federal Assistance Form (SF-424); Part II, the budget section,
including the narrative budget justification; Part IV, the assurances
and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the Table of Contents,
the resumes, the bibliography, or the letters of support. However, the
page limit does apply to all of the application narrative section.
We will reject your application if you exceed the page limit.
3. Submission Dates and Times:
Applications Available: May 13, 2008.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 12, 2008.
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, 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 in section VII
in this notice.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 11, 2008.
We will not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to the
requirements of 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 specify unallowable costs in 34 CFR
74.27. We reference additional regulations outlining funding
restriction in the Applicable Regulations section in this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this program 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 Underground Railroad Educational
and Cultural Program, CFDA Number 84.345A, 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 Underground
Railroad Educational and Cultural 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 84.345, not 84.345A).
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 accept your application if
it is received--that is, date and time stamped by the Grants.gov
system--after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply
with the application requirements. 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 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 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
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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 Grants.gov. In addition
you will need to update your 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 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 in this paragraph 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, toll free, 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 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC
time, on the application deadline date, please contact the person
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII in this
notice 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 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: Claire D. Cornell, U.S.
Department of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6145, Washington, DC
20006-8544. FAX: (202) 502-7877.
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 84.345A), 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
84.345A), 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.
(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.
(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.
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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 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 84.345A), 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; and
(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
Selection Criteria. The selection criteria for this program are
from 34 CFR 75.210 and include: Project significance (10 points);
quality of the project design (40 points); adequacy of project
resources (20 points); quality of project personnel (10 points); and
quality of the project evaluation (20 points). Additional information
regarding these criteria is in the application package for this
competition.
In making grant awards for this program, the Department will
consider information concerning the applicant's performance and use of
funds from a prior grant in this program or in any other Department
program and will consider the applicant's failure to submit an
acceptable performance report for a grant in this program or in any
other Department program. 34 CFR 75.217(d)(3).
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 notify you informally, also.
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 in this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section in 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 and as outlined in the text below.
For each fiscal year for which an organization receives funding
under this program, those organizations must submit to the Department a
report that contains: (a) A description and evaluation of the programs
and activities supported by the funding; (b) the audited financial
statement of the organization for the preceding fiscal year; and (c) a
plan for the programs and activities to be supported by the funding.
The Secretary may also require more frequent performance reports under
34 CFR 75.720(c). For specific requirements on reporting, please go to:
https://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms/appforms.html and
review a more detailed explanation in the application package.
4. Performance Measures: Under the Government Performance and
Results Act (GPRA), the following measure will be used by the
Department in assessing the performance of the Underground Railroad
Educational and Cultural Program:
The extent to which funded projects have been
institutionalized and continued after URR funding ends.
VII. Agency Contact
For Further Information Contact: Claire D. Cornell, Underground
Railroad Educational and Cultural Program, FIPSE, OPE, U.S. Department
of Education, 1990 K Street, NW., room 6145, Washington, DC 20006-8544.
Telephone: (202) 502-7609 or by e-mail: claire.cornell@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
VIII. Other Information
Alternative Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document and a copy of the application package in an alternative format
(e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) on
request to the program contact person listed in this section.
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: May 8, 2008.
Diane Auer Jones,
Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.
[FR Doc. E8-10669 Filed 5-12-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
