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Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

Program Descriptions

84.031:  Higher Education: Institutional Aid

Objectives:  To help eligible colleges and universities to strengthen their management and fiscal operations and to assist such institutions to plan, develop, or implement activities including endowment building that promise to strengthen the academic quality of their institutions.

PROGRAM AND AWARD	FINANCIAL AND INFORMATION CONTACTS
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS	FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO.
APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS	INFORMATION CONTACTS
RELATED PROGRAMS	ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS
PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS	POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS

84.031 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

Applicant Eligibility:  An institution of higher education that qualifies as eligible using criteria as specified in the regulations. Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, specific and basic requirements as stated in the program regulations must be met. Eligible applicants include institutions that have: (1) A low average per FTE educational and general expenditure; (2) a substantial percentage of students having Pell Grants or other Federal need-based financial aid. However, a waiver of the low educational and general expenditure requirement and the needy student enrollment requirement may be granted to institutions meeting the criteria specified in the existing regulations. Under the HBCU program certain historically Black institutions that were established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans are eligible. A listing of those institutions is published in program regulations; these HBCUs are also eligible under the Endowment Challenge Grant Program.

Beneficiary Eligibility:  Applicant institutions of higher education, including those in the territories and possessions that meet statutory eligibility requirements will benefit.

Credentials/Documentation:  Institutions must document that they are accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or that they are making satisfactory progress toward such accreditation. A four year institution must have authority to award a bachelor's degree. A two year institution must offer a program acceptable for full credit towards a bachelor's degree, or a two year program in engineering, mathematics, or the physical or biological sciences designed to prepare the student to work as a technician at a semiprofessional level. This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-87.

84.031 APPLICATION AND AWARD PROCESS:

Preapplication Coordination:  This program is excluded from coverage under OMB Circular No. A-102. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review.

Application Procedure:  Under the Strengthening Institutions Program first, submit a Request for Designation as an Eligible Institution (ED Form 1049) to the Application Control Center, ROB-3, Room 3633, 7th and D Streets, SW., Washington DC 20202-4725, by the date published separately in the Federal Register. Second, if the institution is an eligible applicant, submit a completed grant application to Application Control Center, Department of Education, ROB-3, Room 3633, 7th and D Streets, SW., Washington, DC 20202-4725. This program is subject to the provisions of OMB Circular No. A-110.

Award Procedure:  Strengthening Institutions Programs applications are evaluated by external reviewers who are experts in postsecondary education. The Secretary makes final awards based primarily on the scores assigned to the applications by the external reviewers and the recommendations submitted by the staff of Institutional Development and Undergraduate Education Service, Office of Postsecondary Education.

Deadlines:  Deadline dates for each program are published in the Federal Register for both eligibility and project grants.

Range of Approval/Disapproval Time:  About six months.

Appeals:  None.

Renewals:  Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, priority is given to applicants who are not already receiving a grant. Institutions that received a 5-year development grant are not eligible to receive an additional grant until two (2) years after the date on which the five-year terminates. After fulfilling the wait-out requirement, institutions applying for another grant under the Strengthening Institutions Programs must reapply for eligibility.

Criteria for Selecting Proposals:  (a) Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, the Secretary appoints review panels to provide comments and recommend ratings for the applications. The reviewers numerically rate each application assigned and provide the Secretary with comments on each. Criteria are published in the Federal Register along with the point value for each criterion.

Examples of Funded Projects:  The Education Department awarded grants: (1) To develop a management information system at the applicant institution; (2) to develop curriculum; (3) to develop management capabilities among administrators; (4) to develop computer-assisted instruction; and (5) to develop funds management procedures.

Range and Average of Financial Assistance:  Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, the average award was $330,000. Under the HBCU Program, grants may not be less than $500,000 and range according to formula allotments.

84.031 RELATED PROGRAMS:

• 84.033 Federal Work-Study Program.

84.031 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

There were 312 grants made in fiscal year 1999.

84.031 FINANCIAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:

Federal Agency:  ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Type of Assistance:  Project Grants.

Obligations:  (Grants) FY 99 $232,250,000; FY 00 est $251,000,000; and FY 01 est $286,000,000.

Budget Account Number:  91-0201-0-1-502.

Authorization:  Higher Education Act of 1965, Title III, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1051-1069h.

Regulations, Guidelines, and Literature:  34 CFR 607, 608, 609, 628, and the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.

84.031 INFO CONTACTS:

Regional or Local Office:  Not applicable.

Headquarters Office:  Institutional Development and Undergraduate Education Service, Office of Postsecondary Education, 400 Maryland Ave., SW., Washington, DC 20202-5335. Phone: (202) 708-8816.

(See Appendix IV for more contact info.)

84.031 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:

Formula and Matching Requirements:  Under the HBCU Graduate program, eligible institutions that have project grants over $1,000,000 must match the entire Federal share on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

Length and Time Phasing of Assistance:  Under the Strengthening Institutions Program, planning grants are for a period of up to 1 year, development grants are for a period of 5 years.

Uses and Use Restrictions:  Eligible institutions may apply under Part A or B of the Strengthening Institutions Program. Part A includes the American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian serving institutions. Part B includes the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) program. Part A provides funds to eligible institutions to plan, develop, and implement activities for development of faculty, funds, and administrative management, and improvement of academic programs, acquisition of equipment for use in strengthening academic programs and institutional management, and joint use of facilities such as libraries, laboratories, and student services. The second program provides funds to undergraduate and graduate HBCUs. Funds may be used for purchase, rental, or lease of scientific equipment; construction, maintenance, renovation, improvement in classroom, library and other instructional facilities; support of faculty exchanges and fellowships; academic instruction in disciplines in which Blacks are underrepresented, purchase of library books, periodicals, and other educational materials; tutoring, counseling, and student services; funds and administrative management; acquisition of equipment for use in funds management; and joint use of facilities. Under the graduate HBCU program funds may also be used to establish or maintain endowments. Funds may not be used for activities other than those in an approved application, activities that are inconsistent with any applicable State plan of higher education or State plan for desegregation, a school or department of divinity or any religious worship or sectarian activity; general operating and maintenance expenses; indirect costs; construction costs (except under Part B); or supplanting of other funds available to the institution.

84.031 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:

Reports:  As required by the Special Grant Terms and Conditions.

Audits:  Subject to a Federal audit any time during the term of the grant and within a period of 3 years after the termination of Federal support.

Records:  Must be retained for 5 years after the end of the fiscal year during which the expenditures were made or until the grantee is notified that the records are no longer needed.