E6-14169. Office of Postsecondary Education; Overview Information; Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.170A.

DATES:

Applications Available: August 25, 2006.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: October 6, 2006.

Deadline for Transmittal of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA): January 31, 2007.

Eligible Applicants: Individuals who at the time of application: (1) Have not completed their first full year of study for a doctoral degree or a master's degree in those fields in which the master's degree is the terminal highest degree awarded in the selected field of study, or will be entering a doctoral degree program or a master's degree program in those fields in which the master's degree is the terminal highest degree awarded in the selected field of study in academic year 2007-2008; (2) are eligible to receive grant, loan, or work assistance pursuant to section 484 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, 20 U.S.C. 1091, as amended (HEA); and (3) intend to pursue a doctoral or master's degree in fields selected by the Jacob K. Javits (JKJ) Fellowship Board at accredited U.S. institutions of higher education. An individual must be a citizen or national of the United States, a permanent resident of the United States, in the United States for other than a temporary purpose and intending to become a permanent resident, or a citizen of any one of the Freely Associated States.

Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $1,961,992 for this program for FY 2007. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: $42,652.

Estimated Number of Awards: 46.

Note:

The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 48 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The purpose of the JKJ Fellowship Program is to award fellowships to eligible students of superior ability, selected on the basis of demonstrated achievement, financial need, and exceptional promise, to undertake graduate study in selected fields in the arts, humanities, and social sciences leading to a doctoral degree or to a master's degree in those fields in which the master's degree is the terminal highest degree awarded in the selected field of study at accredited institutions of higher education. The selected fields in the arts are: Creative writing, music performance, music theory, music composition, music literature, studio arts (including photography), television, film, cinematography, theater arts, playwriting, screenwriting, acting, and dance. The selected fields in the humanities are: American history, art history (including architectural history), archeology, area studies, classics, comparative literature, English language and literature, folklore, folk life, foreign languages and literature, foreign languages that are less commonly taught as follows: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Indic family (including Hindi, Urdu, Sinhala, Bengali, Nepali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Assamese); Iranian family (including Dari, Farsi, Tajiki, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi); and Turkic family (including Turkish, Azerbaijani/Azeri, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek, Uyghur), linguistics, non-American history, philosophy, religion (excluding study of religious vocation), speech, rhetoric, and debate. The selected fields in the social sciences are: Anthropology, communications and media, criminology, economics, ethnic and cultural studies, geography, political science, psychology (excluding clinical psychology), public policy and public administration, and sociology (excluding the master's and doctoral degrees in social work).

Priorities: For FY 2007 these priorities are 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

Within the eligible fields under Humanities, the Secretary is particularly interested in receiving applications from students studying foreign languages that are less commonly taught as follows: Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Indic family (including Hindi, Urdu, Sinhala, Bengali, Nepali, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati, Oriya, Assamese); Iranian family (including Dari, Farsi, Tajiki, Kurdish, Pashto, Balochi); and Turkic family (including Turkish, Azerbaijani/Azeri, Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Turkmen, Uzbek, Uyghur).

Invitational Priority 2

Within the eligible fields under Humanities, the Secretary is particularly interested in receiving applications from students studying non-American history, especially the modern history of the Middle East, Asia, India, and Latin America.

Invitational Priority 3

Within the eligible fields under Social Sciences, the Secretary is particularly interested in receiving applications from students studying criminology especially as it relates to issues surrounding homeland security.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1134-1134d.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75 (except as provided in 34 CFR 650.3(b)), 77, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99. (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR part 650.

II. Award Information

Type of Award: Discretionary grant.

Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $1,961,992 for this program for FY 2007. The actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if Congress appropriates funds for this program.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: $42,652.

Estimated Number of Awards: 46.

Note:

The Department is not bound by any estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 48 months.

III. Eligibility Information

1. Eligible Applicants: Individuals who at the time of application: (1) Have not completed their first full year of study for a doctoral degree or a master's degree in those fields in which the master's degree is the terminal highest degree awarded in the selected field of study, or will be entering a doctoral degree program or a master's degree program in those fields in which the master's degree is the terminal highest degree awarded in the selected field of study in academic year 2007-2008; (2) are eligible to receive grant, loan, or work assistance pursuant to section 484 of the HEA; and (3) intend to pursue a doctoral or master's degree in fields selected by the JKJ Fellowship Board at accredited U.S. institutions of higher education. An individual must be a citizen or national of the United States, a permanent resident of the United States, in the United States for other than a temporary purpose and intending to become a permanent resident, or a citizen of any one of the Freely Associated States.

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

1. Web Address to Access Application Package: Applications can only be accessed electronically on the JKJ Fellowship Program Web site: http://www.ed.gov/​programs/​jacobjavits/​index.html.

If you are unable to obtain an electronic copy of the application package, you may request a paper copy by contacting the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII. of this notice.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain the application package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII. of this notice.

Note:

The FAFSA may be obtained from the institution of higher education's financial aid office or accessed at: http://www.fafsa.ed.gov.

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.

3. Submission Dates and Times:

Applications Available: August 25, 2006.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: October 6, 2006.

Deadline for Transmittal of the FAFSA: January 31, 2007.

Applications for grants under this program must be submitted by mail or hand delivery. For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application by mail or hand delivery, 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.

4. Intergovernmental Review: This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.

5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.

6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under this program must be submitted in paper format by mail or hand delivery.

a. Submission of Applications by Mail.

If you submit your application by mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier), 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 84.170A), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-260, or

By mail through a commercial carrier: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center—Stop 4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.170A), 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.

b. Submission of Applications by Hand Delivery.

If you submit your application by hand delivery, you (or a courier service) 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 84.170A), 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 4 of the ED 424 the CFDA number—and suffix letter, if any—of the competition under which you are submitting your application.

(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of Education Application Control Center at [phone].

V. Application Review Information

1. Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this program have been established by the JKJ Program Fellowship Board, pursuant to section 702(a)(2) of the HEA and 34 CFR 650.20(a). The selection criteria for applications in the humanities and social sciences are—(a) Statement of purpose (150 points); (b) Letters of recommendation (100 points); (c) Academic record (100 points); and (d) Scholarly awards/honors (50 points). The selection criteria for applications in the arts are—(a) Statement of purpose (100 points); (b) Letters of recommendation (100 points); (c) Academic record (50 points); (d) Scholarly awards/honors (50 points); and (e) Supporting arts materials (100 points).

2. Review and Selection Process: The review and selection process for the JKJ Fellowship Program consists of a two-part process. Eligible applications are read and rated by a distinguished panel of scholars and academics in the arts, humanities, and social sciences on the basis of demonstrated scholarly achievements and exceptional promise. The second part of the evaluation is a determination of financial need.

VI. Award Administration Information

1. Award Notices: Successful applicants will be notified by telephone and a Grant Award Notification (GAN) will be sent directly to the institution the applicant will be attending. Unsuccessful applicants will be notified.

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.

3. Reporting: On an annual basis, fellows are required to submit their Student Aid Report to the Javits Program Coordinator at their institution as specified by the Secretary in 34 CFR 650.37. In addition, Javits fellows are required to submit an annual performance report.

4. Performance Measures: The effectiveness of the JKJ Fellowship Program will be measured by graduate completion rates, time to degree completion rates, and the costs per Ph.D of talented graduate students, with demonstrated financial need, who are pursuing the highest degree available in their designated fields of study. Institutions of higher education in which the fellows are enrolled are required to submit an annual report documenting the fellows' satisfactory academic progress and the determined financial need. Javits fellows are also required to submit an annual performance report to assist program staff in tracking time-to-degree completion rates, graduation rates, as well as the employment status of individual fellows. The Department will use the reports to assess the program's success in assisting fellows in completing their course of study and receiving their degree.

VII. Agency Contacts

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Carmen Gordon, Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program, U.S. Department of Education, Teacher and Student Development Service, 1990 K St., NW., suite 6000, Washington, DC 20006-8524. Telephone: [phone] or by e-mail: [e-mail]. 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: http://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 [phone].

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: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/​nara/​index.html.

Dated: August 22, 2006.

James F. Manning,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Postsecondary Education.