02-22276. Office of Postsecondary Education; Business and International Education Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2003

Purpose of Program: The Business and International Education Program provides grants to institutions of higher education to enhance international business education programs and to expand the capacity of the business community to engage in international economic activities. For FY 2003, we encourage applicants to design projects that focus on the invitational priority in the Priority section of this application notice.

Eligible Applicants: Institutions of higher education that enter into agreements with trade associations, business enterprises, or trade organizations that are engaged in international economic activity.

Applications Available: September 17, 2002.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: November 4, 2002.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: January 3, 2003.

Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested $4,720,000 for this program for FY 2003. 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 Range of Awards: $50,000-$95,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards: $78,170 per year.

Estimated Number of Awards: 28.

Note:

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

Project Period: Up to 24 months.

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 narrative to the equivalent of no more than 40 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.
• Double space (no more than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application narrative, including titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions. However, you may single space 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). However, you may use a 10-point font in charts, tables, figures, and graphs.

The page limit does not apply to the cover sheet; the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract or the appendices. However, you must include all of the application narrative in responding to the selection criteria.

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.

Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99; and (b) The regulations for this program in 34 CFR parts 655 and 661.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Matching requirement: Under title VI, part B, section 613(d) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, a Business and International Education Program grantee must provide no less than 50 percent of the total cost of the project in each fiscal year. Example: The institution's total costs of the proposed project will be $140,000 per year. The institution may request a grant in the amount of $70,000 or less. The institution must provide the remaining $70,000 in cash or in-kind contributions.

Priority

Invitational Priority

We are particularly interested in applications that meet the following priority.

Applications from institutions of higher education that propose educational projects that include activities focused in the targeted world areas of Central and South Asia, the Middle East, Russia, the Independent States of the former Soviet Union, and Africa. These projects should be integrated into the curricula of the home institution or institutions.

Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an application that meets the invitational priority a competitive or absolute preference over other applications.

Instructions for Transmittal of Applications

Note:

Some of the procedures in these instructions for transmitting applications differ from those in the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) (34 CFR 75.102). Under the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553) the Department generally offers interested parties the opportunity to comment on proposed regulations. However, these amendments make procedural changes only and do not establish new substantive policy. Therefore, under 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A), the Secretary has determined that proposed rulemaking is not required.

Pilot Project for Electronic Submission of this Application

In FY 2003, the U.S. Department of Education is continuing to expand its pilot project of electronic submission of applications to include additional formula grant programs and additional discretionary grant competitions. The Business and International Education Program—CFDA No. 84.153A is one of the programs included in the pilot project. If you are an applicant under the Business and International Education Program, you may submit your application to us in either electronic or paper format.

The pilot project involves the use of the Electronic Grant Application System (e-APPLICATION, formerly e-GAPS) portion of the Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS). We request your participation in this pilot project. We shall continue to evaluate its success and solicit suggestions for improvement.

If you participate in this e-APPLICATION pilot, please note the following:

• Your participation is voluntary.
• You will not receive any additional point value or penalty because you submit a grant application in electronic or paper format.
• You can submit all documents electronically, including the Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424), Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.
• Within three working days of submitting your electronic application fax a signed copy of the Application for Federal Assistance (ED 424) to the Application Control Center after following these steps:

1. Print ED 424 from the e-APPLICATION system.

2. Make sure that the institution's Authorizing Representative signs this form.

3. Before faxing this form, submit your electronic application via the e-APPLICATION system. You will receive an automatic acknowledgement, which will include a PR/Award number (an identifying number unique to your application).

4. Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of ED 424.

5. Fax ED 424 to the Application Control Center at [phone].

• We may request that you give us original signatures on all other forms at a later date.

You may access the electronic grant application for the Business and International Education Program at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.

We have included additional information about the e-APPLICATION pilot project (see Parity Guidelines between Paper and Electronic Applications) in the application package.

Note:

Please note that due to the Department's end of the fiscal year close out activities, the e-APPLICATION system will be unavailable from October 1 through October 5. It will become available for users again on Monday, October 7.

For Applications and further Information Contact: Tanyelle Richardson, Business and International Education Program, U.S. Department of Education, International Education and Graduate Programs Service, 1990 K Street, NW., Suite 600, Washington, DC 20006-8521. Telephone: [phone] or via Internet: [e-mail].

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) 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 under For Applications and Further Information Contact.

Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an alternative format by contacting that person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative format the standard forms included in the application package.

Electronic Access to This Document

You may view this document, as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: www.ed.gov/​legislation/​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.access.gpo.gov/​nara/​index.html.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1130a-1130b.

Dated: August 26, 2002.

Sally L. Stroup,

Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education.