Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 042315 001
Apply for ED GRANTS 042315 001
- The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) Strengthening Institutions Program CFDA Number 84.031A" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.031 Higher EducationInstitutional Aid.
- This funding opportunity was created on Apr 23, 2015 and posted on Apr 23, 2015.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jun 8, 2015 Applications Available April 23, 2015. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications June 8, 2015.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $18,197,309.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $650,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 39 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
- 1. Eligible Applicants (a) This program is authorized by title III, part A, of the HEA. To qualify as an eligible institution under any title III, part A program, an institution must be (i) Accredited or pre accredited 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 (ii) Legally authorized by the State in which it is located to be a junior or community college or to provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelors degree (iii) Designated as an eligible institution by demonstrating that it has (A) an enrollment of needy students as described in 34 CFR 607.3 and (B) low average educational and general expenditures per full time equivalent (FTE) undergraduate student as described in 34 CFR 607.4. Note For purposes of establishing eligibility for this competition, the notice inviting applications for eligibility designation for FY 2015 was published in the Federal Register on November 3, 2014 (79 FR 65197) and applications were due on December 22, 2014. Only institutions that submitted the required application and received designation through this process are eligible to submit applications for this competition. (b) A grantee under the Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) Program, which is authorized under title V of the HEA, may not receive a grant under any HEA, title III, part A program, including SIP. Furthermore, a current HSI Program grantee may not give up its HSI grant to receive a grant under SIP or any title III, part A program as described in 34 CFR 607.2(g)(1). An eligible HSI that is not a current grantee under the HSI Program may apply for a FY 2015 grant under all title III, part A programs for which it is eligible, as well as receive consideration for a grant under the HSI Program. However, a successful applicant may receive only one grant as described in 34 CFR 607.2(g)(1). (c) An eligible IHE that submits an application for an Individual Development Grant and a Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant may be awarded both grants. (d) An eligible IHE that currently has a SIP Individual Development Grant may apply for and be awarded a Cooperative Development Grant. A grantee with an Individual Development Grant or Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant may be a partner or subgrantee in one or more Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants. The lead institution in a Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant must be an eligible institution. Partners or subgrantees are not required to be eligible institutions.
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Opportunity Summary:
The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), offered the Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) under CFDA 84.031A as a discretionary grant/cooperative agreement opportunity intended to help eligible colleges and universities build long-term institutional strength. The central aim of SIP is to help institutions become more self-sufficient and improve their capacity to serve low-income students by investing in improvements to academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability. In practical terms, the program is meant to fund initiatives that strengthen how an institution educates students, runs core operations, and manages finances so it can deliver better outcomes for students with significant financial need.
For the FY 2015 competition (Funding Opportunity Number ED-GRANTS-042315-001), the Department anticipated making about 39 awards with an estimated total funding amount of $18,197,309. The maximum award amount listed was $650,000. The opportunity also indicated a cost-sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants were expected to contribute non-federal resources in addition to the federal funds (the specific rules and amounts are defined in the official Federal Register notice and related program regulations).
Eligibility was tightly defined and tied to a prior federal designation process. The program is authorized under Title III, Part A of the Higher Education Act (HEA). To be eligible, an institution generally had to be accredited or pre-accredited by a nationally recognized accreditor deemed reliable by the Secretary of Education, legally authorized by its state to operate as a junior/community college or to offer programs culminating in a bachelor’s degree, and officially designated as an eligible institution based on serving an enrollment of “needy students†and having low average educational and general expenditures per full-time-equivalent undergraduate student (as described in 34 CFR 607.3 and 34 CFR 607.4). Importantly, only institutions that had applied for and received eligibility designation through the Department’s separate FY 2015 eligibility process (referenced as a Federal Register notice published November 3, 2014, with applications due December 22, 2014) were allowed to submit an application for this SIP competition.
The notice also highlighted restrictions related to institutions participating in the Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program under Title V of the HEA. A current HSI Program grantee could not simultaneously receive a grant under SIP or any other Title III, Part A program, and could not relinquish an HSI grant in order to receive SIP funds. An institution that was HSI-eligible but not currently funded under the HSI Program could apply across eligible programs, but if selected it could ultimately receive only one grant in accordance with the Department’s regulations (notably 34 CFR 607.2(g)(1)).
SIP also contemplated different grant structures, including Individual Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants, and the eligibility rules allowed some stacking in specific circumstances. For example, an eligible institution that submitted applications for both an Individual Development Grant and a Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant could potentially be awarded both. Likewise, an institution already holding a SIP Individual Development Grant could apply for and receive a Cooperative Development Grant. For cooperative projects, the lead institution had to be an eligible institution, but partner organizations or subgrantees were not required to meet the same eligibility designation standards, which gave applicants flexibility to build collaborative capacity-building projects while keeping program accountability anchored to an eligible lead institution.
Applications had to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov, and the Department explicitly stated that applications could not be submitted by emailing documents. Applicants were directed to download the application package from Grants.gov, complete it offline, and then upload and submit it through the portal. A small but important instruction was included for searching the application package: applicants needed to search using “84.031†rather than “84.031A†(omitting the alpha suffix) to find the correct package. For this FY 2015 round, the application package became available on April 23, 2015, and the deadline for transmittal of applications was June 8, 2015 (with the archive date listed as July 8, 2015).
Because the funding opportunity summary was described as only a synopsis of the official Federal Register notice, applicants were repeatedly directed to the official publication for the full set of requirements, including detailed eligibility rules, application content and formatting requirements, submission procedures, performance measures, priorities, and contact information. The listing provided points of contact for both technical Grants.gov access issues (Julius Cotton, ED Grants.gov/FIND Systems Admin, 202-245-6288, EducationGrantInquiries@ed.gov) and programmatic questions (program managers Nalini Lamba Nieves, Pearson Owens, and Don Crews at the Department of Education, with phone numbers and email addresses included).
Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) - FY 2015 FAQ
1) What is the Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP)?
The Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) is a U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) discretionary grant/cooperative agreement opportunity (CFDA 84.031A) intended to help eligible colleges and universities build long-term institutional strength and become more self-sufficient.
2) What is SIP designed to accomplish?
SIP aims to improve an institution's capacity to serve low-income students by investing in improvements to academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability. Practically, it supports initiatives that strengthen teaching and learning, core operations, and financial management so institutions can deliver better outcomes for students with significant financial need.
3) Who is the federal sponsor for SIP?
The sponsor is the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE).
4) What is the program authority for SIP?
SIP is authorized under Title III, Part A of the Higher Education Act (HEA).
5) What was the Funding Opportunity Number for the FY 2015 SIP competition?
The FY 2015 competition was listed under Funding Opportunity Number ED-GRANTS-042315-001.
6) How many awards were expected for FY 2015, and what was the total estimated funding?
For FY 2015, the Department anticipated making about 39 awards with an estimated total funding amount of $18,197,309.
7) What was the maximum award amount listed for FY 2015?
The maximum award amount listed was $650,000.
8) Is there a cost-sharing or matching requirement?
Yes. The opportunity indicated a cost-sharing or matching requirement, meaning applicants were expected to contribute non-federal resources in addition to federal funds. The specific rules and amounts are defined in the official Federal Register notice and related program regulations.
9) Who is eligible to apply for SIP?
Eligibility was tightly defined and tied to a prior federal designation process. Generally, an institution had to be accredited or pre-accredited by a nationally recognized accreditor deemed reliable by the Secretary of Education, legally authorized by its state to operate as a junior/community college or to offer programs culminating in a bachelor's degree, and officially designated as an eligible institution based on enrolling "needy students" and having low average educational and general expenditures per full-time-equivalent undergraduate student (as described in 34 CFR 607.3 and 34 CFR 607.4).
10) Did an institution need a separate eligibility designation before applying?
Yes. Only institutions that applied for and received an eligibility designation through the Department's separate FY 2015 eligibility process were allowed to submit an application for this SIP competition. The eligibility process was referenced as a Federal Register notice published November 3, 2014, with applications due December 22, 2014.
11) What does "needy students" and low expenditure levels mean for eligibility?
The notice indicated eligibility depended in part on serving an enrollment of "needy students" and having low average educational and general expenditures per full-time-equivalent undergraduate student, as described in 34 CFR 607.3 and 34 CFR 607.4. The detailed definitions and calculation methods are provided in the official regulations and Federal Register notice.
12) Can a current Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) Program grantee also receive SIP funding?
No. A current HSI Program grantee could not simultaneously receive a grant under SIP or any other Title III, Part A program, and could not relinquish an HSI grant in order to receive SIP funds.
13) What if an institution is HSI-eligible but not currently funded under the HSI Program?
An institution that was HSI-eligible but not currently funded under the HSI Program could apply across eligible programs, but if selected it could ultimately receive only one grant in accordance with the Department's regulations (including 34 CFR 607.2(g)(1)).
14) What types of grants or project structures were contemplated under SIP?
SIP contemplated different grant structures, including Individual Development Grants and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants.
15) Can an institution apply for both an Individual Development Grant and a Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant?
Yes. The eligibility rules allowed limited "stacking" in specific circumstances. An eligible institution that submitted applications for both an Individual Development Grant and a Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant could potentially be awarded both.
16) Can an institution that already has a SIP Individual Development Grant apply for a Cooperative Development Grant?
Yes. The notice stated that an institution already holding a SIP Individual Development Grant could apply for and receive a Cooperative Development Grant.
17) For cooperative projects, do partner institutions or subgrantees need the same eligibility designation as the lead?
No. For cooperative projects, the lead institution had to be an eligible institution, but partner organizations or subgrantees were not required to meet the same eligibility designation standards.
18) How were applications required to be submitted?
Applications had to be submitted electronically through Grants.gov. The Department explicitly stated that applications could not be submitted by emailing documents.
19) What was the recommended process for applying through Grants.gov?
Applicants were directed to download the application package from Grants.gov, complete it offline, and then upload and submit it through the Grants.gov portal.
20) How should applicants search for the correct application package on Grants.gov?
Applicants were instructed to search using "84.031" rather than "84.031A" (omitting the alpha suffix) to find the correct application package.
21) When did the FY 2015 application package become available?
For FY 2015, the application package became available on April 23, 2015.
22) What was the deadline to submit (transmit) the application for FY 2015?
The deadline for transmittal of applications was June 8, 2015.
23) What was the archive date listed for the FY 2015 opportunity?
The archive date listed was July 8, 2015.
24) Where can applicants find the full set of requirements and rules?
The summary provided was described as only a synopsis of the official Federal Register notice. Applicants were directed to the official Federal Register publication for the full set of requirements, including detailed eligibility rules, application content and formatting requirements, submission procedures, performance measures, priorities, and contact information.
25) Who should be contacted for technical Grants.gov submission issues?
For technical Grants.gov access issues, the listing provided a point of contact: Julius Cotton, ED Grants.gov/FIND Systems Admin, 202-245-6288, EducationGrantInquiries@ed.gov.
26) Who should be contacted for programmatic questions about SIP?
For programmatic questions, the listing referenced program managers Nalini Lamba Nieves, Pearson Owens, and Don Crews at the U.S. Department of Education, with phone numbers and email addresses included in the official materials.
27) Is emailing an application ever acceptable under this opportunity?
No. The Department explicitly stated that applications could not be submitted by emailing documents; submission was required through Grants.gov.
28) Does this summary include every requirement an applicant must follow?
No. The opportunity summary was explicitly described as a synopsis, and applicants were repeatedly directed to consult the official Federal Register notice and related regulations for complete requirements.
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