FY 2023 RPED FAQs.pdf

FY 2023 Rural Postsecondary & Economic Development Grant Competition

Frequently Asked Questions

1. May an applicant request less than the average award size?

a. Yes. An applicant may request less than the average award size but cannot exceed

$2,227,500.

2. Can an institution submit more than one application?

a. No.

3. Criterion 2 under quality of management plan refers to the "project director and principal investigator." Are projects expected to include both a principal investigator and a project director?

4. Can a PD/PI be multiple individuals?

a. Yes, but please be sure to outline their experience/qualifications, responsibilities, and level of effort to the grant.

5. If we have not hired a project director, whose CV do we upload?

a. You may want to include a job description if this person has not yet been hired.

6. Should we include letters of support for our partners?

a. Yes. You also want to outline their responsibilities to the grant.

7. Can we hire students for tutoring or other peer to peer support services?

a. Yes.

8. Can you please advise if the first year of the project can be a planning year for the RPED program?

a. With the short time frame for the project (4 years), and the type of activities you are expected to accomplish, the entire first year should not be used as a planning year.

Planning should begin as you are developing your application. However, we understand it may take some time to get your project off the ground and up and running, including conducting outreach, hiring project staff, developing activities, establishing partnerships, developing your evaluation plan and internal controls processes, etc.

9. Am I required to submit a logic model with my application?

a. Yes. Please refer to the logic model resources in the Pre-Application Webinar slide deck.

10. What do I need to submit in the budget section?

a. Applicants should prepare a 4-year budget request by filling out the ED524 Budget Form and preparing a budget narrative.

11. How will my grant funds be distributed?

a. Successful applicants will receive their federal funds for all 4 years up front no later than December 31, 2023.

12. What is the performance period for this grant?

a. We don’t have an exact start date established just yet, as that will depend on the peer review and approval process. Successful applicants will receive their federal funds for all 4 years up front no later than December 31, 2023.

13. What population of students should this grant be geared towards?

a. Your grant should meet the requirements of Absolute Priority 1 and serve LEA’s and/or public schools with locale code 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43, or be an IHE with a rural campus setting serving a rural community and/or a nonrural campus setting serving a rural community. All students served must come from LEA’s, schools, and communities within those locale codes.

14. Can I hold a RPED grant at the same time as a Title V grant?

15. What is the best way to find data to support our response to Absolute Priority 1?

a. We recommend starting with the NCES resources provided, however you could also work with your institutional research office.

16. Can you focus on specific program enhancements as part of the grant - such as nursing pathways or teaching licensure?

a. Yes, you can focus on specific career pathways, as long as your application meets the absolute priorities of the competition.

17. Can we include non-degree programs and courses in our grant?

a. Activities under this program must be part of a degree-seeking program that leads to a certificate and/or degree of completion. Non-credit/non-degree programs are not allowable.

18. Is there an evaluation set-aside or a suggested budget amount for evaluation in the grant?

a. That would be up to what you and your grant team decide, but you just want to ensure it is a reasonable amount.

19. Are there any evidentiary standards or suggestions for sample size, methods, or research questions in the evaluation portion?

a. This grant does not require evidence standards, other than a logic model. We don’t prescribe the sample size, methods, or research questions, as that would be up to the applicant and their evaluation team.

20. If a small group of colleges in the same state want to work together on an identical intervention, is it more competitive to bid together or separately?

a. Only 1 IHE can be the lead applicant, or a nonprofit that partners with an IHE, however you can include other IHE’s as partners on the grant. We do not give preference to applicants for the number of partners they have on the grant.

21. Is there a maximum annual funding limit that can be requested (i.e., $500,000 per year)?

22. Is the purchase of equipment an allowable expense?

a. Yes, please refer to the equipment citations here.

23. If purchasing equipment is allowable, is there a limit to the amount an applicant can request?

a. No, but equipment costs should be reasonable and reflect the overall goals and objectives for the grant.

24. Can we use funds to install technology in classrooms to expand our hybrid classrooms?

25. Is using a substantial amount of the grant funding to contract with a third-party vendor to carry out some of the grant activities allowable?

a. You may contract with a third-party vendor to carry out some of the grant activities, but the third-party vendor is not the lead applicant and should not be fully implementing, managing, and evaluating the overall activities of the grant.

b. It is important to keep in mind that the lead applicant is responsible for monitoring and a subrecipient according to 2 CFR 200.331-333.

26. What can we use grant funds for/what is allowable?

a. All activities and budget items must at least satisfy the absolute priorities as stated in the NIA. There are no program-specific regulations, but activities and budget items must directly align with project objectives and adhere to applicable EDGAR and Uniform Guidance citations that govern the program.

b. In the big picture a program should be providing supports to students based on what is expected in the absolutely priority, but keep in mind to take an approach that is inclusive and creates systemic change. Think about what you can do to help rural students access, persist and succeed in college and in to a high- need occupation.

27. Are direct scholarships, student financial assistance, and/or stipends to students allowable?

a. Costs of scholarships, fellowships, and other programs of student aid at IHEs are allowable only when the purpose of the Federal award is to provide training to selected participants and the charge is approved by the Federal awarding agency. However, tuition remission and other forms of compensation paid as, or in lieu of, wages to students performing necessary work are allowable provided that:

i. The individual is conducting activities necessary to the Federal award;

https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72/section-200.439 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200#subject-group-ECFR031321e29ac5bbd https://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/edgarReg/edgar.html https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72/section-200.466 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E/subject-group-ECFRed1f39f9b3d4e72/section-200.466

ii. Tuition remission and other support are provided in accordance with established policy of the IHE and consistently provided in a like manner to students in return for similar activities conducted under Federal awards as well as other activities; and

iii. During the academic period, the student is enrolled in an advanced degree program at a non-Federal entity or affiliated institution and the activities of the student in relation to the Federal award are related to the degree program;

iv. The tuition or other payments are reasonable compensation for the work performed and are conditioned explicitly upon the performance of necessary work; and

v. It is the IHE's practice to similarly compensate students under Federal awards as well as other activities.

28. What are the requirements for meeting Absolute Priority 1?

a. For meeting the requirements of absolute priority 1, you would need to satisfy at least one or more of the following:

i. The applicant proposes to serve a community that is served by one or more

LEAs with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43;

1. If addressing this component, all LEA’s in the project need to fit within these locale codes.

ii. The applicant proposes a project in which a majority of the schools served have a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43;

1. If addressing this component, all schools in the project need to fit within these locale codes.

iii. The applicant is an institution of higher education (IHE) with a rural campus setting, or the applicant proposes to serve a campus with a rural setting. Rural settings include any of the following: Town-Fringe, Town-Distant, Town-Remote, Rural Fringe, Rural-Distant, Rural-Remote, as defined by the NCES College Navigator search tool.

1. You must be a campus with a rural setting serving a rural community within the locale codes above.

2. If you are not a rural campus setting, you must propose to serve a rural community that serves the locale codes above.