oppED-GRANTS-052418-001-cfda84.229-cid84-229A2018-1-instructions.pdf

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Office of Postsecondary Education

Washington, DC 20202 www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

Fiscal Year 2018 Application for New Awards under the

LANGUAGE RESOURCE CENTERS (LRC) PROGRAM

CFDA Number: 84.229A

Form Approved OMB No. 1840-0808, Exp. Date: 08/31/2020

Applications Available: May 24, 2018 Grants.gov Funding Opportunity Number: ED-GRANTS-052418-001

CLOSING DATE: June 25, 2018 http://www.ed.gov/ope/iegps

Table of Contents

Dear Applicant Letter

Competition Highlights

Language Resource Centers Program Overview

Supplemental Information

General Application and Submission Information

Grants.gov Submission Procedure & Tips for Applicants

Grants.gov Registration Instructions

Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement

Submission of Paper Applications

Federal Register Notice

Authorizing Legislation & Regulations

Title VI – International Education Programs

34 CFR Part 655—International Education Programs – General Provisions

34 CFR Part 669—Language Resource Centers Program

General Education Provisions Act (GEPA)

Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA)

LRC Project Performance Measure Form (PMF)

Instructions: LRC Application Package

Instructions: Application (Project) Narrative Suggested Formatting & Selection Criteria

Instructions: Standard Forms

Instructions: SF-424

Instructions: ED Supplemental Information Form for SF-424

Instructions: ED-524

Instructions: Budget Summary Form & Itemized Line Item Budget

Instructions: SF-LLL, Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

Application Contents Checklist

Appendices to Include

Paperwork Burden Statement

Frequently Asked Questions

Dear Applicant Letter

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION

Dear Applicant:

Thank you for your interest in applying for a fiscal year (FY) 2018 grant under the Language Resource Centers (LRC) program. This application booklet includes information about the program, instructions, and the forms that applicants need to submit a complete application package to the U.S. Department of Education (Department). We encourage you to review these instructions in their entirety before preparing and submitting your application.

The LRC program provides grants to institutions of higher education to establish, strengthen and operate centers that serve as resources for improving the nation’s capacity for teaching and learning world languages. LRCs develop language learning materials, provide professional development opportunities for teachers, and conduct research to strengthen foreign language teaching and learning.

Centers help prepare U.S. students, teachers, faculty, and school administrators to succeed in global business and in fields like intelligence and national security. You may view more information about the LRC program at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpslrc/index.html

There are two competitive preference priorities for the FY 2018 competition. We will award up to an additional 10 points to an application, depending on how well the application meets one or both of the following priorities:

1. Applications that propose activities with a significant focus on the teaching and learning of less commonly taught languages (i.e.; any modern foreign languages except French, German, and Spanish).

2. Applications that propose significant and sustained collaborative activities with one or more Minority-Serving Institutions (as defined in the Federal Register notice) and/or with one or more community colleges (as defined in the Federal Register notice).

Please refer to the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) published in the Federal Register and included in this application package for further information about the competition priorities.

We hope that these priorities will inspire interesting projects that will be useful to a wide range of stakeholders in the fields of language education, international education, and others. We appreciate your interest in this program and look forward to receiving your application.

http://www.ed.gov/programs/iegpslrc/index.html

Sincerely, /s/

Cheryl Gibbs Acting Senior Director, International and Foreign Language Education

Competition Highlights

1. FY 2018 LRC applications must be submitted electronically using Grants.gov. We advise that you acquaint yourself with the requirements of Grants.gov early, as registration procedures may require 5 or more days to complete. A more thorough discussion about Grants.gov is included under “Grants.gov Submission Procedures & Tips for Applicants” on pages 15-20 in this application package.

Grants.gov is accessible through its portal page at: https://www.grants.gov

2. You must submit your application by 4:30:00 p.m. (Washington, D.C. time) on or before the application deadline date (June 25, 2018). Late applications will not be accepted. We suggest that you submit your application several days before the deadline. The Department is required to enforce the established deadline to ensure fairness to all applicants. No changes or additions to an application will be accepted after the deadline date and time.

3. Grants.gov does not allow applicants to “un-submit” applications. If you discover that you need to make revisions to your application after you have submitted it, you must submit another application on or before the application deadline. The Department will accept and process the application with the latest “date/time received” validation.

4. The requirements for obtaining an exception to the electronic submission are included in the Common Instructions for Applicants to Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2018 (83 FR 6003) and available at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf.

If you think you might need an exception, you should review the exception requirements early in the application preparation process. The Department must receive your written statement that you intend to submit a paper application either by fax or by mail no later than two weeks (14 calendar days) before the application deadline date. Faxed statements must be transmitted no later than June 11, 2018 to: (202)453-5780. If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than June 11, 2018. Please send this statement to:

Carolyn Collins, U.S. Department of Education, International and Foreign Language Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Mailstop OPE-258-40, Washington, D.C. 20202.

5. The suggested maximum length for the Application (Project) Narrative (Part III) is 50 pages. The Application (Project) Narrative is where you address the selection criteria that the peer reviewers will use to evaluate your application. The NIA contains the standards for preparing the Application (Project) Narrative.

https://www.grants.gov/ http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf

6. The project abstract is limited to one page, single-spaced. The abstract should convey information about the proposed project, including activities that you plan to conduct over the four-year grant period. Upload your project abstract into the ED abstract form in Part III.

7. There are two competitive preference priorities for the FY 2018 LRC program competition. We will award up to an additional 10 points to an application, depending on how well the application meets one or both of these priorities:

Competitive Preference Priority 1: Applications that Propose Activities with a Significant Focus on Less Commonly Taught Languages (LCTLs) (up to 5 points).

Applications that propose activities with a significant focus on the teaching and learning of any modern foreign languages except French, German, and Spanish.

We will award up to five additional points to an application that meets this priority.

Competitive Preference Priority 2 – Collaboration with Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) or community colleges (up to 5 points).

Applications that propose significant and sustained collaborative activities with one or more Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) (as defined in the Notice Inviting Applications) and/or with one or more community colleges (as defined in the Notice Inviting Applications).

These activities must be designed to incorporate foreign languages into the curriculum at the MSI(s) or community college(s), and to improve foreign language instruction at the MSI(s) or community college(s). If an applicant institution is an MSI or a community college (as defined in this notice), that institution can meet the intent of this priority by proposing intra-campus collaborative activities instead of, or in addition to, collaborative activities with other MSIs and/or community colleges.

We will award up to five additional points to an application that meets this priority.

Please note that these priorities are explained in detail in the NIA contained in this application package (pages 24-43). We urge you to fully review the notice carefully before preparing your application.

8. The following are estimated amounts for this competition. The Department is not bound by these estimated amounts.

• Estimated available funds: $2,746,768

• Estimated average size of awards: $171,000 per year

• Estimated range of awards: $130,000 - $197,000 per year The Department is often unable to award the full amount of funds requested.

• Estimated number of awards: 16

Applicants are limited to 8% indirect costs.

9. The project period for an LRC grant is up to 48 months.

10. Once you download the LRC application package from Grants.gov, you will be working offline and saving data on your computer. Please be sure to note where you are saving the Grants.gov file on your computer, because you will need to upload your work into Grants.gov to submit the application.

For help with Grants.gov, you should call toll-free at 1-800-516-4726, or email Support@grants.gov. The Support Desk is available 24 hours, 7 days a week except Federal holidays.

11. The NIA published in the Federal Register constitutes the official competition guidelines. An applicant should not rely upon external information that is inconsistent with the application preparation guidelines and submission instructions presented in the NIA.

mailto:Support@grants.gov

Language Resource Centers Program Overview

Authorization Title VI, Part A, sections 601 and 603 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 as amended.

Program Regulations Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. The regulations for this program are in 34 CFR parts 655 and 669.

Purpose The Language Resource Centers Program makes awards for the purpose of establishing, strengthening, and operating centers that serve as resources for improving the nation’s capacity for teaching and learning foreign languages effectively.

Eligible Applicants Institutions of higher education or a combination of institutions of higher education are eligible to receive an award.

Activities Funded Under This Program Centers must carry out activities to improve the teaching and learning of foreign languages. These efforts must include effective dissemination efforts, whenever appropriate, and may include—

a) The conduct and dissemination of research on new and improved methods for teaching foreign languages, including the use of advanced educational technology;

b) The development and dissemination of new materials for teaching foreign languages, to reflect the results of research on effective teaching strategies;

c) The development, application and dissemination of performance testing that is appropriate for use in an educational setting to be used as a standard and comparable measurement of skill levels in foreign languages;

d) The training of teachers in the administration and interpretation of foreign language performance tests, the use of effective teaching strategies and the use of new technologies;

e) A significant focus on the teaching and learning needs of the less commonly taught languages, including an assessment of the strategic needs of the United States, the determination of ways to meet those needs nationally and the publication and dissemination of instructional materials in the less commonly taught languages;

f) The development and dissemination of materials designed to serve as a resource for foreign language teachers at the elementary and secondary school levels; and

g) The operation of intensive summer language institutes to train advanced foreign language students, to provide professional development and to improve language instruction through pre-service and ins-service language training for teachers.

Supplemental Information

The following information supplements the information provided in the “Dear Applicant” letter and the Federal Register notice.

1. Additional Attachments to Applications Please limit additional attachments to the following:

a. The curricula vitae of key personnel and professional staff directly involved in the applicant’s program;

b. Position descriptions for proposed personnel for the project;

c. Letters of support; and

d. Performance Measure Form (description of the measures that will guide project activities for the FY 2018-2021 performance period).

NOTE: These appendices must be attached to the “Other Attachments Form” in the Grants.gov application package.

2. Performance Period The estimated grant performance period for the FY 2018 grant cycle is from August 15, 2018 to August 14, 2022.

3. Evaluation of Applications for Awards A three-member panel of independent reviewers evaluates each application. Each reviewer assigns points for each selection criterion and prepares evaluation comments.

4. Selection Criteria The selection criteria in 34 CFR sections 655.31 and 669.21 are used to evaluate applications.

The selection criteria and maximum possible points are included in this booklet on pages 64-68.

The Secretary will select an application for funding in rank order, based on the application’s total score for the selection criteria. If there are insufficient funds to fund all applications with the same total score, the Secretary will choose among the tied applications using Criterion 1: Need for the Project as a tiebreaker.

5. Notifying Successful Applicants If your application is successful, we will notify your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award Notification (GAN); or we may send you an email containing a link to access G5, the Department’s Grant Management System. The email will be sent to both the project director and certifying representative in order for them to view and print the Adobe Acrobat version of the electronically signed GAN. If neither the project director nor certifying representative is registered in G5, they will immediately be prompted to register once the link is accessed. The Department’s electronic signature and issuance of the GAN makes it crucial that your application include correct email addresses for both the project director and the certifying representative.

6. Notifying ineligible or unsuccessful applicants If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding, we notify you in writing.

7. Technical Review Forms All applicants will receive copies of the peer reviewers’ evaluations.

8. Reporting Requirements If you receive a FY 2018 new grant award, you will be required to submit annual and final performance reports during the entire funding cycle using the International Resource Information System (IRIS). This online system collects narrative, data, and budget information about funded projects to enable program officers to determine if a grantee is making substantial progress toward meeting the approved project objectives. At the end of the project period, grantees are required to submit both a final performance report and a federal financial report

(SF-425).

If you wish to view the performance report currently required, visit the IRIS website at:

http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/LRC.pdf

Please be advised that the report is for informational purposes only, and does not reflect the actual reporting instrument that you will use, should you receive a FY 2018 grant award.

9. Contact Information For LRC program-related questions and assistance, please contact:

Program Officer: Carolyn Collins Address: International and Foreign Language Education U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W. / Mailstop OPE-258-40 Washington, D.C. 20202 Telephone: (202) 453-7854 Fax: (202) 453-5780 E-mail Address: carolyn.collins@ed.gov

For Grants.gov-related questions and assistance, please contact:

Support Desk: Grants.gov Support Desk Telephone: (800) 518-4726 Email: support@grants.gov Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, except Federal holidays http://iris.ed.gov/iris/pdfs/LRC.pdf mailto:carolyn.collins@ed.gov mailto:support@grants.gov

General Application and Submission Information

Address to Request Application Package You can obtain an application package from the Department’s website or Grants.gov. To obtain a copy via the Department’s website, use the following address:

www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html.

Content and Form of Application Submission Requirements concerning the content and form of an application, together with the forms you must submit, are in the application package for the program.

Submission Dates and Times Submit applications for grants under the program electronically using Grants.gov. For information (including dates and times) about how to submit your application electronically, please refer to Other Submission Requirements in these instructions. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. Individuals with disabilities who need an accommodation or auxiliary aid in connection with the application process should contact a person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section in the competition NIA. If the Department provides an accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability in connection with the application process, the individual’s application remains subject to all other requirements and limitations in the competition NIA.

Data Universal Numbering System Number, Taxpayer Identification Number, and System for Award Management

To do business with the Department, and to submit your application electronically using Grants.gov, you must—

a. Have a Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and a Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN);

b. Register both your DUNS number and TIN with the System for Award Management (SAM.gov), the Government’s primary registrant database;

c. Provide your DUNS number and TIN on your application; and

d. Maintain an active SAM registration with current information while your application is under review by the Department and, if you are awarded a grant, during the project period.

You can obtain a DUNS number from Dun and Bradstreet at the following website:

http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform. A DUNS number can be created within one to two business days.

If you are a corporate entity, agency, institution, or organization, you can obtain a TIN from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you are an individual, you can obtain a TIN from the IRS or the Social Security Administration. If you need a new TIN, please allow two to five weeks for your TIN to become active.

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/grantapps/index.html http://fedgov.dnb.com/webform

The SAM registration process can take approximately seven business days, but may take upwards of several weeks, depending on the completeness and accuracy of the data you enter into the SAM.gov database. Thus, if you think you might want to apply for Federal financial assistance under a program administered by the Department, please allow sufficient time to obtain and register your DUNS number and TIN. We strongly recommend that you register early.

Note: Once your SAM.gov registration is active, it may be 24 to 48 hours before you can access the information in, and submit an application through, Grants.gov.

If you are currently registered with SAM.gov, you may not need to make any changes. However, please make certain that the TIN associated with your DUNS number is correct. Also note that you will need to update your registration annually. This may take three or more business days.

Information about SAM is available at www.SAM.gov. To further assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in SAM.gov or updating your existing SAM account, we have prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet, which you can find at:

http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/samfaqs.html.

In addition, in order to submit your application via Grants.gov, you must (1) register as an applicant using your DUNS number; and (2) be designated by your organization’s E-Biz Point of Contact as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Details on these steps are outlined at the following Grants.gov web page: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html.

Electronic Submission of Applications We are participating as a partner in the Government-wide Grants.gov site. Submit applications electronically using Grants.gov and do not email them.

On December 31, 2017, Grants.gov retired the Legacy PDF format for submitting grant applications.

A Grants.gov applicant must apply online using Workspace, a shared environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. An applicant can create an individual Workspace for each application notice and establish for that application a collaborative application package that allows more than one person in the applicant’s organization to work concurrently on an application. The Grants.gov system also enables the applicant to reuse forms from previous submissions, check them in and out to complete them, and submit the application package. For access to further instructions on how to apply using Grants.gov, refer to: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.

You may access the electronic grant applications at www.Grants.gov. You must search for the downloadable application package for this competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number’s alpha suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.229, not 84.229A). Please note the following:

• Applicants needing assistance with Grants.gov may contact the Grants.gov Support Center either by calling 1(800) 518-4726 or by sending an email to support@grants.gov. The http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/samfaqs.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html

Grants.gov Support Center is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except for Federal holidays.

• Applications received by Grants.gov are date- and time-stamped upon submission. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted and must be date- and time-stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 4:30:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not accept your application if it is received—that is, date- and timestamped by the Grants.gov system—after 4:30:00 p.m., Eastern Time, on the application deadline date. We do not consider an application that does not comply with the deadline requirements. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify you if we are rejecting your application because it was late.

• The amount of time it can take to upload an application will vary depending on a variety of factors, including the size of the application and the speed of your internet connection.

Therefore, we strongly recommend that you leave yourself plenty of time to complete your submission.

• You should review and follow the Education Submission Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are included in the application package for the program to ensure that you submit your application on time. You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to Grants.gov under News and Events on the Department’s G5 system home page at www.G5.gov. In addition, for specific guidance and procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov, please refer to the Grants.gov website at: www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html.

• When you submit your application electronically, all documents must be submitted in this manner, including all information you typically provide on the following forms: The Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information—Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and certifications.

• When you submit your application electronically, you must upload any narrative sections and all other attachments to your application as files in a read-only flattened Portable Document Format (PDF), meaning any fillable documents must be saved and submitted as non-fillable PDF files. Do not upload an interactive or fillable PDF file. If you upload a file type other than a read-only, non-fillable PDF (e.g., Word, Excel, WordPerfect, etc.) or submit a password-protected file, we will be unable to review that material. Please note that this will likely result in your application not being considered for funding. The Department will not convert material from other formats to PDF.

• After you electronically submit your application, you will receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that contains a Grants.gov tracking number. Grants.gov also will notify you automatically by email if your application met all of the Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/apply-for-grants.html validation requirements or if there were any errors (such as submission of your application by someone other than a registered AOR, issues with your DUNS number, or inclusion of an attachment with a file name that contains special characters). You will be given an opportunity to correct any errors and resubmit, but you must still meet the deadline for submission of applications.

Once your application is successfully validated by Grants.gov, the Department will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send you an email with a unique PR/Award number for your application.

Email confirmations and receipts from Grants.gov do not indicate receipt by the Department, nor do they mean that your application is complete or has met all application requirements. While your application may have been successfully validated by Grants.gov, it also must be reviewed in accordance with the Department’s application requirements as specified in the competition NIA and in these application instructions. It is your responsibility to ensure that your submitted application has met all of the Department’s requirements.

Additionally, we may request that you provide us original signatures on forms at a later date.

Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues with the Grants.gov System:

If you experience problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov Support Desk immediately, toll-free, at 1(800)518-4726. The Grants.gov Support Center will provide you with a ticket number documenting your communication. You must retain your ticket number for future reference as proof of your communication with the Support Center. Please subsequently contact a person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section in the competition NIA and provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number.

If you are prevented from electronically submitting your application on the application deadline date because of technical problems within the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension until 4:30:00 p.m., Eastern Time, the following business day to enable you to transmit your application electronically, provided we can verify the technical issues affected your ability to submit your application on time via your Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number.

Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply only to technical problems with the Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed to fully register in order to submit your application to Grants.gov (including with the required DUNS number and TIN currently registered in SAM) before the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

Grants.gov Submission Procedure & Tips for Applicants

IMPORTANT – PLEASE READ FIRST

U.S. Department of Education Grants.gov Submission Procedures and Tips for Applicants

To facilitate your use of Grants.gov, this document includes important submission procedures you need to be aware of to ensure your application is received in a timely manner and accepted by the Department of Education.

Browser Support The latest versions of Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE), Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari are supported for use with Grants.gov. However, these web browsers undergo frequent changes and updates, so we recommend you have the latest version when using Grants.gov. Legacy versions of these web browsers may be functional, but you may experience issues.

For additional information or updates, please see the Grants.gov Browser information in the Applicant FAQs: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#browser

ATTENTION – Workspace, Adobe Forms and PDF Files Required Grants.gov applicants can apply online using Workspace. Workspace is a shared, online environment where members of a grant team may simultaneously access and edit different web forms within an application. For each funding opportunity announcement (FOA), you can create individual instances of a workspace.

Below is an overview of applying on Grants.gov. For access to complete instructions on how to apply for opportunities, refer to: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

1. Create a Workspace: Creating a workspace allows you to complete it online and route it through your organization for review before submitting.

2. Complete a Workspace: Add participants to the workspace to work on the application together, complete all the required forms online or by downloading PDF versions, and check for errors before submission. The Workspace progress bar will display the state of your application process as you apply. As you apply using Workspace, you may click the blue question mark icon near the upper-right corner of each page to access context-sensitive help.

a. Adobe Reader: If you decide not to apply by filling out web forms you can download individual PDF forms in Workspace. The individual PDF forms can be downloaded and saved to your local device storage, network drive(s), or external drives, then accessed through Adobe Reader.

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#browser https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/workspace-overview.html

NOTE: Visit the Adobe Software Compatibility page on Grants.gov to download the appropriate version of the software at:

https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html

b. Mandatory Fields in Forms: In the forms, you will note fields marked with an asterisk and a different background color. These fields are mandatory fields that must be completed to successfully submit your application.

c. Complete SF-424 Fields First: The forms are designed to fill in common required fields across other forms, such as the applicant name, address, and DUNS Number. Once it is completed, the information will transfer to the other forms.

3. Submit a Workspace: An application may be submitted through workspace by clicking the Sign and Submit button on the Manage Workspace page, under the Forms tab. Grants.gov recommends submitting your application package at least 24-48 hours prior to the close date to provide you with time to correct any potential technical issues that may disrupt the application submission.

4. Track a Workspace Submission: After successfully submitting a workspace application, a Grants.gov Tracking Number (GRANTXXXXXXXX) is automatically assigned to the application. The number will be listed on the Confirmation page that is generated after submission. Using the tracking number, access the Track My Application page under the Applicants tab or the Details tab in the submitted workspace.

For additional training resources, including video tutorials, refer to https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html

Helpful Reminders

1. REGISTER EARLY – Grants.gov registration involves many steps including registration on SAM

(www.sam.gov) which may take approximately one week to complete, but could take upwards of several weeks to complete, depending upon the completeness and accuracy of the data entered into the SAM database by an applicant. You may begin working on your application while completing the registration process, but you cannot submit an application until all of the Registration steps are complete. Please note that once your SAM registration is active, it will take 24-48 hours for the information to be available in Grants.gov, and before you can submit an application through Grants.gov. For detailed information on the Registration Steps, please go to: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html [Note: Your organization will need to update its SAM registration annually.]

Primary information about SAM is available at www.sam.gov. However, to further assist you with obtaining and registering your DUNS number and TIN in SAM or updating your existing SAM account the Department of Education has prepared a SAM.gov Tip Sheet which you can find at:

http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-training.html http://www.sam.gov/ http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/register.html http://www.sam.gov/ http://www2.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/sam-faqs.html

2. SUBMIT EARLY – We strongly recommend that you do not wait until the last day to submit your application. Grants.gov will put a date/time stamp on your application and then process it after it is fully uploaded. The time it takes to upload an application will vary depending on a number of factors including the size of the application and the speed of your Internet connection, and the time it takes Grants.gov to process the application will vary as well. If Grants.gov rejects your application (see step three below), you will need to resubmit successfully to Grants.gov before 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, DC time on the deadline date.

Note: To submit successfully, you must provide the DUNS number on your application that was used when you registered as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR) on Grants.gov. This DUNS number is typically the same number used when your organization registered with the SAM. If you do not enter the same DUNS number on your application as the DUNS you registered with, Grants.gov will reject your application.

3. VERIFY SUBMISSION IS OK – You will want to verify that Grants.gov received your application submission on time and that it was validated successfully. To see the date/time your application was received, login to Grants.gov and click on the Track My Application link. For a successful submission, the date/time received should be earlier than 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, DC time, on the deadline date, AND the application status should be: Validated, Received by Agency, or Agency Tracking Number Assigned. Once the Department of Education receives your application from Grants.gov, an Agency Tracking Number (PR/award number) will be assigned to your application and will be available for viewing on Grants.gov’s Track My Application link.

If the date/time received is later than 4:30:00 p.m. Washington, D.C. time, on the deadline date, your application is late. If your application has a status of “Received” it is still awaiting validation by Grants.gov. Once validation is complete, the status will either change to “Validated” or “Rejected with Errors.” If the status is “Rejected with Errors,” your application has not been received successfully. Some of the reasons Grants.gov may reject an application can be found on the Grants.gov site:

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/encountering-error-messages.html.

For more detailed information on troubleshooting Adobe errors, you can review the Adobe Reader Software Tip Sheet at: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html. If you discover your application is late or has been rejected, please see the instructions below. Note: You will receive a series of confirmations both online and via e-mail about the status of your application. Please do not rely solely on e-mail to confirm whether your application has been received timely and validated successfully.

Submission Problems – What should you do?

If you have problems submitting to Grants.gov before the closing date, please contact Grants.gov Customer Support at 1-800-518-4726 or email at: support@grants.gov, or access the Grants.gov Self- Service Knowledge Base web portal at: https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/encountering-error-messages.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/adobe-software-compatibility.html https://grants-portal.psc.gov/Welcome.aspx?pt=Grants

If electronic submission is required, you must submit an electronic application before 4:30:00 p.m.

Washington, DC time, unless you follow the procedures in the Federal Register notice and qualify for one of the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these exceptions. If electronic submission is optional and you have problems that you are unable to resolve before the deadline date and time for electronic applications, please follow the transmittal instructions for hard copy applications in the Federal Register notice and get a hard copy application postmarked by midnight on the deadline date. (See the Federal Register notice for detailed instructions.)

Helpful Hints When Working with Grants.gov Please go to http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html for help with Grants.gov. For additional tips related to submitting grant applications, please refer to the Grants.gov Applicant FAQs found at this Grants.gov link: http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html as well as additional information on Workspace at https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#workspace.

Dial-Up Internet Connections When using a dial up connection to upload and submit your application, it can take significantly longer than when you are connected to the Internet with a high-speed connection, e.g. cable modem/DSL/T1.

While times will vary depending upon the size of your application, it can take a few minutes to a few hours to complete your grant submission using a dial up connection. If you do not have access to a high-speed connection and electronic submission is required, you may want to consider following the instructions in the Federal Register notice to obtain an exception to the electronic submission requirement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date. (See the Federal Register notice for detailed instructions.)

Attaching Files – Additional Tips Please note the following tips related to attaching files to your application, especially the requirement that applicants only include read-only, flattened .PDF files in their application:

• Ensure that you attach .PDF files only for any attachments to your application, and they must be in a read-only, flattened format. PDF files are the only Education approved file type accepted as detailed in the Federal Register application notice. Applicants must submit individual .PDF files only when attaching files to their application. Specifically, the Department will not accept any attachments that contain files within a file, such as PDF Portfolio files, or an interactive or fillable .PDF file. Any attachments uploaded that are not .PDF files or are password protected files will not be read.

• Grants.gov cannot process an application that includes two or more files that have the same name within a grant submission. Therefore, each file uploaded to your application package should have a unique file name.

http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/support.html http://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#workspace https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/applicants/applicant-faqs.html#workspace

• When attaching files, applicants should follow the guidelines established by Grants.gov on the size and content of file names. Uploaded file names must be fewer than 50 characters, and, in general, applicants should not use any special characters. However, Grants.gov does allow for the following UTF-8 characters when naming your attachments: A-Z, a-z, 0-9, underscore, hyphen, space, period, parenthesis, curly braces, square brackets, ampersand, tilde, exclamation point, comma, semi colon, apostrophe, at sign, number sign, dollar sign, percent sign, plus sign, and equal sign. Applications submitted that do not comply with the Grants.gov guidelines will be rejected at Grants.gov and not forwarded to the Department.

• Applicants should limit the size of their file attachments. Documents submitted that contain graphics and/or scanned material often greatly increase the size of the file attachments and can result in difficulties opening the files. For reference, the average discretionary grant application package with all attachments is less than 5 MB. Therefore, you may want to check the total size of your package before submission.

Grants.gov Registration Instructions

Register With Grants.gov

1. Go to http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp.

2. Select the Register with Grants.gov button on the main screen.

3. This will take you to the Register with Grants.gov screen where you will need to enter the

Funding Opportunity Number (FON) of an opportunity and then select Register.

4. Once you enter a valid Funding Opportunity Number (FON) you will need to complete a profile.

When entering an email address, please keep in mind that all correspondence with Grants.gov will be sent to that email address. For the Secret Question/Answer fields, enter a question only you would be able to answer and will be able to remember in the future. The password you choose must contain at least eight (8) characters including: at least one (1) uppercase letter (A- Z); at least one (1) lowercase letter (a-z); and at least one (1) number (0-9). When you have completed the form select the Continue button.

5. On the next page you will need to validate your information. If you need to change your information select the Edit button, if your information is correct as entered select the Submit button.

6. You will see a message at the top of the screen that will read “You are successfully registered.”

To continue to the Applicant login page select the Continue button on the bottom of the page. If you don’t receive the successful message another message will appear stating what issue needs to be addressed. Simply correct the error or contact the Contact Center for further assistance.

7. You will receive an email notification that will let you know you are able to apply for grant opportunities.

http://www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp

Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement

You qualify for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application through Grants.gov because––

• You do not have access to the Internet; or

• You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to Grants.gov; and

• No later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception prevents you from using the Internet to submit your application.

o If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than June 11, 2018 (i.e. two weeks before the FY 2018 LRC application deadline date).

o If you fax your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed statement no later than June 11, 2018 (i.e. two weeks before the application deadline date).

Address and mail or fax your statement to: Carolyn Collins, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Mailstop OPE-258-40, Washington, D.C. 20202; Fax: (202) 453-5780.

Submission of Paper Applications

We discourage paper applications, but if electronic submission is not possible (e.g., you do not have access to the internet), you must provide a written statement that you intend to submit a paper application. Send this written statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business day following the Federal holiday).

If you fax your written statement to the Department, it should be transmitted no later than June 11, 2018 (i.e.; two weeks before the application deadline date) to: Carolyn Collins, Fax: (202) 453-5780.

If you mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no later than June 11, 2018 (i.e.; two weeks before the application deadline date). Please send this statement to Carolyn Collins, U.S. Department of Education, International and Foreign Language Education, 400 Maryland Avenue S.W., Mailstop OPE-258-40, Washington D.C. 20202.

If you submit a paper application, you must mail the original and two copies of your application, on or before the application deadline date of June 25, 2018, to the Department at the following address: U.S.

Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number), LBJ Basement Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20202–4260.

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.

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.

2. A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

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.

We will not consider applications postmarked after the application deadline date of June 25, 2018.

Note for Mail Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail your application to the Department—

1. You must indicate on the envelope and in Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, including suffix letter, if any, of the competition under which you are submitting your application; and

2. The Application Control Center will mail to you a notification of receipt of your grant application.

If you do not receive this notification within 15 business days from the application deadline date, you should call the Application Control Center at (202) 245–6288.

Federal Register Notice

4000-01-U

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Applications for New Awards; Language Resource Centers Program

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education, Department of

Education.

ACTION: Notice.

SUMMARY: The Department of Education is issuing a notice inviting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2018 for the Language Resource

Centers (LRC) Program, Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) number 84.229A.

DATES:

Applications Available: May 24, 2018.

Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: June 25, 2018.

Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: For the addresses for obtaining and submitting an application, please refer to our Common Instructions for Applicants to

Department of Education Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the

Federal Register on February 12, 2018 (83 FR 6003) and available at www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2018-02-12/pdf/2018-02558.pdf.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn Collins, U.S. Department of

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, room 258-40, Washington, DC 20202.

Telephone: (202) 453-7854. Email: carolyn.collins@ed.gov.

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

Purpose of Program: The Language Resource Centers (LRC) Program provides grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) or consortia of IHEs for establishing, strengthening, and operating centers that serve as resources for improving the Nation’s capacity for teaching and learning foreign languages through teacher training, research, materials development, assessment, and dissemination projects.

Priorities: This notice includes two competitive preference priorities. In accordance with 34 CFR 75.105(b)(2)(ii), Competitive

Preference Priority 1 is from 34 CFR 669.22(a)(2). Competitive

Preference Priority 2 is from the notice of final priorities for this program published in the Federal Register on June 6, 2014 (79 FR

32651) (the NFP).

Competitive Preference Priorities: For FY 2018 and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, these…