Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE): Special Projects; Assistance Listing Number (ALN) 84.116J
Closed Posted
- Opportunity number
- ED-GRANTS-111225-001
- Agency
-
Department of Education
- Applications due
- Award size
- Not on record
Opportunity facts
- Assistance listings
- Funding instrument
- Grant
- Category
-
- Education
- Eligible applicants
-
- Other
- Points of contact
-
- Dr. Stacey Slijepcevic stacey.slijepcevic@ed.gov (202) 453-6150
- Full announcement
Opportunity details come from Grants.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
The U.S. Department of Education's Office of Postsecondary Education is seeking grant applications for the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE) Special Projects Program, focusing on four national needs: advancing AI in education, promoting civil discourse on college campuses, supporting accreditation reform, and building capacity for high-quality short-term programs. Eligible applicants include institutions of higher education, consortia of institutions, and other public and private nonprofit organizations. The competition includes seven absolute priorities and two competitive preference priorities, with applications evaluated on significance (30 points), project design (45 points), management plan (10 points), and project evaluation (15 points). Applicants must submit electronic applications through Grants.gov by December 3, 2025, at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time, following specific guidelines outlined in the Federal Register notice.
The Department intends to award approximately $167 million across the four priority areas, with funding ranges from $1 million to $4 million per project depending on the specific priority. Projects will be funded for up to 48 months, with a projected start date of January 1, 2026. The funding breakdown includes $50 million for AI in education, $60 million for civil discourse, $7 million for accreditation reform, and $50 million for short-term program development. Grants will be frontloaded, meaning recipients will receive funding for all years at the time of award, and must comply with specific requirements including open licensing of grant deliverables and performance measurement guidelines.
Synopsis
Note: Each funding opportunity description is a synopsis of information in the Federal Register application notice. For specific information about eligibility, please see the official application notice. The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Please review the official application notice for pre-application and application requirements, application submission information, performance measures, priorities and program contact information.
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 August 29, 2025 (90 FR 42234), and available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2025/08/29/2025-
16571/common-instructions-and-information-for-applicants-todepartment-of-education-discretionary-grantams.
Purpose of Program: The FIPSE Special Projects Program provides grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs), combinations of such institutions, and other public and private nonprofit institutions and agencies, as the Secretary deems necessary, to support innovative projects concerning one or more areas of national need identified by the Secretary. This competition focuses on supporting four areas of national need-(1) advancing the understanding of and use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology in postsecondary education, (2) promoting civil discourse on college and university campuses, (3) promoting accreditation reform, and (4) supporting capacity-building for high-quality short-term programs.
In order to support these four crucial needs, this competition includes seven absolute priorities under which applicants can apply: two priorities dedicated to advancing the understanding and use of AI in postsecondary education (Absolute Priorities 1 and 2), one priority dedicated to promoting civil discourse on college and university campuses (Absolute Priority 3), two priorities within promoting accreditation reform (Absolute Priorities 4 and 5), and two priorities for capacity-building for high-quality short-term programs (Absolute Priorities 6 and 7). The Department intends to award $50 million to advance AI in Education, $60 million to promote civil discourse on college and university campuses, $7 million to support accreditation reform, and $50 million for high-quality short-term programs. The Department may adjust these estimates based on interest and quality of applications.
Assistance Listing Number 84.116J
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