Higher Education - Institution Challenge Grants Program

The purpose of the Higher Education Challenge Grants Program, under assistance listing 10.217, is to strengthen institutional capacities, including curriculum, faculty, scientific instrumentation, instruction delivery systems, and student recruitment

The Higher Education Challenge (HEC) program provides funding to eligible applicants to help ensure a competent, qualified, and well-rounded workforce will exist to serve the food and agricultural sciences system.

Applicants for the HEC must meet all the requirements discussed in this NOFO. Applications may be submitted by: 1. U.S. public or private nonprofit colleges and universities offering a baccalaureate or first professional degree in at least one discipline or area of the food and agricultural sciences; 2. land-grant colleges and universities, (including land grant institutions in the Insular Areas); 3. colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences; and 4. other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences.

Applicants for the HEC must meet all the requirements discussed in this RFA. Applications may be submitted by: 1. U.S. public or private nonprofit colleges and universities offering a baccalaureate or first professional degree in at least one discipline or area of the food and agricultural sciences; 2. land-grant colleges and universities, (including land grant institutions in the Insular Areas); 3. colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences; and 4. other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences.

Funds may be used only in targeted areas, e.g., curricula design and materials development, faculty preparation and enhancement for teaching, instruction delivery systems, scientific instrumentation for teaching, student experiential learning, and student recruitment and retention, as cited in the annual program announcement in the Federal Register.

RESTRICTIONS: 1.) Stipends may not be used for tuition or scholarships. 2.) Indirect Costs (IDC) not to exceed 30 percent of total Federal funds awarded (TFFA). Section 1462(a) and (c) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension, and Teaching Policy Act of 1977 (7 U.S.C. 3310(a) and (c)) limits IDC for the overall award to 30 percent of TFFA under a research, education, or extension grant This program is fully discretionary.

Grants are awarded for a one (1) to three (3) year period and may receive no-cost extensions as appropriate up to a maximum of five (5) years. In accordance with statutory time limits, project periods, including no-cost extensions of time, are not to exceed five (5) years. Further details are provided in the Award document Form NIFA-2009 and the NIFA General Terms and Conditions Grants and Cooperative Agreements.

Preapplication coordination is required. Environmental impact information is not required for this program. This program is excluded from coverage under E.O. 12372. All NOFOs are published on the NIFA website and Grants.gov. Applicants must complete the SAM.gov and Grants.gov registration process prior to applying. See the program NOFO for any program specific pre-application requirements.

Within guidelines established for the program as described in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). The most current NOFOs are available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/higher-education-challenge-hec-grants-program

General application instructions are listed in the NIFA Grants Application Guide. Program-specific instructions are listed in the NOFO. The NOFO overrides the Application Guide if there is a discrepancy between the two documents. Applicants must apply electronically through Grants.gov; no other method or response is accepted. The application forms package for this funding opportunity must be accessed through Grants.gov. Part III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide explains how to access a specific application forms package. Parts II and III of the NIFA Grants Application Guide contain resources to assist grant applicants and detailed information regarding the Grants.gov registration process. Applications must be signed by the Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Contact your AOR prior to starting an application to assess the organization's readiness to submit an electronic application. Within the limit of funds authorized, the NIFA awarding official will make grants to eligible applicants whose applications are judged most meritorious under the procedures set forth in this NOFO. Successful applicants receive two types of notifications in the award phase: informal and formal. After award recommendations are complete, NIFA will provide an informal notification to the potential awardee. This informal notification is not an authorization to begin performance. After the award is finalized, a formal notification in the form of a Notice of Award (NoA), signed by the Authorized Departmental Officer, will be provided to the applicant organization for successful applications. The NoA is the authorizing document and will be sent via email to the recipient's Authorized Representative. The NoA will provide pertinent instructions and information including, at a minimum, the information described in 2 CFR 200.211 (see NIFA's Terms and Conditions.

From 30 to 60 days. Contact the National Program Leader (NPL) - Headquarters Office regarding dates for specific deadlines, start and end dates, and range of approval/disapproval time.

Specific details are provided in the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), which are generally published annually. The most current NOFO is available via: https://nifa.usda.gov/funding-opportunity/higher-education-challenge-hec-grants-program