§ 1068 — Applications For Assistance

(1) Any institution which is eligible for assistance under this subchapter shall submit to the Secretary an application for assistance at such time, in such form, and containing such information, as may be necessary to enable the Secretary to evaluate the institution’s need for the assistance. Subject to the availability of appropriations to carry out this subchapter, the Secretary may approve an application for assistance under this subchapter only if the Secretary determines that— (A) the application meets the requirements of subsection (b); (B) the applicant is eligible for assistance in accordance with the part of this subchapter under which the assistance is sought; and (C) the applicant’s performance goals are sufficiently rigorous as to meet the purposes of this subchapter and the performance objectives and indicators for this subchapter established by the Secretary pursuant to the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 and the amendments made by such Act. (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may develop a preliminary application for use by eligible institutions applying under part A prior to the submission of the principal application. (b) An institution, in its application for a grant, shall— (1) set forth, or describe how the institution (other than an institution applying under part C, D or E) will develop, a comprehensive development plan to strengthen the institution’s academic quality and institutional management, and otherwise provide for institutional self-sufficiency and growth (including measurable objectives for the institution and the Secretary to use in monitoring the effectiveness of activities under this subchapter); (2) set forth policies and procedures to ensure that Federal funds made available under this subchapter for any fiscal year will be used to supplement and, to the extent practical, increase the funds that would otherwise be made available for the purposes of section 1057(b) or 1062 of this title, and in no case supplant those funds; (3) set forth policies and procedures for evaluating the effectiveness in accomplishing the purpose of the activities for which a grant is sought under this subchapter; (4) provide for such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as may be necessary to ensure proper disbursement of and accounting for funds made available to the applicant under this subchapter; (5) provide (A) for making such reports, in such form and containing such information, as the Secretary may require to carry out the functions under this subchapter, including not less than one report annually setting forth the institution’s progress toward achieving the objectives for which the funds were awarded, and (B) for keeping such records and affording such access thereto, as the Secretary may find necessary to assure the correctness and verification of such reports; (6) provide that the institution will comply with the limitations set forth in section 1068e of this title, except that for purposes of section 1059c of this title, paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1068e of this title shall not apply; (7) describe in a comprehensive manner any proposed project for which funds are sought under the application and include— (A) a description of the various components of the proposed project, including the estimated time required to complete each such component; (B) in the case of any development project which consists of several components (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A)), a statement identifying those components which, if separately funded, would be sound investments of Federal funds and those components which would be sound investments of Federal funds only if funded under this subchapter in conjunction with other parts of the development project (as specified by the applicant); (C) an evaluation by the applicant of the priority given any proposed project for which funds are sought in relation to any other projects for which funds are sought by the applicant under this subchapter, and a similar evaluation regarding priorities among the components of any single proposed project (as described by the applicant pursuant to subparagraph (A)); (D) a detailed budget showing the manner in which funds for any proposed project would be spent by the applicant; and (E) a detailed description of any activity which involves the expenditure of more than $25,000, as identified in the budget referred to in subparagraph (D); and (8) include such other information as the Secretary may prescribe. (c) The Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register, pursuant to chapter 5 of title 5, all policies and procedures required to exercise the authority set forth in subsection (a). No other criteria, policies, or procedures shall apply. (d) The Secretary shall use the most recent and relevant data concerning the number and percentage of students receiving need-based assistance under subchapter IV of this chapter in making eligibility determinations under section 1058 of this title and shall advance the base-year forward following each annual grant cycle. (e) The Secretary, directly or by grant or contract, may provide technical assistance to eligible institutions to prepare the institutions to qualify, apply for, and maintain a grant, under this subchapter.