§ 647.21 What selection criteria does the Secretary use?

The Secretary uses the following criteria to evaluate an application for a new grant:

(a) Need (16 Points). The Secretary reviews each application to determine the extent to which the applicant can clearly and definitively demonstrate the need for a McNair project to serve the target population. In particular, the Secretary looks for information that clearly defines the target population; describes the academic, financial and other problems that prevent potentially eligible project participants in the target population from completing baccalaureate programs and continuing to postbaccalaureate programs; and demonstrates that the project's target population is underrepresented in graduate education, doctorate degrees conferred and careers where a doctorate is a prerequisite.

(b) Objectives (9 points). The Secretary evaluates the quality of the applicant's objectives and proposed targets (percentages) in the following areas on the basis of the extent to which they are both ambitious, as related to the need data provided under paragraph (a) of this section, and attainable, given the project's plan of operation, budget, and other resources:

(1) (2 points) Research or scholarly activity.

(2) (3 points) Enrollment in a graduate program.

(3) (2 points) Continued enrollment in graduate study.

(4) (2 points) Doctoral degree attainment.

(c) Plan of Operation (44 points). The Secretary reviews each application to determine the quality of the applicant's plans of operation, including—

(1) (4 points) The plan for identifying, recruiting and selecting participants to be served by the project, including students enrolled in the Student Support Services program;

(2) (4 points) The plan for assessing individual participant needs and for monitoring the academic growth of participants during the period in which the student is a McNair participant;

(3) (5 points) The plan for providing high quality research and scholarly activities in which participants will be involved;

(4) (5 points) The plan for involving faculty members in the design of research activities in which students will be involved;

(5) (5 points) The plan for providing internships, seminars, and other educational activities designed to prepare undergraduate students for doctoral study;

(6) (5 points) The plan for providing individual or group services designed to enhance a student's successful entry into postbaccalaureate education;

(7) (3 points) The plan to inform the institutional community of the goals and objectives of the project;

(8) (8 points) The plan to ensure proper and efficient administration of the project, including, but not limited to matters such as financial management, student records management, personnel management, the organizational structure, and the plan for coordinating the McNair project with other programs for disadvantaged students; and

(9) (5 points) The follow-up plan that will be used to track the academic and career accomplishments of participants after they are no longer participating in the McNair project.

(d) Quality of key personnel (9 points). The Secretary evaluates the quality of key personnel the applicant plans to use on the project on the basis of the following:

(1)

(i) The job qualifications of the project director.

(ii) The job qualifications of each of the project's other key personnel.

(iii) The quality of the project's plan for employing highly qualified persons, including the procedures to be used to employ members of groups underrepresented in higher education, including Blacks, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (including Native Hawaiians).

(2) In evaluating the qualifications of a person, the Secretary considers his or her experience and training in fields related to the objectives of the project.

(e) Adequacy of the resources and budget (15 points). The Secretary evaluates the extent to which—

(1) The applicant's proposed allocation of resources in the budget is clearly related to the objectives of the project;

(2) Project costs and resources, including facilities, equipment, and supplies, are reasonable in relation to the objectives and scope of the project; and

(3) The applicant's proposed commitment of institutional resources to the McNair participants, as for example, the commitment of time from institutional research faculty and the waiver of tuition and fees for McNair participants engaged in summer research projects.

(f) Evaluation plan (7 points). The Secretary evaluates the quality of the evaluation plan for the project on the basis of the extent to which the applicant's methods of evaluation—

(1) Are appropriate to the project's objectives;

(2) Provide for the applicant to determine, in specific and measurable ways, the success of the project in—

(i) Making progress toward achieving its objectives (a formative evaluation); and

(ii) Achieving its objectives at the end of the project period (a summative evaluation); and

(3) Provide for a description of other project outcomes, including the use of quantifiable measures, if appropriate.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 1840–NEW6)

[59 FR 43989, Aug. 25, 1994, as amended at 75 FR 65795, Oct. 26, 2010]