RFAs: Distance Education Grant Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (US)

Goal

• Expand Opportunities for Economic Development and Improve Quality of Life in Rural and Tribal Communities.

Objectives

• NIFA is soliciting applications for the DEG program that support:
  • Acquisition of equipment, instrumentation, networking capability, hardware and software, digital network technology, and infrastructure necessary to teach students and teachers about technology to support distance education.
  • Development and enhancement of educational services (including faculty development) to prepare students or faculty seeking a degree or certificate that is approved by the state or a regional accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of Education.
  • Provide teacher education, library and media specialist training, and preschool and teacher aid certification to individuals who seek to acquire or enhance technology skills in order to use technology in the classroom or instructional process.
  • Implementation of a joint project to provide education regarding technology in the classroom with a local educational agency, community-based organization, national nonprofit organization, or business; or provide leadership development to administrators, board members, and faculty of eligible institutions with institutional responsibility for technology education.
  • Traditional ecological knowledge is regarded as a suitable educational program topic for a DEG funded project, provided it fits to the program’s priorities and goals.

Focus Areas

• Curricula Design, Materials Development, and Library Resources: To promote the development of distance education courses of study and degree programs, new and improved curricula, and instructional materials and technology.
• Faculty Preparation and Enhancement for Teaching: To advance faculty development in the areas of teaching competency and leadership, subject matter expertise, or student recruitment and advising skills.
• Instruction Delivery Systems: The purpose of this initiative is to encourage the use of alternative methods of delivering instruction to enhance the quality, effectiveness, and cost efficiency of teaching programs.
• Student Experiential Learning: To develop scientific and professional competencies that provide students with opportunities to solve complex problems in the context of real-world situations using distance education.
• Student Recruitment, Retention, and Educational Equity: To enhance educational equity for under-represented students and strengthen student recruitment and retention programs in the food and agricultural sciences in programs utilizing distance education.

Priorities

• Projects funded by the DEG program support the creation, adaptation, and adoption of learning materials and teaching strategies to operationalize best practices for student learning. DEG-funded projects must also focus on imparting both technical knowledge as well employability skills such as communication, teamwork, and problem solving:
  • Accelerating Innovative Technologies and Practices
  • Driving Climate-Smart Solutions
  • Bolstering Nutrition Security and Health
  • Cultivating Resilient Ecosystems
  • Translating Research into Action

Categories

• Standard Grant: This is an award instrument by which NIFA agrees to support a specified level of effort for a predetermined project period without the announced intention of providing additional support at a future date.
• Planning Activity Grant: Planning Activity Grants support scientific meetings that bring together educators to identify education/teaching needs, update information, or advance an area of education/teaching.

Funding Information

• Anticipated Program Funding: $800,000
• Standard Grant:
  • Minimum Award Amount: $50,000
  • Maximum Award Amount: $200,000
  • Number of Applications Per Lead Institution: 3
  • Maximum Number of Awards Per Institution: 3
  • Standard Grant Duration: 36-48 Months
• Planning Activity Grant:
  • Minimum Award Amount: $10,000
  • Maximum Award Amount: $30,000
  • Number of Applications Per Lead Institution: 2
  • Maximum Number of Awards Per Institution: 1
  • Planning Activity Duration: up to 24 Months

Geographical Focus

• The eight insular areas are as follows:
  • American Samoa
  • The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
  • The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
  • The Federated States of Micronesia
  • Guam
  • The Republic of the Marshall Islands
  • The Republic of Palau
  • The United States Virgin Islands

Eligibility Criteria

• For the purposes of the DEG grant program, an eligible institution is an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1995 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that is located in an insular area and that has a demonstrable capacity to carry out teaching and extension programs in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. All public or non-profit 2-year and 4-year accredited institutions of higher education that offer certificate/degree programs in food and agricultural sciences are eligible. Individual land-grant colleges and universities, and other institutions that have secured land-grant status through Federal legislation, and which are located in insular areas are automatically eligible for awards under the DEG grant program as direct individual applicants.

For more information, visit Grants.gov.