NOTE FROM THE HSI TEAM
Tips for Receiving the Newsletter:
If you, or someone on your team, is still having issues receiving the newsletter, please contact us at HSInewsletter@ed.gov.
Call for Regional Conference Proposals
Dear Colleagues,
For Fiscal Year 2023, the HSI Division is encouraging grantees to hold regional conferences throughout the year. The goals of these regional conferences are to provide:
- Agency and program updates
- Technical assistance regarding grant and project issues
- A forum for learning, including sharing of promising practices
- Opportunities for networking
For each region noted below, the conference will be led and organized by you, our grantees. Grantees that are interested in leading the development of the regional conferences will be responsible for hosting the events, including the meeting logistics; conference content; and identifying presenters. HSI Division staff will support you in these efforts and will take part in the conferences through program updates and technical assistance.
If you are interested in hosting and organizing a regional conference, please contact the appropriate HSI Program Specialist to express your interest. Subsequently, you will receive additional information from your Program Specialist.
Thank you for all that you do.
HSI Division
Group 1
Northern CA, WA, OR
|
Everardo.Gil@ed.gov
Kurrinn.Abrams2@ed.gov
|
Group 2
Southern CA, NV, UT, AZ
|
Everardo.Gil@ed.gov
Njeri.Clark@ed.gov
Richard.Gaona@ed.gov
|
|
Group 3
Western TX, NM, CO, KS
|
Richard.Gaona@ed.gov
Kurrinn.Abrams2@ed.gov
Jymece.Seward@ed.gov
|
|
Group 4
Eastern TX, FL, GA
|
Jymece.Seward@ed.gov
Robin.Dabney@ed.gov
|
|
Group 5
WI, IN, IL, PA, NY,
NJ, CT, MA
|
Robin.Dabney@ed.gov;
Margarita.Melendez@ed.gov;
Jymece.Seward@ed.gov
|
|
Group 6
Puerto Rico
|
Margarita.Melendez@ed.gov
Njeri.Clark@ed.gov
|
Call for Grantee Events
As a service to the HSI Division grantee community, we will begin to publish grantee events through the HSI Division Newsletter on a monthly basis. If you would like to share your project’s events with your fellow grantees, please submit your event’s information as a calendar invite by the third Monday of the prior month to the HSI Division newsletter inbox at HSInewsletter@ed.gov.
HOW TO SUBMIT:
In the calendar invite, please use the title “Grantee Event for [name of IHE and PR number] on [date and time of event]” in the subject line and include a brief description of the event (no more than three sentences), the logistical requirements (virtual link or physical address), and an email address for the event contact.
Please note: Because these events will be shared with the entire HSI division network of grantees, it is recommended that you only submit a calendar invite to your event if you can support the capacity and/or have the technology resources to host a large group of attendees.
We hope this tool is helpful to you, and we thank you for all that you do.
Regulations & Resources Corner
NEW G5 HELP DESK EMAIL ADDRESS
The Department’s G5 Help Desk has a new email address: obssed@servicenowservices.com. The phone number for the Help Desk has not changed (1.888.336.8930).
Regulation Resources for Grantees:
2 CFR 200 Subpart E - Cost Principles
Equipment & Supplies
We have received many inquiries regarding equipment and supplies. Please see below for definitions, disposition instructions, and related matters.
Definitions are in the Uniform Guidance, 2 CFR § 200.1 (Subpart A, Acronyms and Definitions)
Equipment means tangible personal property (including information technology systems) having a useful life of more than one year and a per-unit acquisition cost which equals or exceeds the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-Federal entity for financial statement purposes, or $5,000. See also the definitions of capital assets, computing devices, general purpose equipment, information technology systems, special purpose equipment, and supplies in this section.
Supplies means all tangible personal property other than those described in the definition of equipment in this section. A computing device is a supply if the acquisition cost is less than the lesser of the capitalization level established by the non-Federal entity for financial statement purposes or $5,000, regardless of the length of its useful life. See also the definitions of computing devices and equipment in this section.
Additional definitions are also found in Subparts D and E.
2 CFR 200.453 (Subpart E – General Provisions for Selected Items of Cost) Materials and Supplies
2 CFR 200.313 [ecfr.gov] (Subpart D – Property Standards) – Equipment (anything over $5,000 with a usage life of more than 1-year)
2 CFR 200. 314 (Subpart D – Property Standards) – Supplies (anything less than $5,000)
Information on disposition, inventory, and property records for equipment are noted below.
Disposition of equipment - According to 2 CFR 200.313(e), you do not need to return any item of equipment to us with a value of $5,000 or less or with a value of greater than $5,000 if we do not provide specific instructions within 120 days of the end of the grant. Please be aware that you may need to refund the Department for any remaining value as specified in the formula indicated in
2 CFR 200.313(e )(2). You may also continue to use the equipment for other Federal grant projects.
Inventory and property records of equipment – According to 2 CFR 200.313(d), property records for all equipment must be maintained (to include a serial number or other identification number), and a physical inventory must be taken every two (2) years.
Meals & Refreshments
We have received many inquiries regarding the provision of meals and refreshments for your grant activities. Please see below for guidance on this issue:
You may use grant funds for meals and refreshments during events where the primary purpose is to disseminate technical information. You may pay for meals and refreshments if doing so is necessary to accomplish legitimate meeting business, i.e. an interruption in attendance to secure food or beverages would cause a disruption to the event.
Please note that grant funds may never be used to pay for alcoholic beverages. Also, grant funds may not be used to pay for purely social events or for meals and refreshments that are not reasonably priced. As with all grant costs, the costs must be reasonable, allocable, and allowable, in accordance with the Uniform Guidance (2 CFR § 200.404, 200.405, and 200.403, respectively).
There is additional information on this matter in Enclosure 3 of your GAN, as well as in the Uniform Guidance, Cost Principles, Subpart E §200.432 (https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-2/subtitle-A/chapter-II/part-200/subpart-E). In addition, please keep meticulous records related to these costs, including number of participants in attendance, number of meals/refreshments provided, vendor information, and the purpose of the event.
NOTE: As noted in §200.432, the term “conference” in this context means a meeting, retreat, seminar, symposium, workshop, or similar event where the primary purpose is the dissemination of technical information.
Upcoming & Current Opportunities
Competition for New Awards
Developing Hispanic Serving Institutions (DHSI)
The HSI Division has published the DHSI Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) in the Federal Register. If you are interested in submitting an application for the DHSI competition, please review the Notice Inviting Applications published in the Federal Register on 04/06/2022 and available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/04/06/2022-07212/applications-for-new-awards-developing-hispanic-serving-institutions-program.
Eligible applicants for the DHSI competition are designated HSIs, so please ensure you have a copy of your FY 2021 eligibility designation letter from the Department.
Deadline: June 6, 2022, at 11:59pm ET
Program Contact: Njeri Clark, njeri.clark@ed.gov
Promoting Postbaccalaureate Opportunities for Hispanic Americans (PPOHA)
The HSI Division is currently drafting the Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) for the forthcoming PPOHA competition. We anticipate a spring or summer publication of the PPOHA NIA.
The information regarding the PPOHA NIA and competition is forthcoming. The PPOHA website will be updated accordingly when the NIA is published in the Federal Register.
Eligible applicants for the PPOHA competition are designated HSIs, so please ensure you have a copy of your FY 2021 eligibility designation letter from the Department.
Program Contact: Margarita Melendez, margarita.melendez@ed.gov
Open Textbooks Pilot Program (OTP)
The HSI Division has published the OTP Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) in the Federal Register. If you are interested in submitting an application for the OTP competition, please review the Notice Inviting Applications published in the Federal Register on 05/26/2022 and available at https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/05/26/2022-11343/applications-for-new-awards-fund-for-the-improvement-of-postsecondary-education-open-textbooks-pilot.
Deadline: July 25, 2022, at 11:59pm ET
The dates of the pre-application webinars will be announced on the program webpage at https:www2.ed.gov/programs/idueshsi/index.html. The application deadline is 06/06/2022 at 11:59pm ET.
Program Contact: Kurrinn Abrams, kurrinn.abrams2@ed.gov
Call for Peer Reviewers!
If you or a colleague is interested in serving as a peer reviewer for the DHSI new awards competition, please email your CV or résumé to Njeri Clark at Njeri.Clark@ed.gov.
If you or a colleague is interested in serving as a reviewer for the PPOHA new awards competition, please email your CV or résumé to Margarita L. Meléndez at Margarita.Melendez@ed.gov.
If you or a colleague is interested in serving as a reviewer for the OTP new awards competition, please email your CV or résumé to Kurrinn Abrams at OTP@ed.gov.
In your email, please indicate whether you have reviewed for grant competitions previously either for the Department or other Federal agencies and, if so, for which programs. Also, please ensure you are registered as a Peer Reviewer in the G5 system. For assistance with G5, please call 1.888.336.8930, email obssed@servicenowservices.com, or visit the website at https://g5.gov.
Upcoming & Current Events
Logic Model Webinar Series:
Part 1 - Theory & Fundamentals
Please join the HSI team for Part 1 of our exciting new series on understanding, creating, and using logic models. During Part 1, you will have the opportunity to learn more about the importance of logic models and how to create a logic model in the context of our grant work.
When: July 12, 2022, from 3:00pm-4:00pm ET.
Who should attend: This webinar is open to all who are interested.
More information forthcoming.
HSI Team in the Field
Upcoming Events
May 31st - June 3rd, 2022: Several members of the HSI team will be traveling to South Padre Island, TX to attend the 2022 Texas Hispanic-Serving Institutions Consortium Annual Conference. The theme of this years conference is "Building an Inclusively Excellent Hispanic Serving Institutions Community". During our attendance at this conference we will be presenting a Plenary Session, meeting with grantees, and attending sessions and workshops to learn more about the great work our community is doing to serve our students to the best of our ability.
Past Events
Richard (Rick) Gaona attended St. Mary University's Research Week where he was able to learn more about their DHSI Title V funded programs and the progress they are making. There were 2 additional universities in attendance, University of Incarnate Word and Our Lady of the Lake University. He toured 2 research labs currently undergoing renovations as part of their FY 2021 DHSI grant, as well as an Unmanned Aerial System facility that was built during Year 1 of their FY 2019 DHSI grant. Finally, he joined as a guest speaker at the closing ceremony to discuss the importance of grant funding for faculty and students.
Subscribe or Share Opportunities With Us!
Know someone who would like to receive our quarterly newsletters and updates? Have questions about the newsletter? Want to share exciting external opportunities with your colleagues? Email us at HSINewsletter@ed.gov.
|
