Higher Education Programs (HEP): Fund for The Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE): Postsecondary Student Success Grant Program (PSSG)

Overview

Purpose of Program:

The purpose of this program is to equitably improve postsecondary student outcomes, including retention, transfer (including successful transfer of completed credits), credit accumulation, and completion, by leveraging data and implementing, scaling, and rigorously evaluating evidence-based activities to support data-driven decisions and actions by institutional leaders committed to inclusive student success.

Early-Phase:

Early-phase grants provide funding to IHEs to develop, implement, and test the feasibility of a program that prior research suggests is likely to improve relevant outcomes, for the purpose of determining whether an initiative improves student retention and completion of postsecondary students.

Early-phase grants must ‘‘demonstrate a rationale’’ and include a logic model, theory of action, or another conceptual framework that includes the goals, objectives, outcomes, and key project components of the project, and that demonstrates the relationship between such proposed activities and the relevant outcomes the project is designed to achieve. The evaluation design will be assessed on the extent to which it would meet What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Evidence Standards with or without reservations. The evaluation of an Early-phase project should be an experimental or quasi-experimental design study (both as defined in this notice) that can determine whether the program can successfully improve postsecondary student success outcomes for underserved students.

Mid-Phase/Expansion:

Mid-phase/Expansion grants are supported by moderate evidence (as defined in this notice) or strong evidence (as defined in this notice), respectively. These grants provide funding to IHEs to improve and/or expand initiatives and practices that have been proven to be effective in increasing postsecondary student retention and completion. Mid-phase/ Expansion projects should provide vital insight about an intervention’s effectiveness, such as for whom and in which contexts a practice/intervention is most effective. Mid-phase grantees should also measure the cost effectiveness of their practices using administrative or other readily available data. 

Mid-phase/Expansion grant projects are distinctly situated to provide insight on scaling an initiative to a larger population of students or across multiple campuses. These grants must be implemented at a multi-site sample (as defined in this notice) with more than one campus or in one campus that includes at least 2,000 students. Project evaluations must evaluate the effectiveness of the project at each site. 

Mid-phase/Expansion grants must meet the ‘‘moderate evidence’’ threshold or ‘‘strong evidence’’ standard and include a logic model that demonstrates the relationship between the key project components and the relevant outcomes the project is designed to achieve. Midphase/Expansion grants are also required to submit an evaluation design that will be assessed on the extent to which it would meet WWC Evidence Standards without reservations. 

This notice contains two absolute priorities and one competitive preference priority.
 

Absolute Priority 1 (AP1)— Applications that Demonstrate a Rationale. ‘‘Early-phase’’.
Under this priority, an applicant proposes a project that demonstrates a rationale to improve postsecondary success for underserved students, including retention and completion. 

Absolute Priority 2 (AP2)—Applicants that Demonstrate Moderate Evidence, ‘‘Mid-phase’’ or Strong Evidence, ‘‘Expansion’’. Under this priority, an applicant proposes a project supported by evidence that meets the conditions in the definition of ‘‘Moderate Evidence’’ or ‘‘Strong Evidence,’’ to improve postsecondary success for underserved students, including retention and completion. Projects under this priority must be implemented at a multi-site sample or include at least 2,000 students.

Competitive Preference Priority: Applicants that have made progress towards or can demonstrate they have a plan to improve student outcomes for underserved students by using data to continually assess and improve the effectiveness of funded activities and sustain data-driven continuous improvement processes at the institution after the grant period (up to 6 points).

Applicants may only apply to one absolute priority ‘‘tier’’. One application per applicant.  The internal application is available on InfoReady.

Cost Sharing or Matching: Each grant recipient must provide, from Federal, State, local, or private sources, an amount equal to or exceeding 10 percent of funds requested under the grant, which may be provided in cash or through in-kind contributions, to carry out activities supported by the grant. Applicants must include a budget showing their matching contributions to the budget amount requested of PSSG funds.

Indirect Cost Rate Information: This program limits a grantee’s indirect cost reimbursement to eight percent of a modified total direct cost base.

Estimated Range of Awards: 
Early-phase (AP1)—$2,000,000– $4,000,000 for 48 months. 
Mid-phase/Expansion (AP2)— $6,000,000–$8,000,000 for 48 months. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 
Early-phase (AP1)—$3,000,000 for 48 months. 
Mid-phase/Expansion (AP2)— $7,000,000 for 48 months.

Estimated Number of Awards: 
Early-phase (AP1)—5–8. 
Mid-phase/Expansion (AP2)—3–4.