Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE): Higher Education Program (HEP): Rural Postsecondary and Economic Development RPED) Grant Program, Assistance Listing Number 84.116W

Overview

<p>Purpose of Program: The purpose of the RPED Grant Program is to improve rates of postsecondary enrollment, persistence, and completion among rural students through development of high-quality career pathways aligned to high-skill, high-wage, and in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region.</p> <p>Priorities: This notice contains one absolute priority and two competitive preference priorities.</p> <p>We are establishing these priorities for the FY 2021 grant competition and any subsequent year in which we make awards from the list of unfunded applications from this competition, in accordance with section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1).</p> <p>Absolute Priority: This priority is an absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), we consider only applications that meet this priority. This priority is: Projects that Increase Postsecondary Access, Affordability, Success, and Completion for Rural Students. Projects that will serve rural students by--<br>(a) Increasing the number and proportion of rural students who enroll in and complete postsecondary education programs through activities and strategies related to college preparation, outreach in rural communities, awareness of postsecondary options, recruitment of students from rural communities, support throughout the college application and selection process, and long-term college and career advising relationships with middle and high school students to support them through their transition to postsecondary education; <br>(b) Supporting the development and implementation of comprehensive student success programs that integrate multiple services or initiatives across academic and student affairs, such as academic advising, structured/guided pathways, career services, student financial aid, transfer support from two- to four-year programs, and other wrap around services; <br>(c) Supporting the development and implementation of high-quality and accessible learning opportunities for rural students that cater to their unique needs and geographic distance from postsecondary education institutions, and align with career pathways to high-need occupations, including learning opportunities that are accelerated; hybrid online; work-based; or flexible for working students; <br>(d) Supporting the development or implementation of evidence-based strategies to promote rural students’ development of the knowledge and skills necessary for success in the workforce and in high-need occupations, including career training that leads to good jobs in fields relevant to the regional economy, and to raise awareness of, and access to, paid internship, fellowship, apprenticeship, and job opportunities; and <br>(e) Implementing a sustainability plan to maintain programs and services after completion of the grant.</p> <p>Competitive Preference Priorities: These priorities are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 10 points to an application, depending on how well the application meets these priorities. An applicant may address one or both of the competitive preference priorities. The point value for each priority is in parenthesis.</p> <p>These priorities are: <br> • Competitive Preference Priority 1--Supporting Access to Technology (Up to 5 points). Projects that are designed to promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunity for rural students through student-centered learning models that provide access to technology and leverage technology to address learner variability (e.g., universal design for learning, competency-based education, project-based learning, or hybrid/blended learning) and provide highquality learning content, applications, or tools. <br> • Competitive Preference Priority 2--Strengthening Cross-Agency Coordination and Community Engagement to Advance Systemic Change (Up to 5 points). Projects that are designed to take a systemic approach to improving outcomes for rural students through the development of career pathways aligned to high-skill, highwage or in-demand industry sectors and occupations in the region in partnership with regional economic development entities, workforce agencies, regional employers, or other relevant nonprofit organizations.</p>