(7) Provide such other services that have as their purpose the educational preparation of participants for postsecondary admissions, including assisting participants in the preparation of admissions and financial aid forms and where necessary ensuring that participants take national standardized tests required for postsecondary admission.

(c) (1) A recipient need not meet the residential requirement of a summer residential component if:

(i) The recipient provides services and activities equivalent to those services and activities participants would receive from a summer residential component;

(ii) The recipient demonstrates a compelling need for the services under this part in the area to be served; and (iii) Residential facilities are not available to the project in that area.

(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (c)(1) of this section, in the case of not more than 10 percent of the projects funded, as determined by the Commissioner, a recipient need not meet the residential requirement of a summer residential component if it satisfies the conditions of clauses (i) and (ii) but not clause (iii) of that paragraph.

(3) Projects that need not provide a residential component must provide their enrollees with three meals a day.

(d) During the academic year component a project shall:

(1) Provide to participants on a weekly basis individualized guidance, counseling and orientation in career opportunities and requirements for postsecondary education including preparation of admission and financial aid applications and preparation for national standardized tests required for postsecondary admission, and either (i) academic instruction and tutoring within the context of courses being studied by the student at the secondary school or (ii) activities such as field trips to museums, educational institutions, theaters, and movies that have as their purpose the intellectual, social and cultural development of such students.

The Commissioner may waive the requirement for a project serving students who are not accessible to the project location or staff because of distance. In such a case, however, the

project shall provide the services enumerated in this paragraph (d)(1) on a bi-weekly basis;

(2) Provide an on-going evaluation of each participant's progress toward achieving adequate academic skills and motivation necessary for success in postsecondary education, including an assessment of each participant's realistic postsecondary educational opportunities;

(3) Provide such other activities that have as their purpose the educational preparation of participants for postsecondary admissions which have the specific approval of the Commissioner; and

(4) Provide for a staff that is adequate to perform such activities.

(e) Veterans' projects. The Commissioner may fund Upward Bound projects for veterans. Such projects shall:

(1) Provide intensive basic skills development in those academic subjects required for the successful completion of a high school equivalency certification program and for admission to postsecondary institutions or shortterm remedial-refresher courses for those veterans who are high school graduates but who have delayed pursuing postsecondary education;

(2) Provide (i) individualized guidance and counseling, (ii) liaison with personnel of the Veterans Administration and State veterans agencies with regard to educational benefits for participants, and (iii) assistance in gaining admission to postsecondary educational programs and in obtaining financial aid where necessary;

(3) Engage (i) a full-time project director with demonstrated administrative skills and professional qualifications to conduct a special educational program for veterans and (ii) a staff, including tutoring personnel, that has adequate professional qualifications to teach veterans' equivalency programs and to carry out proposed activities and services.

(4) Provide the project director with sufficient latitude to conduct the project effectively and expend project funds as required;

(5) Provide no residential component and shall not pay stipends to participants; and

(6) Secure certification for the payment of veterans educational benefits by appropriate State and Federal agencies prior to the beginning of educational activities.

(20 U.S.C. 1070d-1)

§ 155.6 Eligible applicants.

(a) The Commissioner is authorized to make grants to and contracts with institutions of higher education, combinations of such institutions, public and private agencies and, in exceptional cases, secondary schools and secondary vocational schools.

(b) A combination of institutions receiving a grant or contract under this part shall vest responsibility for the administration of that grant or contract in one of its participating institutions or in a public or private agency established or designated by the combination for that purpose. A combination of institutions or an applicant institution that wishes to designate an agency to carry out the project on its behalf must designate or establish that agency prior to the submission of its application. The combination of institutions must also vest responsibility for administering the project in one of the participating institutions or in the agency prior to such submission.

(c) A secondary school or secondary vocational school may receive funds under this part in the event no other applicant capable of providing such facilities is available in the geographic area to be served by the project and provided that the school has facilities for providing a residential summer component.

(20 U.S.C. 1070d-1)

§ 155.7 Applications.

(a) Applicants for grants or contracts under this part shall file an application with the Commissioner before the closing date for such applications established annually by the Commissioner. Such applications shall contain the following information and such other information as the Commissioner may from time to time prescribe:

(1) Need. (i) A geographic description of the target area; and

(ii) A documented description of the target schools in terms of the number of students enrolled in such schools from low-income families, the number and percentage of those students who subsequently enroll in postsecondary education, their ratio of students to counselors, their dropout rate, and an estimate of the number of enrolled students eligible to participate in an Upward Bound project.

(2) Design. (i) The number of participants and their grade levels to be served by the project;

(ii) A description of the applicant's plan for identifying and selecting eligible participants, assessing participants in terms of their academic potential for postsecondary education and their academic and motivational needs at the time of entry into the project, providing career and academic counseling and guidance, providing academic, cultural, social and recreational services and activities, and evaluating each participant's progress toward achieving the academic skills and motivation needed for success in postsecondary education;

(iii) A description of the summer residential and academic year components which will show how the applicant will generate skills and motivation that will enable the participants to gain admission to postsecondary institutions. For applicants not proposing to include residential facilities in their summer residential component, the reasons for not including residential facilities, the compelling need for the project in the area to be served, and an explanation of how equivalent services will be provided; and

(iv) A description of the applicant's plan for evaluating the effectiveness of the project in terms of increasing participants' performance levels, motivating participants to enroll in postsecondary educational programs, and assisting them to obtain adequate financial aid; and

(3) Resources and organization. (i) A description of the applicant's plan to orient the target schools and postsecondary schools in the geographic area to be served to the goals of the Upward Bound project and utilize community and other resources to supplement authorized activities;

(ii) If the applicant previously carried out an Upward Bound project or a project that was comparable to an Upward Bound project, the applicant shall provide a description of that project, including the number of students served, the method used to select participants, the services offered, the number of such participants attaining a minimum of one year's growth in reading, communication skills, and mathematics, the number of participants who gained admission to postsecondary institutions, and any evaluation reports made on that project; and

(iii) Evidence that an applicant has the resources, organization, and personnel to successfully carry out an Upward Bound project; and

(iv) A description of the project's staffing pattern, the required professional qualifications and experience, duties and salary range for each professional category, and the plan for staff selections and in-service training; and

(4) Budget. A detailed budget.

(b) Where the applicant is a combination of institutions of higher education, the applicant shall describe the role and function that each member of the combination will play in the operation of the project, and shall include written commitments from each institution that it will perform the activities ascribed to it.

(c) Applicants for veterans projects shall, provide a description of the educational services and activities already available for veterans residing in the target area who do not possess a high school equivalency certificate in addition to the requirements set forth in paragraphs (a)(i), (2)(i), (ii), (iv), (3) (ii), (iv), and (4)(i) and paragraph (b), of this section.

(d) Applications for national demonstration projects shall, in addition to the requirements set forth in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, detail the innovative and experimental approaches to be taken in the provision of project services and shall otherwise provide the information needed to determine whether the project satisfies the requirements of § 155.10. (20 U.S.C. 1070d-1)

§ 155.8 Funding criteria.

(a) Continuation awards. Priority will be given to a request for funds for the continuation of a project that (1) was begun in a prior fiscal year and (2) was approved for a multi-year work period that has not expired. (continuation award)

(b) Conditions for approval. Requests for continuation awards will be approved if:

(1) The need continues to exist for the services provided by the project;

(2) Satisfactory progress has been made in implementing the approved work plan and in achieving the project's goals and objectives, as indicated by site visits, progress reports and other relevant data;

(3) The project continues to offer promise of success in enabling youths to enter postsecondary education with an adequate academic background;

(4) All required reports have been received and accepted by the Commissioner; and

(5) Funds are available to continue the project.

(c) New awards. Except as provided in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, the Commissioner will select applicants to be funded for new awards under this part on the basis of the criteria set forth in 45 CFR 100a.26(b), as well as the following additional criteria:

(1) Need. The number of youths who would be eligible to participate under this part who will be enrolled in the target schools or reside in the area to be served during the project period;

(2) Design. (i) The comprehensiveness of the applicant's plan for identifying and selecting eligible participants, assessing and documenting their educational need and potential for postsecondary education through the use of standardized measurement instruments, and such other evaluative methods the applicant may choose to use, providing career and academic guidance and counseling, preparing and motivating project participants for admission to postsecondary institutions, and assisting participants in applying for admission to postsecondary institutions which are appropriate for such participants' abilities and ambitions;

(ii) The extent to which the project will generate academic skills and motivation that will enable the participants to gain admission to postsecondary institutions and assist participants to attain a minimum of one year's growth, as measured by standardized measurement instruments stipulated in the application, in those academic skills such as reading, writing, mathematics and science which are essential for postsecondary education and in which participants are deficient; and

(iii) The quality of the applicant's plan to evaluate project services in terms of increasing participants' performance levels, movivating participants to enroll in postsecondary educational programs and assisting them to obtain adequate financial aid;

(3) Resources and organization. (i) The extent to which the applicant has provided for the orientation of target school and applicant staff to the goals and objectives of the Upward Bound Program and has provided for the utilization of community and other resources to supplement authorized activities;

(ii) The extent to which the applicant has the resources, organization, and personnel to successfully carry out an Upward Bound project; and;

(iii) The quality of the applicant's plan to staff the project with personnel with appropriate qualifications and experiences to carry out proposed activities, and the plan for providing inservice training;

(4) Budget. (i) The reasonableness of the allocation of resources among project activities; and

(ii) The extent to which the proposed budget reflects the activities to be undertaken.

(d) In evaluating an application, the Commissioner will use the following weights:

(1) Need: 35 percent,

(2) Design: 30 percent,

(3) Resources and Organization: 30 percent, and

(4) Budget: 5 percent.

(e) In selecting applications for funding, the Commissioner will consider the need for a project in the area that the applicant proposes to serve as

compared to the need of the total target population to be served.

(f) Except for veteráns projects, preference will be given to those applicants for new awards that proposed to carry out a summer residential component.

(g) Special consideration will be given to those applicants for new awards that propose to serve veterans if the applicant will serve an area in which the needs of eligible veterans for the services provided under this part cannot adequately be met without the project.

(h) National demonstration awards. The Commissioner will select a limited number of applications to be funded as Upward Bound national demonstration projects on the basis of the criteria set forth in paragraph (c) and the following additional criteria:

(1) Whether the proposed project is national or inter-regional in scope, or presents a clearly new or experimental technique or design for the provision of Upward Bound services to eligible participants;

(2) Whether the proposed project duplicates or competes with existing regional or national programs, or consolidates existing regional or interregional educational activities under the aegis of a single agency or institution;

(3) Whether, with regard to proposed projects presenting a new or experimental technique or design, the proposed activities and results can be readily replicated and utilized by other educational programs concerned with the provision of services for similar youths;

(4) Whether the proposed project will provide services not readily available on a local or regional basis for such youths; and

(5) Whether the proposed project will provide disadvantaged students a variety of educational opportunities and options for postsecondary education.

(20 U.S.C. 1070d-1)

§ 155.9 Program requirements.

(a) Each project funded under this part shall be designed to assist in enabling youths with academic potential from low-income families with inadequate secondary school preparation,

or who may be physically handicapped, or who may be disadvantaged because of severe rural isolation to complete secondary education and be prepared to successfully pursue postsecondary education; and shall:

(1) Develop and utilize objective procedures to identify participants from a variety of sources and select eligible participants on the basis of a comprehensive needs assessment. A comprehensive needs assessment shall include standardized and other instruments which will diagnose specific areas of academic strengths and weaknesses;

(2) Set specific objectives, stated in measurable terms, that each participant needs to attain in order to secure admission as a regular student at an institution appropriate to the individual's abilities and career ambitions;

(3) Engage a project director with demonstrated professional qualifications, administrative skills and a clear commitment to the goals of the program to serve in a full-time capacity. This full-time requirement may be waived: (i) if the individual chosen is selected to coordinate two or more programs as required under 155.15(a), or (ii) if the individual must teach a minimum number of hours at the host institution to retain faculty status;

(4) provide the project director with sufficient authority to conduct the project effectively and expend project funds as required;

(5) design and implement an evaluation mechanism to test the effectiveness of (i) the project's progress in meeting approved goals and objectives, (ii) the project's efforts in remedying academic deficiencies diagnosed when students initially entered the project, and (iii) the project's activities which are designed to effect other changes in the academic and personal skills of project participants which are necessary for success in postsecondary education;

(6) assure that all the facilities of the host institution, both academic and nonacademic, will be made available to all project participants;

(7) utilize institutional and community resources to provide diagnostic health services to identify physical impediments to learning and to remedy those impediments;

(8) implement a plan for following participants through their postsecondary educational program;

(9) Coordinate the project with other Talent Search, Upward Bound, Special Services and Educational Opportunity Centers projects operating in close geographic proximity, including, where feasible, the sharing of facilities, staff, services and activities;

(20 U.S.C. 1232c(b)(i))

(10) make every effort with regard to successful graduates from the project, to secure admissions, with adequate financial aid, to an institution of postsecondary education which is appropriate to such students' abilities and ambitions, if such graduates are unable to secure regular admissions at postsecondary institutions and if the project is administered by an institution of higher education, the project shall make every effort to secure special review from the admissions and financial aid personnel of the host institution for the purpose of reconsidering the students' admission at that institution; and

(11) make every effort to provide that the ethnic/racial composition of the students served will reflect within a maximum ten percent variance the ethnic/racial composition of students eligible to be served by an Upward Bound project who are enrolled in target schools.

(20 U.S.C. 1070d-1)

§ 155.10 National demonstration projects.

(a) The Commissioner may reserve funds to conduct innovative and experimental Upward Bound projects.

(b) National demonstration projects shall:

(1) Be national or inter-regional in scope, or present a clearly new, or experimental technique or design for the provision of Upward Bound services to eligible participants;

(2) Neither duplicate nor compete with existing regional or national programs, nor consolidate existing regional or inter-regional educational activities under the aegis of a single agency or institution;

(3) Be readily replicated and utilized by other educational programs con