panel, and ad hoc reviewers, as required. Written comments will be solicited from ad hoc reviewers, when required, and individual written comments and in-depth discussions will be provided by peer review group members prior to recommending applications for funding. Applications will be ranked and support levels recommended within the limitation of total available funding for each research program area as announced in the applicable request for proposals.

(c) Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, such recommendations are advisory only and are not binding on program officers or on the awarding official.

§ 3401.17 Review criteria.

(a) Federally funded research supported under these provisions shall be designed to, among other things, accomplish one or more of the following purposes:

(1) Improve management of rangelands as an integrated system and/or watershed;

(2) Remedy unstable or unsatisfactory rangeland conditions;

(3) Increase revegetation and/or rehabilitation of rangelands;

(4) Examine the health of rangelands; and

(5) Define economic parameters associated with rangelands.

(b) In carrying out its review under § 3401.16, the peer review panel will use the following form upon which the evaluation criteria to be used are enumerated, unless, pursuant to §3401.7(a), different evaluation criteria are specified in the annual solicitation of proposals for a particular program:

Peer Panel Scoring Form

Proposal Identification No.

Institution and Project Title

I. Basic Requirement:

Proposal falls within guidelines?

Yes No. If no, explain why proposal does not meet guidelines under comment section of this form.

3402.12 National need narrative.

3402.13 Budget.

3402.14 Faculty vitae.

3402.15 Appendix.

Subpart D-Submission of a Proposal

3402.16 Intent to submit a proposal. 3402.17 Where to submit a proposal. Subpart E-Proposal Review and Evaluation

3402.18 Proposal review.

3402.19 Evaluation criteria.

Subpart F-Supplementary Information

3402.20 Terms and conditions of grant awards.

3402.21 Grant awards.

3402.22 Other Federal statutes and regulations that apply.

3402.23 Confidential aspects of proposals and

awards.

3402.24 Access to peer review information. 3402.25 Documentation of progress on fund

ed projects.

3402.26 Evaluation of program.

AUTHORITY: 7 U.S.C. 3316.

SOURCE: 59 FR 68073, Dec. 30, 1994, unless otherwise noted.

Subpart A-General Introduction

§ 3402.1 Applicability of regulations.

(a) The regulations of this part apply to competitive grants awarded under the provisions of section 1417(b)(6) of the National Agricultural Research, Extension and Teaching Policy Act of 1977, as amended, 7 U.S.C. 3152(b)(6). This statute designates the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) as the lead Federal agency for agricultural research, extension, and teaching in the food and agricultural sciences. It authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture, who has delegated the authority to the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), to make competitive grants to land-grant colleges and universities, colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and to other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, to administer and conduct graduate fellowship

programs to help meet the Nation's needs for development of scientific and professional expertise in the food and agricultural sciences. The fellowships are intended to encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete graduate degrees in the areas of food and agricultural sciences designated by CSREES through the Office of Higher Education Programs (HEP) as national needs.

(b) The regulations of this part do not apply to grants awarded by the Department of Agriculture under any other authority.

§ 3402.2 Definitions.

As used in this part:

Citizen or national of the United States means

(1) A citizen or native resident of a State; or,

(2) A person defined in the Immigration and Nationality Act, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22), who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.

College and university means an educational institution in any State which

(1) Admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate,

(2) Is legally authorized within such State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education,

(3) Provides an educational program for which a bachelor's degree or any other higher degree is awarded,

(4) Is a public or other nonprofit institution, and

(5) Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association.

Food and agricultural sciences means basic, applied, and developmental research, extension, and teaching activities in the food, agricultural, renewable natural resources, forestry, and physical and social sciences in the broadest sense of these terms including but not limited to research, extension and teaching activities concerned with the production, processing, marketing, distribution, conservation, consumption, research, and development of food and agriculturally related products and

services, inclusive of programs in agriculture, natural resources, aquaculture, forestry, veterinary medicine, home economics, rural development, and closely allied fields.

Graduate degree means a Master's or doctoral degree.

State means any one of the fifty States, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the District of Columbia.

Teaching activities means formal classroom instruction, laboratory instruction, and practicum experience specific to the food and agricultural sciences and matters relating thereto conducted by colleges and universities offering baccalaureate or higher degrees.

§ 3402.3 Institutional eligibility.

Proposals may be submitted by landgrant colleges and universities, by colleges and universities having significant minority enrollments and a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences, and by other colleges and universities having a demonstrable capacity to carry out the teaching of food and agricultural sciences. All applicants should be institutions that confer a graduate degree in at least one area of the food and agricultural sciences targeted for national needs fellowships, that have a significant ongoing commitment to the food and agricultural sciences generally, and that have a significant ongoing commitment to the specific subject area for which a grant application is made. It is the objective to award grants to colleges and universities which have notable teaching and research competencies in the food and agricultural sciences. The grants are specifically intended to support fellowship programs that encourage outstanding students to pursue and complete a graduate degree at such institutions in an area of the food and agricultural sciences for which there is a national need for the development of scientific and professional expertise. Therefore, institutions which currently have excellent programs of graduate

study and research in the food and agricultural sciences dealing with targeted national needs are particularly encouraged to apply.

Subpart B-Program Description

§ 3402.4 Food and agricultural sciences areas targeted for national needs graduate fellowship grants support. Areas of the food and agricultural sciences appropriate for fellowship grant applications are those in which developing shortages of expertise have been determined and targeted by HEP for national needs fellowship grant support. When funds are available and HEP determines that a new competition is warranted, the specific areas and funds per area will be identified in a FEDERAL REGISTER notice announcing the program and soliciting program applications.

§ 3402.5 Overview of National Needs Graduate Fellowship Grants Program.

(a) The program will provide funds for a limited number of grants to support fixed graduate student stipends and fixed cost-of-education institutional allowances. These grants will be awarded competitively to eligible institutions. In order to encourage the development of special activities that are expected to contribute to Fellows' advanced degree objectives, the program will also provide competitive, special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances for a limited number of USDA Graduate Fellows.

(b) Based on the amount of funds appropriated in any fiscal year, HEP will determine:

(1) Whether new competitions for graduate fellowships and/or special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances will be held during that fiscal year;

(2) The graduate degree level(s) to be supported-Master's and/or doctoral;

(3) The proportion of appropriations to be targeted for the fellowship stipends for each respective graduate degree level supported;

(4) The proportion of appropriations to be targeted for the cost-of-education

institutional allowances for each respective graduate degree level supported;

(5) The proportion of appropriations to be targeted for the special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowances for each respective graduate degree level supported;

(6) The allowable stipend amount for each respective graduate degree level supported, the cost-of-education institutional allowance for each respective graduate degree level supported, and the maximum funds available for each special international study or thesis/ dissertation research travel allowance for each respective graduate degree level supported; and

(7) The maximum total funds that may be awarded to an institution under the program in a given fiscal year.

(c) HEP will also determine:

(1) The maximum number of national needs areas for which funding may be requested in a single proposal;

(2) The degree levels for which funding may be requested in a single proposal;

(3) The minimum and and maximum number of fellowships for which an institution may apply in a single proposal; and

(4) The limits on the total number of proposals that can be submitted by an institution, college, school, or other administrative unit.

(d) All of these determinations will be published as a part of the program announcement in the FEDERAL REG

ISTER.

(e) For each USDA Graduate Fellow who desires to be considered for a special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance, the project director must apply to HEP for a supplemental grant in accordance with instructions published in the program announcement in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Each application must include an "Application for Funding” (Form CSRS-661) and a "Budget" (Form CSRS-55).

(1) To provide HEP with sufficient information upon which to evaluate the merits of the requests for a special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance, each

application for a supplemental grant must contain a narrative which provides the following:

(1) The specific destination(s) and duration of the travel;

(ii) The specific study or thesis/dissertation research activities in which the Fellow will be engaged;

(iii) How the international experience will contribute to the Fellow's program of study;

(iv) A budget narrative specifying and justifying the dollar amount requested for the travel;

(v) Summary credentials of the faculty or other professionals with whom the. Fellow will be working during the international experience (summary credentials must not exceed three pages per person; "Summary VitaTeaching Proposal" (Form CSRS-708) may be used for this purpose);

(vi) A letter from the dean of the Fellow's college or equivalent administrative unit supporting the Fellow's travel request and certifying that the travel experience will not jeopardize the Fellow's satisfactory programs toward degree completion; and

(vii) A letter from the fellowship grant project director certifying the Fellow's eligibility, the accuracy of the Fellow's travel request, and the relevance of the travel to the Fellow's advanced degree objectives.

(2) The narrative portion of the application must not exceed 10 pages, excluding the summary vita/vitae.

(f) All complete requests will be evaluated by professional staff from USDA or other Federal agencies, as appropriate. Evaluation criteria will be published in the program announcement in the FEDERAL REGISTER. Awards will be made to the extent possible based on availability of funds.

(g) Any current fellow with sufficient time to complete the international experience before the termination date of the grant under which he/she is supported is eligible for a special international study or thesis/dissertation research travel allowance. Before the international study or thesis/dissertation research travel may commence, a Fellow must have completed one academic year of full-time study, as defined by the institution, under the fellowship appointment and arrangements

must have been formalized for the Fellow to study and/or conduct research in the foreign location(s).

$3402.6 Fellowship appointments.

(a)(1) Fellows must be identified and fellowships must be awarded within 15 months of the effective date of a grant. Institutions failing to meet this deadline will be required to refund monies associated with any unawarded fellowship(s). Fellowship appointments may be held only by persons who enroll and pursue full-time study in a graduate degree program in the national need area and at the degree level supported by the grant.

(2) In addition, fellows:

(i) must be newly recruited;

(ii) must not have been enrolled previously in the academic program at the same degree level;

(iii) must be citizens of nationals of the United States as determined in accordance with Federal law; and

(iv) must have strong interest, as judged by the institution, in pursuing a degree in a targeted national need area and in preparing for a career as a food or agricultural scientist or professional.

(3) It will be the responsibility of the grantee institution to award fellowships to students of superior academic ability.

(4) A doctoral Fellow who maintains satisfactory progress in his or her course of study is eligible for support for a maximum of 36 months within a 45-month period. Master's level Fellows, maintaining satisfactory progress, are eligible for support for a maximum of 24 months during a 33month period. However, it is the intent of this program that Fellows pursue full-time uninterrupted study or thesis/ dissertation research, including time spent pursuing USDA-funded special international study or thesis/dissertation research activities. For Fellows requiring additional time to complete a degree, it is expected that the institution will endeavor to continue supporting individuals originally appointed to fellowships through such other institutional means as teaching and assistantships research assistantships. For Fellows who complete the program of study early (less

than 24 hours for Master's degree or 36 months for doctoral degree), the institution must refund any unexpended monies to the granting agency.

(b) Within the framework of the regulations in this part, all decisions with respect to the appointment of Fellows will be made by the institution. However, institutions are urged to take maximum advantage of opportunities for awarding fellowships to members of underrepresented groups at the graduate level in the food and agricultural sciences, particularly minorities and women. Throughout a Fellow's tenure, the institution should satisfy itself that the Fellow is making satisfactory academic progress, and carrying out, or planning to carry out, national needs related research. If an institution finds it necessary to terminate support of a Fellow for insufficient academic progress or by decision on the part of the Fellow, the Fellow becomes ineligible for future assistance under the program. If a Fellow finds it necessary to interrupt his or her program of study because of health, personal reasons, outside employment, or acceptance of an assistantship, the institution must reserve the funds for the purpose of allowing the Fellow to resume funded study any time within a 9month period. However, a Fellow who finds it necessary to interrupt his or her program of study more than one time cannot exceed a total of 9 months' cumulative leave status without forfeiting eligibility. For fellowships terminated because of insufficient academic progress, a decision on the part of the Fellow, or reserved due to an interrupted program of study but not resumed within the required time period, unexpended monies must be refunded. Institutions may not use unexpended monies associated with a terminated fellowship to recruit and support a “replacement" Fellow.

(c) Only Fellows enrolled in Master's programs of study may be supported under a Master's fellowship grant. Only Fellows enrolled in doctoral programs of study may be supported under a doctoral fellowship grant.

§ 3402.7 Fellowship activities.

A Fellow must be enrolled as a fulltime graduate student, as defined by