Funding Opportunities: Current OPE Grant Competitions and Closing Dates

• National Resource Centers and Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowships Programs - application deadline: March 23, 2010
• Program for North American Mobility in Higher Education - application deadline: March 24, 2010
• U.S.-Brazil Higher Education Consortia Program - application deadline: March 25, 2010
• European Union-United States Atlantis Program - application deadline: April 8, 2010

OPE News

• Negotiated Rulemaking 2009-10: On September 9, 2009, the Department published a notice in the Federal Register announcing its intent to establish two negotiated rulemaking committees to prepare proposed regulations under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.

• Negotiated Rulemaking Spring 2009:

  On October 29, 2009, the Department published in the Federal Register final regulations amending the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program, Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program regulations to implement provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA), and other recently enacted legislation. These regulations are effective July 1, 2010.

  On October 29, 2009, the Department published in the Federal Register final regulations amending the regulations for Institutional Eligibility Under the Higher Education Act of 1965, the Student Assistance General Provisions, the Federal Work-Study (FWS) Programs, the Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program, the Federal Pell Grant Program, and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Program (LEAP) to implement various general and non-loan provisions of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA) and other recently enacted legislation. These regulations are effective July 1, 2010.

  On October 28, 2009, the Department published in the Federal Register, final regulations regarding Institutions and Lender Requirements Relating to Education Loans, to implement requirements relating to education loans that were added to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA) by the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA). The Secretary also amends the regulations for Student Assistance General Provisions, the Federal Perkins Loan (Perkins Loan) Program, the Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Program, and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program to implement certain provisions of the HEA that involve school-based loan issues and that were affected by the statutory changes made to the HEA by the HEOA. These regulations are effective July 1, 2010.

  On October 27, 2009, the Department published in the Federal Register final regulations governing institutional eligibility and the Secretary's recognition of accrediting agencies. The Secretary is amending these regulations to implement changes to the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), resulting from enactment of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (HERA), and the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), and to clarify, improve, and update the current regulations. These regulations are effective July 1, 2010.

  Dear Colleague Letter
  The Department published a Dear Colleague Letter to accrediting agencies in response to the information they provided about how they are coming into compliance with the Secretary’s Criteria for Recognition in light of the new provisions in the HEOA. The letter provides general guidance concerning how the Department interprets each of the new provisions in the HEOA and identifies portions of the regulations reflecting these changes that will be effective on July 1, 2010. The letter enclosured a complete copy of the new regulations.

  • Dear Colleague Letter MS Word (70K) | PDF (60K)
  • 34 CFR Part 602 MS Word (159K) | PDF (173K)

• On August 14, 2008 the Higher Education Opportunity Act was enacted into law. This law reauthorizes and extends the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). The HEA provides the authorizing legislation for most of the programs administered by OPE, as well as for the Federal Student Aid Programs.

• The Secretary's Sixth Annual Report on Teacher Quality: A Highly Qualified Teacher in Every Classroom PDF (2.55 MB)

• Academic Competitiveness Grants (ACG) - Recognized State Rigorous Secondary School Programs of Study:

  • For 2009 Graduates
  • For 2008 Graduates
  • For 2007 Graduates
  • For 2005 and 2006 Graduates
  
  Academic Competitiveness and National SMART Grants: Program Information and Overview

• OPE Congressional Testimony and Announcements

• Postsecondary Educational Institutions and Programs Accredited by Accrediting Agencies and State Approval Agencies Recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education: This database lists approximately 6,900 postsecondary educational institutions and programs, each of which is accredited by an accrediting agency or state approval agency recognized by the U.S. Secretary of Education as a "reliable authority as to the quality of postsecondary education" within the meaning of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA).

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