Work-Study Mentorship Program RFA Notice of Intent due August 7, 2015

Work-Study Mentorship RFA

To meet the state's 60x30TX plan goals and targets, the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) is providing an opportunity to Texas institutions of higher education that provide mentoring or tutoring services to high school and college students. The 84th Texas Legislature appropriated $5 million for the biennium to support the Work-Study Student Mentorship Program, first implemented in fall 2007. 

Data tracked by College Readiness and Success staff at the THECB show that providing grants to student mentors and tutors increases the number of students who pursue and persist in higher education. The funds not only increase graduation rates for students being mentored or tutored, but also increase graduation rates for student mentors.

The deadline for submitting the Notice of Intent (NOI) is August 7. The deadline for submitting completed applications is August 21. Applications will not be considered without a NOI.

Visit Request for Applications (RFA) for the Work-Study Mentorship Program in the Research and Project Grants Section of the Coordinating Board's website for more information.

NOTICE OF INTENT DEADLINE: August 7, 2015

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: August 21, 2015

Thanks,

Natalie Coffey

Director of Recruitment and Retention

Division of College Readiness and Success

Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board

1200 East Anderson Lane

Austin, Texas  78752

natalie.coffey@thecb.state.tx.us

(512) 427-6227

National Science Foundation: FastLane updates impacting submissions

	System Update from NSF:     Dear Colleagues:   On July, 24, 2015, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will release updates to FastLane that may impact the way you work.   As part of NSF’s efforts to reduce the workload associated with manually compliance checking proposals, NSF continues to focus on implementing automated proposal compliance checks. The next series of automated proposal compliance checks will be released in FastLane on July 24 to ensure that proposals submitted in response to Program Solicitations comply with requirements outlined in the Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide (PAPPG) (Chapter II.C.2 of the Grant Proposal Guide (GPG)).   The new set of automated compliance checks in FastLane will trigger warning messages if the following proposal sections do not exist for proposals submitted in response to a Program Solicitation for the applicable funding mechanism type (Conference, Equipment, Ideas Lab, Facility/Center, and Fellowship): -          References Cited -          Biographical Sketch(es) -          Budget Justification: Primary Organization -          Budget Justification: Sub recipient Organization -          Current and Pending Support -          Facilities, Equipment and Other Resources   For example, if a Conference proposal submitted in response to a Program Solicitation does not include the Current and Pending Support section (required for certain solicitations), FastLane will trigger a warning message directing the proposer to review the requirements specified in the solicitation.   Warning messages will not prevent a proposal from being submitted.  However, proposals that receive error messages will not be able to be submitted.   Please note that the new set of compliance checks are in addition to the compliance checks that currently exist in FastLane. You can view a complete list of FastLane auto-compliance checks, including the new set, by clicking here. The list specifies which checks are run depending on type of submission (GPG, Program Description, Program Announcement, or Program Solicitation) and funding mechanism (Research, RAPID, EAGER, Ideas Lab, Conference, Equipment, International Travel, Facility/Center, or Fellowship). It also specifies whether the check triggers a “warning” or “error” message for non-compliant proposals.   Additionally, proposers submitting through Grants.gov should be aware that Grants.gov will allow a proposal to be submitted, even if it does not comply with these proposal preparation requirements. Should NSF receive a proposal from Grants.gov that is not compliant, it may be returned without review.   We encourage you to share this information with your colleagues. For system-related questions, contact the FastLane/Research.gov Help Desk at 703-292-HELP (x4357) or ithelpcentral@nsf.gov. Policy-related questions should be directed to policy@nsf.gov.   Thank you,   The FastLane Team at the National Science Foundation

National Science Foundation OIG semiannual report to Congress includes areas of human subject concern

The National Science Foundation, Office of Inspector General, states that allegations of Common Rule violations are on the rise.

Areas of non-compliance regarding human subjects include:

1. Falsification of IRB approval
2. Use of unapproved consent forms
3. Failure to obtain IRB approval for changed or revised protocols
4. Initiation of human subjects research without finalized IRB approval
5. Insufficient management and oversight of the research by the PI

The full report may be accessed here: http://nsf.gov/pubs/2015/oig15002/oig15002.pdf.

If you have a project that includes human subjects, please review SFA's Insitutional Review Board for Protection of Human Subjects in Research http://www.sfasu.edu/acadaffairs/145.asp.