(a) The Secretary evaluates an institutional application for an allocation of fellowships on the basis of the quality of the applicant's Center or program in modern foreign language and area studies training. The applicant's Center or program is evaluated and approved under the criteria in § 657.21.

(b) The Secretary informs applicants of the maximum possible score for each criterion in the application package or in a notice published in the Federal Register.

(c) The Secretary makes grant awards using a peer review process. Applications that share the same or similar area of focus, as declared by each applicant under § 657.3(a), are grouped together for purposes of review. Each application is reviewed for excellence based on the applicable criteria referenced in paragraph (a) of this section. Applications are then ranked within each group that shares the same or similar area of focus.

(d) The Secretary may determine a minimum total score required to demonstrate a sufficient degree of excellence to qualify for a grant under this part.

(e) If insufficient money is available to fund all applications demonstrating a sufficient degree of excellence as determined under paragraphs (a), (c), and (d) of this section, the Secretary considers the degree to which priorities derived from the consultation on areas of national need or established under the provisions of § 657.22 and relating to specific countries, world areas, or languages are served when selecting applications for funding and determining the amount of a grant.

The Secretary evaluates an institutional application for an allocation of fellowships on the basis of the criteria in this section.

(a) Scope, personnel, and operations. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:

(1) The extent to which the proposed allocation of fellowships meets the requirements in § 657.3(a).

(2) The extent to which the project director and other staff are qualified to administer the proposed allocation of fellowships, including the degree to which they engage in ongoing professional development activities relevant to their roles.

(3) The adequacy of governance and oversight arrangements for the proposed allocation of fellowships, and, for a consortium, the extent to which the consortium agreement demonstrates commitment to a common objective.

(4) The extent to which the institution provides or will provide financial, administrative, and other support for the administration of the proposed allocation of fellowships.

(b) Quality of curriculum and instruction. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:

(1) The extent to which the applicant's curriculum provides training options for students from a variety of disciplines and professional fields, and the extent to which the curriculum and associated requirements (including language requirements) are appropriate for the applicant's area of focus and result in educational programs of high quality for students who will be served by the proposed allocation of fellowships.

(2) The extent to which the levels of instruction offered for the modern foreign languages relevant to the proposed allocation of fellowships, including intensive language instruction, and the frequency with which the courses are offered, is appropriate for advanced training in those languages.

(3) The extent to which the institution's instruction in modern foreign languages relevant to the proposed allocation of fellowships is using or developing stated performance goals for functional foreign language use, as well as the degree to which stated performance goals are met or are likely to be met by students.

(4) The extent to which instruction in modern foreign languages is integrated with area studies courses, for example, area studies courses taught in modern foreign languages.

(c) Quality of faculty and academic resources. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:

(1) The extent to which the institution employs faculty with strong language, area, and international studies credentials related to the proposed allocation of fellowships, including enough qualified tenured and tenure-track faculty with teaching and advising responsibilities to enable the applicant to carry out the instructional and training programs in the applicant's area of focus.

(2) The extent to which the applicant provides or will provide students who will be served by the proposed allocation of fellowships with substantive academic and other relevant advising services that address compliance with fellowship requirements, the potential uses of their foreign language and area studies knowledge and training, and, as appropriate, safety while studying outside the United States.

(3) The extent to which the institution's library holdings (print and non-print, physical and digital, English and foreign language), other research collections, and relevant staff support students who will be served by the proposed allocation of fellowships.

(4) The extent to which the applicant has established formal arrangements for students to conduct research or study abroad relevant to the proposed allocation of fellowships and the extent to which these arrangements are used.

(d) Project design and rationale. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:

(1) The extent to which the proposed allocation of fellowships aligns with the applicant's educational programs, instructional resources, and language and area studies course offerings; and the ease of access to relevant instruction and training opportunities, including training from external providers.

(2) The applicant's record of placing students into post-graduate employment, education, or training in areas of national need and the applicant's efforts to increase the number of such students that go into such placement.

(3) The extent to which the allocation of fellowships will contribute to meeting national needs related to language and area studies expertise and support the generation of information for and dissemination of information to the public.

(4) The extent to which the proposed project will reflect diverse perspectives, as defined in part 655, and a wide range of views and generate debate on world regions and international affairs.

(e) Project planning and budget. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:

(1) The extent to which the process for selecting fellows is thoroughly described and of high quality, including the institution-wide fellowship recruitment and advertisement process, the student application process, the FLAS Fellowships Program selection criteria and priorities, any supplemental institutional requirements consistent with the FLAS Fellowships Program requirements, the composition of the institution's selection committee, and the timeline for selecting and notifying students.

(2) The extent to which the institution requesting an allocation of fellowships identifies barriers, if any, to equitable access to and participation in the FLAS Fellowships Program and how the institution proposes to address these barriers.

(3) The extent to which the requested amount and proposed distribution of the allocation of fellowships is reasonable relative to the potential pool of eligible students with a demonstrated interest in relevant modern foreign language and area studies training and instruction.

(f) Quality of project evaluation. The Secretary reviews each application to determine one or more of the following:

(1) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough, feasible, and appropriate to the proposed project.

(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward achieving the proposed project's intended outcomes.

(3) The qualifications, including relevant training, experience, and independence, of the evaluator(s).

(a) The Secretary may establish one or more of the following priorities for the allocation of fellowships:

(1) Instruction, training, or research in specific languages or all languages related to specific world areas.

(2) Programs of language instruction with stated performance goals for functional foreign language use or that are developing such performance goals.

(3) Instruction, training, or research related to specific world areas.

(4) Academic terms, such as academic year or summer.

(5) Levels of language offerings.

(6) Academic disciplines, such as linguistics or sociology.

(7) Professional studies, such as business, law, or education.

(8) Instruction, training, or research in particular subjects, such as population growth and planning or international trade and business.

(9) Specific areas of national need for expertise in foreign languages and world areas derived from the consultation with Federal agencies on areas of national need.

(10) A combination of any of these categories.

(b) The Secretary announces any priorities in the application notice published in the Federal Register.