# 34 CFR § 644.20: How does the Secretary decide which new grants to make?

> Federal · Regulations · In force

URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.20

## Section

- **Citation:** 34 CFR § 644.20
- **Heading:** How does the Secretary decide which new grants to make?
- **Jurisdiction:** Federal
- **Kind:** Regulations
- **Status:** In force
- **Text as of:** September 22, 2026
- **Source:** Publisher's official text
- **Location:** Title 34—Education > Subtitle B—Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education > CHAPTER VI—OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION > PART 644—EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY CENTERS > Subpart C—How Does the Secretary Make a Grant?

## Text

(a) The Secretary evaluates an application for a new grant as follows:
(1)(i) The Secretary evaluates the application on the basis of the selection criteria in § 644.21.
(ii) The maximum score for all the criteria in § 644.21 is 100 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses with the criterion.
(2)(i) For an application for a new grant to continue to serve substantially the same populations and campuses that the applicant is serving under an expiring project, the Secretary evaluates the applicant's prior experience of high quality service delivery under the expiring project on the basis of the outcome criteria in § 644.22.
(ii) The maximum total score for all the criteria in § 644.22 is 15 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses with the criterion.
(iii) The Secretary evaluates the PE of an applicant for each of the three project years that the Secretary designates in the Federal Register notice inviting applications and the other published application materials for the competition.
(iv) An applicant may earn up to 15 PE points for each of the designated project years for which annual performance report data are available.
(v) The final PE score is the average of the scores for the three project years assessed.
(b) The Secretary makes new grants in rank order on the basis of the applications' total scores under paragraph (a) of this section.
(c) If the total scores of two or more applications are the same and there are insufficient funds for these applications after the approval of higher-ranked applications, the Secretary uses the remaining funds to serve geographic areas and eligible populations that have been underserved by the Educational Opportunity Centers program.
(d) The Secretary does not make a new grant to an applicant if the applicant's prior project involved the fraudulent use of program funds.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a-11, 1070a-16, and 1144a(a))
[59 FR 2658, Jan. 18, 1994, as amended at 75 FR 65781, Oct. 26, 2010]

## Nearby sections

- [34 CFR § 644.1 § 644.1 What is the Educational Opportunity Centers program?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.1.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.2 § 644.2 Who is eligible for a grant?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.2.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.3 § 644.3 Who is eligible to participate in a project?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.3.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.4 § 644.4 What services may a project provide?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.4.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.5 § 644.5 How long is a project period?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.5.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.6 § 644.6 What regulations apply?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.6.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.7 § 644.7 What definitions apply?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.7.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.10 § 644.10 How many applications may an eligible applicant submit?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.10.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.11 § 644.11 What assurances must an applicant submit?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.11.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.20 § 644.20 How does the Secretary decide which new grants to make?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.20.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.21 § 644.21 What selection criteria does the Secretary use?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.21.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.22 § 644.22 How does the Secretary evaluate prior experience?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.22.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.23 § 644.23 How does the Secretary set the amount of a grant?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.23.md)
- [34 CFR § 644.24 § 644.24 What is the review process for unsuccessful applicants?](https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.24.md)

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/statutes/ecfr-34-644.20. Check the current official text before relying on it. Not legal advice.