The Distance Education Grants Program is designed to strengthen the capacity of Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas to carry out resident instruction, curriculum, and teaching programs in the food and agricultural sciences through distance education technology.
Donor Name: National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)
State: All States
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/20/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 4 Years
Details:
The Distance Education Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (DEG) is a NIFA-administered competitive grants program focused on improving formal, postsecondary agricultural sciences education.
NIFA is soliciting applications for the DEG program that support:
- Acquisition of equipment, instrumentation, networking capability, hardware and software, digital network technology, and infrastructure necessary to teach students and teachers about technology to support distance education.
- Development and enhancement of educational services (including faculty development) to prepare students or faculty seeking a degree or certificate that is approved by the state or a regional accrediting body recognized by the Secretary of Education.
- Provide teacher education, library and media specialist training, and preschool and teacher aid certification to individuals who seek to acquire or enhance technology skills in order to use technology in the classroom or instructional process.
- Implementation of a joint project to provide education regarding technology in the classroom with a local educational agency, community-based organization, national nonprofit organization, or business; or provide leadership development to administrators, board members, and faculty of eligible institutions with institutional responsibility for technology education.
Funding Information
- Estimated Total Program Funding: $800,000
- Award Ceiling: $200,000
- Award Floor: $10,000.
Grant Period
The project period may range from 36 to 48 months.
Eligibility Criteria
- Applicants for the Distance Education Grants Program for Institutions of Higher Education in Insular Areas (DEG) must meet all the requirements discussed in this RFA. Failure to meet the eligibility criteria by the application deadline may result in exclusion from consideration or, preclude NIFA from making an award. For those new to Federal financial assistance, NIFA’s Grants Overview provides highly recommended information about grants and other resources to help understand the Federal awards process.
- Eligible Institutions:
- For the purposes of the DEG grant program, an eligible institution is an institution of higher education, as defined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1995 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), that is located in an insular area and that has a demonstrable capacity to carry out teaching and extension programs in the food, agriculture, natural resources, and human sciences. All public or non-profit 2-year and 4-year accredited institutions of higher education that offer certificate/degree programs in food and agricultural sciences are eligible. Individual land-grant colleges and universities, and other institutions that have secured land-grant status through Federal legislation, and which are located in insular areas are automatically eligible for awards under the DEG grant program as direct individual applicants.
- The eight insular areas are as follows:
- American Samoa
- The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
- The Commonwealth of Puerto Rico
- The Federated States of Micronesia
- Guam
- The Republic of the Marshall Islands
- The Republic of Palau
- The United States Virgin Islands.
For more information, visit Grants.gov.
