APR.2007instructions

OMB Approval No: 1840-0640

Expiration Date: 11/30/2010

Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program

Instructions for Completing the Annual Performance Report

For Program Year 2006-2007

1. WHAT IS THIS PACKAGE?

This package contains the forms and instructions needed to prepare the annual

performance report for the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement

(McNair) Program. The Department of Education (Department) uses the

information provided in the performance report to assess a grantee’s progress in

meeting its approved goals and objectives and to determine a grantee’s prior

experience points in accordance with the program regulations (34 CFR 647).

2. WHAT ARE THE LEGISLATIVE AND REGULATORY AUTHORITIES

TO COLLECT THIS INFORMATION?

Title IV, Section 402E, of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (Public

Law 102-325), the program regulations in 34 CFR Part 647; and sections 75.590,

and 75.720 of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations

(EDGAR) permit the collection of this information.

3. WHO MUST FILE THIS REPORT?

All grantees funded under the McNair Program must submit an annual

performance report as a condition of the grant award.

4. WHAT PERIOD OF TIME IS COVERED IN THE REPORT?

The individual participant information provided in the report should cover the 12-

month academic year of the grantee institution that most closely aligns with the

12-month budget year for the grant that is found in Block 6 of the Grant Award

Notification. The 2006-07 academic year is roughly August/September 2006

through August 2007.

5. WHEN SHOULD THE REPORT BE FILED?

The annual report should be submitted within 90 days after the end of each 12-

month grant (budget) period.

.

6. WHAT INFORMATION MUST BE SUBMITTED?

The report consists of three sections. Section I requests project identifying

information; Section II requests an electronic file of individual participant

records; and Section III requests information related to the prior experience

criteria.

7. HOW MAY THE REPORT BE SUBMITTED?

The entire report must be submitted via the World Wide Web. In addition, you

must submit, via fax, a signed copy of Section I of the report form that certifies

that the information submitted electronically is accurate, complete, and readily

verifiable. Only the signed copy of Section I must be faxed to the following fax

number: 540-301-0444.

Because the APR requests personal and confidential information on project

participants, the secured Web site meets the Department of Education’s data

security standards for sensitive data, including improved password and site access

procedures. Further, to ensure that the data is accessible only to authorized

individuals and protected from unauthorized uses, a grantee must submit the

participant level data via the Web application; under no circumstances should a

grantee transmit the data to the Department or the APR Help Desk via e-mail.

The Web application and instructions for submitting the report electronically will

be available on December 3, 2007, at the following web address:

http://www.ed.gov/programs/triomcnair/performance.html

The Web site contains the forms and instructions needed to prepare and submit

on-line the annual performance report for the McNair Program. The Web

application has the following features:

• Instructions for using the Web site, an introduction to the data

collection, and Online Help;

• A Web form for completing Sections I on-line;

• Functionality to upload an electronic file with the individual

participant records (Section II); Grantees may also choose to continue

to use the self-installing Visual Basic software application to collect

the required information and prepare the data file;

• A Web form that permits grantees to enter information directly relative

to the Prior Experience criteria in Section III. .

• A print button to make a hard copy of the information entered;

• A submit button to send the entire report to the Department; and

• An e-mail confirmation that the report has been submitted (if an e-mail

address is provided when completing Section I).

A project will receive confirmation that the report has been successfully

submitted, if the person entering the performance report data provided a valid e-

mail address in Section I. After the report has been submitted, a confirmation will

be automatically sent to the e-mail address provided. If you do not receive an e-

mail confirmation, contact the APR Help Desk.

If for any reason, and prior to the deadline date, you need to revise your

performance report data after it has been submitted, please contact the APR Help

Desk.

8. WHO MAY BE CONTACTED FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

CONCERNING THE SUBMISSION OF THE PERFORMANCE REPORT?

Please contact your program specialist directly if you have questions regarding

the performance report requirements. A state listing of program specialist names,

telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses is available at the Web address provided

above.

Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program

Specific Instructions for Completing the Performance Report

SECTION I: PROJECT IDENTIFICATION, CERTIFICATION, AND WARNING

A. Identification

1. To begin completing this report on-line, from the Department’s Web page click on:

https://trio.ed.gov/mcnair

2. Once at the contractor's Web site (entitled " McNair Online, Program Year 2006-07"),

you will need to register; you may do so well in advance of actual submittal of reports.

To allow time to resolve any problems that might occur with registration, we ask

you to register as early as possible.

To register, after clicking on "First Time User? Register Here," you will enter the project

director's first and last names and e-mail address and the project's PR award number

(found on the Grant Award Notification). If this information matches the data that the

Department currently has on file, a user ID and temporary password will be sent to the e-

mail address on file. If discrepancies exist, you will be directed to a "Registration Failed"

page; if necessary, your program specialist and the Help Desk will be sent an e-mail

message requesting verification of data on the project. Verification will occur within 24

hours if the program specialist can readily confirm a change in project director or e-mail

address; if the program specialist has no prior knowledge of the change, it may take

longer. Once the Help Desk has received verification from the program specialist, you

will be notified to continue with registration.

3. Once you have your user ID and temporary password, you may enter them on the site

in the top box of the left side of the page; click "Log in." You will be guided to select a

new password and then to log in again.

Your new password must be at least eight characters, and include combinations of the

following:

at least one English uppercase character (A-Z)

at least one English lowercase character (a-z)

at least one numeric number (0-9)

at least one non-alphanumeric special character (e.g.: !, @, #, $, &, *, %, /, +, -)

After three failed attempts to access the Web site, you will be locked out and must call

the Help Desk to obtain access. If you forget your password, a "forgot password" link is

available or you may call or e-mail the Help Desk for assistance (see telephone number

and e-mail address for Help Desk below).

4. Follow the instructions for completing and submitting the report via the World Wide

Web.

Many of the data fields in this section are pre-populated. Please review these fields,

including the project director's e-mail address, and revise and update these fields as

needed. Also, please provide information for any fields that are not pre-populated. You

may change the data in all fields except for the project's PR Award Number, the Grantee

Name, and the Report Period.

B. Certification

You must submit via fax, a signed copy of Section I of the report form that certifies that the

information submitted electronically is accurate, complete, and readily verifiable to the best

of your knowledge. Section I must be signed by the project director and the certifying

representative for the grantee institution.

With the exception of Section I of the report, you should not submit or fax a paper

copy of the performance report.

C. Warnings

Any person who knowingly makes a false statement or misrepresentation on this

report is subject to penalties which may include fines, imprisonment, or both, under

the United States Criminal Code and 20 U.S.C.1097.

Further Federal funds or other benefits may be withheld under this program unless this

report is completed and filed as required by existing law (20 U.S.C. 1231a) and

regulations (34 CFR 75.590 and 75.720).

SECTION II: PARTICIPANT LIST

Each grantee is required to submit annually detailed information on each student served

by the project during the academic year being reported as well as provide updated

information on prior year participants still being tracked.

Please note that the data file you submit must conform to the specifications of the

record structure.

• Fields # 1 - 25 and 40 – 44 should be completed or updated as needed for all

current and prior year participants on the data file.

• Fields # 26 - 39 should be completed only for new and continuing project

participants who received these services from the McNair project during the

current (2006-07) reporting period.

General Instructions for the Participant List

(1) Who should be included on the annual data file?

The data file should include one record for each student served by the project during the

academic year being reported and for all prior year participants still being tracked. A

project must track the progress of participants until they (1) obtain the doctoral degree

(Ph.D., Ed.D., etc.) or a first professional degree (JD, MD, DDS, etc.), (2) have not

enrolled in graduate or undergraduate studies for at least one term in the last five years, or

(3) have been out of contact for a period of five or more years.

(2) How should participant’s status (new, continuing, or prior year), current

grade level, and enrollment status be reported?

When preparing the data file, please note the following clarifications regarding how to

report a participant’s status (new, continuing, or prior year), current grade level, and end-

of-the-year enrollment status.

Since the Department of Education needs to be able to track the academic progress of

McNair participants from one academic year to the next, this performance report needs to

follow the 12-month academic year of the grantee institution instead of the 12-month

budget/project year for the grant. For example, the 2006-2007 academic year is roughly

August/September 2006 through August 2007 while the budget/project year for most

McNair grants is October 1, 2006, through September 30, 2007. To ensure consistency

in data reporting, please provide information on a participant’s status (field #16),

college grade level (field #18) and enrollment status (field #19) based on the

“academic year” not the project’s budget/project year.

For this report, the academic year being reported is from the fall 2006 term through the

end of the summer term 2007. For example, a McNair student served for the first time by

the project during the fall 2006 semester should be reported as a “new participant” in

field #16. That same student’s college grade level (field #18) would reflect the student’s

grade level as of the end of the academic year being reported, and the enrollment status

(field #19) would be “enrolled”, since the student was enrolled at least one term during

the academic year.

Instructions for Completing the Date Fields (Fields #8, #14, #15, and #22)

Please follow carefully the instructions provided on the form. Review carefully the Valid

Field Content column to ensure that the data submitted are in the correct format. It is

extremely important that all date fields be 8 bytes and formatted as follows: 2 digits for

month; 2 digits for day; two digits for century; and 2 digits for year. For example, a

participant’s birth date of January 1, 1982 would be formatted as follows: 01011982.

Always use the zero before one-digit months and days. If you are preparing Section II

using Microsoft Excel or Access, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions for

additional guidance on formatting to ensure that your dates will import correctly.

Please make every effort to provide accurate dates. If you find it necessary to estimate a

date, please do not enter “00s.” Rather, use 15 for the day and your best estimate for the

month. If date is unknown, please enter 00000000

SUPPLEMENTAL DEFINITIONS AND INSTRUCTIONS FOR SPECIFIC FIELDS

Field #1—PR Award Number

A grantee should use the PR Award Number applicable to the project (budget) period

covered by this report. This number can be found in Block 5 of the Grant Award

Notification. Be sure that you use the PR Award Number applicable to the reporting year

even if you have been awarded a new grant and PR/Award Number for the next reporting

period.

Please note that the PR Award Number is eleven (11) digits in length. Please be sure you

use “zeros” instead “Os” when entering the PR/Award Number into your database.

Field #2—Batch Year

Use the four-digit year provided on the form. This number will change with each year’s

submission. The Batch Year designates the fiscal year funding for the project period

reported. TRIO grants are forward-funded. Therefore, as an example, fiscal year 2006

funds would be used to support project activities in the 2006-2007 program year. Thus,

the data file for Batch Year 2006 would include information on project participants

served or tracked during academic year 2006-2007.

Field #3—Record Updated

This field assists us in quickly identifying whether or not you have been successful in

tracking the academic progress of prior participants for this reporting period. For new

participant records added to the data file for this reporting period, select “1” for “Yes.”

For prior year participants, select “1” for “Yes” if you have updated and/or verified at

least part of the applicable data fields for this reporting period based on information

received from the student (or the postsecondary institution); select “2” for “No” if you

have not received updated information for the reporting year. If option 2 is used, please

use the code for “unknown/no response” in fields #18, #19, and #20.

Field #4—Social Security Number (SSN)

SSNs are very important as they assist the Department in tracking participant outcomes

over multiple years and facilitate matching of participant records with other databases. If

a project does not know a student’s SSN, please enter 000000000 rather than providing

other forms of identification numbers.

Field #10—Race /Ethnicity

The race/ethnicity categories used in this section are consistent with the Department’s

policy on the collection of racial and ethnic information. These categories are defined as

follows: American Indian or Alaska Native - A person having origins in any of the

original peoples of North America, and who maintains cultural identification through

tribal affiliations or community recognition. Asian - A person having origins in any of

the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and the Indian subcontinent. This

area includes, for example, China, India, Japan, Korea, and the Philippines.

Black or African American - A person having origins in any of the black racial groups

of Africa. Hispanic or Latino - A person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or

South American or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race. White - A person

having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, North Africa, or the Middle East.

Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander – A person having origins in any of the

original peoples of Hawaii or other pacific islands such as Samoa and Guam. For those

participants of a multi-racial background, select option “7 -More than one race

reported.”

Fields #11, 12, and 13—Program Eligibility

The statute and regulations governing the McNair Program require that an eligible project

participant must be a “low-income individual who is a first-generation college student” or

a “member of a group that is underrepresented in graduate education” (definitions are

provided below). At least two-thirds of project participants each year must be both low-

income and first-generation college students; the remaining participants can be members

of groups underrepresented in graduate education.

Three fields allow for the analysis of project participants by all combinations of

eligibility status: low-income and first-generation and underrepresented racial/ethnic

group. If you do not collect income and first-generation data on participants who qualify

for services as members of groups underrepresented in graduate education, please select

option “0 – Unknown/no response” for fields #11 and #12.

Low-income individual means an individual whose family’s taxable income did

not exceed 150 percent of the poverty level amount in the calendar year preceding

the year in which the individual initially participated in the project. The poverty

level amount is determined using criteria of poverty established by the Bureau of

the Census of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

First-generation college student means (1) an individual neither of whose natural

or adoptive parents received a baccalaureate degree; or (2) an individual who,

prior to the age of 18, regularly resided with and received support from only one

parent and whose supporting parent did not receive a baccalaureate degree; or (3)

an individual who, prior to the age of 18, did not regularly reside with or receive

support from a natural or adoptive parent.

Groups underrepresented in graduate education currently include the following

ethnic and racial groups: Black (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, and American

Indian/Alaskan Native. (Note: The Secretary has determined as a policy issue

that Native Hawaiians and other Pacific Islanders may be included in this

definition.)

Field #14—First School Enrollment Date

The “first school enrollment date” is the date the McNair participant first enrolled in a

program of postsecondary education. Provide this information for all students served by

the McNair project even if the student did not begin or is not currently enrolled at your

institution. The purpose of this data field is to determine the length of time from initial

enrollment in postsecondary education through undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral

degree completion.

Field #16—Participant Status

For this field, please use the following definitions:

A new participant is an individual who was served by the McNair project for the first

time during the academic year being reported.

A continuing participant is an individual who was served by the project for the first

time in another academic year and also received project services during the academic

year being reported. Do not count as continuing participants, individuals for whom the

main contact from the project during this academic period was for tracking purposes;

these individuals should be designated as prior year participants.

Note: The sum of the number of new and continuing participants should equal the total

number of participants the projects served during the reporting period.

A prior year participant is one who received project services in a previous academic

year but who did not receive services on a continual basis during the academic year being

reported.

Field #18—College Grade Level (at end or spring/summer term)

Field #18 allows for the classification of the student’s college grade level at the end of the

spring/summer term. For undergraduate students who received project services,

graduated, and enrolled in graduate school during the reporting period (e.g., student was

an undergraduate during the 2006 fall semester, graduated at the end of the fall semester

and enrolled in graduate school for the spring 2007 semester), please select option “7 – 1st

year graduate/professional (received program services as undergraduate during the

reporting period).” Please select option “13 – Other” for students who are working on a

second bachelor’s or second master’s degree. Also select option “13 – Other” for

students who have earned a bachelor’s degree and are doing postbaccalaureate work but

have not yet enrolled in a graduate program. This category also includes those

participants in their fifth/final year of a 5-year combined undergraduate/Master’s degree

program.

Fields #19 and 20—Enrollment Status and Reason Not Enrolled

Field #19 allows projects to report whether or not the participant was enrolled in

postsecondary education for at least one term during the reporting period.

Field #20, “Reason Not Enrolled,” allows projects to document the reason the student

was not enrolled during the academic year being reported (see Field #19 for definition of

“not enrolled”). Use option #12 to report on individuals who consider their education

completed and don’t plan to enroll in a doctoral program. Use option #13 to report on

individuals who were not enrolled in the reporting year because the individual had

attained a doctoral (Ph.D., Ed.D, etc.) or first professional degree (JD, MD, DDS, etc.)

prior to the current reporting year (2006-07), AND the same degree had not been

previously reported

Fields #21, 22, and 23—Highest Degree Earned, Date, and Major Field of Study

Field #21 reflects the degree attainment information of participants. Select the one-digit

degree code that indicates the highest degree the participant has earned as of the end of

the academic year being reported. If no Bachelor’s degree has been earned, use option

“6”, otherwise please report the highest degree each participant has earned. If the

participant earned a degree in the academic year being reported, update this field

appropriately. If the participant has earned more than one degree, report only the highest

degree obtained.

Field #22, Date of Highest Degree, tracks changes in student’s status relative to degree

attainment. Use “99999999–No Bachelor’s degree earned yet” for participants that have

not yet completed a baccalaureate degree. Use “00000000—Unknown/no response” if

you do not know the date of highest degree earned or if the data are not available for prior

year participants.

Field #23, Major/field of graduate study, allows for reporting of the precise major or field

of study the McNair participant undertakes in graduate school (a listing and breakdown

of fields of graduate study are provided below). This field is only for graduate students

who are enrolled. For all other students use option “13 - Not Applicable.”

Physical Sciences include: Astronomy, Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology,

Chemistry, Computer Sciences, Earth Sciences, Environmental Sciences,

Geology, Information Sciences, Marine Sciences (including Oceanography),

Mathematics (including Mathematical Statistics, Operations Research), Physics

Engineering includes: Aerospace, Biomedical, Civil, Chemical, Computer,

Electrical and Electronics, Engineering Technology, Industrial and

Manufacturing, Mechanical, Metallurgical and Material, Mining, Nuclear,

Structural, Systems

Life Sciences include: Agricultural Sciences, Agricultural Management,

Biological Sciences (all fields), Biometrics and Biostatistics, Botany and Other

Plant Sciences, Ecology, Forestry, Genetics, Horticultural Sciences,

Neuroscience, Nutritional Sciences, Parasitology, Pharmacology, Physiology

(Human and Animal), Soil Sciences, Toxicology, Zoology

Health Sciences include: Allied Health Technologies and Services, Health

Sciences, Hospital Administration, Kinesiology, Nursing, Pharmacy, Public

Health, Rehabilitation Services and Counseling, Speech-Language Pathology and

Audiology

Social Sciences include: Anthropology, Area Studies, Communications,

Criminology, Demography/Population Studies, Economics/Econometrics,

Geography, Journalism, International Relations/Affairs, Political Sciences and

Government, Psychology (including Biopsychology), Public Policy, Sociology,

Urban Studies/Planning

Humanities include: American Studies, Afro-American Studies, Art and Art

History, Classics and Letters, Dance, Films and other Visual Arts, English

Literature and Language, Ethnic Studies, Foreign Languages and Literature,

History, Home Economics, Interdisciplinary Studies, Linguistics, Music

(including Performance), Philosophy, Speech and Rhetorical Studies, Theology

and Religious Studies

Education includes: All teaching specialty fields, Education Research, Teacher

Education

Business Administration includes: Accounting, Banking, Business

Administration/Management, Finances, Industrial Organization, Marketing and

Marketing Research, All other Business fields

Medicine, Dentistry, and Other Medical Fields includes: Chiropractic, Dentistry,

Medicine (all specialties), Optometry, Podiatry

Law

Other Professional Fields includes: Architecture, Library Sciences, Parks and

Recreations, Protective Services, Social Work

Fields #24 and 25—Grade Point Average (GPA)

Field #24, GPA Scale, allows for accurate GPA reporting whether on a 4.0 or 5.0 grading

scale. Field #25, Cumulative GPA, collects information on a student’s academic

performance at the time of the attainment of the bachelor’s degree. The data in this field

should reflect the cumulative GPA of the participant upon graduation with a bachelor’s

degree only. Do not provide any other GPA in this field.

Fields #26 – 39—Program Services

Complete these fields only for those project participants who received services from the

McNair project during the academic year being reported. For prior year participants,

select 2 for “No.”

These fields allow for the collection of information on the types of services the McNair

project most commonly provides to active participants while they are in the project. No

one project will choose to offer all of the listed services. A student may or may not

receive each of the activities/services listed during the reporting year and should be coded

accordingly. Be sure to accurately record individual student information regarding the

services received or provided by your project to that individual. Report only on the

services the student received from the project during the academic year being reported.

Research refers to any unpaid research activities participants engaged in or research

activities that were paid from non-McNair sources.

McNair internships refer only to those activities for which the legislated stipend of up to

$2,800 was paid to students who participated in research activities.

Seminars/workshops means group activities that provide participants with the opportunity

to receive information or practice methodology in one or more areas necessary for the

successful navigation of the educational system relative to the attainment/completion of

their doctoral studies.

Tutoring means individual or small group tutoring provided by a graduate student or a

professional staff person.

Academic counseling means assisting students in making educational plans, selecting

appropriate courses, meeting academic requirements, and planning for graduation and

graduate education.

Financial aid assistance means assisting students individually or in small groups in

completing financial aid applications and securing fellowships and other forms of

financial assistance for graduate study.

Admission assistance means assisting students in choosing graduate or professional

programs and applying for admission to those programs.

Mentoring means professionals, other than project staff, working with project students to

expose them to careers that require doctoral degrees.

Exposure to cultural events and academic programs means any project sponsored

activities, such as field trips, special lectures, and symposiums, that have as their purpose

the improvement of the project participants’ academic progress and personal

development.

Conferences means project sponsored trips to professional conferences related to the

various fields of study proposed to be undertaken by project participants at the graduate

level.

Presentations means activities sponsored by the project which give participants an

opportunity to formally present their completed research to groups of interested parties

both peer and professional as well as other interested lay groups.

Graduate school visits/fairs means project sponsored trips to graduate schools or fairs for

the purpose of acquainting students with institutions that the project participants may

wish to attend to further their education.

Test preparation means activities designed to prepare participants for success on the

Graduate Record Exam (GRE) or other test needed for admission to graduate programs.

Teaching related experiences means project sponsored opportunities for participants to

gain personal and practical knowledge of the rigors and rewards of the professorate

through direct participation, observation or “shadowing” experiences.

Field #40—Eligibility (for determining program eligibility)

Field #40 – Eligibility will provide grantees with the means to report the exact eligibility

criterion which was used to select a student for program participation and will also

provide the Department with information to document that the two-thirds low-income,

first generation and one third underrepresented students requirement is being adhered to

by individual grantees.

Field #41—Project Participation

Field #41- Project Participation will provide grantees with the means to report whether

the student was active in the project during the academic year only, the summer

component only or a combination of both. This will allow the Department to determine

the level or degree of student participation during the reporting period and will help

eliminate double reporting of students. This field should be reported for new and

continuing students only—select option “9” for prior year participants.

Field # 42—Funding Source

Field # 42 – Funding Source will provide grantees with the means to report the funding

source(s) used to support the activities afforded to individual students under the McNair

program. It will also clarify why the actual student service number reported for some

projects exceeds the Department’s approved student service number of official record.

Field # 43—Tracking Completed

Field #43, Tracking Completed, provides grantees with the means to report whether the

student has (1) obtained the doctoral degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., etc.) or a first professional

degree (JD, MD, DDS, etc.), (2) has not enrolled in graduate or undergraduate studies for

at least one term in the last five years, or (3) has been out of contact for a period of five or

more years. Once a participant meets one of the above conditions, the grantee is not

required to include the participant record in subsequent performance report submissions.

Field #44—Special Circumstances

Field #44, Special Circumstances (a 254 byte text box), provides grantees an opportunity

to explain any special conditions that may have affected its ability to successfully or

accurately report all or some of the student data requested.

SECTION III: PRIOR EXPERIENCE

This section of the annual performance report is designed to specifically collect

information on the achievement of the core objectives as contained in 34 CFR 647.22.

This section of the annual performance report is your opportunity to indicate how

successfully your project has been in implementing the goals and objectives outlined in

the prior experience criteria. You must provide information in both percentage and

number on the level of accomplishment for your project for each item under the prior

experience criteria.