Q&A Posted February 17, 2011
Adult Education and Career Pathways
Adult Education and Family Literacy
Question 1: Can money be spent from this grant to contract with a vendor to translate transcripts for our English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) students so that a determination can be made as to what additional postsecondary education/training they may need when they exit our program? Many of our ESOL students have some postsecondary training in their country of origin, and need to know what additional training or courses they need in the United States.
Answer 1: No. These federal funds can only be spent for Adult education instructional and support service activities. These funds cannot be spent on postsecondary courses and/or activities.
Question 2: In the PowerPointpresentation ESOL/ English Language Learner(ELL) students were identified as part of the target audience for our efforts, but the measurements for tracking (Transition and Completion) exclude ESOL students. Are we only considering ESOL students transitioning to postsecondary education or may we target ESOL students transitioning to Adult Basic Education (ABE)/General Educational Development (GED)diploma programs?
Answer 2: We could track ESOL students into postsecondary, but we decided to restrict our state-level performance metrics to adult secondary completer outcomes. Grantees might want to include the performance and outcomes of ESOL students in their local evaluation plan.
Question 3: If we use deliverables such as industry certifications, diplomas, completions, and job placements, will we be able to count these deliverables for the Perkins and Adult Literacy Grants as well?
Answer 3: The deliverables identified to support this funding opportunity must meet the criteria established in the Request for Proposal (RFP) as well as be independent of any other grants. Adult education federal funds should not be used to fund activities already supported by Perkins.
Question 4: We would like to use some of the funds to cover the cost of Industry Certification exams while the transition student is enrolled in adult education. Is this an allowable cost? IndustryCertifications would be used to provide GED transitional students the option of attaining a credential that can be applied to future workforce development opportunities.)
Answer 4: Adult education federal funds can only be spent for basic instruction. These funds cannot be spent on job related exams.
Question 5: If we partner with two other agencies, in different counties, and they include us in their grant(s), and we share our allocation with each agency, do we need to submit our own grant or is submitting a letter ofagreement with their grant(s) acceptable?
Answer 5: The Submission Category Identification Form in the RFPdescribes the various submission scenarios and indicates who should submit applications in each. Determining which of the eligible partners is the fiscal agent is a local decision between eligible collaborating partners.
Question 6: If we partner with other agencies, how are the budgets handled?
Answer 6: Determining how budgets are handled between collaborating partners is a local decision.
Question 7: Would we still be the fiscal agent?
Answer 7: Matters regarding fiscal agency and budgets are a local decision.
Question 8: If we partner with other agencies, how is evaluation handled?
Answer 8: The method chosen to evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed project is a local decision. These methods must adhere to the criteria provided in the RFP Narrative Components and Scoring Criteria Section.
Question 9: Can a postsecondary institution be the fiscal agent if they don't have an adult education program, but they partner with a district adult education program or some other entity that operates an adult education program?
Answer 9: No. The Funding Purpose/Priorities section of the RFP stipulates that this funding is to “build the capacity of eligible providers responsible for adult education and literacy services.” A postsecondary institution not providing adult education and literacy services can collaborate with a fiscal agent that does provide adult education and literacy services to provide other required services - that will result in an expanded capacity, number and percentage of adult education students who transition to postsecondary education.
Question 10: What are some examples of services that a postsecondary institution partner could provide in this grant?
Answer 10: As part of their recruitment efforts, postsecondary partners can provide information and services to the local adult education provider that will assist in the transition of students. Areas that need assistance are the financial aid process, identifying postsecondary options, "roadmaps" of career pathways aligned with adult education, and workshops that would benefit the adult learner in learning more about postsecondary education. This information can be shared in the adult classroom by a postsecondary partner as well as field trips to visit the campus. Adult education federal funds cannot be spent on postsecondary instruction.
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