Cooperative Agreement

and Special Conditions (HRD 9550502)

1. Statement of Purpose

   1. The Model Institutions for Excellence (MlE) is intended to enhance materially the capabilities of a small number of minority institutions (Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic-serving institutions, and Native American-serving institutions) that are poised to make a substantial contribution to the Nation’s goal of increasing the number of minorities who earn Natural, Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences, Computer Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics (SEM) baccalaureate degrees, an go on to enter graduate-level degree programs and attain doctoral degrees in SEM.

      The University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP) will serve as one of the models for successful recruitment, academic enrichment, early research experience, mentoring, counseling, orientation to graduate school, and undergraduate retention and production of quality SEM baccalaureate degree recipients who go on to earn doctoral degrees in SEM. UTEP will have primary responsibility for planning, operating, and managing the University of Texas, El Paso Model Institution for Excellence project (hereinafter called the Project) as described in proposal HRD-9550502, as modified by the revised budget dated September 6, 1995, further modified by NSF, and the revised workplan dated May 31, 1995. Unless the National Science Foundation reserves specific responsibility, by special condition or general condition, for coordinating or integrating the project activities with other activities or sharing responsibility for certain aspects of the project, all such responsibilities remain with the Awardee.

   2. The National Science Foundation, hereinafter called the “Foundation” or “NSF” has responsibility for general program support, support of planning, oversight, and monitoring, coordination and evaluation to help assure program performance and administration, as well as coordination of all the MIE projects as part of a system for achieving NSF education goals. The MIE program represents a major collaboration among several NSF directorates; in this award the collaboration is between the Education and Human Resources (EHR) and Engineering (ENG) and Computer and Information Science and Engineering (CISE) directorates.

2. Agreement Terms

   1. The Awardee’s Project Director for the agreement is Stephen Riter, Vice President for Academic Affairs. The Principal Investigator for the agreement is Andrew P. Bermat, Chairman, Department of Computer Science.

   2. The period of performance of this agreement shall begin September 1, 1995 and continue through August 31, 2000, subject to annual review of progress, and availability of funds.

   3. This Agreement is awarded pursuant to the authority of the National Science Foundation Act of 1950 (42 U.S.C. 1861 et seq.) and 31 U.S.C. 6305.

   4. This Agreement consists of the Statement of Purpose, the Agreement Terms, and Special Conditions (below), and the Cooperative Agreement General Conditions, CA-1 (05/94) which incorporates the Grant General Conditions, G-C-1 (05/94) enclosed herewith. In the event of any conflict between the Special Conditions and the General Conditions, the Special Conditions shall take precedence.

3. Special Conditions

   In accordance with the Awardee’s responsibilities under this Agreement, the following Special Conditions apply:

   1. Statement of Work

      1. The University of Texas, El Paso shall be responsible for the management, staffing, operation and evaluation of the University of Texas, El Paso Model Institution for Excellence project.

         The overall objective of the Model Institutions for Excellence program is to strengthen the Natural and Computer Sciences, Engineering and Mathematics bachelor’s-level degree producing capacity of the University of Texas, El Paso and to produce more Ph.D. scientists and engineers who will become leaders in academe. The University of Texas, El Paso will produce the following:

         1. Provide entering students with tools for success, through a mandatory Freshman summer transition program for all SEM students and Course Integration and Clustering for all entering students, including Freshman seminar, Introduction to SEM, Physical Science and Engineering, Life Sciences, Mathematics, and English Composition;

         2. Continue support for students by an integrated Problem Solving course for all second year SEM students and the services of the Academic Center for Engineers and Scientists (ACES). The latter will be a home for student support, including peer tutoring, study groups and professional societies.

         3. Offer research, mentoring, and professional internships, including expansion of undergraduate research experiences and industrial internships, enhancement of upper division SEM courses to take advantage of the collaborative learning and other study skills developed in the entering students’ program;

         4. Create an Active Learning Center to offer collaborative and computer based learning opportunities;

         5. Strengthen the faculty by providing new rewards for Innovative and Outstanding Teaching, permanently establish student learning as a key objective of the university’s mission, and hiring new faculty in selected programs; and

         6. Improving the University Infrastructure by enhancing the Center for Institutional Evaluation, Research and Planning, automating student information, degree plans and advising services, and creating the MIE office.

      2. The Project has developed clear and specific plans on how the University of Texas, El Paso will strengthen SEM bachelor’s-level degree producing capacity and Ph.D. attainment of its graduates. These include a plan showing how the Project will lead to needed changes in the institution. A timeline has been included. These plans have been submitted to NSF for approval. NSF hereby notifies the Awardee of its approval.

      3. The Awardee shall exercise its best effort to coordinate other federal programs at the institution with the MIE to achieve synergy of the programs, to benefit from other federal investments and experience gained, and to avoid duplication and redundancy of the use of program resources. The Awardee will provide a comprehensive assessment and accounting of the overall federal support at the institution.

      4. The UTEP MIE effort will have the services of a technical assistance contractor, provided by the NSF through separate contractual arrangements. The Awardee agrees to work with the contractor as the contractor provides assistance in implementing major institutional development efforts. The contractor will provide technical assistance to enhance the SEM baccalaureate degree granting capability of UTEP. The technical assistance is intended not only to produce model institutions for SEM education and undergraduate research, but, through dissemination of exemplary materials, to enable other institutions to focus their plans on these areas as well. The UTEP and the ENG support team will work closely to receive the maximum benefit from the technical assistance contractor, through extensive coordination of the annual program plans, to avoid imposition of undue burden on UTEP, to avoid duplication of effort in documentation, site visits, advisory committee activities, preparation of annual meetings, and communication with other MIE institutions on relevant matters.

      5. The UTEP MIE program shall develop an evaluation component beginning with a set of baseline data gathered during the first year of the program. The technical assistance contractor has been tasked by the NSF to develop and implement a conceptual and operational framework for the MIE program evaluation and will work with UTEP to accomplish this requirement.

      6. The UTEP shall establish advisory committees for the MIE effort in close coordination and with the approval of the NSF program official, so that major benefit from the overall ENG communities expertise and existing ENG program activities can be realized.

      7. Grants or subcontracts awarded under this project shall follow explicit technical criteria approved by NSF. Before awarding subgrants or subcontracts under this project, the proposed scope of the subawards shall be submitted to NSF for approval. Subgrants or subcontracts can only go to organizations that have the fiscal authority to account for and handle funds. The receiving organization(s) shall be subject to program audits and fiscal audits.

      8. The Awardee shall communicate with the other Model Institutions for Excellence projects and with NSF in various ways, including participation on a network such as INTERNET or PSINET. The technical assistance contractor shall work with MIE staff in planning any activities intended to provide institutions opportunities to discuss issues, share problems and solutions, and otherwise reflect and communicate with each other, both electronically and in person. An annual conference will be one of the mechanisms for such communications.

      9. Wherever it is appropriate, the Project will function in a complementary way with other related federally funded projects at the institutions. Efforts shall be made to coordinate projects within the institution to avoid duplication and to share resources to maximize the benefits of the available funding.

      10. Institutional resources committed to the Project must not diminish the effort nor deplete the resources required to meet other important educational needs within the institution.

   2. Funding and Funding Schedule

      1. It is the intention of the Foundation to provide up to $12,260,413 to support the UTEP MIE over the next five years. Funds in the amount of $2,300,000 are hereby provided to support the MIE for the period September 1, 1995 to August 31, 1996 in accordance with the revised budget dated September 6, 1995 enclosed herewith, as modified by NSF. The amount awarded includes an indirect cost allowance at the rate specified in the enclosed budget.

      2. As a condition of this award, the awardee agrees to provide cost sharing as specified in the referenced proposal , as amended, in the total project amount of as special $5,714,089. Cost sharing for one year totals $925,385, as indicated in the revised budget dated September 6, 1995. No NSF funds may be used to meet the Awardee’s cost sharing obligation for this project.

         The amount of cost sharing must be documented (on an annual and cumulative basis) and reported to NSF and certified by an authorized institutional representative. These cost sharing reports must be included as part of the annual progress and final project reports.

      3. The level of continued NSF support will be negotiated with the Awardee annually. Continuation of NSF support will depend upon an annual review of demonstrated achievements, on-site review, the level of support from other sources, and the availability of funds.

      4. During the fourth year of project support, the UTEP MIE effort will undergo a major review to determine if, and at what level UTEP will be considered for support beyond the fifth year.

         The Awardee shall submit a renewal proposal by June 1, 1999 for a second phase of the project, for an additional three (3) years of support. In addition to conducting a review and evaluation of the renewal proposal, during the fourth year of the project, NSF will conduct a major site evaluation/review to help determine whether NSF will continue to support full MIE operations. In the event NSF decides to continue MIE funding for a second phase of the project, a new level of support will be negotiated for the three (3) year period effective at the beginning of the sixth year (2000). By January 1, 2000, NSF will notify the Awardee as to whether continued support will be forthcoming or whether the project should initiate phase down.

         If second phase funding is provided, the Awardee shall submit a second renewal proposal for a third phase of the project covering an additional three (3) year period. The proposal will be due by June 1, 2002.

         In no event will funding support exceed a total of eleven years.

      5. Nothing in the above terms supersedes the Foundation’s rights under Article 37 of the Cooperative Agreement General Conditions (NSF CA-1).

   3. Awardee Reporting Requirements

      1. Strategic Plan — An initial detailed strategic plan shall be submitted to NSF, within 90 days of the effective date of this Agreement. Approval of the plan will be provided by NSF within 15 days.

      2. Annual Progress Report — An Annual Progress Report, due on June 1 of each year, will serve as the Awardee’s request for continued support. A detailed annual progress report format that is applicable to all MIE institutions, and includes their interaction with the technical assistance contractor, etc., will be provided by the NSF by December 15, 1995. The annual progress report following the NSF specified format will include, but not be limited to the following information:

         1. Updated strategic plan and a list of project accomplishments including significant policy changes resulting from this project.

         2. Reports on the results of formal evaluation of the Project’s activities.

         3. Personnel and financial report containing long-range aggregate budget expectations, and priorities to the end of the award period; budget explanations by major project activity areas and major activities for the reporting year and the following year- a statement of funds estimated to remain unobligated at the end of the current project year; proposed budget for the ensuing year in accordance with NSF Form 1030; and current information about support from other sources.

         4. Budgets for matching funds as described in the proposal. Redistribution of funds for any given year shall include written justifications and prior approval from NSF where it is necessary

         5. A cover page, signed by the Project Director, which includes the following certification:

            I certify that to the best of my knowledge (1) the statements herein (excluding scientific hypotheses and scientific opinions) are true and complete, and (2) the text and graphics in this report as well as any accompanying publications or other documents unless otherwise indicated, are the original work of the signatories or individuals working under their supervision. I understand that the willfull provision of false information or concealing a material fact in this report or any other communication submitted to NSF is a criminal offense (U.S. Code, Title 18, Section 1001.)

         The annual progress report shall be sent in the specified number of copies to the following addressees:

         No. of Copies	Addressees
         3	NSF, Engineering Directorate Attention: Susan Kemnitzer
         1	NSF, Division of Grants and Agreements Attention: John S. Cruickshank
         1	NSF, Model Institutions for Excellence Attention: Albert Bridgewater

      3. Quarterly Letter Progress Reports — The Awardee shall submit quarterly letter progress reports containing highlights of program activities, administrative and management information, and financial accounting information comparing projected with actual spending rates and discussions of encountered or anticipated problems of a financial or programmatic nature. The first quarterly report is due December 1, 1995.

      4. Annual performance plan (workplan) — The Awardee shall prepare and submit to the NSF by July 1 of each year an annual performance plan which details the programmatic, administrative, managerial, and financial details of the work to be performed in the upcoming year beginning September 1. The format of this performance plan will be developed jointly by the NSF program officials, the technical assistance contractor, and UTEP.

      5. Verbal reports and liaison — The Awardee shall meet as necessary with NSF program officials, and/or outside contractor personnel as agreed to by the NSF program official, to review operations and exchange information concerning the MIE program and associated issues.

      6. Conference — NSF requires the MIE Project Director and Key Staff to attend the annual conference held by the technical assistance contractor, for the purposes of discussing MIE issues, sharing problems and solutions, and otherwise facilitating communication among MIE representatives. Costs of attending the meeting will be borne by the Awardee.

      7. Special Reports — The Awardee shall also submit such special reports as may be reasonably requested by the Foundation.

      8. Renewal Proposals — By June 1, 1999 the Awardee shall submit a renewal proposal to NSF requesting support for another three year period, beginning at the end of the fifth year of this Agreement.

         If the aforementioned second phase funding is provided, by June 1, 2002 the Awardee shall submit a renewal proposal for a third phrase of the project for an additional three (3) years of support.

         NSF will require a minimum of four months to review and evaluate the proposals.

      9. Final Report — In addition to the NSF Form 98A, the Awardee shall submit a final report, in lieu of an annual report, within three months of the expiration date of this Agreement. The reports and plans shall be sent in the specified number of copies to the following destinations:

         No. of Copies	Addressees
         3	NSF, Engineering Directorate Attention: Susan Kemnitzer
         1	NSF, Division of Grants and Agreements Attention: John S. Cruickshank
         1	NSF, Model Institutions for Excellence Attention: Albert Bridgewater

   4. Key Personnel

      The following individuals are considered Key Personnel and essential to the work of the Project. Any change in the individuals or their level of effort requires the prior written approval of the NSF Grants and Agreements Officer.

      Personnel	Level of Effort Person months (year 1)
      Andrew P. Bernat (Principal Investigator)	9.5
      Stephen Riter (Project Director)	3

   5. Awardee Responsibilities and Federal Requirements

      1. NSF requires the Awardee to manage this Agreement under Article 1 of the Grant General Conditions (NSF G-C-1).

      2. Any solicitation using Federal funds to procure goods or services (including construction) costing $500,000 or more must state the amount and percentage of total costs to be financed with Federal funds.

      3. It is a condition of the award that notice be given to the appropriate regional office of the Office of Federal Contract Compliance (OFCCP), U.S.

         Department of Labor, within 10 days of any subcontract award of $10,000 or more for construction under this award paid for in whole or in part with agreement funds. Address of your area OFCCP Regional Office is,

         Assistant Regional Administrator for OFCCP/ESA
         U.S. Department of Labor
         525 Griffin Street
         Federal Building, Room 840
         Dallas, Texas 75202
         

      4. This award is subject to the terms and conditions outlined in Enclosure A2, Equal Employment Opportunity Requirements, enclosed with this Agreement.

   6. Title to Equipment

      Title to equipment purchased, acquired, or fabricated with NSF funds will vest in the Awardee or subawardee if so designated by the Awardee with the understanding that such equipment will remain in use for the specific project for which it was obtained.

      Expenditures for general purpose equipment are unallowable unless the equipment is primarily or exclusively used in the actual conduct of the MIE’s activities.

   7. NSF Decisions and Actions

      NSF shall make decisions and take action as follows:

      1. Where necessary and appropriate, NSF will contact and negotiate with other Government agencies to further the efforts of the institution.

      2. Make approvals required under the Grant General Conditions, GC-1 (05/94).

   8. NSF Technical Involvement

      1. Performance of work under this Cooperative Agreement shall be subject to the general oversight and monitoring of the NSF Program Official. The NSF involvement may include, but is not limited to:

         1. Guidance and advice on all phases of the Project.

         2. Participation in resolution of technical, managerial, and scheduling concerns.

         3. Review and, where required by the Agreement, approval of reports and information to be delivered by the Awardee.

         4. Receive in a timely manner notices and minutes - of all meetings and other documents of the advisory committee(s). The Foundation reserves the right to attend meetings of the advisory committee(s) as a non-voting ex officio member.

      2. NSF technical involvement must be consistent with the general statement of work as stated in this Agreement. The Program Official does not have the authority and may not:

         1. Request additional work outside the general scope of the Agreement.

         2. Issue instructions which constitute a change as defined in Articles 8 of NSF GC-1 (05/94).

         3. Cause an increase or decrease in the estimated cost or time required for performance under the Agreement.

         4. Change any of the expressed terms and conditions of the Agreement.

      3. If, in the opinion of the Awardee, any instructions or requests issued by the Program Official are within one of the categories as defined in a. through d. in the above paragraph, the Awardee shall not proceed but shall notify the Grants and Agreements Officer and shall request, if appropriate, modification of the Agreement in accordance with Article 38, “Changes — Limitation of Funds,” of the attached Cooperative Agreement General Conditions (05/94).