Title III, Part A: Strengthening Institutions Program (84.031A)

The Title III, Part A: Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) helps eligible IHEs to become self-sufficient and expand their capacity to serve low-income students by providing funds to improve and strengthen the academic quality, institutional management, and fiscal stability of eligible institutions.

(1) Purchase, rental, or lease of scientific or laboratory equipment for educational purposes, including instructional and research purposes. 
(2) Construction, maintenance, renovation, and improvement in classrooms, libraries, laboratories, and other instructional facilities, including the integration of computer technology into institutional facilities to create smart buildings.
(3) Support of faculty exchanges, faculty development, and faculty fellowships to assist in attaining advanced degrees in the field of instruction of the faculty.
(4) Development and improvement of academic programs. 
(5) Purchase of library books, periodicals, and other educational materials, including telecommunications program material. 
(6) Tutoring, counseling, and student service programs designed to improve academic success, including innovative, customized, instruction courses designed to help retain students and move the students rapidly into core courses and through program completion, which may include remedial education and English language instruction. 
(7) Education or counseling services designed to improve the financial literacy and economic literacy of students or the students' families. 
(8) Funds management, administrative management, and acquisition of equipment for use in strengthening funds management. 
(9) Joint use of facilities, such as laboratories and libraries. 
(10) Establishing or improving a development office to strengthen or improve contributions from alumni and the private sector. 
(11) Establishing or improving an endowment fund. 
(12) Creating or improving facilities for Internet or other distance education technologies, including purchase or rental of telecommunications technology equipment or services. 
(13) Other activities proposed in the application submitted pursuant to subsection (b) and section 1068 of this title that— 
      (A) contribute to carrying out the purposes of the program assisted under this part; and 
      (B) are approved by the Secretary as part of the review and acceptance of such application.

The Strengthening Institutions Program typically holds competitions every other year, on odd-numbered years (e.g., 2019, 2021, etc.). In even-numbered years (e.g., 2020, 2022, etc.), the program funds down the previous year's slate.

A list of awardees and abstracts can be found on the Awards tab. Requests for funded applications must be submitted via the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) site.

Applicant Information

There are two application processes for this program -- one for eligibility and one for grant funding.

• Strengthening Institutions program profile
• Application notice and instructions
• Optional, suggested budget table and narrative form 

Pre-Application Webinar

SIP hosted and recorded a pre-application technical assistance webinar on Thursday, June 4, 2026 from 11:00 a.m. -1:00 p.m. EST. 

• FY 2026 SIP Pre-Application Webinar Slides
• FY 2026 SIP Pre-Application Webinar Recording 
• FY 2026 SIP Pre-Application Webinar Transcript

Current Application for CFDA 84.031A

All applicants are required to submit an application online through Grants.gov.

Through Grants.gov you will be able to download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and then upload and submit your application. You can search for the downloadable application package by keyword—SIP or by CFDA—84.031.

If you experience problems submitting your application through Grants.gov, refer to the Support page and/or contact the Grants.gov Support Desk, toll free, at 1-800-518-4726. For program-specific questions, contact Nalini.Lamba-Nieves@ed.gov or Robyn.Wood@ed.gov.

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339. Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document and a copy of the application package in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to one of the program contact persons listed below.

Please note that: Grants.gov registration involves many steps including registration on SAM (www.sam.gov) which may take approximately one week to complete, but could take upwards of several weeks to complete, depending upon the completeness and accuracy of the data entered into the SAM database by an applicant. You may begin working on your application while completing the registration process, but you cannot submit an application until all of the registration steps are complete. Please note that once your SAM registration is active, it will take 24-48 hours for the information to be available in Grants.gov, and before you can submit an application through Grants.gov. For detailed information on the registration steps, please click here. [Note: Your organization will need to update its SAM registration annually.] Primary information about SAM is available at www.sam.gov. Note that the Department has transitioned from DUNS to Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) numbers. 

Eligibility

• Who May Apply: (by category): Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs)
• Who May Apply: (specifically): IHEs that meet certain eligibility requirements may apply.
• Lists of Eligible Institutions by Fiscal Year

Institutions of higher education must meet both basic and specific eligibility requirements. A basic requirement is that an institution must be legally authorized by the state in which it is located to be a junior college or provide an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's degree; and be either accredited, pre-accredited, or making reasonable progress toward such accreditation by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or organization.

Under specific eligibility requirements, an institution must have at least 50 percent of its degree students receiving need-based assistance under Title IV of the Higher Education Act, or have a substantial number of enrolled students receiving Pell Grants, and have low educational and general expenditures. The Secretary may waive the eligibility requirements under certain conditions which are defined in program regulations.

NOTE: Learn how to apply for and receive designation as an eligible institution.

FY 2026 Funding 

Estimated total grant funding: $365,875,512
Expected number of awards: 300 individual development grants, 30 cooperative arrangement grants
Award ceiling: $3,000,000 for individual grants, $5,000,000 for cooperative arrangement grants 

Legislation

• Title III, Part A, Sec. 311-315 of the Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as amended.
• 20 U.S.C. 1057-1059b

Regulations

• Title 34 Part 607
• Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99

Guidance

• Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Guidance for Grants and Agreements, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards

Tips and Assistance for CFDA 84.031A

• FY 2023 Strengthening Institutions Program (SIP) Application Booklet
• FY 2023 SIP Technical Assistance Webinar Recording
  • FY 2023 SIP Technical Assistance Webinar Slides

Related Programs and Resources

• Developing Hispanic-Serving Institutions Program
• Strengthening Historically Black Colleges and Universities Program
• Information about Pell Grants and other student aid programs
• Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) - Applicant and Grantee Resources

Annual Performance Report (APR)

Grantees are required to submit an Annual Performance Report (APR) annually; the collection number is OMB 1840-0766. The APR is available to grantees October 1 of each calendar year, and closes 90 days thereafter. To review the reporting requirement for Title III and Title V Programs request access to an interactive training site under the training tab located on the Information Management Performance System Portal at https://HEPIS.ed.gov/. Once here you may select the requirements for each Title III and Title V program based on the institutional type (two-year or four-year). This site is also available to grantees for training purposes and includes an APR user's manual.

To gain access to the APR at https://HEPIS.ed.gov/, project directors need the institution's Unit ID, PR Award ID, and a unique password provided by the Institutional Service. Passwords are emailed to all grantee project directors designated on the grant award notification document 30 days before the collection period begins. Project directors of Title III and Title V grants are responsible for completing and managing the content of their respective annual report. During the data collection, assistance is available via a Help Desk to answer questions related to system operations, error messages, technical problems, report content, and program policy.

• Note: If you are a project director and have responsibility for completing the annual report for your institution, please be sure you are designated on the official grant award notification and your e-mail and telephone number are listed correctly in the GAPS database.

A copy of the Web-based annual program performance report is provided below in MS Word, providing a text version of the data elements included in the report.

• 2018 Strengthening Institutions Program: Annual Performance Report

Past Program Performance

The U.S. Department of Education collects and analyzes program performance data annually. The data show how well the program performs toward meeting its national targets. Presenting the data on the Web enables a wide variety of audiences to review the performance. Past program performance data for Title III Part A may be reviewed at the links below.

• 2004-2005 Performance Assessment Report: This report provides a narrative description of program performance for cohorts of grants. This Grantee Performance Assessment is for fiscal years 2004-2005.