Title III Strengthening Institutions Grant Writer

The Title III, Part A Strengthening Institutions Program (84.031A) gives eligible colleges and universities five-year grants to improve academic quality, institutional management and fiscal stability so they can better serve low-income students. I write the application: the comprehensive development plan, the activity narratives, the budget justification and the evaluation plan, with large federal grants for universities among the more than $11.7M secured for clients.

Who this fits and who it does not

Eligibility comes from Section 312 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1058). The FY 2026 application notice states that an institution must be accredited or pre-accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency and be designated an eligible institution by demonstrating that it has an enrollment of needy students as described in 34 CFR 607.3 and low average educational and general expenditures per student. The designation is a separate process from the grant application: the FY 2026 designation notice, including waiver requests, was published in the Federal Register on March 24, 2026 (91 FR 14003), and only institutions the Department of Education determines are eligible, or grants a waiver, may apply.

• It fits an accredited two-year or four-year institution that meets the needy-student enrollment and expenditure tests and has a five-year development plan it can tie to measurable outcomes.
• It fits an institution with a current SIP grant only for a Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant; the FY 2026 notice limits those institutions to a Coop application.
• It does not fit an institution without the eligibility designation or waiver for the competition year.
• An eligible institution may submit only one Individual Development Grant application and one Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant application.

How the process works

The program page states that competitions are typically held every other year, on odd-numbered years, and that even years fund down the previous slate. FY 2026 was different: the Department of Education's program page records that on May 21, 2026 the Department of Labor announced the availability of more than $400 million for the program, administered by DOL's Employment and Training Administration on behalf of the Department of Education, with an application deadline of June 23, 2026. The same page's funding table lists $365,875,512 in total award funding for FY 2026. Current status: Closed, next cycle. FY 2026 competition closed June 23, 2026; the program typically holds competitions every other year on odd-numbered years.

The FY 2026 notice set the award structure as five-year Individual Development Grants, estimated range $2,250,000 to $3,000,000 with a maximum of $3,000,000 for the 5-year project period, and Cooperative Arrangement Development Grants, estimated range $3,000,000 to $5,000,000 with a maximum of $5,000,000, both with a 60-month project period.

Working backward from a competition: the eligibility designation or waiver request comes first, in the window the Federal Register notice sets; the application follows the notice inviting applications, so the development plan, the activity budgets and the evaluation design need to exist before that notice appears.

My read

• SIP is won on the comprehensive development plan. Reviewers look for a diagnosis of the institution's weaknesses, activities that address them, and objectives that can be measured in year five. The budget follows from the activities, not the other way around.
• The eligibility designation is the step institutions miss. It is annual, it has its own deadline, and without it the application cannot be submitted.
• Allowable activities are broad, from laboratory equipment and facility renovation to faculty development and student services, so the hard part is choosing the few that move the metrics.
• The FY 2026 move to DOL administration changed the forms and the submission system. I write to the current notice's instructions, not the previous cycle's.

Frequently asked questions

When is the next Title III Part A competition?

The program page says competitions are typically held every other year on odd-numbered years, with even years funding the previous slate. The FY 2026 competition closed June 23, 2026 and no next competition is announced on the program page; the status above updates when one is.

How much is a grant?

In FY 2026, up to $3,000,000 for an Individual Development Grant and up to $5,000,000 for a Cooperative Arrangement Development Grant, each over a 5-year project period.

Can a for-profit college apply?

No. An eligible institution under Section 312 of the HEA must be an institution of higher education, and the HEA's definition of that term requires a public or other nonprofit institution (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)(4)); 34 CFR 607.2(a) applies the same definition to Strengthening Institutions grants.

What does the consultant do on a Title III application?

The comprehensive development plan, the activity narratives, the budget justification and the evaluation plan. The institution handles its eligibility designation, the forms and the submission.