Universities making simple mistakes on Department of Education grant applications, like using the wrong spacing or type face, are losing thousands of dollars in federal funding.
At least 40 colleges and organizations applying for federal grants for Upward Bound, a program established in 1960s that helps pay for for low-income students to attend college, have been rejected for failing to follow strict guidelines regarding spacing and font, according to The Chronicle for Higher Education.
Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio, which has received millions of dollars in federal funding over the last 50 years for the program, was rejected this year for violating a double-spacing rule that requires “no more than three lines per vertical inch.”
Eddie L. Chambers, the school’s Upward Bound director, told the Chronicle he met with Linda Byrd-Johnson, acting deputy assistant secretary for higher-education programs, to appeal.
“In the end, she told me, ‘A rule is a rule,’” Chambers said. “It’s more about format than it is about content.”
Dozens of universities have asked Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos to reconsider their applications. She has declined some requests and refused to acknowledge others.
A representative for the Department of Education did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Other programs are also at stake under the Education Department’s strict standards for application format. West Virginia University will lose more than $200,000 for its McNair Scholars program after rounding up a figure by $2 on this year’s grant application. The rejection could end the 18-year program, which has helped some 200 disadvantaged students pursue graduate degrees.
“We have had really good success through the program, and it would really be a shame for it not to be renewed,” John Bolt, a university spokesman, told The Charleston Gazette-Mail.
The Education Department reportedly sent West Virginia University a letter stating it would not consider the school’s application because it failed to follow instructions and request the same amount of money it previously received.
The school received $219,198 in 2012 to fund the program for five years. This year’s application rounded up the request to $220,000 ― a $2 difference, the Gazette-Mail reported.
The school has asked the Education Department to reconsider its application, but hasn’t yet heard back.
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