Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development

GED® Wraparound Grants

Request for Applications (“RFA”)

Grant Performance Period: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027

HECC # 25-010

Date Issued:  February 24, 2025

Applications Due: March 25, 2025,  3:00 PM PDT

Single point of contact (“SPC”): Jeanie Stuntzner

Jeanie.stuntzner@hecc.oregon.gov   

For questions, clarifications, or if you need this material in a different format, please contact the SPC.

HECC’s Vision

The Oregon Higher Education Coordinating Commission (“HECC”) envisions a future where all people benefit from the economic, civic, and cultural impact of high-quality postsecondary education, training, and workforce development.

HECC’s Mission

Through strategic coordination, funding, outreach, services, reporting, and leadership for systems change, HECC:

Drives equitable postsecondary access and success for all Oregonians;

Anticipates and meets workforce and economic needs; and

Strengthens Oregon’s collective future by fostering research, innovation, learning, civic engagement, and cultural contributions.

SECTION 1.        INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW

1.1        BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

The State of Oregon, acting by and through its Higher Education Coordinating Commission, (“HECC”), is issuing this Request for Applications (“RFA”) to provide funding to programs that offer preparation, instruction, and/or wraparound services (defined below) to General Education Development Test® (“GED®”) candidates.

The Oregon High School Equivalency Program (“OHEP”) is part of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission's (“HECC”) Office of Community Colleges and Workforce Development. We work in partnership with the GED® Testing Service (“GEDTS”), educational institutions, testing sites, and numerous state, community, county, and local partners to provide both GED® test preparation and testing to Oregonians statewide. We also work with the Department of Corrections on education opportunities for individuals in custody. GED® education and/or testing is provided by the following organizations and programs:

•            Oregon's 17 community colleges

•            Oregon GED Option Program for Oregon students ages 16-17

•            Multiple community programs

•            Over 70 test sites across Oregon

OHEP oversees the GED® test preparation, instruction, and the testing process in Oregon. Earning a GED® test credential can help individuals improve chances to find work, increase earnings, and/or pursue additional education through community colleges, universities or training programs.  OHEP’s mission is to serve as a bridge to higher education, trade schools, apprenticeship programs, and employment opportunities for Oregonians who have not earned a high school diploma.

Grants awarded from this RFA will provide funding to defray the cost of GED® testing, and/or provide support in the form of wraparound services to minimize the barriers to earning a GED® test credential that many GED® test candidates face. This project’s purpose is consistent with HECC’s goal of aligning Oregon’s education and training systems to create straightforward pathways for learners by increasing GED® completers and supporting those completers to transition into postsecondary education and training. Additional details on the scope of Grant activities are included in the Grant Information and Guidelines section.

1.2        COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, INCLUSION, AND ACCESSIBILITY

Individuals within a community, and communities within a larger society, need the ability to shape their own present and future, and HECC believes that workforce development and education are fundamental aspects of Oregon’s ability to thrive. Equity is both the means to success and an end that benefits us all. Equity requires the intentional examination of systemic policies and practices that, even if they have the appearance of fairness, may in effect serve to marginalize some and perpetuate disparities. The data is clear that Oregon demographics have been changing to provide rich diversity in race, ethnicity, and language. Working toward equity requires an understanding of historical contexts and the active investment in changing social structures and practice over time to ensure that individuals from all communities have the opportunities and support to realize their full potential. Creating a culture of equity requires monitoring, encouragement, resources, data, and opportunity.

HECC applies its Equity Lens (https://www.oregon.gov/highered/about/Documents/State-Goals/Equity-Lens.pdf) to all aspects of its work. From HECC’s Strategic Plan, “We believe that equity is crucial in ensuring equal opportunities for all individuals. When our work is rooted in equity, we share power and leadership, engage our communities, and analyze data to remove barriers and create access and pathways to growth.”

SECTION 2.        APPLICATION AND REQUIREMENTS

2.1        APPLICANT EILIGIBILITY

Organizations eligible to submit an Application under this RFA are:

•            Local units of government

•            Community colleges and other governmental entities

•            Private organizations exempt from taxes under sections 501c3 of the Internal Revenue Code

•            Tribal organizations.

2.2        APPLICATION FOCUS

HECC recognizes the need to support learners aspiring to achieve a GED® test credential and transition to employment or other post-secondary opportunities. The grants awarded through this RFA will play a pivotal role in addressing this need, supporting activities aimed at increasing the number of GED® test takers and facilitating connections for these graduates to job opportunities and other post-secondary avenues.

The primary focus of this RFA is identifying programs that are delivering wraparound services, which are instrumental in addressing the distinctive academic and non-academic barriers faced by GED® test takers. These services play a vital role in effective recruitment, learning facilitation, and assessment strategies. By investing in wraparound services through the grant, HECC endeavors to bolster the overall support system for GED® test candidates. This initiative is geared towards fostering their success in obtaining the GED® test credential and navigating towards subsequent educational and career pathways.

Successful Applicants will offer services in the following areas:

•            Outreach

•            Education

•            GED® testing services

•            Graduation

•            Transition Support to employment opportunities

Applicants must have a proven track record and histories of serving GED® test takers. Projects must prioritize equitable program participation by GED® test takers, including but not limited to individuals from the following priority populations identified in ORS 660.300:

1.           Communities of color;

2.           Women;

3.           Low-income communities;

4.           Rural and frontier communities;

5.           Veterans;

6.           Persons with disabilities;

7.           Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals;

8.           Members of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Indian tribes;

9.           Individuals who disproportionately experience discrimination in employment on the basis of age; and

10.        Individuals who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community.

2.3        ALLOWABLE USE OF FUNDS

Allowable Costs may include, but are not limited to, the following:

1.           Providing direct benefits to individuals, which may include:

a.           Paid work experience, including stipends and wages,

b.           Tuition and fee assistance for GED programs, and

c.           Wraparound workforce development services. Wraparound workforce development services provide supports for individuals participating in workforce programs and may include but are not limited to childcare, transportation, mental health services, housing support, job-related materials and supplies, books, tuition, and other services designed to help individuals attain employment and progress along career pathways.

2.           Creating and expanding education and training programs, including developing culturally and linguistically specific career pathways for obtaining certificates, credentials, or degrees recognized by targeted industry sectors.

3.           Expanding the capacity of organizations to provide workforce development services, including:

a.           Hiring staff or contracting for services(for the GED Programs)

b.           Purchasing equipment, technology, or other supplies;

c.           Paying for administrative costs; and

d.           Any other activities necessary to increase the organization’s capacity to provide GED support, services, and programs that advance economic mobility, educational attainment, and career advancement.

2.4        HOW AND WHEN TO APPLY

All Applications shall be submitted via the web-based program Survey Monkey Apply:https://oregonhecc.smapply.us/prog/ged_wraparound_grants_2025-2027. 

All Applications must include:

1.           Responses to all items in the Application within the Survey Monkey Apply web-program

2.           Attachment B – Project Budget and Budget Narrative

4.           Attachment C – Application Certification Sheet (Upload as an attachment, template provided) 

Application submissions are due by March 25, 2025 at 3:00p.m. PDT

Late Applications may not be accepted.  Applicants must complete all areas of the Application to be considered responsive to this RFA

2.5        APPLICATION REVIEW PROCESS

Funding decisions are rendered through the input of the review committee, relying on the prescribed scoring criteria.

HECC may require clarification to understand any of an Applicant’s submitted material. Any necessary clarifications or modifications will be made before issuing any award and may become part of the final Grant Agreement.

APPLICATION REVIEW

Alignment with ORS 660.400, Section 2.2 of this RFA and to determine whether the Application is complete as described in Section 3.1 of this RFA.

AGENCY REVIEW CRITERIA

EVALUATION CRITERIA MAXIMUM POINTS

Evaluation Item 1: Organization Description     20

Evaluation Item 2: Project Plan 30

Evaluation Item 3: Focus area                20

Evaluation Item 4: Success Measures  20

Evaluation Item 5: Budget and Budget Narrative            10

Total     100

2.6        APPLICATION QUESTIONS

2.6.1     Evaluation Item 1: Organization Description (20 POINTS )

Please address the following prompts 

Mission and Vision Statements: Provide a clear and concise statement of your organization's mission and vision. If your organization serves Priority Populations identified in ORS 660.300, please describe how and which ones.

2.6.2     Evaluation Item 2: Project Plan (30 points)

Please address the following prompts   (500-word limit)

a)           Provide a detailed description of your proposed project, including its goals, objectives, activities, timeline, and budget. Be sure to explain how your project will specifically serve GED® test takers, including but not limited to test takers from the following Priority Populations, as identified in ORS 660.300 as:

1.           Communities of color;

2.           Women;

3.           Low-income communities;

4.           Rural and frontier communities;

5.           Veterans;

6.           Persons with disabilities;

7.           Incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals;

8.           Members of Oregon’s nine federally recognized Indian tribes;

9.           Individuals who disproportionately experience discrimination in employment on the basis of age; and

10.        Individuals who identify as members of the LGBTQ+ community

b)           Identify how your project advances equitable opportunities for program participants in workforce programs.

c)           Identify barriers to participation and describe how your project reduces identified barriers for your participants.

d)           Describe how participants and/or communities are involved in designing, decision making, and evaluation of your project.

2.6.3     Evaluation Item 3: Focus areas  

Please address the following prompts 

Focus Areas       Define the checked focus area(s) specifically, measurably, achievably, relevantly, and time-bound.                                                                        

                                           # of people to be served (in each focus area)   

Recruitment                                                

Education                                                     

Testing                                            

GED® Testing                                               

Transition                                                     

Total                                                

2.6.4     Evaluation Item 4: Success Measures (20 points)

Please address the following prompts (500-word limit):

•            Detail and Timeliness: Provide a detailed and time-specific evaluation plan. Explain how you will measure the success of your project and how you will collect and analyze data. Be sure to include a timeline for the evaluation.

•            Outcome Measurements: Identify the outcome measurements for your project. Outcome measurements should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound.  

2.6.5     Evaluation Item 5: Budget and Budget Description (10 points)

Please address the following prompts (200-word limit):

•            Costs and Justification: Explain how you estimated the costs for each budget item and justify the costs.  

•            Itemization: Itemize your budget sufficiently. Each budget item should be clearly identified and described.

•            Reasonableness: Ensure that your budget is reasonable in relation to the proposed project. Consider the scope of the project, the resources required, and your organization's capacity when developing the budget.

2.7        NOTICE OF AWARD

HECC will email the Applicant’s primary contact listed in the Application to let them know whether their Application was selected for funding. A Notice of Award will be sent to funded Applicants for this RFA. The notice will indicate award amount, performance period, and next steps.  The feedback system for applicants involves notifying all applicants of their funding status on or before May 2, 2025.  HECC’s final funding recommendations will consider statewide impact, ensuring broad geographic distribution, representative distribution with outreach to populations that will be served, and a diverse portfolio of projects. Award amounts will also consider scalability of the project or program, as well as impact on the project and participants.

HECC reserves the right to award Grant Funds for all or some of the dollar amounts requested in an individual proposal. The Applicant will be asked about the ability to increase or decrease the scale of the project in 

SECTION 3.       GRANT INFORMATION AND REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

3.1        GRANT INFORMATION

The allowable cost period for awards under this RFA is July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027. Activities that occur outside of the Allowable Cost Period are not eligible for funding.

HECC may award up to $1.9 million for this RFA.  HECC intends to award projects across all focus areas and reserves the right to distribute the funds as it determines is in Oregon’s Students best interest statewide. There is no minimum or maximum amount that Applicants may request. Refer to Agency Review Criteria for additional information about scalability.HECC reserves the right to take funding requests into consideration when making awards.  

Grant funds awarded under this RFA will be disbursed on a quarterly reimbursement or costs-incurred basis. HECC may make limited exemptions to this requirement and disburse some grant funds upon grant execution, if Applicant states in its Application that upfront disbursements are needed and makes a sufficient showing of the need. Grant recipients will be required to submit each disbursement request on a HECC-provided or -approved disbursement request form (“Disbursement Request”) prior to the disbursement of any grant funds.

3.2        REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

All grant recipients will be required to provide quarterly, annual, and final reporting to HECC Grant Administrators. Reporting requirements may include, but are not limited to:

•            Spend Plan – Provide estimated spending by quarter for the life of the grant;

•            Performance Plan – Answer narrative questions about the context of your work, goals, planned work, and intended results;

•            Participant Reporting – Collect participant-level information for each program participant related to demographic information, services, credentials earned, and outcomes known by the grant recipient;

•            Performance Reporting – Answer narrative questions related to project implementation and progress towards intended outcomes;

•            Financial Reporting – Use a template provided by HECC that includes a description of the funds used towards the project activities outlined in the grant agreement. Most funding is distributed to the grant recipient by requesting reimbursement for the previous quarter. In some cases HECC may determine upfront disbursements may be allowed in response to a request in the grant recipient’s Application with adequate justification;

•            Annual Report – which will include answering questions about community engagement for historically underserved and groups (i.e. priority populations);

Failure to submit required reports on a timely basis will be considered out of compliance and future funds may be withheld or forfeited.

SECTION 4.        ADDITIONAL TERMS

Submission of an Application does not constitute an agreement between HECC and the Applicant, nor does it secure or imply that the Applicant will be selected to receive funding.

All costs associated with Applicant’s submission of an Application are the sole responsibility of the Applicant and will not be paid or reimbursed by HECC or the State of Oregon.

By applying, Applicant accepts all terms and conditions of this RFA. No Grant Funds will be released prior to all program conditions being met and grant agreements fully-signed.

HECC reserves the right to reopen or extend the RFA as necessary, as it deems in its best interest.HECC reserves the right to amend agreements resulting from this RFA for additional time and/or funds, if in HECC’s best interest to do so.

Evaluation of Applications are based on the criteria in this RFA. HECC reserves the right to partially fund Applications in discrete portions or phases. If HECC chooses to partially fund an Application, it will do so in a manner that does not prejudice any Applicants or affect the basis upon which the Application, or portion thereof, was evaluated and selected for award, and therefore maintains the integrity of the competition and selection process.

Funding Applications through this RFA does not guarantee future funding. When, or if, additional funding becomes available, HECC reserves the right to issue additional awards under this RFA through the allowable cost period. Any additional selections will be made in accordance with the terms of this RFA.

SECTION 5.       PUBLIC RECORDS

All information and records submitted to HECC are subject to disclosure under the Public Records Law, Oregon Revised Statute (“ORS”) 192.311 to 192.478. If Applicant believes that any information or records it submits to HECC may be a trade secret under ORS 192.345(2), or otherwise is exempt from disclosure under the Oregon Public Records Law, Applicant must identify such information with particularity and include the following statement:

“This data is exempt from disclosure under the Oregon Public Records Law pursuant to ORS chapter 192[insert] and is not to be disclosed except in accordance with the Oregon Public Records Law, ORS 192.311 through 192.478.”

If Applicant fails to identify with particularity the portions of such information that Applicant believes are exempt from disclosure, Applicant is deemed to waive any future claim of non-disclosure of that information.

SECTION 6.        ATTACHMENTS

All Attachments will be available in SMApply:

            ATTACHMENT A: GRANT APPLICATION FORM

            ATTACHMENT B: PROJECT BUDGET AND NARRATIVE

            ATTACHMENT C: APPLICATION CERTIFICATION SHEET

            ATTACHMENT D: SAMPLE GRANT AGREEMENT (click to open)