(a) The Secretary evaluates an application for a new grant as follows:

(1)(i) The Secretary evaluates an application on the basis of the selection criteria in § 647.21.

(ii) The maximum score for all the criteria in § 647.21 is 100 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses with the criterion.

(2)(i) For an application from an applicant who has carried out a McNair project in the fiscal year immediately preceding the fiscal year for which the applicant is applying, the Secretary evaluates the applicant's prior experience of high quality service delivery on the basis of the outcome criteria in § 647.22.

(ii) The maximum total score for all the criteria in § 647.22 is 15 points. The maximum score for each criterion is indicated in parentheses with the criterion.

(iii) If an applicant described in paragraph (a)(2)(i) of this section applies for more than one new grant in the same fiscal year, the Secretary applies the criteria in § 647.22 to a project that seeks to continue support for an existing McNair project on that campus.

(iv) The Secretary evaluates the PE of an applicant for each of the three project years that the Secretary designates in the Federal Register notice inviting applications and the other published application materials for the competition.

(v) An applicant may earn up to 15 PE points for each of the designated project years for which annual performance report data are available.

(vi) The final PE score is the average of the scores for the three project years assessed.

(b) The Secretary makes new grants in rank order on the basis of the total scores received by applications under paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(3) of this section.

(c)(1) If the total scores of two or more applications are the same and there are insufficient funds for these applications after the approval of higher-ranked applications, the Secretary uses the remaining funds to achieve an equitable geographic distribution of all new projects.

(2) In making an equitable geographic distribution of new projects, the Secretary considers only the locations of new projects.

(d) The Secretary does not make a new grant to an applicant if the applicant's prior project involved the fraudulent use of program funds.