The Secretary of Health and Human Services is  authorized to make HCOP grants “for the purpose of assisting individuals  from disadvantaged backgrounds . The 1998 reauthorization of HCOP emphasized the importance of outreach  activities by adding a funding preference for HCOP applications for  projects that “involve a comprehensive approach by several public or  private nonprofit health or educational entities to establish, enhance and  expand educational programs that will result in the development of a  competitive applicant pool of individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds  who desire to pursue health professions careers.” Applications qualifying  for this funding preference have an advantage because they must be  considered for funding ahead of applications that do not. HRSA Followed a Standard Process to Award HCOP Grants

For fiscal years 2002 through 2005, HRSA followed a standard process to  award HCOP grant funds, distributing the program’s available funds on a  noncompetitive basis to continue funding existing grant projects, then  awarding the remaining funds on a competitive basis. For competitive  HCOP grants, HRSA published criteria and relied on the assessment of  independent reviewers. Grants were awarded in accordance with the  applications’ rank order as determined by the independent reviewers. HRSA’s Process for Awarding Competitive Grants Relied on Assessment by Independent Reviewers

For fiscal years 2002 through 2005, HRSA’s standard process for awarding  competitive HCOP grants relied on independent reviewers to assess  applications against the agency’s published review criteria. According to a HRSA  official responsible for administering the HCOP program, the agency could  have used this discretion to depart from the rank-order list resulting from  the independent review process but did not do so for fiscal years 2002  through 2005. About One-Third of Competitive HCOP Grants Were Awarded to Minority- Serving Institutions

For fiscal years 2002 through 2005, minority-serving institutions submitted  a total of 25 percent of all applications for competitive HCOP grants and  received about 30 percent of awards. Among minority-serving institutions, historically black colleges and  universities submitted the most applications and received the most  awards, followed by Hispanic-serving institutions (see table 4). III), HRSA stated  that the report met the goals of describing the award process and outlining  the number and characteristics of HCOP applicants and grantees. We are sending copies of this report to the Administrator of HRSA and  appropriate congressional committees. We compared these lists with the data we obtained from HRSA on  HCOP grant applicants and recipients. Related GAO Products

Health Professions Education Programs: Action Still Needed to Measure  Impact. Health Professions Education: Clarifying the Role of Title VII and VIII  Programs Could Improve Accountability.
Why GAO Did This Study

To support the education and training of health professionals, the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), administers health professions education programs authorized under title VII of the Public Health Service Act. One of these programs, the Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP), provides grants to health professions schools and other entities to help students from disadvantaged backgrounds prepare for health professions education and training. Funding preference is given to grant applications that demonstrate a comprehensive approach involving other educational or health-related partners. Congressional committees have encouraged HRSA to give priority to applications from schools with a historic mission of educating minority students for health professions. In 2004, the appropriations conference committee asked GAO to review HRSA's process for awarding grants. This report addresses, for fiscal years 2002 through 2005, (1) HRSA's process for awarding HCOP grants and (2) the number and characteristics of HCOP applicants and grantees. GAO reviewed data from HRSA, interviewed HRSA officials, and reviewed relevant federal laws and agency documents from HHS and the Department of Education.

What GAO Found

HRSA followed a standard process to award HCOP grants, distributing funds on a noncompetitive basis to continue funding existing HCOP grants within their approved project periods, and then awarding the remaining funds on a competitive basis. For each of fiscal years 2002-05, HRSA competitively awarded between $4 million and $15 million from the approximately $34 million annually available for HCOP. To award competitive grants, HRSA used independent reviewers who assessed applications against published criteria, scored applications that met minimum criteria, and determined if they qualified for the funding preference. HRSA ranked the applications from highest to lowest score--putting those with the funding preference first--and awarded grants in decreasing rank order until the available funds were exhausted. Although HRSA had discretion to award grants out of rank order, the agency did not do so for fiscal years 2002-05. For fiscal years 2002-05, HRSA awarded a total of 99 competitive HCOP grants from 439 grant applications reviewed. Overall, minority-serving institutions submitted about 25 percent of the applications reviewed and received about 30 percent of the competitive grants; historically black colleges and universities were the most numerous grantees among minority-serving institutions, followed by Hispanic-serving institutions. HRSA commented that a draft of this report met the goals of describing the award process and outlining the number and characteristics of HCOP applicants and grantees.