These final regulations remove all references to points in the selection criteria the Department of Education (Department) uses to evaluate applications submitted under the higher education discretionary grant programs. We are taking this action because the current point assignments are outdated and do not permit sufficient flexibility to establish important program objectives. Taking this action allows us that flexibility and ensures that grant awards are made to high quality applicants. The final regulations also remove the requirement that in competitions for grants under the Partnership and Teacher-Recruitment components of the Teacher Quality Enhancement Grants Program, the Secretary hold a two-stage competition in which applicants must submit a pre-application and a full application. The current structure did not prove effective in producing high quality applications for this program. Removing the requirement for a pre-application reduces burden on applicants and the Department and allows both to target their resources on the full application stage. There are some amendments in these final regulations that are purely technical corrections to the regulations.