2023-00280. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Federal Student Aid User Experience Design Research Generic Clearance

AGENCY:

Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing an extension without change of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before February 9, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for proposed information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain to access the site. Find this information collection request (ICR) by selecting “Department of Education” under “Currently Under Review,” then check the “Only Show ICR for Public Comment” checkbox. Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this information collection request. Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking on the “View Information Collection (IC) List” link. Supporting statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking on the “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, 202-377-4018.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Federal Student Aid User Experience Design Research Generic Clearance.

OMB Control Number: 1845-0159.

Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 262,400.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 74,975.

Abstract: Federal Student Aid (FSA) seeks an extension of its OMB Fast Track Process (5-day) generic clearance to continue to collect qualitative feedback for the Next Generation Financial Services Environment (Next Gen) program. The Next Gen initiative is a comprehensive, FSA-branded customer engagement layer that will create an environment where the Department's customers will receive clear, consistent information and readily accessible self-service options at every stage of the student aid lifecycle. This collection of information is necessary to enable FSA to garner customer and stakeholder qualitative feedback in an efficient, timely manner, in accordance with our commitment to improving service and information delivery. By qualitative feedback we mean information that provides useful insights on perceptions and opinions but are not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of study. The insights collected from our customers and stakeholders will help ensure that users have a consistent, efficient, and satisfying experience with FSA's programs.

Dated: January 5, 2023.

Kun Mullan,

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.