2012-26984. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness, DoD.

ACTION:

Notice.

In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness announces a proposed public information collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the information collection on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology.

DATES:

Consideration will be given to all comments received by January 7, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

You may submit comments, identified by docket number and title, by any of the following methods:

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
• Mail: Federal Docket Management System Office, 4800 Mark Center Drive, East Tower, Suite 02G09, Alexandria, VA 22350-3100.

Instructions: All submissions received must include the agency name, docket number and title for this Federal Register document. The general policy for comments and other submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions available for public viewing on the Internet at http://www.regulations.gov as they are received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

To request more information on this proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and associated collection instruments, please write to the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness (OUSD), Military Community and Family Policy (MCFP), State Liaison and Educational Opportunities Division, ATTN: Ms. Kerrie Tucker, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Suite 14E08, Alexandria, VA 22350-2300 or send email to project officer at: [e-mail].

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: Pilot for Centralized Student Complaint Process, DoD Postsecondary Student Complaint Intake Form for Service Members and Their Families; DoD Form x640, “Student Complaint Intake Form”; OMB Control Number 0704-TBD.

Needs and Uses: The information collection requirement is necessary to obtain, document, and respond to complaints, questions, and other information concerning post-secondary education and services provided to military students, veterans, and their family members. The form is included to help document information such as the level of study of the student, school the student is attending, type of education benefits being used, branch of the military service, substance of the complaint, and preferred contact information for the person making the contact.

Affected Public: Individuals or households, business or other for profit; Not-for-profit institutions, Federal Government, and State, local, or Tribal government.

Annual Burden Hours: 100.

Number of Respondents: 600.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Average Burden per Response: 10 minutes.

Frequency: On occasion.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

President Barack Obama signed Executive Order 13607 on April 27, 2012 to address the problem of aggressive and deceptive targeting of Service members, veterans, and their families by some educational institutions. Section 4 of the Executive Order specifically calls for the creation of a robust, centralized complaint process for students receiving Federal military and veterans' educational benefits.

DoD, along with the participating Federal agencies identified in the Executive Order have determined that this complaint process, in addition to taking in complaints about abusive or deceptive practices by schools, must create an opportunity for schools to resolve those complaints, and must ensure that complaint data is accessible both to the relevant components at the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Education that review schools for compliance and program eligibility, as well as the relevant law enforcement agencies that will prosecute any illegal practices. Beyond creation of this complaint process, the agencies seek to prevent abusive, deceptive, and fraudulent practices through the following mechanisms: establishment of risk-based program reviews; limits on access to military installations by educational institutions; and the use of intellectual property and other legal protections to ensure Web sites and programs are not deceptively suggesting military affiliation or endorsement.

A centralized complaint system will provide a resource for students receiving military and veteran educational benefits to effectively submit complaints against institutions they feel have acted deceptively or fraudulently. The first step is to make it easier for prospective and current military students to raise these concerns.

Dated: October 31, 2012.

Aaron Siegel,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.