E8-28534. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Department of Education.

SUMMARY:

The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 2, 2009.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Education Desk Officer, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10222, Washington, DC 20503. Commenters are encouraged to submit responses electronically by e-mail to [e-mail] or via fax to [phone]. Commenters should include the following subject line in their response “Comment: [insert OMB number], [insert abbreviated collection name, e.g., “Upward Bound Evaluation”]. Persons submitting comments electronically should not submit paper copies.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. OMB may amend or waive the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory obligations. The IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g., new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites public comment.

Dated: November 25, 2008.

Angela C. Arrington,

IC Clearance Official, Regulatory Information Management Services, Office of Management.

Institute of Education Sciences

Type of Review: Revision.

Title: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), Web-Based Collection System.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Not-for-profit institutions; Businesses or other for-profit; State, Local, or Tribal Gov't, SEAs or LEAs.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:

 Responses: 58,090.

 Burden Hours: 173,802.

Abstract: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is requesting an amendment to its three-year clearance for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) to run for the 2008-09, 2009-10, and 2010-11 Web-based data collections. Current authorization for IPEDS expires July 31, 2011 (OMB No. 1850-0582). The Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), which became law on August 14, 2008, after OMB had already granted IPEDS a three-year clearance, has several implications for the IPEDS annual Web-based data collection. The law requires the immediate implementation of several new institutional reporting requirements so that the data may be made available on the College Navigator Website by August 2009. A change memo was sent to OMB on August 19, 2008, that included a small number of non-substantive changes to the 2008-09 data collection based on the new requirements; OMB provided clearance for those changes in a notice on August 26, 2008. NCES now requests in this document a limited number of additional substantive changes to spring cycle of the 2008-09 IPEDS Web-based data collection, which opens on March 4, 2009, in order to implement HEOA requirements. These changes are to: (1) Make previously approved changes to financial aid reporting required, rather than optional, in spring 2009; (2) collect additional financial aid data; (3) collect data on students with disabilities; and (4) collect additional graduation rate data.

Requests for copies of the information collection submission for OMB review may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the “Browse Pending Collections” link and by clicking on link number 3823. When you access the information collection, click on “Download Attachments” to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may also be electronically mailed to [e-mail] or faxed to 202-401-0920. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be electronically mailed to [e-mail]. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.