E9-12010. Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Establish an Information Collection

AGENCY:

National Science Foundation.

ACTION:

Notice and request for comments.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on proposed data collection projects, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects.

DATES:

Written comments on this notice must be received by July 21, 2009 to be assured of consideration. Comments received after that date will be considered to the extent practicable.

For Additional Information or Comments:

Contact Suzanne Plimpton, Acting Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone [phone]; or send e-mail to [e-mail]. Individuals who use telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. You also may obtain a copy of the data collection instrument and instructions from Suzanne Plimpton.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Title of Collection: National Evaluation of the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate Faculty and Student Surveys.

OMB Approval Number: 3145-NEW.

Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.

Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an information collection for three years.

Proposed Project: The Division of Human Resource Development (HER/HRD) of the National Science Foundation has requested impact information on the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) Program. Funded by NSF, the AGEP Program has funded 28 alliances of colleges and universities to promote the participation of underrepresented minority groups in PhD programs in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The ultimate goal of the program is to increase the number of underrepresented minorities in these fields who enter the professoriate. NSF now seeks follow-up information on program participants—that is, students and faculty—to determine what impact the program has had on graduate students' decisions to enroll in and graduate from STEM doctoral programs and enter the professoriate. NSF proposes a one-time on-line survey of STEM graduate students currently enrolled in STEM doctoral programs and faculty members at universities taking part in AGEP.

Estimate of Burden: The Foundation estimates that, on average, 30 minutes per respondent will be required to complete the surveys, for a total of 8,250 hours for all respondents. Respondents from the 104 institutions that received NSF AGEP support will be asked to complete this survey once.

Respondents: STEM faculty at AGEP institutions and STEM graduate students at AGEP institutions.

Estimate Total Number of Responses: 16,500.

Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 8,250 hours.

Dated: May 19, 2009.

Suzanne H. Plimpton,

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.