2013-14924. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Annual Performance Report for the Master's Degree Program for Historically Black Colleges and ...

AGENCY:

Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing an extension of an existing information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before July 24, 2013.

ADDRESSES:

Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2013-ICCD-0054 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Electronically mail [e-mail]. Please do not send comments here.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education 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: Annual Performance Report for the Master's Degree Program for Historically Black Colleges and Universities.

OMB Control Number: 1840-0813.

Type of Review: Extension without change of an existing collection of information.

Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 18.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 360.

Abstract: The Department is requesting authorization to annually collect performance report data for the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Masters Degree Program. This information is being collected to comply with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) of 1993, Section 4 (1115), and the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), 34 CFR 75.253. EDGAR states that recipients of multi-year discretionary grants must submit an APR demonstrating that substantial progress has been made towards meeting the approved objectives of the project. Further, the Annual Performance Report (APR) lends itself to the collection of quantifiable data for this program. Grantees will be required to report on their progress towards meeting the performance measures established for the HBCU Master's Degree Program.

Dated: June 18, 2013.

Stephanie Valentine,

Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.