2017-14578. Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In compliance with 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: 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; the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the proposed information collection; ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information to be collected; and 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 September 11, 2017.

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: Department of Defense, Office of the Deputy Chief Management Officer, Directorate for Oversight and Compliance, Regulatory and Advisory Committee Division, 4800 Mark Center Drive, Mailbox #24, Suite 08D09B, Alexandria, VA 22350-1700.

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.

Any associated form(s) for this collection may be located within this same electronic docket and downloaded for review/testing. Follow the instructions at http://www.regulations.gov for submitting comments. Please submit comments on any given form identified by docket number, form number, and title.

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 Assistant Secretary of Defense for Readiness, Force Education and Training, Voluntary Education, ATTN: Ms. Dawn Bilodeau, Pentagon, Room 2E573, Washington, DC 20301-1500 or send email to project officer at: [e-mail].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

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 marketing 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.

The 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 and spouse-students to raise these concerns.

Title; Associated Form; and OMB Number: DoD Postsecondary Education Complaint Intake Form, DD Form 2961; OMB Control Number 0704-0501.

Needs and Uses: The information collection requirement is necessary to obtain, document, and respond to egregious complaints, questions, and other information concerning actions post-secondary education programs and services provided to military service members and spouse-students. The DoD Postsecondary Education Complaint Intake form will provide pertinent information such as: The content of the complaint, the educational institution the student is attending, the level of study, the education program the student is enrolled in, the type of education benefits being used, the branch of the military service, and the preferred contact information.

Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-profits; not-for-profit institutions.

Annual Burden Hours: 16.

Number of Respondents: 63.

Responses per Respondent: 1.

Annual Responses: 63.

Average Burden per Response: 15 minutes.

Frequency: On Occasion.

Respondents are military spouses who submit complaints via the Department of Defense (DoD) Postsecondary Education Complaint Intake form. The PECS Intake form is used to record complaints concerning educational institutions that military spouses feel have acted deceptively, aggressively or fraudulently towards them. The Intake form documents information such as the level of study of the student, the educational institution the student is attending, the type of education benefits being used, the branch of the military service the spouses' sponsor, the content of the complaint, and the preferred contact information for the person making the contact. Complaint Case Managers use information from the Intake form to track and manage cases and to coordinate a resolution with educational institutions, and to provide feedback to the respondent throughout the process and once a resolution has been reached.

Dated: July 7, 2017.

Aaron Siegel,

Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.