2023-19934. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Educational Opportunity Centers Program (EOC) Annual Performance Report

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before October 16, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for proposed information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain to access the site. Find this information collection request (ICR) by selecting “Department of Education” under “Currently Under Review,” then check the “Only Show ICR for Public Comment” checkbox. Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this information collection request. Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking on the “View Information Collection (IC) List” link. Supporting statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking on the “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Marie Julienne, (202) 987–1054.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department 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: Educational Opportunity Centers Program (EOC) Annual Performance Report.

OMB Control Number: 1840–0830.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public: State, Local, and Tribal Governments; Private Sector.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 183.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,464.

Abstract: The Department of Education (ED) collects Annual Performance Reports (APRs) from Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) grantees under the authority of Title IV, Part A, Subpart 2, Division 1, Sections 402A and 402B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, the program regulations in 34 CFR 644, and the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), in 34 CFR 74.51, 75.720, and 75.732. The information that grantees submit in their APRs allows ED to annually assess each grantee's progress in meeting their project's approved goals and objectives. The APR data that grantees submit are compared with the projects' approved objectives to determine the projects' accomplishments, to make decisions regarding whether funding should be continued, and to award “prior experience” points. The regulations for this program provide for awarding up to 15 points for prior experience (34 CR 644.22). During a competition for new grant awards, the prior experience points are added to the average of the peer reviewers' scores to arrive at a total score for each application. Funding recommendations and decisions are primarily based on the rank order of applications on the slate; therefore, assessment of prior experience points, based on data in the annual performance report, is a crucial part of the overall application process.

Further, this performance report form is the main source of data for the Department's response to the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) for this program. In addition, the Department uses the annual performance reports to produce program level data for annual reporting, budget submissions to OMB, Congressional hearings and inquiries, and responding to inquiries from higher education interest groups and the general public.

EOC APRs are prepared and submitted by EOC grant projects. For each EOC grant project, the grant project director of record completes, or supervises the completion of the data submission process. The grant project director supervises the administration of an EOC grant. An EOC grant provides counseling and information on college admissions to qualified adults who want to enter or continue a program of postsecondary education. The program also provides services to improve the financial and economic literacy of participants. An important objective of the program is to counsel participants on financial aid options, including basic financial planning skills, and to assist in the application process. The goal of the EOC program is to increase the number of adult participants who enroll in postsecondary education institutions.

The proposed revision to the APR entails replacement of Competitive Preference Priority (CPP) questions with new CPP questions of equal response time. In addition, the annual number of responses and total annual burden hours have been adjusted to reflect an increase in the size of the reporting universe.

Dated: September 11, 2023.

Kun Mullan,

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.