2016-25483. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Application for New Grants Under the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program (1890-0001)

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 a reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before November 21, 2016.

ADDRESSES:

To access and review all the documents related to the information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2016-ICCD-0110. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number 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 2E-347, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Carmen Gordon, 202-453-7311.

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: Application for New Grants Under the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement Program.

OMB Control Number: 1840-0619.

Type of Review: A reinstatement of a previously approved information collection.

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

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 350.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 13,960.

Abstract: The Department of Education is requesting a reinstatement with change of a previously approved collection of information entitled Application for New Awards under the Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program. This application will be used to award new grants and collect data under the McNair program. which provides grants to institutions of higher education and combinations of such institutions to prepare low-income, first-generation college students, and students from groups underrepresented in graduate education, for doctoral study. Two of the three previously used competitive preference priorities have been removed while one remains unchanged in anticipation of the FY 2017 competition. The cost burden to the Federal Government, which was reported as $1,155,449 in the previously approved collection, has also been updated to better reflect actual costs.

Dated: October 18, 2016.

Kate Mullan,

Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.