[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 30 (Friday, February 13, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7235-7236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-3162]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

National Institutes of Health


Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Career Survey of Science-
Oriented Scholars

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 Office of Loan Repayment and 
Scholarship (OLRS), the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will 
publish periodic summaries of proposed projects to be submitted to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and approval.
    Proposed Collection: (1) Title: Career Survey Science-Oriented 
Scholars (CSSOS). (2) Focus group of current and former participants in 
the Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP) at NIH. This survey and 
focus group are part of a comprehensive evaluation of the National 
Institutes of Health (NIH) Undergraduate Scholarship Program (UGSP), 
the purpose of which is to evaluate the success of the UGSP in 
achieving its intermediate goal of keeping scholars from disadvantage 
backgrounds on track to eventually become tenured research scientists 
at the NIH. The CSSOS will collect information on undergraduate, 
graduate, and post-graduate education and training; employment history; 
experiences with the NIH; career status and goals; and demographic 
data. The protocol for the focus groups will address the program 
application process; experiences during the school year, particularly 
relations with college mentors; experience during the summer 
internship; experiences during years spent in payback; perceptions of 
program effects; career plans; and potential program improvements. Such 
information can be used to gauge whether the program is meeting the 
expectations of program managers and how the program could be improved 
in

[[Page 7236]]

the future. It will be used to address the outcome and impact study 
questions related to short and long term retention, both at NIH and in 
research generally.
    In addition to informing OLRS about the effectiveness of the UGSP 
program, the results of the evaluation will become the basis for 
recommendations on how the program could be modified to improve 
outcomes. Indeed, some of the findings may be useful to the Office of 
the Director in terms of human resources policy in particular and NIH 
policy generally. Also, the information collection will help our 
nation's leaders in setting policies to ensure a solid infrastructure 
for biomedical research. Encouraging the nation;s brightest minds to 
pursue careers in biomedical research, both in public service such as 
NIH and in private laboratories, is critical to this effort. Frequency 
of Response: One time data collection. Affected Public: Individuals. 
Type of Respondents: Current and former NIH UGSP finalist applicants 
and scholars. The annualized cost to respondents is estimated at 
$6,687. There are no capital costs, operating costs and/or maintenance 
costs to report.

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                                                            Approximate
                                                             number of     Response per      Hours per     Total burden      Wage rate      Total hour
                   Type of  respondent                       completed      respondent       response          hours        (per hour)         cost
                                                             responses
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College Students........................................              30               1             .50            15.0          $20.00            $300
College Graduates.......................................             120               1             .75            90.0           44.82           4,034
Focus Group Participants................................              35               1            1.5             52.5           44.82           2,353
                                                         -----------------
    Total...............................................             185  ..............  ..............           157.5  ..............           6,687
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    Requests for Comments: Written Comments and/or suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies are invited on one or more of the 
following points: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the function of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) The 
accuracy of the agency's estiamte of the burden of the proposed 
collection of information, including the validity of the methodology 
and assumptions used; (3) Ways to enhance the quality, utility, and 
clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) Ways to

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
instruments, contact Dr. Alfred C. Johnson, Director, Undergraduate 
Scholarship Program, NIH, 2 Center Drive, Room 2E30 Bethesda, MD 20892-
0230 or call toll-free 1-800-528-7689 or call non-toll free number 
(301) 480-7430 or E-mail your request including your address to: 
[email protected]
    Comments Due Date: Comments regarding this information collection 
are best assured of having their full effect if received within 60-days 
of the date of this publication.

    Dated: February 9, 2004.
Alfred C. Johnson,
Director, Undergraduate Scholarship Program National Institutes of 
Health.
[FR Doc. 04-3162 Filed 2-12-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4140-01-M