[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 85 (Wednesday, May 2, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25994-25995]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-10621]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests; Institute of 
Education Sciences; Pell Grant Expansions Under the Pell Grant 
Expansions (PGE) Study 2012

SUMMARY: The Pell Grant Expansions under the PGE is a two-part, five-
year demonstration study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education 
that focuses on the effects of expanded access to Pell grants on 
students' employment and earnings outcomes. The primary outcome of 
interest is (1) the employment status and earnings of students who 
participate in the study while secondary outcomes include (2) students' 
experiences with and participation in education and training, (3) 
measures of student debt and financial aid, and (4) the extent of 
participation in job search assistance services.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
July 2, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding burden and/or the collection 
activity requirements should be electronically mailed to 
[email protected] or mailed to U.S. Department of Education, 400 
Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Copies of the 
proposed information collection request may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov, by selecting the ``Browse Pending Collections'' link 
and by clicking on link number 04848. When you access the information 
collection, click on ``Download Attachments'' to view. Written requests 
for information should be addressed to U.S. Department of Education, 
400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Washington, DC 20202-4537. Requests may 
also be electronically mailed to [email protected] or faxed to 202-
401-0920. Please specify the complete title of the information 
collection and OMB Control Number when making your request.
    Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) 
may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-
8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that Federal agencies provide 
interested parties an early opportunity to comment on information 
collection requests. The Director, Information Collection Clearance 
Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office 
of Management, publishes this notice containing proposed information 
collection requests at the beginning of the Departmental review of the 
information collection. 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: Pell Grant Expansions Under the PGE Study 
2012.
    OMB Control Number: Pending .
    Type of Review: New .
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 13,400.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 3,932.
    Abstract: This study consists of two substudies, each of which will 
examine the impact of a single change to the Pell grant eligibility 
criteria. The first substudy will relax the prohibition on receipt of 
Pell grants by students with a bachelors' degree. Individuals eligible 
for the first substudy must have a

[[Page 25995]]

bachelor's degree, be unemployed or underemployed, and pursue a 
vocational training program up to one year in duration. The second 
substudy will reduce the minimum duration and intensity levels of 
programs that Pell grant recipients must participate in from 15 weeks 
with 600 minimum clock hours to 8 weeks with 150 minimum clock hours. 
Each substudy will operate through a set of PGE schools that provide 
education and training services that qualify as PGE programs.
    Participants in both substudies will be randomly assigned to either 
(1) a treatment group, which will have expanded access to Pell grants; 
or (2) a control group, which will not have access. Within both 
substudies, the treatment group will be very similar to the control at 
the time of random assignment except for access to Pell grants. 
Subsequent differences in the employment and earnings outcomes between 
treatment and control group members can then be attributed to Pell 
grant access. The first substudy will involve roughly 28 PGE schools 
with an average of 100 students participating per school. The second 
substudy will involve roughly 40 PGE schools with an average of 200 
participating students per school. The expected sample of both 
substudies combined is approximately 10,800 students. Data for this 
evaluation will come from participants' Free Application for Federal 
Student Aid (FAFSA) applications, PGE school administrative records, 
Social Security Administration earnings statements, and a survey of 
study participants. The study participant enrollment period is expected 
to last from July 2012 to January 2014. Data extracts from FAFSA 
applications will occur between October and December during years 2012-
2014. Administrative extracts from PGE schools will occur between 
January and March during years 2013-2015. A stratified survey of 
treatment and control group members with a targeted total sample size 
of 2,000 will be fielded between July 2014 and March 2015.

    Dated: April 26, 2012.
Darrin A. King,
Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2012-10621 Filed 5-1-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P