[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2443-2445]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-00419]


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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR

Employment and Training Administration


Comment Request for Information Collection for the Registered 
Apprenticeship-College Consortium, New Collection

AGENCY: Employment and Training Administration (ETA), Labor.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Labor (Department), as part of its 
continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, conducts a 
pre-clearance consultation program to provide the public and Federal 
agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing 
collections of information in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995 [44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)]. This program helps ensure that 
requested data can be provided in the desired format, reporting burden 
(time and financial resources) is minimized, collection instruments are 
clearly understood, and the impact of collection requirements on 
respondents can be properly assessed.
    Currently, ETA is soliciting comments on the current data 
collection for the Registered Apprenticeship-College Consortium (RACC). 
The RACC exists to facilitate applying the Registered Apprenticeship 
completion certificate towards college credit. RACC post-secondary 
members agree to accept apprentice graduates from member Registered 
Apprenticeship sponsors who have the approximate amount of credit 
toward college that has been designated by a third party evaluator. The 
Department has modeled the RACC after the Servicemembers Opportunities 
Colleges Consortium supported by the Department of Defense.
    The RACC data collection includes three application forms to join 
the consortium, differentiated by membership type:
    (1) The application for Registered Apprenticeship sponsors requests 
contact
    information for the national, regional or single guideline 
standards or program; all participating training centers, if 
applicable; and the value of the apprenticeship program toward college 
credit, recommended by a third party evaluator;
    (2) the application for two- and four-year post-secondary 
institutions requests contact, degree and credit transfer information; 
and
    (3) the application for national, regional or State organizations 
that represent sponsors and/or two- and four-year post-secondary 
colleges and will facilitate membership in the consortium requests 
contact information and the nature of the relationship with sponsors or 
colleges.
    Subsection II of the Supplementary Information paragraphs below 
provides greater detail on the types of comments that would be most 
helpful.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted to the office listed in the 
addresses section below on or before March 12, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit written comments to Laura Ginsburg, Office of 
Apprenticeship, Room N-5306, Employment and Training Administration, 
U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC 
20210. Telephone number: 202-693-2796. Individuals with hearing or 
speech impairments may access the telephone number above via TTY by 
calling the toll-free Federal Information Relay Service at 1-877-889-
5627 (TTY/TDD). Fax: 202-693-3799. Email: [email protected]. A 
copy of the proposed information collection request (ICR) can be 
obtained by contacting the office listed above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    The Secretary of Labor's Advisory Committee on Apprenticeship 
(ACA), which includes members from the employer, labor, and public 
sectors, has identified the need to apply the Registered Apprenticeship 
completion certificate for college credit as an important opportunity 
for apprentices to continue on a career pathway, enhance skill 
acquisition, and earn an Associates or Bachelor's degree. Increased 
articulation agreements between Registered Apprenticeship program 
sponsors and colleges will create a new pipeline of degree-seekers and 
enhance the competitiveness of American industry by enlarging the pool 
of highly-trained workers that possess in-demand skills and 
competencies.
    Registered Apprenticeship pairs paid on-the-job learning with 
related technical/theoretical classes in a career field. The earn-
while-you-learn model offers job seekers immediate employment 
opportunities that pay good wages and offer career growth, highly-
esteemed and useful life/skill sets, portable credentials that are 
nationally (and often globally) recognized, and the opportunity for 
participants to apply their apprenticeship training to two- and four-
year college programs. DOL's Assistant Secretary for Employment and

[[Page 2444]]

Training, Jane Oates, and the Department of Education's (DOE) Assistant 
Secretary for Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), Brenda Dann-
Messier, is undertaking a joint effort, at the recommendation of the 
ACA, to increase articulation agreements between post-secondary 
education institutions and Registered Apprenticeship program sponsors. 
An ad-hoc workgroup of the ACA, composed of ACA members, community 
college leaders, Registered Apprenticeship sponsors, American 
Association of Community Colleges (AACC) representatives, and 
leadership from DOL's Office of Apprenticeship (OA) and DOE/OVAE has 
developed the framework for the articulation consortium, including 
goals, principles and membership criteria which was adopted unanimously 
by the full ACA at its May 9-10, 2012 meeting. The SOC is a consortium 
of colleges supported by the Department of Defense that provides 
college articulation for soldiers and veterans who accumulate credits 
at a number of colleges.
    DOL has shared this framework for feedback and refinement with a 
variety of stakeholder groups, including a wide range of community 
college partners as well as sponsors of Registered Apprenticeship 
programs who overwhelmingly support the establishment of the 
consortium. The data collection is the application form to seek 
membership in the consortium, which DOL also has based on the SOC 
model.

II. Review Focus

    The Department is particularly interested in comments which:
     Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
     Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the 
burden of the proposed collection of information, including the 
validity of the methodology and assumptions used;
     Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the 
information to be collected; and minimize the burden of the collection 
of information on those who are to respond, including through the use 
of appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other 
technological collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology, e.g., permitting electronic submissions of responses.

III. Current Actions

    Type of Review: New collection.
    Title: Registered Apprenticeship-College Consortium Membership 
Applications.
    OMB Number: 1205-0NEW.
    Affected Public: Registered Apprenticeship sponsors and graduates 
of the programs (journey workers), two- and four-year post-secondary 
institutions, national, regional and state organizations that represent 
sponsors and/or post-secondary institutions.
    Form(s): Separate application forms for each group: (1) 2- and 4-
year post-secondary institutions, (2) sponsors, (3) national, regional 
and state organizations that represent sponsors and 2- and 4-year 
institutions.

Total Annual Respondents

    First Year = 602
     2- and 4-year post-secondary institutions = 500
     Program Sponsors = 100
     National, Regional, or State Associations or Other 
Organizations = 2
    Annual Respondents (after the first year) = 77
     2- and 4-year post-secondary institutions = 50
     Program Sponsors = 25
     National, Regional, or State Associations or Other 
Organizations = 2
    Annual Frequency: once per respondent, with annual updates as 
needed when contact information changes.
    Total Annual Responses:
First Year = 1,237 articulation agreements

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Average number of
                                       articulation     Total number of
      Number of institutions          agreements per      articulation
                                       institution         agreements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
380...............................                  1                380
48................................                  3                144
30................................                  8                240
17................................                 15                255
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Total number of articulation agreements estimated to               1,019
 be entered by two- and four-year colleges during the
 first year
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Average number of
                                       articulation     Total number of
        Number of sponsors            agreements per      articulation
                                         sponsor           agreements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
80................................                  1                 80
10................................                  3                 30
6.................................                  8                 48
4.................................                 15                 60
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of articulation agreements estimated to                 218
 be entered by program sponsors during the first year
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Annual Responses (after the first year) = 166 articulation agreements

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Average number of
                                       articulation     Total number of
      Number of institutions          agreements per      articulation
                                       institution         agreements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
40................................                  1                 40

[[Page 2445]]

 
5.................................                  3                 15
3.................................                  8                 24
2.................................                 15                 30
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Total number of articulation agreements estimated to                 109
 be entered by two- and four-year colleges on an
 annual basis
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------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                    Average number of
                                       articulation     Total number of
        Number of sponsors            agreements per      articulation
                                         sponsor           agreements
------------------------------------------------------------------------
20................................                  1                 20
2.................................                  3                  6
2.................................                  8                 16
1.................................                 15                 15
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Total number of articulation agreements estimated to                  57
 be entered by program sponsors on an annual basis
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Average Time per Response: 10 minutes per articulation agreement.

Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours

    First Year = 235 hours

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Burden
                        Application                             hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two- and Four-Year Post-Secondary Institutions.............          179
Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor..........................         53.5
Associations and Other Organizations.......................            2
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Annual Burden Hours (after the first year) = 30 hours

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Burden
                        Application                             hours
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two- and Four-Year Post-Secondary Institutions.............           18
Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor..........................          9.5
Associations and Other Organizations.......................            2
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Total Annual Burden Cost for Respondents: $14,232.

------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                              Respondent
                        Application                              cost
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Two- and Four-Year Post-Secondary Institutions.............      $11,280
Registered Apprenticeship Sponsor..........................       $2,760
Associations and Other Organizations.......................         $192
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Comments submitted in response to this comment request will be 
summarized and/or included in the request for Office of Management and 
Budget approval of the ICR; they will also become a matter of public 
record.

    Dated: Signed in Washington, DC, on this 2nd day of January, 
2013.
Jane Oates,
Assistant Secretary for Employment and Training, Labor.
[FR Doc. 2013-00419 Filed 1-10-13; 8:45 am]
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