[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 138 (Monday, July 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42843-42845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-17698]
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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION
Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Establish an Information
Collection
AGENCY: National Science Foundation.
ACTION: Notice and request for comments.
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SUMMARY: Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13
(44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), and as part of its continuing effort to
reduce paperwork and respondent burden, the National Science Foundation
(NSF) is inviting the general public or other Federal agencies to
comment on this proposed continuing information collection.
Comments are invited on whether the proposed collection of
information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of
the Foundation, including whether the information will have practical
utility; the accuracy of the Foundation's estimate of the burden of the
proposed collection of information; ways to enhance the quality,
utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and ways to
minimize the burden of the collection of information on those who are
to respond, including through the use of automated collection
techniques or other forms of information technology.
DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by September
18, 2015, to be assured consideration. Comments received after that
date will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to
address below.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ms. Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports
Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard,
Suite 1265, Arlington, Virginia 22230; telephone (703) 292-7556; or
send email to [email protected]. Individuals who use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339, which is accessible
24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year (including federal
holidays).
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Title of Collection: Community College Innovation Challenge
Information Collection.
OMB Number: 3145--NEW.
Expiration Date of Approval: Not applicable.
Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to establish an
information collection for post-challenge outcome monitoring system.
Abstract
Proposed Project
NSF provides nearly 20 percent of federal funding for basic
research to academic institutions.\1\ The Office of Legislative and
Public Affairs (OLPA) communicates information about the activities,
programs, research results and policies of NSF. OLPA employs a wide
variety of tools and techniques to engage the general public and
selected audiences including Congress, the news media, state and local
governments, other Federal agencies, and the research and education
communities. To these ends, OLPA provides support for innovative new
initiatives designed to increase public engagement and scientific
progress. An important aspect of scientific progress is the education
of future scientists. Improvements in science, technology, engineering
and mathematics (STEM) curricula, particularly changes that engage
students in the process of research and discovery, have become a focal
point for attracting more students into science. Undergraduate research
is a significant strategy for improving undergraduate STEM education.
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\1\ National Science Foundation. (2012). NSF at a glance.
Retrieved from http://www.nsf.gov/about/glance.jsp.
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Community colleges prepare technicians who will become an integral
part of research efforts and students who will continue their education
at four-year institutions. Further, they play a significant role in the
preparation of underrepresented groups in science. Community colleges
have long recognized the importance of mentoring students and have a
history of success in educating underrepresented students for
successful careers in STEM. Thus, community colleges play an important
role in workforce development in their states and local communities.
Industry frequently looks to community colleges to provide an educated
and technologically up-to-date workforce. The National Science
Foundation's (NSF) thrust of incorporating research into the
traditional teaching mission of the community college is a relatively
new expansion of its mission. This challenge furthers NSF's mission by
enabling students to discover and demonstrate their capacity to use
science to make a difference in the world, and to transfer knowledge
into action.
The Office of Legislative and Public Affairs (OLPA) requests of the
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) an approval for an information
collection intended to monitor outputs, short-term, intermediate and
long term outcomes of OLPA's new Community College Innovation
Challenge.
The survey questionnaire, individually tailored to measure outputs
and outcomes for this initiative, will provide essential information
for program monitoring purposes. Data collected by this collection will
be used for program planning, management, and evaluation. A summary of
monitoring data can be used to respond to queries from Congress, the
public, NSF's external merit reviewers who serve as advisors, including
Committees of Visitors (COVs), and NSF's Office of the Inspector
General. These data are needed for effective administration, program
and project monitoring, evaluation, and for measuring
[[Page 42844]]
attainment of NSF's program and strategic goals, as identified by the
President's Accountable Government Initiative, the Government
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) Modernization Act of 2010, and NSF's
Strategic Plan. The collection included in this request is designed to
assist in management of the CCIC and to serve as a data resource for
current and future initiative evaluations.
This data collection effort will enable OLPA to longitudinally
monitor outputs and outcomes given the unique goals and purpose of the
CCIC. This is very important to enable appropriate and accurate
evidence-based management of the program and to determine whether or
not the specific goals of the program are being met.
Participants will be invited to submit this information via data
collection methods that include but are not limited to online surveys,
interviews, phone interviews, etc. The indicators are both quantitative
and descriptive and may include number of students majoring in STEM
disciplines or joining the STEM workforce, faculty expressions of
mentoring ability for STEM careers, number of participants continuing
to participate in innovation or entrepreneurship activities among other
indicators.
Use of the Information: The data collected will be used for NSF
internal reports, historical data, program level studies and
evaluations, and for securing future funding for the CCIC program
maintenance and growth. These data could be used for program evaluation
purposes if deemed necessary. Evaluation designs could make use of
metadata associated with the contest, and other characteristics to
identify a comparison group to evaluate the impact of the program
funding and other interesting research questions.
Estimate of Burden
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Annual number
Collection title Number of of responses/ Annual hour
respondents respondent burden
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Community College Innovation Challenge Monitoring Collection.... 410 .25 .1
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Total....................................................... 410 .25 10.25
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Below is an example that shows how the hour burden was estimated
for the monitoring system.
The estimated average number of annual respondents is 410, with an
estimated annual response burden of 10.25 hours. For post-award
monitoring systems, OLPA expects to collect data at 6 months 1, 3, and
8 years post-challenge, in order to have the best chance of capturing
the more immediate outcomes expected by ~1 year post-challenge,
intermediate outcomes at 3 years post-challenge, and long-term
outcomes/impacts at 8 years post challenge. These four (4) data
collections spread over the span of 10 years; this averages to 0.25
data collections/year. The community college population may transition
relatively quickly to another school or to the workforce and we might
expect a shorter and more condensed timeline of outcomes and impacts.
Thus, we wish to collect data at 6 months and one year after the
challenge, and then once annually at 3 and 8 years post-award.
Respondents
The respondents are faculty mentors and community college students.
Estimates of Annualized Cost to Respondents for the Hour Burdens
The overall annualized cost to the respondents is estimated to be
$8,800. The following table shows the annualized estimate of costs to
faculty mentor respondents, who are community college professors. This
estimated hourly rate is based on a report from the American
Association of University Professors, ``Annual Report on the Economic
Status of the Profession, 2014-15,'' Academe, March-April 2015, Survey
Report Table 4. According to this report, the average salary of an
associate professor across all types of associate's degree granting
institutions (public, private-independent) was $62,221. When divided by
the number of standard annual work hours (2,080), this calculates to
approximately $30 per hour. For the students, due to the broad range of
employment levels, we estimated an average hourly rate of $20.
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Burden hours
Respondent type Number of per Average Estimated
respondents respondent hourly rate annual cost
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Faculty Mentors................................. 60 1 $30 $1,800
Students........................................ 350 1 20 7,000
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Estimated Number of Responses per Report
Data collection involves all finalists and semifinalists in the
challenge. The table below shows the total universe and sample size for
the collections.
Respondent Universe and Sample Size of CCIC Information Collections
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Universe of
Collection title respondents Sample size
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Community College Innovation Challenge 410 410
Monitoring Collection................
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[[Page 42845]]
Dated: July 15, 2015.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2015-17698 Filed 7-17-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-P