[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 183 (Tuesday, September 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57161-57162]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-23976]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED_2015-ICCD-0112]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Data 
Challenges and Appeals Solution (DCAS)

AGENCY: Federal Student Aid (FSA), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. chapter 3507(j)), ED is requesting the Office of Management and 
Budget (OMB) to conduct an emergency review of a new information 
collection.

DATES: Approval by the OMB has been requested by October 15, 2015. A 
regular clearance process is also hereby being initiated. Interested 
persons are invited to submit comments on or before November 23, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED_2015-ICCD-
0112 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the 
regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED 
will temporarily accept comments at [email protected]. Please note 
that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the 
comment period will not be accepted; ED will ONLY accept comments 
during the comment period in this mailbox when the regulations.gov site 
is not available. 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, Mailstop L-OM-2-
2E319, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202.

[[Page 57162]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Beth Grebeldinger, (202)377-4018.

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: Data Challenges and Appeals Solution (DCAS).
    OMB Control Number: 1845-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Private Sector; State, Local or Tribal 
Governments.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,029,889.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 175,081.
    Abstract: This is a request for an emergency clearance approval for 
the Data Challenges and Appeals Solution (DCAS), a new system that will 
allow institutions to challenge their self-reported data as well as 
Department calculated metrics. The system will ultimately provide for 
the receipt, processing, data storage and archiving of data challenges 
received from institutions for challenges of Gainful Employment (GE) 
metrics, Cohort Default Rates (institutional and programmatic), and 
Disclosure Rates and Metrics. This request is for a new collection for 
the first phase of DCAS, the institutional challenge to the GE 
completers list provided to institutions by the Department of 
Education. The other aspects of DCAS will be made functional and 
available to institutions in stages, to allow for full development and 
testing, through subsequent system releases.
    Additional Information: An emergency clearance approval for the use 
of the system is described below due to the following conditions:
     The Department's contracting process experienced a seven 
month setback when a contractor solicitation had to be cancelled and 
re-issued. In order to allow the challenge and appeal process to be 
implemented on time, the system must be able to accept challenges to 
the completer lists by November 9, 2015.
     The Department believes that students will be harmed if 
there is a delay in implementing the challenge process which will 
ultimately delay the issuance of final rates. The schedule is to have 
the final rates published and available to disclose to students by 
January 2017.
     Trends in graduates' earnings, student loan debt, 
defaults, and repayment underscore the need for the Department to act 
swiftly. The Gainful Employment accountability framework takes into 
consideration the relationship between total student loan debt and 
earnings after completion of a post-secondary program.
     The Gainful Employment regulation was issued after both 
negotiated rulemaking and notice-and-comment procedures. The full 
challenge and appeals process is already detailed at 34 CFR 668.405 and 
668.406. Burden calculations were likewise already promulgated. 
Stakeholders and other interested parties have already had significant 
opportunities to give input on the process.

    Dated: September 17, 2015.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-23976 Filed 9-21-15; 8:45 am]
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