[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 132 (Wednesday, July 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 32203-32204]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-14528]



[[Page 32203]]

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

National Institute of Justice

[OMB Number-1121-NEW]


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed New 
Information Collection Activity; Comment Request, Proposed Study 
Entitled ``Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Sexual 
Violence Climate Survey Project''

AGENCY: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice.

ACTION: 30-Day notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: The Department of Justice (DOJ), Office of Justice Programs, 
National Institute of Justice, will be submitting the following 
information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) for review and approval in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and will be accepted for an additional 
30 days until August 11, 2017.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Written comments and/or suggestions 
regarding the items contained in this notice, especially the estimated 
public burden and associated response time, should be directed to 
Christine Crossland, National Institute of Justice, Office of Research 
and Evaluation, 810 Seventh Street NW., Washington, DC 20531 (overnight 
20001) or via email at [email protected]. Written 
comments and/or suggestions can also be sent to the Office of 
Management and Budget, Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, 
Attention Department of Justice Desk Officer, Washington, DC 20503 or 
sent to [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Written comments and suggestions from the 
public and affected agencies concerning the proposed collection of 
information are encouraged. Your comments should address one or more of 
the following four points:

--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 agencies 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 
submission of responses.

Overview of This Information Collection

    (1) Type of Information Collection: Modification of the Bureau of 
Justice Statistics' (BJS) campus climate survey; Cognitive testing; 
Pilot testing of modified survey.
    (2) Title of the Form/Collection: Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities (HBCU) Sexual Violence Climate Survey Project.
    (3) Agency form number, if any, and the applicable component of the 
Department sponsoring the collection: The applicable component within 
the U.S. Department of Justice is the National Institute of Justice in 
the Office of Justice Programs.
    (4) Affected public who will be asked or required to respond, as 
well as a brief abstract: In early 2014, the White House established 
the Task Force to Protect Students from Sexual Assault. Representatives 
to the Task Force were from several federal departments and agencies, 
including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the 
Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), and the National Institute of 
Justice (NIJ). The task force put forth a mandate to strengthen federal 
enforcement efforts and provide schools with additional tools to help 
prevent sexual violence on campuses. One such tool is the campus 
climate survey designed to help schools understand the magnitude and 
nature of sexual victimization experienced by students. As such, in 
2014 OVW funded the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), within the U.S. 
Department of Justice, to develop and test a pilot campus climate 
survey. The current project builds on the work of BJS by modifying 
their campus climate survey for use at HBCUs.
    (5) NIJ, in collaboration with the Rutgers Violence Against Women 
Research Consortium, will begin by engaging in cognitive testing to 
determine if the BJS campus climate survey is relevant to students from 
HBCUs. The methods for cognitive testing are based on the methods used 
in the BJS Validation Study. Two forms of cognitive testing will be 
used. First, crowdsourcing will be used to test the instrument online. 
Approximately 240 crowdsourced surveys will be piloted with 
participants who are 18-25 years old, with a high school degree and 
matching the racial/ethnical demographics of HBCUs over approximately 2 
months. Second, cognitive interviewing will then be used to further 
test the BJS campus climate survey with 30 African-American students 
(potentially to be recruited from the Rutgers-Newark campus). The BJS 
survey instrument will then be modified based on the findings from the 
crowdsourced surveys and cognitive interviews for use at HBCUs. Lastly, 
the modified BJS survey will be tested at three to six HBCUs; the 
survey will be offered to a random sample of 3,300 students over a 
period of approximately 2 months. At the end of this study, results 
from the survey will assist with the validation of a campus climate 
survey tool for HBCUs as well as information on the sexual violence 
rates at HBCUs.
    (6) An estimate of the total number of respondents and the amount 
of time estimated for an average respondent to respond/reply: The 
estimated range of burden for respondents completing the crowdsourcing 
survey is 30 minutes. Approximately 240 participants will be recruited 
to complete the survey. The estimated range of burden for respondents 
participating in the cognitive interviewing is 60 minutes. 
Approximately 30 students will be recruited to complete a cognitive 
interview. Lastly, the estimated range of burden for respondents 
completing the HBCU campus climate survey is expected to be between 15 
minutes to 30 minutes for completion. The following factors were 
considered when creating the burden estimate: The estimated total 
number of sites (3 HBCUs plus 1 cognitive testing site) and students 
within sites (240 for crowd sourced surveys, 30 for cognitive 
interviews, and 3,300 at HBCUs), in the sampling plan for a total of 
3,570 expected respondents.
    (7) An estimate of the total public burden (in hours) associated 
with the collection: The estimated public burden associated with this 
collection is 1,800 hours. It is estimated that each of the 240 crowd 
sourced surveys will take 30 minutes to complete (240 respondents x 30 
minutes = 120 hours). It is estimated that each of the cognitive 
interviews will take 60 minutes to complete (30 respondents x 1 hour = 
30 hours). Lastly, it is estimated that each campus climate survey will 
take 30 minutes to complete (3,300 respondents x 30 minutes = 1,650 
hours). We estimate a 24-month data collection period, with all 
cognitive testing completed in year 1 for an annualized burden of 150 
hours and all surveys administered in year 2,

[[Page 32204]]

or an annualized burden of 1,650 hours for year 2.
    If additional information is required contact: Melody Braswell, 
Department Clearance Officer, United States Department of Justice, 
Justice Management Division, Policy and Planning Staff, Two 
Constitution Square, 145 N Street NE., 3E.405A, Washington, DC 20530.

    Dated: July 6, 2017.
Melody Braswell,
Department Clearance Officer for PRA, U.S. Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2017-14528 Filed 7-11-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-18-P