[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7315-7316]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02408]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Health Resources and Services Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection: 
Public Comment Request; Information Collection Request Title: Nurse 
Faculty Loan Program--Program Specific Data Form and Annual Performance 
Report Financial Data Form, OMB No. 0915-0314--Revision

AGENCY: Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Department 
of Health and Human Services (HHS).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the requirement for opportunity for public 
comment on proposed data collection projects of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, HRSA announces plans to submit an Information Collection 
Request (ICR), described below, to the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB). Prior to submitting the ICR to OMB, HRSA seeks comments from the 
public regarding the burden estimate, below, or any other aspect of the 
ICR.

DATES: Comments on this ICR should be received no later than April 7, 
2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments to [email protected] or mail the HRSA 
Information Collection Clearance Officer, 14N136B, 5600 Fishers Lane, 
Rockville, MD 20857.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on the 
proposed project or to obtain a copy of the data collection plans and 
draft instruments, email [email protected] or call Lisa Wright-
Solomon, the HRSA Information Collection Clearance Officer at (301) 
443-1984.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: When submitting comments or requesting 
information, please include the ICR title for reference.
    Information Collection Request Title: Nurse Faculty Loan Program--
Program Specific Data Form and Annual Performance Report Financial Data 
Form OMB No. 0915-0314--Revision.
    Abstract: This clearance request is for approval of both the Nurse 
Faculty Loan Program (NFLP) Program Specific Data Form and the Annual 
Performance Report (APR) Financial Data Form. The APR Financial Data 
Form is currently approved under OMB Approval No. 0915-0314 and the 
Program Specific Data Form is currently approved under OMB Approval No. 
0915-0378, both with the expiration date of July 31, 2020. For program 
efficiency, HRSA is combining these previously separate ICRs under OMB 
No. 0915-0314 and will be discontinuing OMB No. 0915-0378.
    Need and Proposed Use of the Information: Section 846A of the 
Public Health Service Act provides the Secretary of HHS with the 
authority to enter into an agreement with schools of nursing for the 
establishment and operation of a student loan fund to increase the 
number of qualified nurse faculty.
    Under the agreement, HRSA makes awards to the school for the NFLP 
loan fund, which schools must maintain in a distinct account. The 
school of nursing makes loans from the NFLP account to students 
enrolled full-time or, at the discretion of the Secretary, part-time, 
in a master's or doctoral nursing education program that will prepare 
them to become qualified nursing faculty. Following graduation from the 
NFLP-lending school, loan recipients may receive up to 85 percent NFLP 
loan cancellation over a 4-year period in exchange for service as full-
time faculty at a school of nursing. The NFLP-lending school collects 
any portion of the loan that it has not cancelled and any loans that go 
into repayment due to default and deposits these monies into the NFLP 
loan fund to make additional NFLP loans.
    The NFLP Program Specific Data Form is a required electronic 
attachment within the NFLP application materials. The data provided in 
the form is essential for the formula-based criteria used to determine 
the award amount to the applicant schools. The form collects 
application-related data from applicants such as the amount requested, 
number of students the school will fund, tuition information, and 
projected unused loan fund balance. Approval of the NFLP Program 
Specific Data Form allows HRSA to continue to capture data to generate 
the formula-based awards for the NFLP program. This data collection 
assists HRSA in streamlining the application submission process, 
enabling an efficient award determination process, and facilitating 
reporting on the use of funds and analysis of program outcomes.
    The NFLP-APR Financial Data Form is an online form that exists in 
the HRSA Electronic Handbooks Performance Report module. The NFLP-APR 
Financial Data Form collects outcome and financial data to capture the 
NFLP loan fund account activity related to financial receivables, 
disbursements, and borrower account data related to employment status, 
loan cancellation, loan repayment, and collections. Participating 
schools provide HHS with current and cumulative information on: (1) 
NFLP loan funds received, (2) number and amount of NFLP loans made, (3) 
number and amount of loans cancelled, (4) number and amount of loans in 
repayment, (5) loan default rate percent, (6) number of NFLP graduates 
employed as nurse faculty, and (7) other related loan fund costs and 
activities.
    The school of nursing must keep records of all NFLP loan fund 
transactions. HRSA uses the NFLP-APR Financial Data Form to monitor 
grantee performance by collecting information related to the NFLP loan 
fund operations and financial activities for a specified reporting 
period (July 1 through June 30 of the academic year). Participating 
schools are required to complete and submit the NFLP-APR Financial Data 
Form annually.
    The data provided in the form is essential for HRSA to monitor the 
school's use of NFLP funds in accordance with the statute and program 
guidelines. Approval of the NFLP-APR Financial Data Form extension will 
allow HRSA to continue to monitor program performance and program 
outcome.
    Likely Respondents: Participating NFLP schools and applicants to 
the NFLP program.
    Burden Statement: Burden in this context means the time expended by 
persons to generate, maintain, retain, disclose or provide the 
information requested. This includes the time needed to review 
instructions; to develop, acquire, install, and utilize technology and 
systems for the purpose of collecting, validating, and verifying 
information, processing and maintaining information, and disclosing and 
providing information; to train personnel and to be able to respond to 
a collection of information; to search data sources; to complete and 
review the collection of information; and to

[[Page 7316]]

transmit or otherwise disclose the information. The total annual burden 
hours estimated for this ICR are summarized in the table below.

                                     Total Estimated Annualized Burden Hours
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                                                     Number of                    Average burden
            Form name                Number of     responses per       Total       per  response   Total burden
                                    respondents     respondent       responses      (in hours)         hours
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Nurse Faculty Loan Program--                  90               1              90               8             720
 Program Specific Data Form.....
Nurse Faculty Loan Program--                 260               1             260               6           1,560
 Annual Performance Report
 Financial Data Form............
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    Total Burden................             350  ..............             350  ..............           2,280
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    HRSA specifically requests comments on (1) the necessity and 
utility of the proposed information collection for the proper 
performance of the agency's functions; (2) the accuracy of the 
estimated burden; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity 
of the information to be collected; and (4) the use of automated 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology to 
minimize the information collection burden.

Maria G. Button,
Director, Executive Secretariat.
[FR Doc. 2020-02408 Filed 2-6-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4165-15-P