[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 59 (Monday, March 28, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17271-17273]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-06477]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; NOAA Office of Education Higher Education Scholarship, 
Fellowship and Internship Programs

AGENCY: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), 
Commerce.

ACTION: Notice of information collection, request for comment.

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SUMMARY: The Department of Commerce, in accordance with the Paperwork 
Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA), invites the general public and other 
Federal agencies to comment on proposed, and continuing information 
collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information 
collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. The 
purpose of this notice is to allow for 60 days of public comment 
preceding submission of the collection to OMB.

DATES: To ensure consideration, written or on-line comments must be 
submitted on or before May 27, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Interested persons are invited to submit written comments to 
Adrienne Thomas, NOAA PRA Officer, at [email protected]. Please 
reference OMB Control Number 0648-0568 in the subject line of your 
comments. Do not submit Confidential Business Information or otherwise 
sensitive or protected information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Requests for additional information or 
specific questions related to collection activities should be directed 
to Natasha White, Management and Program Analyst, NOAA Office of 
Education, 1315 East-West Hwy., Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-628-2906 
or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Abstract

    This request is for extension and revision of a current information 
collection.
    The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office 
of Education is sponsoring the information collection herein described. 
The Administrator of NOAA is authorized by section 4002 of the America 
COMPETES Act, Public Law 110-69, to establish and administer a Graduate 
Sciences Program and two undergraduate scholarship programs to enhance 
understanding of ocean, coastal, Great Lakes, and atmospheric science 
and stewardship by the general public and other coastal stakeholders, 
including underrepresented groups in ocean and atmospheric science and 
policy careers. In addition, NOAA's Administrator is authorized by 
section 214 of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Public Law 
108-447, to establish and administer the Ernest F. Hollings 
Undergraduate Scholarship Program to support undergraduate studies in 
oceanic and atmospheric science, research, technology, and education 
that support NOAA's mission and programs.
    The NOAA Office of Education collects, evaluates, and assesses 
student data and information for the purpose of selecting successful 
candidates for scholarships, fellowships and internships, generating 
internal NOAA

[[Page 17272]]

reports, and articles to demonstrate the success of its program.
    The purpose of the NOAA Educational Partnership Program with 
Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) is to educate, train and 
graduate students in NOAA mission-aligned disciplines to build a pool 
of candidates eligible for the future NOAA workforce. The EPP/MSI 
program is strongly committed to broadening the participation of 
Minority Serving Institutions such as Historically Black Colleges and 
Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, Indian Tribally Controlled 
Colleges and Universities, Alaska Native-Serving Institutions, and 
Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions. The EPP/MSI program has five 
program components: The Undergraduate Scholarship Program (USP); the 
Cooperative Science Centers (CSCs); Graduate Fellowship Program (GFP); 
the Graduate Sciences Program (GSP); and the Environmental 
Entrepreneurship Program (EEP). The GSP and EEP programs are no longer 
actively supporting students, however alumni of those programs may 
provide updates to EPP/MSI of educational and career changes.
    The Ernest F. Hollings Undergraduate Scholarship Program was 
established to increase undergraduate training in oceanic and 
atmospheric science, research, technology, and education and foster 
multidisciplinary training opportunities. In an effort to increase the 
diversity of candidates applying to the Hollings Scholarship, the 
Hollings Preparation Program (HPP) was established in 2019.
    The NOAA Office of Education requires all applicants to NOAA's 
Undergraduate Scholarship Programs to complete an application in order 
to be considered. The application package requires two faculty and/or 
academic advisors to complete a student scholar reference form in 
support of the scholarship application. Undergraduate scholarship 
recipients are required to complete a Student Scholarship Training 
Record to track their time, attendance, and accomplishments during 
their internships. Student scholar alumni are also requested to provide 
information to NOAA for internal tracking purposes. This information 
informs NOAA whether NOAA-funded students pursue and complete post-
graduate NOAA-related science degrees, are employed by NOAA or a NOAA 
contractor, or in fields related to NOAA's mission.
    NOAA EPP/MSI CSC grant award recipients are required to update the 
student tracker database with the required student information in order 
to assess compliance with award performance measures. While supported 
by NOAA scholarship and internship programs, the Office of Education 
surveys students and mentors to gain feedback on experiences and to 
assess program impact. Feedback collected from surveys will be used to 
improve programs to ensure the highest quality experience for supported 
students.
    In compliance with Service Equity Assessment (E.O. 13985, Section 
5) NOAA identified a lack of demographic information on people that 
work for (FTE, contractor, or grantee), or are interns, students or 
grantees of NOAA as a barrier to measuring the success of stated 
Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice (DEIJ) goals, and gaining 
approval to collect such data will be important moving forward. NOAA 
has a continuing commitment to monitor the operation of its review and 
award processes to identify and address any inequities based on gender, 
race, ethnicity, or disability of its proposed applicants. To gather 
information needed for this important task, the applicant(s) should 
submit the requested information for each identified applicant(s) with 
each proposal using the proposed optional demographic survey. 
Submission of the requested information is voluntary and is not a 
precondition of award unless otherwise noted by the opportunity. Any 
individual not wishing to submit some or all the information should 
check the box provided for this purpose. Upon receipt of the 
application, this form will be separated from the application. This 
form will not be duplicated, and it will not be a part of the review 
process (unless specified by the opportunity). Data will be 
confidential.
    The collected data supports the Office of Education's program 
performance measures. To measure the impact of these programs, the data 
collected are compared to the available data in the national education 
databases (e.g., National Science Foundation and National Center for 
Education Statistics) and NOAA workforce management database. 
Furthermore, the student data collection identifies degree and NOAA 
mission-aligned discipline pipeline areas, guiding NOAA's effort to 
recruit for its mission-aligned educational and training programs and 
future workforce.
    This information collection includes several changes to the type 
and amount of information being collected as described below:

1. Updates to Student Scholarship Application and Reference Forms
2. Addition of Student and Mentor Surveys
3. Addition of the Hollings Preparation Program Application and Surveys
4. Graduate Fellowship Program Application and References
5. Addition of Student Opportunities Optional Demographic Data 
Collection
6. Removal of the Dr. Nancy Foster and the National Marine Fisheries 
Service (NMFS) Recruiting, Training, and Research (RTR) Program
7. Revision of the collection title.

II. Method of Collection

    Electronic applications and electronic forms are required from 
participants, and the primary methods of submission are email and 
internet transmission of electronic forms. Less than 1% of the 
application and reference forms may be mailed.

III. Data

    OMB Control Number: 0648-0568.
    Form Number(s): None.
    Type of Review: Regular submission (extension and revision of a 
current information collection).
    Affected Public: Individuals or households; business or other for-
profit; not-for-profit institutions; Federal, State, Local or Tribal 
Government.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 4,769.
    Estimated Time per Response: Hollings and EPP/MSI Application--12 
hours; Hollings and EPP/MSI Reference--1 hour; Alumni Update Form--0.1 
hours; Student Tracker Form--28 hours; EPP/MSI Graduate Fellowship 
Application--12 hours; EPP/MSI Graduate Fellowship References--1 hour; 
Student Training Record Form--0.5 hours; Hollings and EPP/MSI Student 
Surveys--0.25 hours; Hollings and EPP/MSI Applicant Survey--0.1 hours; 
Hollings and EPP/MSI Mentor Surveys--0.5 hours; Hollings Preparation 
Program Application--1 hour; Hollings Preparation Program Surveys--0.33 
hours; Student Opportunities Optional Demographic Data Collection--0.25 
hours.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 12,067.50.
    Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $75 in recordkeeping/
reporting costs.
    Respondent's Obligation: Voluntary or Required to Obtain or Retain 
Benefits.
    Legal Authority: The America COMPETES Act, Public Law 110-69, 
Section 4002; The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2005, Public Law 
108-447, Section 214; Executive Orders 13985 and 14035.

[[Page 17273]]

IV. Request for Comments

    We are soliciting public comments to permit the Department/Bureau 
to: (a) Evaluate whether the proposed information collection is 
necessary for the proper functions of the Department, including whether 
the information will have practical utility; (b) Evaluate the accuracy 
of our estimate of the time and cost burden for this proposed 
collection, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions 
used; (c) Evaluate ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) Minimize the reporting burden 
on those who are to respond, including the use of automated collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology.
    Comments that you submit in response to this notice are a matter of 
public record. We will include or summarize each comment in our request 
to OMB to approve this ICR. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you may ask us in your comment to withhold your 
personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee that we will be able to do so.

Sheleen Dumas,
Department PRA Clearance Officer, Office of the Chief Information 
Officer, Commerce Department.
[FR Doc. 2022-06477 Filed 3-25-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-12-P