[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 128 (Thursday, July 6, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43105-43106]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14207]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2023-SCC-0122]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Educational Opportunity Centers Program (EOC) Annual Performance Report

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), Department of 
Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved 
information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
September 5, 2023.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2023-SCC-0122. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, the Department will 
temporarily accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the 
docket ID number and the title of the information collection request 
when requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that 
comments submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. 
Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail 
or delivery should be addressed to the Manager of the Strategic 
Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave SW, LBJ, Room 6W203, 
Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Marie Julienne, (202) 987-1054.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, 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. The Department is soliciting comments on the 
proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 
The Department 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: Educational Opportunity Centers Program (EOC) 
Annual Performance Report.
    OMB Control Number: 1840-0830.
    Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, local, and Tribal governments; 
private sector.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 183.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,464.

[[Page 43106]]

    Abstract: The Department of Education (ED) collects Annual 
Performance Reports (APRs) from Educational Opportunity Centers (EOC) 
grantees under the authority of title IV, part A, subpart 2, division 
1, sections 402A and 402B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 
amended, the program regulations in 34 CFR 644, and the Education 
Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR), in 34 CFR 74.51, 
75.720, and 75.732. The information that grantees submit in their APRs 
allows ED to annually assess each grantee's progress in meeting their 
project's approved goals and objectives. The APR data that grantees 
submit are compared with the projects' approved objectives to determine 
the projects' accomplishments, to make decisions regarding whether 
funding should be continued, and to award ``prior experience'' points. 
The regulations for this program provide for awarding up to 15 points 
for prior experience (34 CR 644.22). During a competition for new grant 
awards, the prior experience points are added to the average of the 
peer reviewers' scores to arrive at a total score for each application. 
Funding recommendations and decisions are primarily based on the rank 
order of applications on the slate; therefore, assessment of prior 
experience points, based on data in the annual performance report, is a 
crucial part of the overall application process.
    Further, this performance report form is the main source of data 
for the Department's response to the requirements of the Government 
Performance and Results Act (GPRA) for this program. In addition, the 
Department uses the annual performance reports to produce program level 
data for annual reporting, budget submissions to OMB, Congressional 
hearings and inquiries, and responding to inquiries from higher 
education interest groups and the general public.
    EOC APRs are prepared and submitted by EOC grant projects. For each 
EOC grant project, the grant project director of record completes, or 
supervises the completion of the data submission process. The grant 
project director supervises the administration of an EOC grant. An EOC 
grant provides counseling and information on college admissions to 
qualified adults who want to enter or continue a program of 
postsecondary education. The program also provides services to improve 
the financial and economic literacy of participants. An important 
objective of the program is to counsel participants on financial aid 
options, including basic financial planning skills, and to assist in 
the application process. The goal of the EOC program is to increase the 
number of adult participants who enroll in postsecondary education 
institutions.
    The proposed revision to the APR entails replacement of Competitive 
Preference Priority (CPP) questions with new CPP questions of equal 
response time. In addition, the annual number of responses and total 
annual burden hours have been adjusted to reflect an increase in the 
size of the reporting universe.

    Dated: June 29, 2023.
Kun Mullan,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2023-14207 Filed 7-5-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P