Notice of Proposed Information Collection Requests

AGENCY:

Department of Education.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Leader, Regulatory Management Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer, invites comments on the proposed information collection requests as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before December 16, 2002.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. OMB may amend or waive the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Leader, Regulatory Management Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites public comment.

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.

Federal Student Aid

Type of Review: New.

Title: FSA Students Portal (JS).

Frequency: On Occasion, Monthly, Annually.

Affected Public: Individuals or household; Federal Government; State, Local, or Tribal Gov't, SEAs or LEAs.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden: Responses: 5,000,000. Burden Hours: 200,000.

Abstract: Federal Student Aid (FSA) of the U.S. Department of Education seeks to establish a registration system within the 'Students Portal', an Internet Portal Website (hereafter 'the Website'). The Website will make the college application process more efficient, faster, and accurate by making it an automated, electronic process that targets financial aid and college applications. The Website uses some personal contact information criteria to automatically fill out the forms and surveys initiated by the user. The Website will also provide a database of demographic information that will help FSA target the distribution of financial aid materials to specific groups of students and/or parents. For example, studies have shown that providing student financial assistance information to middle school (or elementary school) students and/or their parents dramatically increases the likelihood that those students will attend college. The demographic information from the Website will help us to identify potential customers in the middle school age range and is information that was previously unavailable to us.

Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov , by selecting the “Browse Pending Collections” link and by clicking on link number 2172. When you access the information collection, click on “Download Attachments” to view. Written requests for information should be addressed to Vivian Reese, Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 4050, Regional Office Building 3, Washington, DC 20202-4651 or to the e-mail address vivian_reese@ed.gov. Requests may also be electronically mailed to the e-mail address OCIO_RIMG@ed.gov or faxed to 202-708-9346. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request.

Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be directed to Joseph Schubart at his e-mail address Joe.Schubart@ed.gov. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.