[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 198 (Thursday, October 12, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60621-60622]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-26166]


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DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Office of the Secretary


Proposed Collection; Comment Request

AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel and 
Readiness), DoD.

ACTION: Notice.

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    In compliance with Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the Paperwork Reduction 
Act of 1995, the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Force 
Management Policy) announces the following proposed public information 
collection and seeks public comment on the provisions thereof. Comments 
are invited on: (a) whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the 
accuracy of the agency's estimate of burden of the proposed information 
collection; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of 
the information collection on respondents, including through the use of 
automated collection techniques or other forms of information 
technology.

DATES: Consideration will be given to all comments received by December 
11, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations on the proposed 
information collection should be sent to the Defense Manpower Data 
Center (Personnel Testing Division), ATTN: Dr. Harley Baker, 400 
Gigling Road, Seaside, CA 93955.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To request more information on this 
proposed information collection or to obtain a copy of the proposal and 
associated collection instruments, please write to the above address or 
call at (831) 583-2400.
    Title, Associated Form, and OMB Control Number: High School Career 
Development Questionnaire, 0704--[To be determined]
    Needs and Uses: This information collection requirement is 
necessary to increase the utilization of the ASVAB Career Exploration 
Program (CEP) in the nation's high schools. At no cost to the schools, 
the CEP provides age-appropriate materials to support high school 
career counseling and aids in the process of identifying interested 
students who meet the qualifications for entrance into the nation's 
Armed Forces. While the CEP is utilized in about 14,000 schools 
nationwide serving about 850,000 students, this represents only about 
13% of the school population. This brief questionnaire study will 
provide the information needed to modify the CEP to make it more useful 
both for the schools and the students they serve and for DoD recruiting 
efforts.
    Affected public: Not-for-profit educational institutions.
    Annual burden hours: 722.
    Number of respondents: 2,166.
    Responses per respondent: 1.
    Average burden per response: 20 minutes.
    Frequency: Other: One-time.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Summary of Information Collection

    This one-time study will employ a brief questionnaire to help 
document why schools elect to participate in the ASVAB program. The 
questionnaire will be sent to approximately 3,050 schools, with an 
expected response rate of about 70%. This study will employ the 
sampling plan developed by the National Center for Education Statistics 
(NCES) for their School and Staffing Survey. The information is needed 
to determine what changes could be made in the ASVAB program to 
increase its effectiveness in high school career counseling and thus 
increase its utilization in the schools. The questionnaire focuses on 
several issues, such as the types of career development programs used 
in the schools, their strengths and weaknesses, barriers to wider 
implementation of these programs, and the career development needs of 
high school students. For those schools that use the CEP, we will ask 
questions about why they elect to use the ASVAB program, whether

[[Page 60622]]

participation could be increased among college-bound students, 
potential ASVAB internet administration, and whether ASVAB personnel 
negatively affect participation. For nonparticipating schools, we will 
also ask why they elect not to use the ASVAB program, and to what 
extent logistical problems, anti-military sentiment, poor fit with 
school goals, and poor fit with student goals have influenced their 
decision not to use the ASVAB program. Results will be merged with data 
collected as part of the NCES School and Staffing Survey to provide a 
more complete understanding of the reasons schools elect to participate 
in the CEP. The results of this study will be reported internally to 
the ASVAB Career Exploration Program and to the appropriate DoD 
committees and agencies, as well as to the Congressionally-mandated 
oversight committee. It is anticipated that the results will be of 
primary interest to those involved in the marketing of the ASVAB 
program, as well as members of the recruiting community. Only 
aggregated data will be reported; no individual or school names will be 
included in the results.

    Dated: October 5, 2000.
Patricia L. Toppings,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 00-26166 Filed 10-11-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 5001-10-M