Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 142 / Thursday, July 24, 2014 / Notices 43031 

comments during the comment period 

in this mailbox when the regulations.gov 

site is not available. Written requests for 

information or comments submitted by 

postal mail or delivery should be 

addressed to the Director of the 

Information Collection Clearance 

Division, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, 

Mailstop L–OM–2–2E319, Room 2E103, 

Washington, DC 20202. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Kashka 

Kubzdela, 202–502–7411. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department of Education (ED), 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. ED is 

soliciting comments on the proposed 

information collection request (ICR) that 

is described below. 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. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: Trends in 

International Mathematics and Science 

Study 2015 (TIMSS:2015) Main Study. 

OMB Control Number: 1850–0695. 

Type of Review: A revision of an 

existing information collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals or households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 30,187. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 27,301. 

Abstract: The Trends in Mathematics 

and Science Study (TIMSS) is an 

international assessment of fourth and 

eighth grade students’ achievement in 

mathematics and science. Since its 

inception in 1995, TIMSS has continued 

to assess students every 4 years (1995, 

1999, 2003, 2007, 2011). Participation in 

this study provides data on current and 

past education policies and a 

comparison of U.S. education policies 

with its international counterparts. 

Periodically, TIMSS has also conducted 

an assessment of advanced mathematics 

and physics of students at the end of 

secondary school (1995 and 2008). The 

United States participated in TIMSS 

Advanced in 1995, but not in 2008. 

Because of the current strong policy 

interest in preparedness for college and 

for careers in science, technology, 

engineering, and mathematics (STEM) 

fields, the U.S. plans to participate in 

TIMSS Advanced in 2015. This 

submission is for the 2015 TIMSS and 

TIMSS Advanced main study data 

collection that will take place in March– 

May, 2015. 

Dated: July 21, 2014. 

Kate Mullan, 

Acting Director, Information Collection 

Clearance Division Privacy, Information and 

Records Management Services Office of 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17415 Filed 7–23–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2014–ICCD–0075] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; The 

Study of Teacher Preparation 

Experiences and Early Teacher 

Effectiveness—Phase II 

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences/ 

National Center for Education Statistics 

(IES), Department of Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 

U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is 

proposing a revision of an existing 

information collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before August 

25, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in 

response to this notice should be 

submitted electronically through the 

Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://

www.regulations.gov by selecting 

Docket ID number ED–2014–ICCD–0075 

or via postal mail, commercial delivery, 

or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov 

site is not available to the public for any 

reason, ED will temporarily accept 

comments at ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. 

Please note that comments submitted by 

fax or email and those submitted after 

the comment period will not be 

accepted; ED will ONLY accept 

comments during the comment period 

in this mailbox when the regulations.gov 

site is not available. Written requests for 

information or comments submitted by 

postal mail or delivery should be 

addressed to the Director of the 

Information Collection Clearance 

Division, U.S. Department of Education, 

400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, 

Mailstop L–OM–2–2E319, Room 2E103, 

Washington, DC 20202. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Melanie Ali, 

202–208–7082. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The 

Department of Education (ED), 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. ED is 

soliciting comments on the proposed 

information collection request (ICR) that 

is described below. 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. Please note 

that written comments received in 

response to this notice will be 

considered public records. 

Title of Collection: The Study of 

Teacher Preparation Experiences and 

Early Teacher Effectiveness—Phase II. 

OMB Control Number: 1850–0891. 

Type of Review: A revision of an 

existing information collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: State, 

Local, or Tribal Governments, 

Individuals or households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 8,044. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 5,608. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES
43032 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 142 / Thursday, July 24, 2014 / Notices 

Abstract: The U.S. Department of 

Education (ED) is conducting a study 

examining the relationship between 

teacher preparation experiences and 

early teacher effectiveness (The Study of 

Teacher Preparation Experiences and 

Early Teacher Effectiveness, formerly 

known as The Study of Promising 

Features of Teacher Preparation 

Programs). This Information Collection 

Request (ICR) is the second of two ICRs 

for the study. The first ICR (Phase I 

Recruitment) requested clearance for 

recruitment activities. This second ICR, 

Phase II Data Collection, requests 

clearance for data collection activities 

(obtaining teacher contact information 

from districts, collecting data from 

teachers on preparation experiences via 

an online teacher survey, and obtaining 

student data from districts). Data from 

this study will be used to identify 

promising preparation experiences. 

These results can inform efforts of 

stakeholders invested in teacher 

preparation, including national, state, 

and local policy makers; teacher 

preparation programs and certifying 

institutions; districts; and schools. 

Policy makers and administrators 

engaged in teacher preparation and 

certification can learn about which 

preparation experiences are related to 

teacher effectiveness. Districts and 

schools seeking objective information to 

guide teacher hiring and placement 

decisions also may find the results 

valuable. 

Dated: July 21, 2014. 

Kate Mullan, 

Acting Director, Information Collection 

Clearance Division Privacy, Information and 

Records Management Services Office of 

Management. 

[FR Doc. 2014–17414 Filed 7–23–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Application for New Awards; Center for 

the Study of Distance Education and 

Technological Advancements 

AGENCY: Office of Postsecondary 

Education, Department of Education. 

ACTION: Notice. 

Overview Information 

Center for the Study of Distance 

Education and Technological 

Advancements: Notice inviting 

applications for new awards for fiscal 

year (FY) 2014. 

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance 

(CFDA) Number: 84.116Q. 

DATES: Applications Available: July 24, 

2014. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: August 25, 2014. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The objective of 

this program is to support a Center for 

the Study of Distance Education and 

Technological Advancements at an 

institution of higher education as 

authorized by section 741(a)(3) of the 

Higher Education Act (HEA) of 1965, as 

amended and as described in S. Rpt. 

113–71, 113th Cong., 1st Sess. at 196 

(2013) to study and develop best 

practices in postsecondary education for 

online education and the use of 

technology-based teaching and learning 

tools. The Center funded under this 

section must, in collaboration with 

other institutions of higher education 

and organizations: (a) Collect and 

evaluate data on outcomes achieved by 

students, including students with 

disabilities, associated with courses or 

programs that utilize online education 

and technology-based teaching and 

learning tools, (b) identify effective and 

accessible technologies, materials and 

practices, that work for all students in 

these courses or programs and (c) 

disseminate the findings widely. 

Priority: We are establishing this 

priority for the FY 2014 grant 

competition and any subsequent year in 

which we make awards from the list of 

unfunded applications from this 

competition, in accordance with section 

437(d)(1) of the General Education 

Provisions Act (GEPA), 20 U.S.C. 

1232(d)(1). 

Competitive Preference Priority—This 

priority is a competitive preference 

priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), 

we award any application that meets 

this competitive preference priority an 

additional two points. Applicants must 

clearly mark the Abstract and 

Information page in the application 

package if they intend to address this 

competitive preference priority. 

Competitive Preference Priority 

Projects that will, in collaboration 

with other institutions of higher 

education, focus on measuring student 

outcomes and identifying best practices 

for competency-based education courses 

or programs that incorporate online 

education and technology-based 

teaching and learning tools. 

Note 

The Department is using this 

competitive preference priority to 

increase the body of research and the 

information available for best practices 

on competency-based education (CBE) 

programs. Because of several features of 

CBE, postsecondary programs that 

utilize this approach to teaching and 

learning have the potential to improve 

outcomes for students. A competencybased approach may be able to achieve 

greater relevance to labor market needs 

and improved quality as CBE programs 

are constructed around a defined set of 

‘‘competencies’’ necessary to perform 

particular functions or sets of tasks and 

students’ progress by demonstrating 

these competencies as measured by 

assessments. In contrast, most 

traditional postsecondary programs of 

study measure student progress based 

on completion of scheduled time 

periods and completion of credit or 

clock hours. 

Many CBE programs allow students to 

self-pace their progression through a 

program and incorporate online and 

other technology-based teaching and 

learning tools. These programs may 

make postsecondary education more 

accessible, particularly for adult 

learners and those that are employed 

while in school, because students have 

a greater ability to learn on their own 

time and at a place of their choosing. 

These flexibilities also have the 

potential to make postsecondary 

education more affordable by reducing 

time to degree and reliance on the costly 

infrastructure of traditional 

postsecondary institutions and the 

programs they offer. 

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking 

Under the Administrative Procedure 

Act (5 U.S.C. 553), the Department 

generally offers interested parties the 

opportunity to comment on proposed 

priorities, definitions, and other 

requirements. Section 437(d)(1) of 

GEPA, however, allows the Secretary to 

exempt from rulemaking requirements, 

regulations governing the first grant 

competition under a new or 

substantially revised program authority. 

This is the first grant competition for the 

Center for the Study of Distance 

Education and Technological 

Advancements program under section 

741(a)(3) and therefore qualifies for this 

exemption. In order to ensure timely 

grant awards, the Secretary has decided 

to forego public comment on the 

priorities, definitions, and requirements 

under section 437(d)(1) of the HEA and 

therefore qualifies for this exemption. In 

order to ensure timely grant awards, the 

Secretary has decided to forego public 

comment on the priority under section 

437(d)(1) of GEPA. The priority will 

apply to the 2014 grant competition and 

any subsequent year in which we make 

awards from the list of unfunded 

applicants from this competition. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with NOTICES