Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Proposed Rules 42431 

that complies with the provisions of the 

Act and applicable Federal regulations. 

See 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 

Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, 

EPA’s role is to approve state choices, 

provided that they meet the criteria of 

the CAA. This action merely proposes to 

approve state law as meeting Federal 

requirements and does not impose 

additional requirements beyond those 

imposed by state law. For that reason, 

this proposed action: 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to review by the Office of 

Management and Budget under 

Executive Orders 12866 (58 FR 51735, 

October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, 

January 21, 2011); 

• Does not impose an information 

collection burden under the provisions 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.); 

• Is certified as not having a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities 

under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 

U.S.C. 601 et seq.); 

• Does not contain any unfunded 

mandate or significantly or uniquely 

affect small governments, as described 

in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 

of 1995 (Pub. L. 104–4); 

• Does not have Federalism 

implications as specified in Executive 

Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 

1999); 

• Is not an economically significant 

regulatory action based on health or 

safety risks subject to Executive Order 

13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997); 

• Is not a significant regulatory action 

subject to Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 

28355, May 22, 2001); 

• Is not subject to requirements of 

Section 12(d) of the National 

Technology Transfer and Advancement 

Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 note) because 

application of those requirements would 

be inconsistent with the CAA; and 

• Does not provide EPA with the 

discretionary authority to address, as 

appropriate, disproportionate human 

health or environmental effects, using 

practicable and legally permissible 

methods, under Executive Order 12898 

(59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994). 

The SIP is not approved to apply on 

any Indian reservation land or in any 

other area where EPA or an Indian tribe 

has demonstrated that a tribe has 

jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian 

country, the rule does not have tribal 

implications as specified by Executive 

Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 

2000), nor will it impose substantial 

direct costs on tribal governments or 

preempt tribal law. 

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52 

Environmental protection, Air 

pollution control, Incorporation by 

reference, Intergovernmental relations, 

Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 

requirements, Volatile organic 

compounds. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq. 

Dated: July 11, 2022. 

Daniel Blackman, 

Regional Administrator, Region 4. 

[FR Doc. 2022–15124 Filed 7–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

45 CFR Part 620 

RIN 3145–AA64 

NSF Federal Cyber Scholarship-forService Program (CyberCorps® SFS) 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF), in consultation with 

the Secretary of Education, is proposing 

standards for how a CyberCorps® SFS 

scholarship would be repaid if a 

scholarship recipient fails to meet the 

program requirements, as well as the 

process to discharge the repayment 

obligation, in whole or in part, in 

certain circumstances. 

DATES: Interested parties should submit 

written comments on or before 

September 13, 2022 to be considered in 

the formation of the final rule. 

ADDRESSES: Submit comments in 

response to this proposed rule to the 

Federal eRulemaking portal at https://

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions provided on the ‘‘Comment 

Now’’ screen. If your comment cannot 

be submitted using Regulations.gov, 

email the point of contact in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this document for alternate instructions. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this document will be made publicly 

available and are subject to disclosure 

under NSF’s Freedom of Information 

Act regulations at 45 CFR part 612. For 

this reason, please do not include in 

your comments information of a 

confidential nature, such as sensitive 

personal information or proprietary 

information, or any information that you 

would not want publicly disclosed. To 

confirm receipt of your comment(s), 

please check https://

www.regulations.gov, approximately 

two to three days after submission to 

verify posting. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

William Grant, Assistant General 

Counsel, National Science Foundation, 

2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Alexandria, 

VA 22314; telephone: 703–292–8060; 

email: wgrant@nsf.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background and Authority for This 

Proposed Rule 

The Cybersecurity Enhancement Act 

of 2014 (15 U.S.C. 7442), as amended by 

the National Defense Authorization Acts 

for 2018 and 2021, authorized NSF, in 

coordination with the U.S. Office of 

Personnel Management (OPM) and the 

U.S. Department of Homeland Security 

(DHS), to implement the CyberCorps®

SFS scholarship program to recruit and 

train the next generation of information 

technology professionals, industrial 

control system security professionals, 

and security managers to meet the needs 

of the cybersecurity mission for Federal, 

state, local, and tribal governments. 

Finding cybersecurity talent can be 

challenging for government 

organizations. This program helps 

hiring managers by providing 

scholarships to candidates from 

institutions with some of the top 

cybersecurity programs in the country. 

Special hiring authorities in 15 U.S.C. 

7442(e) allow Federal organizations, 

without regard to any provision of 

chapter 33 of title 5 governing 

appointments in the competitive 

service, to noncompetitively appoint 

SFS graduates. In addition, upon 

fulfillment of their service term, they 

may be converted noncompetitively to a 

term, career-conditional, or career 

appointment. If converted to a term 

appointment, an agency may later 

noncompetitively convert such 

employee to a career-conditional or 

career appointment before the term 

appointment expires. 

The CyberCorps® SFS program is led 

and managed by NSF in coordination 

with OPM and DHS. National Science 

Foundation oversees all aspects of the 

program, including: 

• Program solicitations, merit review 

process, site visits, grant awards, 

assessing progress via annual and final 

reports, managing financial functions, 

representing the program in interactions 

with Federal agencies and other 

organizations within the academic/ 

scientific communities; 

• Outreach to current and prospective 

CyberCorps® SFS grantee institutions 

and principal investigators (PIs); 

• Coordination with OPM via an 

annual reimbursable Inter-Agency 

Agreement (IAA) for student 

management; 


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• Coordination with DHS on 

connecting students with government 

agencies via CyberCorps® SFS Job Fairs; 

• Implementing contracts for 

independent continuous program 

monitoring and program-level 

evaluation; 

• Coordination with the U.S. 

Department of the Treasury (Treasury) 

and/or Department of Education on 

collections and repayments for the small 

number of students who do not fulfill 

their service obligations; and 

• Processing requests for partial or 

complete releases from the service 

obligation under appropriate 

circumstances. 

The OPM Program Management 

Office is supported by a reimbursable 

Interagency Agreement with NSF and 

manages the operational aspects of 

CyberCorps® SFS student scholarships 

including: 

• Creating and distributing Student 

Service Agreements, policy, guidance 

and other program documents; 

• Tracking CyberCorps® SFS students 

from entry into the program until eight 

years following the completion of their 

post-graduation service obligation; 

• Facilitating the registration of new 

CyberCorps® SFS students and 

monitoring their academic status with 

participating institutions during the 

Scholarship Phase; 

• Reviewing and approving student 

job offers and monitoring the service 

obligations reported by students; 

• Coordinating collection of 

information for repayments and waiver 

requests to NSF; and 

• Maintaining the CyberCorps® SFS 

program website (https://sfs.opm.gov/) 

that allows students to access 

CyberCorps® SFS program information 

and post their resumes online, so they 

become available to registered and 

approved organizations. 

DHS serves as a strategic partner to 

promote cybersecurity education and 

workforce development; helps 

strengthen partnerships between 

CyberCorps® SFS institutions and 

Federal, state, local, and tribal 

governments; serves as a technical 

advisor; sponsors annual CyberCorps®

SFS Job Fairs; and organizes and 

maintains the CyberCorps® SFS Hall of 

Fame website. In addition, DHS partners 

with the National Security Agency on 

the National Centers of Academic 

Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE) 

initiative to: 

• Establish standards for 

cybersecurity curricula and academic 

excellence; 

• Include competency development 

among students and faculty; 

• Value community outreach and 

leadership in professional development; 

• Integrate cybersecurity practice 

within the institution across academic 

disciplines; and 

• Actively engage in solutions to 

challenges facing cybersecurity 

education. 

Agencies may recruit SFS students for 

internships during their academic term 

and permanent placement after 

graduation. Agencies interested in 

recruiting from the pool of SFS Scholars 

can gain access to these candidates by 

registering as an agency official at the 

OPM SFS Portal to browse the SFS 

student pool. In addition, closed hiring 

events specifically for the SFS students 

are held twice a year to give agencies an 

opportunity to interview and even hire 

SFS students on the spot. The Winter 

and Summer CyberCorps® Job Fairs 

usually occur in January and September, 

respectively. The Winter CyberCorps®

Job Fair, sponsored jointly by NSF and 

DHS, is typically held at a hotel in the 

Washington, DC metro over a three-day 

period. Students visit agency booths and 

interview rooms to speak with 

representatives about internship and 

hiring opportunities and to gain a better 

understanding of what it would be like 

to work at a particular agency and in 

government. The 2021 and 2022 Winter 

Job Fairs were held virtually due to 

COVID–19 restrictions. The Summer 

Virtual Job Fair allows SFS students to 

visit participating agencies’ virtual 

booths to search for possible employers. 

Each agency booth includes a 

representative for students to connect 

with and talk online regarding potential 

employment during a one-day period. 

At each virtual booth, students can view 

current job postings and submit resumes 

to apply for jobs. 

The first cohort of 31 students was 

enrolled in Fall 2001 and the first nine 

students graduated the following year. 

As of December 2021, 3,842 students 

have graduated from the program and a 

total of 4,773 students have been 

enrolled in the program since its 

inception. There are 91 institutions of 

higher education with active projects. In 

addition, there are 28 community 

colleges that participate as a partner 

with a CyberCorps® SFS university, and 

eight community colleges in the 

CyberCorps® SFS Community College 

Cyber Pilot (C3P) program. A list of 

participating institutions and additional 

information on this program can be 

found at https://sfs.opm.gov. 

Changes Proposed by NSF With This 

Proposed Rule 

This program provides funds to 

institutions of higher education that 

award scholarships to students who 

agree to work after graduation for a 

Federal, state, local, or tribal 

government organization in a position 

related to cybersecurity for a period 

equal to the duration of the scholarship, 

to be started within 18 months and to 

be completed within five years of 

entering the commitment phase of the 

program. Failure to satisfy the academic 

requirements of the program or to 

complete the service obligation would 

result in forfeiture of the scholarship 

award, which must either be repaid, or 

be treated as a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan to be repaid, together with any 

accrued interest and fees. The statute 

further permits the Director to waive, in 

whole or in part, the service obligation 

or the obligation to repay the 

scholarship under certain conditions. 

Currently, in the event that a 

scholarship recipient is required to 

repay the scholarship award, the 

academic institution providing the 

scholarship collects the repayment 

amounts within a period of time, or the 

repayment amounts are treated as Direct 

Unsubsidized Loan. Unfortunately, in 

many cases, the participating 

CyberCorps® SFS institution is neither 

able to collect a repayment nor convert 

it to a loan due to lack of cooperation 

from a scholarship recipient, closing an 

NSF award at an institution, or the 

amounts exceeding annual or aggregate 

loan limits under 34 CFR 685.203. It 

results with participants being required 

to submit a one-time payment to NSF or 

being sent to Treasury for collection 

action. See 31 U.S.C. 3711(g); 3716(c); 

3720A(a). 

After discussions with the 

Department of Education, NSF is 

proposing that the conversion of the 

scholarship to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan will be done by NSF in 

collaboration with the Department of 

Education rather than by an academic 

institution. Historically, the group of 

scholars who need the repayment 

processing has been small, but it 

requires unproportionally timeintensive efforts by OPM, NSF, 

Treasury, as well as by the academic 

institutions. Each of the almost 100 

participating academic institutions 

individually may have not more than 

one case every five years. This paucity 

of cases at the individual institution 

level nevertheless generates a large 

volume of questions in the aggregate to 

be handled by NSF and OPM. In 

addition, there may be significant 

process differences between different 

institutions, resulting in students being 

treated inconsistently across 

institutions, with some receiving relief 

while others are put into repayment. 


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Finally, in many cases an institution 

concludes that it is not able to treat the 

scholarship as the Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan due to the lack of cooperation from 

a scholarship recipient or other factors 

such as an amount exceeding allowable 

limits, forcing the scholarship recipient 

to make a lump sum payment or be 

transferred for Treasury collection 

action. This proposed rule lays out a 

single, centralized process for NSF and 

the Department of Education to convert 

the repayments amounts to Direct 

Unsubsidized Loans for the benefit of 

individual scholars, SFS institutions, 

and Federal agencies. The Direct 

Unsubsidized Loans, sometimes called 

Unsubsidized Stafford Loans, are lowcost, fixed-rate Federal student loans 

available to both undergraduate and 

graduate students. The key benefits to 

the student include 

• Fixed interest rate of 3.73% for 

undergraduate students for the 2021– 

2022 academic year (interest rates are 

fixed on July 1st of each year for new 

loans after that date) 

• Fixed interest rate of 5.28% for 

graduate and professional students for 

the 2021–2022 academic year 

• No payments while enrolled in school 

• Eligibility not based on demonstrated 

financial need or credit 

• Multiple repayment plans (including 

income-based) available 

Also, once converted the interest rates 

on Direct Unsubsidized Loans are fixed 

and do not change over the life of the 

loan. 

After consultation with the 

Department of Education, the proposed 

rule also specifies that scholarships 

converted to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan by the Secretary of Education are 

not counted against the scholarship 

recipient’s annual or aggregate loan 

limits under 34 CFR 685.203, similar to 

the Teacher Education Assistance for 

College and Higher Education (TEACH) 

scholarship. After conversion, the Direct 

Unsubsidized Loan will be subject to 

the Department of Education’s normal 

processes and procedures for those 

loans, including repayment, discharge, 

or waiver of the repayment obligation. 

Once a scholarship has been converted 

to a Direct Unsubsidized Loan, it may 

not be reconverted back to a 

CyberCorps® SFS scholarship, NSF will 

have no further authority to discharge or 

waive the repayment obligation, and 

borrowers will have to follow the 

Department of Education’s normal 

student loan rules for that program. That 

is, the obligation will convert from one 

that is owed to NSF to one that is owed 

to Education. 

Considering that the proposed rule 

provides a benefit to the scholarship 

recipients by ensuring a successful 

conversion to a Federal Unsubsidized 

Loan rather than requiring a one-time 

payment or a payment agreement with 

the Treasury, this option will be 

provided not only to new scholarship 

recipients but also to student who are 

already in the program via an optional 

amendment to their agreement to serve 

or repay. 

In addition to the process of 

conversion of the scholarship to a Direct 

Unsubsidized Loan, NSF proposes 

standards to govern the process to 

discharge the repayment obligation 

where ‘‘compliance by the [scholarship 

recipient] with the obligation is 

impossible or would involve extreme 

hardship to the [scholarship recipient], 

or if enforcement of such obligation 

with respect to the [scholarship 

recipient] would be unconscionable.’’ 

(15 U.S.C. 7442(l)). However, the statute 

does not explain or define what would 

be considered ‘‘impossible’’, ‘‘extreme 

hardship,’’ or an ‘‘unconscionable’’ 

enforcement of the service obligation 

that would justify a partial or complete 

waiver of the repayment obligation, 

therefore NSF must use its discretion 

and judgment to define these terms for 

waiver requests made prior to 

conversion to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan. 

For the purposes of this proposed 

rule, NSF has determined the 

circumstances for discharge include 

death, total and permanent disability, or 

extreme hardship, as evidenced in a 

written request to be provided to and 

approved by the Director. This set of 

circumstances has been selected in 

consultation with other Federal agencies 

and modeled on the TEACH scholarship 

program as well as the definition of the 

total and permanent disability in § 620.5 

of this proposed rule. Also, an 

interagency management board, 

consisting of representatives from NSF, 

OPM, and DHS, would discuss each 

request and make a recommendation to 

the Director. The management board 

meets 12 times a year and considers 

requests for deferral of obligation, 

discharge of agreement to serve, as well 

as cases that need to be recommended 

for a repayment or collection. 

The proposed rule lays out definitions 

to describe elements of the SFS program 

and clarifies the requirement to 

document the scholarship recipient’s 

service obligation. It formalizes a 

process for deferral of the service 

obligation where a scholarship recipient 

is continuing with advanced study or 

professional development, for medical 

reasons, military service, or other 

exceptional circumstances. Because 

there is no current, standard process for 

deferral and up to now each individual 

institution has had to set up their own 

policies, the proposed rule establishes a 

consistent process across all 

participating institutions. This process 

is modeled on the Department of 

Education’s TEACH program and, based 

on historical data, would affect about 40 

scholarship recipients a year. If a 

scholarship recipient does not qualify 

for a deferral or discharge, and does not 

meet their service obligation, under the 

statute they may repay the scholarship, 

or it will be converted to a Direct 

Unsubsidized Loan. NSF and OPM will 

send information collected on the 

Agreement to Serve or Repay together 

with the loan amount to the Department 

of Education. 

Regulatory Analysis 

Expected Impact of the Proposed Rule 

There are three main reasons that the 

proposed rule is needed. First, the 

Federal Unsubsidized Loan, resulting 

from the scholarship conversion is 

subject to repayment in accordance with 

terms and conditions specified by the 

Director of the National Science 

Foundation (in consultation with the 

Secretary of Education) in regulations 

promulgated to carry out the subsection 

(j) of 15 U.S.C. 7442. Second, the lack 

of flexibility in current practice creates 

inefficiencies for students and agencies 

in administering the program. In many 

cases, the participating CyberCorps®

SFS institution is neither able to collect 

a repayment nor convert it to a loan due 

to lack of cooperation from a 

scholarship recipient, closing an NSF 

award at an institution, or the amounts 

exceeding annual or aggregate loan 

limits under 34 CFR 685.203. It results 

in participants being required to submit 

a one-time payment to NSF or being 

sent to Treasury for a payment 

agreement. There is inefficiency and 

significant administration cost for 

institutions and agencies due to the lack 

of an automatic and uniform way to 

handle repayment and loan conversion. 

Lastly, the lack of flexibility in current 

practice prevents students from 

receiving any benefits from a Direct 

Unsubsidized Loan if the conversion by 

an institution is impossible. 

Three groups will be affected by the 

proposed rule: Students (SFS scholars), 

universities (SFS institutions), and 

Federal agencies. The Table 1, Table 2, 

and Table 3 summarize expected 

impacts on those three groups. 


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42434 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

TABLE 1—EXPECTED IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED RULE ON STUDENTS

Number per 

year Current practice Expected impact of proposed rule 

Students fulfilling obligation through 

service.

300 Students report completion to OPM ........ None for future students; current participants will have the option to convert to 

loan. 

Students fulfilling through lump-sum payment.5 Repay to SFS institution or NSF ............. Participants could pay a lump sum or 

convert to loan. 

Students cooperating with the SFS institution and OPM, but not paying lump 

sum.

8 Converted to a loan by Institution if possible, or transferred to Treasury for 

collection action.

Transfer to the Department of Education 

for loan conversion (eligible for related 

benefits), without the need for the student’s further cooperation or consent. 

Students not cooperating and not paying 

lump sum.

5 Transferred to Treasury for collection action.Same as above. 

TABLE 2—EXPECTED IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED RULE ON UNIVERSITIES

[SFS institutions] 

Number per 

year Current practice Expected impact of proposed rule 

Universities .............................................. 15 Currently SFS institutions must convert 

to a loan which may be impossible 

due to loan limits or lack of student 

cooperation.

Automatic conversion to loan will mean 

less effort for students/less administration time for universities. 

TABLE 3—EXPECTED IMPACT OF THE PROPOSED RULE ON FEDERAL AGENCIES

Number of 

cases per year Current practice Expected impact of proposed rule 

NSF .......................................................... 18 Work with institutions to find a way to 

create payments or loan conversion. If 

impossible, refer to Treasury for collection action.

Standardized transfer to the Department 

of Education for automatic loan conversion. 

OPM ......................................................... 18 Work with institutions to find a way to 

create payments or loan conversion. If 

impossible, work with NSF to transfer 

to Treasury for collection action.

Provide the cases to NSF for conversion 

to the loan. 

Treasury ................................................... 5 Handle repayment or collection; appeals; 

requests for additional evidence etc.

No transfers to Treasury, unless the student defaults on their loan. 

Education ................................................. 20 Not involved ............................................. Loan conversion. 

Costs 

The vast majority of students who 

enroll in the CyberCorps® SFS program 

will complete their studies and will 

move into Federal, state, local, or tribal 

government service, where the vast 

majority will complete their service 

obligations. Table 4 below summarizes 

the number of students released from 

obligations (granted a waiver or have a 

request pending) as of November 1, 

2021. 

TABLE 4—THE NUMBER OF SFS SCHOLARS RELEASED FROM THE SERVICE OBLIGATIONS FROM 2001–2021 

Scholarships 

awarded 

Full waiver: 

academic 

phase 

Partial waiver: 

academic 

phase 

Full waiver: 

employment 

phase 

Partial waiver: 

employment 

phase 

Waiver 

request 

pending 

decision 

Total waivers 

2001 .............................................................. 31 0 0 6 0 0 6 

2002 .............................................................. 115 2 0 16 0 0 18 

2003 .............................................................. 219 1 0 16 0 0 17 

2004 .............................................................. 185 0 0 3 0 0 3 

2005 .............................................................. 182 4 0 2 0 0 6 

2006 .............................................................. 133 1 0 0 0 0 1 

2007 .............................................................. 111 1 0 0 0 0 1 

2008 .............................................................. 94 0 0 0 0 0 0 

2009 .............................................................. 133 4 0 1 0 0 5 

2010 .............................................................. 181 2 0 1 0 0 3 

2011 .............................................................. 195 2 0 1 0 1 4 

2012 .............................................................. 186 2 0 0 0 0 2 

2013 .............................................................. 268 1 0 1 0 0 2 

2014 .............................................................. 277 0 0 2 0 1 3 

2015 .............................................................. 277 0 0 0 0 0 0 

2016 .............................................................. 313 0 0 0 0 3 3 

2017 .............................................................. 357 0 0 0 2 0 2 


jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with PROPOSALS1
Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Proposed Rules 42435 

1Computer Science Professor Salary (June 

2022)—Zippia | Average Computer Science 

Professor Salaries Hourly And Annual. 

2 GS–15 Step 10: Pay & Leave: Salaries & Wages— 

OPM.gov. 

3 GS–13 Step 4: Pay & Leave: Salaries & Wages— 

OPM.gov. 

TABLE 4—THE NUMBER OF SFS SCHOLARS RELEASED FROM THE SERVICE OBLIGATIONS FROM 2001–2021—Continued 

Scholarships 

awarded 

Full waiver: 

academic 

phase 

Partial waiver: 

academic 

phase 

Full waiver: 

employment 

phase 

Partial waiver: 

employment 

phase 

Waiver 

request 

pending 

decision 

Total waivers 

2018 .............................................................. 339 0 0 0 1 1 2 

2019 .............................................................. 384 1 0 0 0 1 2 

2020 .............................................................. 375 0 0 0 0 0 0 

2021 .............................................................. 354 0 0 0 0 0 0 

Total ....................................................... 4,709 21 0 49 3 7 80 

The costs resulting from the notice of 

proposed rulemaking (NPRM) includes 

one-time costs and recurring costs. The 

one-time costs consist of time needed to 

read and understand the proposed rule 

from universities and affected students 

and time for current students to learn 

about, decide, and complete paperwork 

to opt-into loan conversion when the 

option is available. The recurring costs 

consist of time to complete any 

additional paperwork to agree on loan 

conversion and new cost for the 

Department of Education to handle loan 

conversion. 

SFS scholars (students), SFS 

institutions (universities), and three 

Federal agencies (NSF, OPM, and 

Treasury) will benefit from the NPRM. 

First, SFS institutions will save their 

time from responding to SFS scholars 

seeking information when they are not 

completing the service obligation. The 

estimated saving will be 20 hours per 

year. The total estimated saving will be 

$24,000 if the estimated number of cases 

is 20 per year with $60- per hour as a 

wage rate.1 Second, SFS scholars who 

will not fulfill their obligation by 

service, will save their time from 

communicating with SFS institutions 

and OPM about options before being 

transferred to the Treasury. The 

estimated time saving is 30 hours per 

case per year. The SFS scholars who 

will not fulfill their obligations by 

service will be eligible for benefits 

available to Direct Unsubsidized Loan 

borrowers. The benefits include: (1) 

Entering a six-month grace period prior 

to entering repayment, and (2) Eligiblity 

for all the benefits of the Direct Loan 

Program. These benefits are not 

currently available to individuals whose 

repayments are handled by Treasury. 

Three Federal agencies will save time 

from handling repayment cases. The 

estimated time saving for NSF is 30 

hours per case for about 20 cases per 

year for personnel whose wage rate is 

estimated at $84.48 2 per hour, based on 

OPM 2022 salary and wages. The 

estimated saving for NSF is $50,688. 

The estimated time savings for OPM is 

15 hours per case for about 20 cases per 

year for personnel whose wage rate is 

estimated at $56.30 per hour, based on 

OPM 2022 salary and wages.3 The 

Treasury will save time for handling at 

least five cases per year because they 

will not handle payment agreement or 

student information. There is no direct 

benefit for the Department of Education. 

Alternatives of this NPRM could be 

continuing with the current practice of 

an ad-hoc payment plan that could 

happen at SFS institutions or being 

transferred to the U.S. Treasury. This 

alternative would not provide the 

benefits to scholarship recipients, SFS 

institutions, and agencies that the 

proposed rule is intended to address. 

Another alternative is to extend the 

window for government service (e.g., 

allowing up to ten years) and track SFS 

scholars for an extended time period 

before the loan conversion. This 

alternative would likely result in a 

larger share of SFS scholars fulfilling 

their service obligations. However, this 

action would not eliminate the need to 

improve the efficiency of the process for 

SFS scholars who do not fulfill their 

service obligations, and it may also 

delay government service for some SFS 

scholars given the extended window to 

complete service obligations. As a 

result, we believe the chosen proposal 

best addresses the administrative 

difficulties resulting from a scholarship 

recipient failing to meet the program 

requirements. 

Executive Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory 

Planning and Review’’ and Executive 

Order 13563, ‘‘Improving Regulation 

and Regulatory Review’’ 

These Executive orders direct 

agencies to assess all costs, benefits and 

available regulatory alternatives and, if 

regulation is necessary, to select 

regulatory approaches that maximize 

net benefits (including potential 

economic, environmental, public health, 

safety effects, distributive impacts, and 

equity). These Executive orders 

emphasize the importance of 

quantifying both costs and benefits, of 

reducing costs, of harmonizing rules, 

and of promoting flexibility. This 

proposed rule is a ‘‘significant 

regulatory action’’ under section 3(f) of 

Executive Order 12866, ‘‘Regulatory 

Planning and Review,’’ as supplemented 

by Executive Order 13563, ‘‘Improving 

Regulation and Regulatory Review.’’ 

Accordingly, the Office of Management 

and Budget has reviewed this proposed 

rule. 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism 

Executive Order 13132, Federalism, 

prohibits an agency from publishing any 

rule that has federalism implications if 

the rule imposes substantial direct 

compliance costs on state and local 

governments and is not required by 

statute, or the rule preempts state law, 

unless the agency meets the 

consultation and funding requirements 

of section 6 of the Executive order. This 

proposed rule does not have any 

federalism implications, as described 

above. 

Congressional Review Act 

A major rule cannot take effect until 

60 days after it is published in the 

Federal Register. This proposed rule is 

not anticipated to be a major rule under 

5 U.S.C. 801. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

This proposed rule implicates several 

information collection requirements 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 

U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). On behalf of NSF, 

OPM as the program management office 

currently maintains a collection under 

OMB Control Number 3206–0246, 

Scholarship for Service Program 

internet Site. This collection covers the 

registration of students, agency officials, 

principal investigators, and program 

administrators; provides the ability for 

students to create and maintain online 

resumes; provides Federal agency 

officials access to student resumes for 

placement opportunities; and provides 

placement status reports. No changes in 


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42436 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 135 / Friday, July 15, 2022 / Proposed Rules 

burden or data elements or other aspects 

of this collection are expected to change 

based on this proposed rule. 

In addition, this proposed rule 

contains a new information collection 

requirement. As discussed in this 

proposed rule, this information 

collection will provide contact 

information for the participants in the 

program and will allow NSF to work 

with the Department of Education to 

convert the scholarship to Direct 

Unsubsidized Loan. 

Title of Collection: CyberCorps® SFS 

Scholarship Agreement to Serve or 

Repay. 

OMB Control No.: 3145–XXXX. 

Type of Review: New. 

Respondents: Individual participants 

in the CyberCorps Scholarships for 

Service Program. 

Estimated Number of Annual 

Respondents: 20. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden 

Hours: 30 minutes per respondent. 

Comments are invited on: (a) Whether 

the collection of information is 

necessary for the proper performance of 

the functions of the program, including 

whether the information will have 

practical utility; (b) The accuracy of the 

Agency’s estimate of the burden of the 

collection of information, including the 

validity of the methods and the 

assumptions used; (c) Ways to enhance 

the quality, utility, and clarity of the 

information to be collected; and (d) 

Ways to minimize the burden of the 

collection of information on 

respondents, including through the use 

of automated collection techniques or 

other forms of information technology. 

Comments submitted in response to this 

notification will be summarized and/or 

included in the request for Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

As required by the Regulatory 

Flexibility Act of 1980 (5 U.S.C. 605 

(b)), NSF certifies that this proposed 

rule, if adopted, will not have a 

significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

Unfunded Mandates 

For purposes of Title II of the 

Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 

1995, 2 U.S.C. 1531–1538, as well as 

Executive Order 12875, this regulatory 

action does not contain any Federal 

mandate that may result in increased 

expenditures in either Federal, state, 

local, or tribal governments in the 

aggregate, or impose an annual burden 

exceeding $100 million on the private 

sector. 

List of Subjects in 45 CFR Part 620 

Administrative practice and 

procedure, Colleges and universities, 

Grant programs, Reporting and 

recordkeeping, Scholarships and 

fellowships. 

■ For reasons set forth in the preamble, 

NSF proposes to add part 620 to 45 CFR 

chapter VI to read as follows: 

PART 620—CYBERCORPS®

SCHOLARSHIP FOR SERVICE (SFS) 

PROGRAM 

Sec. 

620.1 Scope and purpose. 

620.2 Definitions. 

620.3 Documenting the service obligation. 

620.4 Deferral of obligation. 

620.5 Discharge of agreement to serve or 

repay. 

620.6 Obligation to repay the CyberCorps 

SFS scholarship. 

620.7 Severability. 

Authority: 42 U.S.C. 1870. 

§ 620.1 Scope and purpose. 

The CyberCorps SFS Scholarship for 

Service (SFS) program provides funds to 

institutions of higher education that 

award scholarships to students who 

agree to work after graduation for a 

Federal, state, local, or tribal 

government organization in a position 

related to cybersecurity for a period 

equal to the duration of the scholarship, 

to be started within 18 months and to 

be completed within five years of 

entering the Commitment Phase of the 

SFS program. Failure to satisfy the 

academic requirements of the program 

or to complete the service obligation 

results in forfeiture of the scholarship 

award, which must either be repaid or 

converted to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan. If converted, the loan, together 

with any accrued interest and fees, is 

subject to repayment to the Secretary of 

Education and may not be reconverted 

to a scholarship. 

§ 620.2 Definitions. 

Agreement to serve or repay means an 

agreement under which the individual 

receiving a CyberCorps SFS scholarship 

commits to meet the service or repay the 

loan as describe in § 620.6 and to 

comply with notification and other 

provisions of the agreement. 

Commitment Phase means a period 

following the completion, or otherwise 

cessation of the Scholarship Phase, 

within which the SFS recipient must 

complete their obligation requirement. 

The Commitment Phase must begin 

within 18 months and must be 

completed within 5 years. The 

Commitment Phase is limited to a 

maximum of five years. 

CyberCorps SFS scholarship recipient 

(scholarship recipient) means a student 

who is selected by an SFS institution for 

CyberCorps SFS scholarship and agrees 

to work after graduation for a Federal, 

state, local, or tribal government 

organization in a position related to 

cybersecurity. 

Deferral means an approved extension 

of the Commitment Phase. 

Director means the Director of the 

National Science Foundation (NSF) or 

an official or employee of the National 

Science Foundation acting for the 

Director under a delegation of authority. 

Monitoring Phase means a period 

following the completion of the 

Commitment Phase during which the 

scholarship recipient must maintain 

current contact information and 

complete periodic (usually annual) 

surveys as requested by the SFS 

Program office. The period of time is set 

by the NSF Director in consultation 

with OPM following the completion of 

the Commitment Phase. 

Payment data means an electronic 

record that is provided to the Director 

of NSF by an institution showing 

student disbursement information. 

Scholarship Phase means a period 

when scholarship recipients are 

enrolled in an approved SFS academic 

program in cybersecurity. 

Service obligation means the time 

period the recipient is required to work 

as an employee of a Federal, state, local, 

or tribal government organization in a 

position related to cybersecurity. All 

time at the agency that the recipient is 

considered an employee of the agency 

counts toward the service obligation. 

SFS institution means a higher 

education institution that receives SFS 

grant from the National Science 

Foundation to recruit, train, and 

graduate scholarship recipients. 

SFS program office means an office 

managing the SFS program through 

partnership between the National 

Science Foundation (NSF) and the 

Office of Personnel Management (OPM). 

§ 620.3 Documenting the service 

obligation. 

If a scholarship recipient is 

performing service in accordance with 

the agreement to serve or repay, the 

scholarship recipient must, within 30 

days of the beginning of the service and 

upon completion of each year of service 

obligation, provide to the Director 

documentation of that service on a form 

approved by the SFS program office 

with all required information and 

certifications as defined on the form. 

§ 620.4 Deferral of obligation. 

(a) A scholarship recipient who has 

completed, or who has otherwise ceased 


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enrollment in a CyberCorps SFS 

Scholarship Phase, may request, from 

the Director, a deferral of the five-year 

Commitment Phase for completion of 

the service obligation based on— 

(1) Enrollment in a program of study 

or engagement in approved professional 

activity which would contribute to 

further professional development and/or 

cybersecurity workforce readiness for 

the scholarship recipient; 

(2) A condition that is a qualifying 

reason for leave under the Family and 

Medical Leave Act (FMLA); 

(3) A call to order to Federal or state 

active duty or active service as a 

member of a Reserve Component of the 

Armed Forces named in 10 U.S.C. 

10101, or service as a member of the 

National Guard on full-time National 

Guard duty, as defined in 10 U.S.C. 

101(d)(5); or 

(4) Other exceptional circumstances 

significantly affecting the scholarship 

recipient’s ability to serve as determined 

by the Director. 

(b) A scholarship recipient must 

apply for a deferral prior to being 

subject to any of the conditions under 

§ 620.6 that would cause the CyberCorps 

SFS scholarship to be converted to a 

Direct Unsubsidized Loan. 

(c) A scholarship recipient who 

applies for deferral must provide the 

Director with documentation supporting 

the request as well as current contact 

information including home address, 

email address, and telephone number. 

(d) The Director notifies the 

scholarship recipient on the outcome of 

the application for deferral. 

§ 620.5 Discharge of agreement to serve or 

repay. 

(a) Discharge conditions. The Director 

may provide for the partial or total 

waiver or suspension of any service or 

payment obligation by a scholarship 

recipient under the SFS program, 

including but not limited to the 

following circumstances: 

(1) Death. If a scholarship recipient 

dies, the Director discharges the 

obligation to complete the agreement to 

serve or repay based on a certified copy 

of the death certificate or verification of 

the scholarship recipient’s death 

through an authoritative Federal or state 

electronic database approved for use by 

the Director. 

(2) Total and permanent disability. A 

scholarship recipient’s agreement to 

serve or repay is discharged if the 

scholarship recipient becomes totally 

and permanently disabled. This is the 

condition of an individual who: 

(i) Is unable to engage in any 

substantial gainful activity by reason of 

any medically determinable physical or 

mental impairment that— 

(A) Can be expected to result in death; 

(B) Has lasted for a continuous period 

of not less than 60 months; or 

(C) Can be expected to last for a 

continuous period of not less than 60 

months; or 

(ii) Has been determined by the 

Secretary of Veterans Affairs to be 

unemployable due to a serviceconnected disability. 

(3) Extreme hardship. Whenever 

compliance by the scholarship recipient 

with the obligation is impossible or 

would involve extreme hardship to the 

scholarship recipient, or if enforcement 

of such obligation with respect to the 

scholarship recipient would be 

unconscionable. Extreme hardship 

could include but is not limited to 

financial/economic burden, medical 

situations, or other situations as 

determined by the Director of NSF. 

(b) Written request. (1) A scholarship 

recipient must submit a written 

application for a discharge in 

accordance with this section prior to 

being subject to any of the conditions 

under § 620.6 that would cause the 

CyberCorps SFS scholarship to be 

converted to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan. 

(2) A scholarship recipient who 

applies for discharge must provide the 

Director with documentation supporting 

the request as well as current contact 

information including home address, 

email address, and telephone number. 

(3) The Director notifies the 

scholarship recipient on the outcome of 

the application for discharge. 

§ 620.6 Obligation to repay the 

CyberCorps SFS scholarship. 

(a) A scholarship recipient who fails 

to complete their obligation, as 

evidenced by documentation of that 

service with all required information 

and certifications, must repay to the 

United States the amount of the 

scholarship award received. Such 

repayment amounts must be repaid on 

terms as determined by the Director. 

(b) If not repaid, the CyberCorps SFS 

scholarship amounts paid to the 

scholarship recipient, together with any 

accrued interest and fees, will be 

converted into a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan and subject to repayment to the 

Secretary of Education, if the 

scholarship recipient does not submit 

required documentation to prove the 

qualified employment within the 

timeframe required by the agreement to 

serve or repay. 

(c) A CyberCorps SFS scholarship that 

is converted to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan is not counted against the 

scholarship recipient’s annual or 

aggregate loan limits under 34 CFR 

685.203. 

(d) On or about 90 days before the 

date that a scholarship recipient’s 

CyberCorps SFS scholarship would be 

converted to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan, the Director notifies the 

scholarship recipient of the date by 

which they must submit documentation 

showing that they are satisfying the 

obligation. 

(e) At least annually during the 

service obligation period, the Director 

notifies the scholarship recipient of— 

(1) The terms and conditions that the 

scholarship recipient must meet to 

satisfy the service obligation; 

(2) The requirement for the 

scholarship recipient to provide to the 

Director, upon completion of each of the 

required service year, documentation of 

that service on a form approved by the 

Director and emphasizes the necessity 

to keep copies of this information and 

copies of the scholarship recipient’s 

own employment documentation; and 

(3) The conditions under which the 

scholarship recipient may request a 

deferral of the period for completing the 

service obligation or the discharge of the 

service obligation. 

(f) A scholarship recipient remains 

obligated to meet all requirements of the 

service obligation, even if the recipient 

does not receive the notices from the 

Director as described in paragraph (e) of 

this section. 

(g) A scholarship recipient whose 

CyberCorps Scholarship has been 

converted to a Direct Unsubsidized 

Loan— 

(1) Enters a six-month grace period 

prior to entering repayment, and 

(2) Is eligible for all of the benefits of 

the Direct Loan Program. 

(h) Once converted to a Direct 

Unsubsidized Loan under this part, the 

loan may not be converted back to a 

CyberCorps Scholarship. 

§ 620.7 Severability. 

If any provision of this part or its 

application to any person, act, or 

practice is held invalid, the remainder 

of the part or the application of its 

provisions to any person, act, or practice 

shall not be affected thereby. 

Dated: June 30, 2022. 

Suzanne H. Plimpton, 

Reports Clearance Officer, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 2022–14328 Filed 7–14–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 


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