1. The Department of State’s Office of Academic Exchange Programs, European Programs Branch (ECA/A/E/EUR) is requesting the revision of an existing information collection. This collection was formerly titled DOS-Sponsored Academic Exchange Program Application and Evaluation. Two application forms are part of this information collection. Each form will be used by separate programs administered out of ECA/A/E/EUR. Depending upon the program, either the DS-7001 or the DS-7005 will be completed by the respondent. The programs are the Global Undergraduate Exchange Program (Global UGRAD) and the Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Fellowship Program (Muskie Program). At the time of the 2005 OMB information collection, both programs used the same form. However, it has become apparent that the two programs need to collect different information. This office will discontinue the evaluation form since the form was used to evaluate the UGRAD mid-program workshop, which has been eliminated for FY 2008. The Muskie Program does not have a mid-program workshop.
ECA/A/E/EUR and its partner organizations offer academic-year and semester-long exchanges and seminar opportunities to foreign nationals under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange (Fulbright-Hays) Act of 1961, as amended, Public Law 87-256, 22 U.S.C. 2451 et seq. (1988), the purpose of which is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges. Educational and cultural exchanges assist the Department of State in furthering the foreign policy objectives of the United States. These exchanges are defined by Section 102 of the Act, 22 U.S.C. 2452, and Section 101(a)(15)(J) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(J). In the interest of acquiring the highest caliber of participants for its programs, ECA/A/E/EUR, through its partner organizations, disseminates applications throughout Eurasia and Central Asia. The data collected is used to determine whether prospective candidates are qualified for participation in the program.
2. The data collected from the application includes contact information, biographical information, education and employment history. These data are utilized by ECA’s partner organizations to determine whether a prospective candidate meets the program’s eligibility requirements and is qualified for participation in the program.
3. Respondents are able to submit applications through the mail, electronically, or in-person. For an electronic submission, a fillable PDF is downloaded, completed, and emailed to the partner organization. The partner organizations began, as of FY 2004, to make online applications available. Approximately 20 percent of the total amount of applicants submitted the form electronically in FY 2008. There remains, however, the obstacle of the availability of such technology in the participant countries that would allow more applicants to apply online. Respondents are also able to submit applications in-person at the offices of the partner organization.
4. No duplicate information exists. While follow-up inquiries may request updates on previously submitted information, respondents will not be asked to supply information already available to the Bureau. Information collected is retained by the partner organization as well as in a database maintained by ECA. Furthermore, ECA/A/E/EUR has simplified the application.
5. This collection of information does not have an impact on small businesses or other small entities.
6. ECA/A/E/EUR programs are administered on an academic year cycle. Applications for these programs are disseminated by the partner organizations once per academic year cycle for each program. To ensure eligibility for the programs this information cannot be collected by any other means or less frequently.
7. There are no special circumstances.
8. The Department published a 60-day notice for public comment in the Federal Register. No comments were received. Comments are also solicited from program participants through the program evaluation approved under this collection. In addition, the Office of Academic Exchange Programs, European Programs Branch consults with appropriate individuals in the partner organizations before undertaking an exchange program or project.
9. The Office of Academic Exchange Programs European Programs Branch does not provide payment or gifts to respondents in exchange for a benefit sought.
10. All of the respondents are foreign nationals who are non-immigrants and are not covered by the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 552a.
11. No questions of a sensitive nature are asked other than those regarding basic personal information and student grades.
12. The application task takes approximately 45 minutes to complete. The annual hour burden is estimated to be 4978 hours.
Task |
Respondents/year |
Responses/year |
Collection Conducted By |
Annual Hour Burden |
Total Annual Burden (hours/year) |
Application (Global UGRAD) |
3998 |
3998 |
Partner org. |
.75 hr |
2998 |
Application (Muskie)
|
2640 |
2640 |
Partner org. |
.75 hr |
1980 |
Totals |
6638 |
6638 |
Partner org. |
.75 hour |
4978 |
13. The only cost burden is associated with applications mailed in by respondents. Since the majority of respondents choose to drop off the application at the partner organizations’ field offices, the average number of applications mailed in is only 500 and the cost burden is de minimus.
14. The annual budget for the Grant’s Unit, Office of Academic Exchange Programs European Programs Branch (ECA/A/E/EUR) is approximately $14,000,000.00. This figure consists of funds awarded as cooperative agreements and grants to partner organizations for the administration of the Grant’s Unit’s programs. Approximately 1 percent, or $140,000, is devoted to administering and collecting application and evaluation information. There is no direct time or cost burden on employees of ECA/A/E/EUR.
15. The respondent numbers for the application have decreased from the 2005 OMB collection estimate of 20,500 respondents to 6638, leading to a decrease in the annual hour burden of 10,272 hours. The current estimate is 4,978 hours. There has been a reduction in the participant numbers for both the Global UGRAD and Muskie programs, which has led to the decrease in respondents. The survey evaluation form (SV-1999-0011) has also been discontinued.
16. ECA will not publish the results of this collection.
17. The Office of Academic Exchange Programs European Programs Branch will display the expiration date of OMB approval of the information collection.
18. Office of Academic Exchange Programs European Programs Branch does not request an exception to the certification of the information collection.
B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection of information does not employ statistical methods.
| File Type | application/msword |
| File Title | SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR |
| Author | MorganGM |
| Last Modified By | R. A. Ciupek |
| File Modified | 2008-09-15 |
| File Created | 2008-08-25 |