Att_FY 09 GAANN Supporting Statement1

Attachment C

Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions

Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN)

Application for New Grants

A. Justification

1. The Graduate Assistance in Areas of National Need (GAANN) program provides grants to departments and programs of higher education to support graduate fellowships for students of superior ability who demonstrate financial need. The authorizing statute for GAANN (Title VII, Part A of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended) requires the collection of specific data that are necessary for applicant institutions to receive an initial competitive grant and non-competing continuations grants for the second and third years. The current application (OMB #1840-0604) was discontinued on May 31, 2007. The Department of Education is now reinstating this collection package to collect data under Sec. 648.20, 648.31, and 648.66.

2. The Department uses the data collected in the Application for New Grants to evaluate, score, and rank the quality of the projects proposed by the institutions of higher education applying for a grant. Data are also used to determine allowable multi-year project expenses based on statutory requirements, and to recommend funding levels for the proposed grants. If the data are not collected, the Department could not determine the quality of competing applications, which is the basis for making grant awards as required by the statute.

3. The GAANN program participates in the Grants.gov application submission process. The GAANN application is available only through Grants.gov. Through Grants.gov, applicants are able to build and submit their proposals offline and then submit them electronically.

4. Since the information submitted in the application is specific to the GAANN program, there is no duplication. There is no other collection instrument available to collect the information necessary to meet the purposes described in item 2 above.

5. Institutions of higher education are the sole recipients of GAANN grants. There is no impact on small businesses or small entities.

6. Grants awarded under this program are made annually and the data must be collected for each new competition cycle. Failure to collect this information would prohibit the Department from fulfilling its responsibility to award grants under this program.

7. There are no special circumstances included in this information collection.

8. Collection of this data will follow the guidelines under 5 CFR 1320.8.

9. The Department will not provide any payment or gifts to respondents.

10. Assurance of confidentiality is not provided to respondents except as provided by the Privacy Act. Successful applications may be distributed in response to requests from the public.

11. The application form does not include questions about sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, or other items that are commonly considered sensitive and private.

12. The estimated total reporting burden for this data collection is 13,432 hours. This includes a total of 325 respondents, each with an estimated response time of 41.33 hours.

E stimated number of respondents 325

E stimated response time 41.33 hours

F requency of collection 1 annually

T otal estimated burden hours 13,432

The burden to each individual respondent, established at 41.33 hours, is based on feedback from respondents during previous competitions.

The estimated annual cost to a single respondent is as follows:

Professional staff

(33 hrs x $35 per hour) $1,155

Clerical staff

(8.33 hrs x $10 per hour) $83.30

Total estimated cost per respondent $1,238.30

Total estimated cost to all 325 respondents

(325 respondents x $1,238.30) $402,447.50

13. There are no other costs to the respondent except those that would be customary and usual business practices.

14. Estimated cost to the Federal Government:

Task	Cost	Hours	Number of Staff	Hours Total	Total Cost
Securing OMB approval once every 3 years.	$42/hr	15	4	60	$2,520
Reports Design (every 3 years)	$42/hr	20	3	60	$2,520
Sorting applications, forming review panels, assigning proposals	$42/hr	320	3	960	$40,320
Conducting Reviews	$42/hr	200	3	600	$25,200
Generate/Preparing Slates	$42/hr	40	3	120	$5,040
Slate Review and Approval	$55/hr	5	6	30	$1,650
Issuance of Awards	$42	100	2	200	$8,400
Monitoring and Technical Assistance	$42	500	2	1000	$42,000
Total Annual Cost					$127,650

15. There are no changes in the total burden hours provided in item #12. The estimated cost to a single grantee is reflected in item #12, has increased due to a rise in the hourly rate for each of the services. The total cost to all respondents has been adjusted to reflect a more accurate number. The costs to the federal government, reflected in item #14, have been adjusted to reflect more accurate values in the increase in the hourly rate for each service from $32 per hour to $42 - $55 per hour.

16. The Department has no plans to publish any information from this collection.

17. The expiration date will be displayed.

18. No exceptions are being requested.

2. Collection of Information Employing Statistical Methods

This collection does not employ statistical methods.