0432 SS 042611rev

SUPPORTING STATEMENT
DR. NANCY FOSTER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM
OMB CONTROL NO. 0648-0432
A. JUSTIFICATION
1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary.
This request is for reinstatement of an information collection discontinued on October 22, 2007,
with changes to the application and annual report forms and the addition of a pre- and postevaluation form.
An amendment adding Section 18 of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act authorized the Dr.
Nancy Foster Scholarship Program in 2000. The program supports these Office of National
Marine Sanctuaries performance measures:
• Knowledge/Awareness Ocean Literacy
• Knowledge/Awareness ONMS
• Aspirations of Conservation/Stewardship
• Behaviors/activities
The program recognizes outstanding scholarship by providing financial support to graduate
students pursuing masters’ and doctoral degrees in the areas of marine biology, oceanography
and maritime archaeology.
In order to select qualified students, it is necessary to collect an Application Package from each
candidate that consists of: 1) a General Information Sheet, 2) Statement of Intent, 3) Institute
Certification, 4) Research Proposal, 5) Statement of Financial Need, 6) a Declaration Statement,
7) academic transcripts and 8) two Letters of Recommendation from individuals who have
knowledge of the student's academic record, research effort, work (paid or unpaid work, such as
internships and volunteer efforts) and/or life experience. One of these letters must be from the
academic advisor.
The information will be used to select those individuals who will receive Dr. Nancy Foster
Scholarships. In order to properly process and monitor awardees, scholarship recipients will be
required to submit an Annual Report and provide a biography and photograph of themselves for
the website. Scholarship recipients will also be requested to complete an evaluation before and
after the scholarship program to gather information about the level of knowledge, skills and
behavioral changes that take place with the students over the course of the scholarship.
2. Explain how, by whom, how frequently, and for what purpose the information will be
used. If the information collected will be disseminated to the public or used to support
information that will be disseminated to the public, then explain how the collection
complies with all applicable Information Quality Guidelines.
The Application Package information is collected annually during the application period. The
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Education scholarship

program administrator will conduct this information collection each year, and scholarship review
panelists and NOAA leadership will use the information to select scholarship recipients. The
student data and information is collected, evaluated and assessed, archived, and reported.
Aggregated data is used in NOAA internal reports and reports in response to Congressional
queries.
A biographical sketch and a photograph will be required once of each new awardee prior to their
receiving their first allotment of scholarship funds. The bios and photographs will be posted on
the scholarship website so interested individuals can see and learn more about those who were
selected as awardees. A Progress Report will be required annually of all continuing awardees (in
March/April); this Progress Report will outline awardees’ accomplishments and academic
progress and enable administrators to track awardees’ efforts.
The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is institutionalizing a program-wide evaluation plan
to ensure that all education programs are being assessed for effectiveness against stated program
goals and objectives. Therefore all education programs must be currently evaluated or have an
evaluation plan in place. Each program’s evaluation plan must include standardized questions
from our tool box of questions, in addition to utilizing additional questions that are optional. The
awardees will be asked to complete a survey to evaluate the Nancy Foster Scholarship program.
The questions will be used to gather information about the level of knowledge, skills and
behavioral changes that take place with the students before and after the scholarship program.
These questions focus on ocean literacy concepts and awareness of national marine sanctuaries.
A five point scale is used with these questions and is based on current reviewed literature on
assessing impact and a recognized method of capturing this data. An evaluation form, not part of
the original information collection, is included in this submission.
In addition to the new evaluation form, changes have been made to the application form and
process, and the annual report forms
Application
1. The Application submission will no longer be through the NOAA Grants-On-Line
system.
2. Standard Form 424, Application for Federal Assistance is no longer required. Application
for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is used instead.
3. Section added under GENERAL: How did you learn about the Dr. Nancy Foster
Scholarship Program? The data collected in this section will allow the Office of
Education to assess our recruitment efforts.
4. Section added, EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES: Include technical societies
and service organizations (include offices held). The data collected in this section will
allow the application reviewers to assess the students leadership skills and networking
level. The reviewers can gain a sense of how well-rounded a student is.
5. Completed applications and supporting documents may be mailed or e-mailed
to fosterscholars@noaa.gov by the deadline (11:59 p.m. EST), previously 5 pm.

Annual Report
1. The Annual Report submission will no longer be through the NOAA Grants-On-Line
system.
2. Section added to collect current contact information.
3. Section added to identify publications authored by the recipient.
4. Students will not submit receipts as part of the annual report.
As explained in the preceding paragraphs, the information gathered has utility. NOAA will
retain control over the information and safeguard it from improper access, modification, and
destruction, consistent with NOAA standards for confidentiality, privacy, and electronic
information. See response to Question 10 of this Supporting Statement for more information on
confidentiality and privacy. The information collection is designed to yield data that meet all
applicable information quality guidelines. Prior to dissemination, the information will be
subjected to quality control measures and a pre-dissemination review pursuant to Section 515 of
Public Law 106-554.
3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological techniques or other forms of
information technology.
The collection of information will primarily entail Web-based forms submitted through the Dr.
Nancy Foster Scholarship site and transferred to a database. In the event that the Web-based
method is not functional, the applicants and recipients may complete electronic fillable forms
that may be e-mailed. Only transcripts and other documents in support of applications will be
submitted by mail.
4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.
These specific information collections are related specifically to the Dr. Nancy Foster
Scholarship Program, and are the only ones so designated.
5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities,
describe the methods used to minimize burden.
Not applicable. This collection does not involve small businesses or other small entities.
6. Describe the consequences to the Federal program or policy activities if the collection is
not conducted or is conducted less frequently.
Consequences could include scholarship funds not being awarded and students not receiving
financial support; scholarships being awarded less frequently than possible, or on a timeframe
that is not in sync with the academic year; the scholarship administrator not being able to
effectively track recipient progress; awardees not receiving their funding on time; and the
scholarship administrator not being able to market the program effectively. In addition,
recruitment and retention will be affected by not collecting the student data and information.

7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be conducted in a
manner inconsistent with OMB guidelines.
Not applicable.
8. Provide information on the PRA Federal Register Notice that solicited public comments
on the information collection prior to this submission. Summarize the public comments
received in response to that notice and describe the actions taken by the agency in
response to those comments. Describe the efforts to consult with persons outside the
agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the
clarity of instructions and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any) and
on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
A Federal Register Notice published on November 8, 2010 (75 FR 68603) solicited public
comments. There were no comments received.
9. Explain any decision to provide payments or gifts to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statue, regulation, or agency policy.
Not applicable.
10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for
assurance in statue, regulation, or agency policy.
There is no statutory authority for confidentiality. However, only promotional information
(student names, research projects, and photographs) is made public on the program website, in
newsletter articles, and in press releases. All other information is available primarily to program
staff. Protection of other information is assured on the program evaluation and progress report
forms.
As needed, student information may be disclosed to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration Office of Civil Rights and the Workforce Management Office to assist the Office
of Education in completing and maintaining the student tracker records. The justification for
sharing information on a “need to know” basis within the agency is provided explicitly within
the statutory language of the Privacy Act.
The physical electronic files are protected from access outside of NOAA and outside of Office of
Education by a system of firewalls and routers. Whenever feasible, applications are hosted
within the internally protected network to limit access by NOAA personnel only. Restricted
access is employed so that only authorized users within the NOAA Office of Education
scholarship team have access to the scholarship files.
The student scholarship programs’ paper application is destroyed after the evaluation and
selection of NOAA student scholars. The student name, street address, telephone number and
email address are maintained electronically in a secured location on the NOAA server, as is the

student tracker database. Access to the electronic files on the OEd shared drive requires
username/password combinations to retrieve the information.
11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual
behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly
considered private.
Not applicable.
12. Provide an estimate in hours of the burden of the collection of information.
All applicants are required to submit an Application Package. Based upon a 3-year average of
applications, we expect to receive 600 responses annually, for 200 applicants, consisting of one
application from each applicant and two letters of recommendation for each applicant.
It is estimated that between 4 and 7 awardees will be selected each year, each of whom will
submit a biography and photograph (7 responses) and an Annual Progress Report (7 responses).
Each new awardee would complete an evaluation, and at the end of the period, another one, but
only one per year (7 responses).
200 application package respondents x 8 hours = 1600 hours
400 letters of recommendation x 45 minutes = 300 hours
7 bio/photograph submissions x 1 hour = 7 hours
7 annual reports x 1.5 hours = 10 hours, 30 minutes (11 hours)
7 evaluations (pre- or post – only one in any given year) x 15 minute = 1 hour, 45 minutes (2
hours).
Total responses = 621; total hours of burden = 1920.
13. Provide an estimate of the total annual recordkeeping/reporting cost burden to the
respondents resulting from the collection (excluding the value of the burden hours in
Question 12 above).
All information other than transcripts and other documents required in support of the
applications may be e-mailed or posted on the program Web site. Ordering and postage costs for
transcript and other supporting document submission are estimated at $20 each, for a total of
$4,000.
14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government.
$93,510 - This figure represents salary dollars needed to oversee administration of the program
(416 hours @ $36 per hour =$15,000), contract administration for scholarship fund disbursement
($60,000), salary dollars for application review by panel members (300 hours @ $50 per hour =
$15,000), cost of materials ($3000), and salary dollars for maintenance of the scholarship
Website (10 hours @ $51 per hour = $510).

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported.
Not Applicable.
16. For collections whose results will be published, outline the plans for tabulation and
publication.
The names, academic institutions, degree and research plans, photographs, and biographical
information of the scholarship awardees will be posted on NOAA’s Dr. Nancy Foster website
and may be published in marketing materials developed to advertise the program.
17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the
information collection, explain the reasons why display would be appropriate.
Not applicable.
18. Explain each exception to the certificate.
Not applicable.
B. COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS
This collection does not employ statistical methods.