30D Comment Response

30-DAY PUBLIC COMMENT RESPONSES

College Assistance Migrant Program
Annual Performance Report
June 2024

Response to Public Comments
The Department of Education (Department) solicited comments on a proposed revision to the
College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) Annual Performance Report (APR), an existing
information collection, in a notice published in the Federal Register on May 10, 2024 (89 FR
40476). The 30-day comment period for the CAMP APR closed on June 10, 2024. The
Department received a total of 5 public comments, which responded to the proposed collection
of the required final project evaluation and the elimination of a data element collecting
standardized test scores. The section below provides a summary of the public comments received
and the Department’s responses to those comments.

BACKGROUND:
The purpose of the College Assistance Migrant Program (CAMP) is to assist migratory or
seasonal farmworkers (or immediate family members of such workers) who are enrolled or are
admitted for enrollment on a full-time basis at an institute of higher education to successfully
complete their first academic year of their postsecondary program. The Office of Migrant
Education (OME) collects information for the CAMP, which is authorized under Title IV,
Section 418A of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended by Section 408 of the Higher
Education Opportunity Act (HEOA)(20 U.S.C. 1070d-2) (special programs for students whose
families are engaged in migrant and seasonal farmwork), and 2 CFR 200.328, which requires
that recipients of discretionary grants submit an Annual Performance Report to best inform
improvements in program outcomes and productivity.

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COLLEGE ASSISTANCE MIGRANT PROGRAM ANNUAL
PERFORMANCE REPORT PUBLIC COMMENTS AND
RESPONSES
1. Collection of required project evaluation in the Final Performance Report.
Public Comments
Five (5) total public comments expressed general concerns with the proposed change,
citing reasons such as:
• Inability/lack of capacity in CAMP programs to conduct project evaluations;
• Financial and/or labor resources required to conduct the evaluations; or
• Evaluations could detract from the service goals of the program.
Response
The Department appreciates the feedback from commenters regarding the ability of CAMP
programs to adhere to the project evaluation requirement. However, the proposed change is
not to add a new requirement for a project evaluation. Project evaluations are already
required as part of the CAMP Selection Criteria used to evaluate funding applications (see
CAMP Notice Inviting Applications, 88 FR 77996 Selection Criteria F, quality of the
project evaluation [Up to 20 points]). As such, projects are already expected to conduct the
project evaluation as described in their approved applications. Further, in their approved
budget narratives, projects were to include costs for all components of their projects,
including evaluation. Thus, approved budgets and staffing plans should incorporate the
resources necessary to fulfill the evaluation requirement.
The proposed change is for OME to collect the required project evaluations as part of
grantees’ Final Performance Reports. OME currently only collects the project evaluations
from grantees as part of monitoring activities.
Because project budgets and staffing plans should incorporate resources necessary to
conduct the evaluation, evaluations should not detract resources from the service
component of the program.

2. Quality of required project evaluations.
Public Comments
One (1) comment expressed concern that some projects may not have enough participants
for an evaluation if students deny consent to the use of their data.
Response

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Project evaluation designs are reviewed for quality as part of the CAMP Selection Criteria
used to evaluate funding applications (see CAMP Notice Inviting Applications, 88 FR
77996 Selection Criteria F, quality of the project evaluation [Up to 20 points]). The CAMP
Selection Criteria evaluates “the extent to which the methods of evaluation will, if well
implemented, produce promising evidence,” the definition of which “includes at least one
statistically significant and positive (i.e., favorable) effect on a relevant outcome” (see also
34 CFR § 77.1). Grantees are expected to complete a final project evaluation using the
evaluation design in their approved application.
In addition, OME understands that projects do not have control over the number of students
consenting to the use of their data in an evaluation. The collection of final project
evaluations is intended to contribute to continuous improvement of the CAMP program
overall, and as such, OME plans to use the evaluations for purposes such as:
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Better understanding potential factors contributing to national program trends;
Gaining a better understanding of the elements that support project success to
inform technical assistance and peer learning; and
Identifying grantees’ strengths and areas of growth in data and evaluation to
provide the most relevant technical assistance for conducting high-quality
evaluations.

3. Removal of data collection on standardized test scores (SAT and ACT).
Public Comments
One (1) public comment expressed support for removing this data collection because fewer
institutions are using SAT or ACT scores to admit or place students, and many students do
not take these exams.
Response
The Department appreciates the feedback from commenters regarding the removal of this
data element.

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