Submission for Review: 3206-0246, CyberCorps®: Scholarship for Service (SFS) Registration System, 76865-76866 [2023-24534]

Agencies

• Office of Personnel Management

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 214 (Tuesday, November 7, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76865-76866]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24534]


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OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

[Docket ID: OPM-2023-0038]


Submission for Review: 3206-0246, CyberCorps[supreg]: Scholarship 
for Service (SFS) Registration System

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: 60-Day notice and request for comments.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM), Human Resources 
Solutions, offers the general public and other Federal agencies the 
opportunity to comment on the extension with change of a currently 
approved information collection request (ICR): 3206-0246, 
CyberCorps[supreg]: Scholarship for Service (SFS) Registration system.

DATES: Comments are encouraged and should be received on or before 
January 8, 2024.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and 
title, by the following method:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: https://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    All submissions received must include the agency name and docket 
number for this document. The general policy for comments and other 
submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions 
available for public viewing at https://www.regulations.gov as they are 
received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: A copy of this ICR, with applicable 
supporting documentation, may be obtained by contacting: U.S. Office of 
Personnel Management, Student Programs Branch, Attention: Laura 
Knowles, 601 East 12th Street, Kansas City, MO 64106-2826 or via 
electronic email to [email protected] or phone at 202-246-2740.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The CyberCorps[supreg] Scholarship for 
Service (SFS) Program was established by the National Science 
Foundation, in collaboration with the U.S. Office of Personnel 
Management and the Department of Homeland Security, in accordance with 
the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 (Pub. L.: 113-274), as 
amended by the National Defense Authorization Act and CHIPS and Science 
Act and codified at 15 U.S.C. 7442. This initiative reflects the 
critical need for Information Technology (IT) professionals, industrial 
control system security professionals, and security managers in 
government. The goals of the SFS Program are to: (1) increase the 
number of qualified and diverse cybersecurity candidates for government 
cybersecurity positions; (2) improve the national capacity for the 
education of cybersecurity professionals and research and development 
workforce; (3) hire, monitor, and retain high-quality 
CyberCorps[supreg] graduates in the cybersecurity mission of Federal 
Government; and (4) strengthen partnerships between institutions of 
higher education and Federal, state, local, and tribal governments. OPM 
partners with NSF in this program by aiding in matching SFS students to 
potential agencies, coordinating students' transition into government 
employment, monitoring students' compliance with program requirements, 
and assessing whether the program helps meet the personnel needs of the 
federal government for information infrastructure protection.
    The SFS Program provides funds to institutions of higher education 
for student scholarships in support of education in areas relevant to 
cybersecurity and cybersecurity-related aspects of other related fields 
as appropriate, including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, 
and aerospace. Students identified by their institutions for SFS 
Scholarships must meet selection criteria based on prior academic 
performance, likelihood of success in obtaining the degree, and 
suitability for government employment. Each scholarship recipient, as a 
condition of receiving a scholarship under the program, enters into an 
agreement under which the recipient agrees to work during the summer 
between academic terms, and work for a period equal to the length of 
the scholarship, following receipt of the student's degree, in a 
position related to cybersecurity and in the cyber security mission 
of--
    (1) an executive agency (as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105);
    (2) Congress, including any agency, entity, office, or commission 
established in the legislative branch;
    (3) an interstate agency;
    (4) a State, local, or Tribal government;
    (5) a State, local, or Tribal government-affiliated non-profit that 
is critical infrastructure (as defined in section 1016(e) of the USA 
Patriot Act (42 U.S.C. 5195c(e)); or
    (6) as an educator in the field of cybersecurity at a qualified 
institution of higher education that provides SFS scholarships.
    Additionally, scholarship recipients agree to provide OPM (in 
coordination

[[Page 76866]]

with the NSF) and the qualified institution of higher education with 
annual verifiable documentation of post-award employment and up-to-date 
contact information.
    As required by 15 U.S.C. 7442, an SFS scholarship recipient is 
financially liable to the United States if the individual: fails to 
maintain an acceptable level of academic standing; is dismissed from 
the applicable institution of higher education for disciplinary 
reasons; withdraws from the eligible degree program before completing 
the program; declares that they do not intend to fulfill the post-award 
employment obligation; or fails to maintain or fulfill any of the post-
graduation or post-award employment obligations or requirements. 
Failure to satisfy the academic requirements of the program or to 
complete the service requirement results in forfeiture of the 
scholarship award, which must either be repaid or reverted by the 
institution to a student loan pro-rated accordingly to reflect partial 
service completed.
    Approval of the SFS Registration system is necessary to continue 
management and operation of the program in accordance with the 
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 (Pub. L.: 113-274), as amended by 
the National Defense Authorization Act and CHIPS and Science Act of 
2022 (15 U.S.C. 7442), and to facilitate the timely registration, 
selection, placement, and monitoring of program-enrolled scholarship 
recipients in Government agencies.
    The burden estimate associated with this request is increasing from 
past years. This is due to three primary reasons: an increased number 
of scholars, increased reporting requirements, and reassessment of 
previous reporting of burden estimates. Each year NSF awards grants to 
additional universities to use for scholarships under the SFS program 
which increases the number of students that receive scholarships, and 
consequently, the number of scholars that need to be monitored through 
the completion of their service commitment. Each student awarded a 
scholarship must register their profile and resume with the SFS website 
for the successful facilitation of their placement with a government 
agency, and they must maintain up-to-date profile and employment 
information through program completion. The annual employment 
verification and profile maintenance was not previously collected, and 
to meet this requirement, scholars and their affiliated academic 
officials must report employment and up-to-date profile information. 
Finally, the previous data collection requests only included new 
scholars registering with the SFS portal. Costs attributable to the 
requirement for scholars to provide annual employment verification and 
to maintain an up-to-date profile have been captured in this burden 
estimate in addition to the information collected from academic and 
agency officials.
    OPM is particularly interested in comments that:
    1. Evaluate whether the proposed collection of information is 
necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, 
including whether the information will have practical utility;
    2. Evaluate the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of 
the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the 
methodology and assumptions used;
    3. Enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to 
be collected; and
    4. Ways in which we can minimize the burden of the collection of 
information on those who are to respond, including through the use of 
appropriate automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological 
collection techniques or other forms of information technology, e.g., 
permitting electronic submissions of responses.

Analysis

    Agency: Office of Personnel Management.
    Title: Scholarship for Service (SFS) Program internet Site
    OMB Number: 3206-0246.
    Frequency: Annually.
    Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Number of Respondents: 1,303.
    Estimated Time per Respondent:
    New Scholars: 30 minutes.
    Existing Scholars: 15 minutes.
    Principal Investigators/Academic Officials: 35 minutes.
    Agency Officials: 10 minutes.
    Total Burden Hours: 965 hours.

    Office of Personnel Management.
Kayyonne Marston,
Federal Register Liaison.
[FR Doc. 2023-24534 Filed 11-6-23; 8:45 am]
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