Request for Information (RFI) Regarding Developing a Postsecondary Student Success Award Program for Institutions of Higher Education, 31741-31744 [2024-08541]
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 2024 / Notices
Dated: April 19, 2024.
Aaron T. Siegel,
Alternate OSD Federal Register Liaison
Officer, Department of Defense.
[FR Doc. 2024–08858 Filed 4–24–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6001–FR–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED–2024–OUS–0014]
Request for Information (RFI)
Regarding Developing a
Postsecondary Student Success
Award Program for Institutions of
Higher Education
Office of the Under Secretary,
U.S. Department of Education.
ACTION: Request for information.
AGENCY:
The U.S. Department of
Education (Department) is requesting
information in the form of written
comments that include information,
suggestions, and proposals regarding an
award system to recognize institutions
of higher education (IHEs) that serve as
engines of opportunity and economic
mobility by supporting all students to
complete affordable credentials of value
that prepare them well to participate in
the workforce, their communities, and
our democracy.
DATES: We must receive your comments
by May 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be
submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at www.regulations.gov. However,
if you require an accommodation or
cannot otherwise submit your
comments via regulations.gov, please
contact the program contact person
listed below under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. The Department
will not accept comments by fax or by
email, or comments submitted after the
comment period closes. To ensure that
the Department does not receive
duplicate copies, please submit your
comments only once. Additionally,
please include the Docket ID at the top
of your comments.
The Department strongly encourages
you to submit any comments or
attachments in Microsoft Word format.
If you must submit a comment in Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF), the
Department strongly encourages you to
convert the PDF to ‘‘print-to-PDF’’
format, or to use some other commonly
used searchable text format. Please do
not submit the PDF in a scanned format.
Using a print-to-PDF format allows the
Department to electronically search and
copy certain portions of your
submissions to assist in the rulemaking
process.
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SUMMARY:
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Federal eRulemaking Portal: Please go
to www.regulations.gov to submit your
comments electronically. Information
on using regulations.gov, including
instructions for finding a rule on the site
and submitting comments, is available
on the site under ‘‘FAQ.’’
Privacy Note: The Department’s
policy is to generally make comments
received from members of the public
available for public viewing on the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at
www.regulations.gov. Therefore,
commenters should include in their
comments only information about
themselves that they wish to make
publicly available. Commenters should
not include in their comments any
information that identifies other
individuals or that permits readers to
identify other individuals. The
Department will not make comments
that contain personally identifiable
information (PII) about someone other
than the commenter publicly available
on www.regulations.gov for privacy
reasons. This may include comments
where the commenter refers to a thirdparty individual without using their
name if the Department determines that
the comment provides enough detail
that could allow one or more readers to
link the information to the third party.
If your comment refers to a third-party
individual, to help ensure that your
comment is posted, please consider
submitting your comment anonymously
to reduce the chance that information in
your comment about a third party could
be linked to the third party. The
Department will also not make
comments that contain threats of harm
to another person or to oneself available
on www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Engle, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW,
room 5C136, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 987–0420. Email:
jennifer.engle@ed.gov.
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or
have a speech disability and wish to
access telecommunications relay
services, please dial 7–1–1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For
purposes of this award, the Department
considers postsecondary student
success to include providing access to
an affordable education including to
underserved populations,1 supporting
1 The definition of ‘‘underserved student,’’ for the
purposes of this award, aligns with the definition
of this term in the Secretary’s Supplemental
Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grant
Programs, published in the Federal Register on
December 10, 2021 (86 FR 70612) (Supplemental
Priorities). This may include: (a) a student who is
living in poverty or is served by schools with high
concentrations of students living in poverty; (b) a
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students through to completion of
credentials of value, and helping
students navigate to career pathways
that improve their lives through
economic opportunity and mobility.
I. Background
A college education can serve as a
ladder to socioeconomic mobility and
lifelong success. Postsecondary
education is associated with lower rates
of unemployment, higher levels of
earnings, better health, and greater
community engagement.2 Higher
education—particularly at certain broad
access colleges and universities that
enroll a significant share of students
from low-income backgrounds and serve
them well—can dramatically increase
students’ socioeconomic mobility,
launching students from the lowestincome households into lives with
economic security,3 helping to build a
strong middle class that contributes to
local communities and the broader
economy.
However, at too many IHEs, a
credential remains out of reach for many
of their students. Just one in three firsttime students at two-year colleges, and
only two in three first-time students at
four-year colleges, graduate from the
first institution they attend within three
and six years respectively.4 Further,
student of color; (c) a student who is a member of
a federally recognized Indian Tribe; (d) an English
learner; (e) a student with a disability; (f) a student
experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity;
(g) a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or
questioning, or intersex (LGBTQI+) student; (h) a
student without documentation of immigration
status; (i) a pregnant, parenting, or caregiving
student; (j) a student impacted by the justice
system, including a formerly incarcerated student;
(k) a student who is the first in their family to
attend postsecondary education; (l) a student
enrolling in or seeking to enroll in postsecondary
education for the first time at the age of 20 or older;
(m) a student who is working full-time while
enrolled in postsecondary education; (n) a student
who is enrolled in or is seeking to enroll in
postsecondary education who is eligible for a Pell
Grant; (o) an adult student in need of improving
their basic skills or an adult student with limited
English proficiency; and/or (p) a military- or
veteran- connected student.
2 See, for example, Ma, J., & Matea, P. (2023).
Education Pays 2023. New York: College Board.
Retrieved from: research.collegeboard.org/media/
pdf/education-pays-2023.pdf.
3 Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Saez, E., Turner, N.,
& Yagan, D. (2017). Mobility report cards: The role
of colleges in intergenerational mobility (No.
w23618. National Bureau of Economic Research.
Retrieved from: www.equality-of-opportunity.org/
papers/coll_mrc_paper.pdf.
4 U.S. Department of Education, National Center
for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS), Spring 2004
through Spring 2013 and Winter 2013–14 through
Winter 2021–22, Graduation Rates component.
(This table was prepared January 2023.) Retrieved
from: nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_
326.20.asp and U.S. Department of Education,
National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated
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despite 80 percent of community college
students (aspiring to transfer to a fouryear institution to earn bachelor’s
degrees, only about a third of
community college students transfer to
four-year institutions. Fewer than half of
those students complete bachelor’s
degrees within six years.5 Students from
low-income backgrounds, firstgeneration students, students of color,
English language learners, adult
students, students with disabilities, and
other students who have been
historically underserved in
postsecondary education often fare
worse, resulting in double-digit gaps in
graduation rates for some students of
color (e.g., 43 and 46 percent of Native
American and Black students
respectively graduate within six years
compared to 68 percent of white
students in four-year institutions) and
some students from low-income
backgrounds (e.g., 49 percent of firsttime, full-time Pell Grant recipients in
public institutions graduate within eight
years compared to 66 percent of nonPell students)in comparison to their
peers.6
Many students who leave college
unable to earn a credential also hold
debt from financing their postsecondary
education. The consequences of
stopping or dropping out can be
significant, particularly for these
borrowers. Students who leave college
with educational debt, but no
credential, are far more likely to default
on their student loans, even when their
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS),
Graduation Rates component, Spring 2002 through
Spring 2014 and Winter 2014–15 through Winter
2021–22 (final data) and Winter 2022–23
(provisional data); and Admissions component,
IPEDS Winter 2015 (final data). (This table was
prepared January 2024.) Retrieved from:
nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_
326.10.asp.
5 Shapiro, D., Dundar, A., Huie, F., Wakhungu, P.
K., Yuan, X., Nathan, A., & Hwang, Y. (2017/2022
update). Tracking transfer: Measures of
effectiveness in helping community college students
to complete bachelor’s degrees. National Student
Clearinghouse Research Center. Retrieved from:
nscresearchcenter.org/tracking-transfer/.
6 See, for example, U.S. Department of Education,
National Center for Education Statistics, Integrated
Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS),
Winter 2016–17 and Winter 2021–22, Graduation
Rates component; IPEDS Fall 2010 and Fall 2015,
Institutional Characteristics component; and IPEDS
Winter 2015–16, Admissions component. (This
table was prepared February 2023.) Retrieved from:
nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_
326.15.asp and U.S. Department of Education,
National Center for Education Statistics, IPEDS,
Winter 2022–23, Outcome Measures component
(provisional data). Retrieved from: nces.ed.gov/
ipeds/Search?query=&query2=&resultType=all&
page=1&sortBy=date_desc&
surveyComponents=Outcome%20
Measures%20(OM)&collectionYears=2021–22&
sources=Tables%20Library&overlayTableId=36029.
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balances are relatively low.7 Recent
Department data show that 68 percent of
students in default on their Federal
student loans did not complete their
program.8 Without affordable
credentials and degrees that lead to
good jobs, former students may not
recoup the time and money they have
invested in their schooling, not to
mention the public investment in
financing their education. Student debt
can also negatively impact the economy
by reducing consumption in
homeownership and everyday goods
and services.9
II. Postsecondary Education Success
Efforts
Many IHEs, non-profit organizations,
systems of higher education, and States
have invested in postsecondary
education success efforts and have
improved transfer and graduation rates
for all students, while enrolling students
reflective of the communities they
serve—whether locally, statewide, or
nationally—including underserved
populations. These efforts pay
dividends for the students earning
credentials of value—affordable
certificates and degrees that lead to
economic opportunity—as well as for
their regional economies and
communities.
For instance, studies show the
importance of early support from
institutions like help completing the
Free Application for Federal Student
Aid (FAFSA®) and well-designed
financial aid programs, including highquality free community college
programs, in promoting student
success.10 Other studies show that the
7 Miller, B. (2017). Who are student loan
defaulters? Washington, DC: Center for American
Progress. Retrieved from:
www.americanprogress.org/article/student-loandefaulters/.
8 Note: Among borrowers in default whose
completion status is known. U.S. Department of
Education. (2023). Data about Federal student loan
borrowers in default. Negotiated Rulemaking for
Higher Education 2023–2024. Retrieved from:
www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/
2023/data-on-borrowers-in-default.pdf.
9 Mezza, A., Ringo, D., Sommer, K. (January
2019). Can Student Loan Debt Explain Low
Homeownership Rates for Young Adults? Consumer
and Community Context (volume 1, number 1).
Washington, DC: The Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve. Retrieved from: https://
www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/
consumer-community-context-201901.pdf.
10 See, for example, Bettinger, E., Long, B.,
Oreopoulos, P., & Sanbonmatsu, L. (2012). The role
of application assistance and information in college
decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA
experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(3),
1205–1242. Retrieved from: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/
Study/78087; David, D., & Dynarski, S. (2009). Into
college, out of poverty? Policies to increase the
postsecondary attainment of the poor. NBER
Working Paper, 15387. Retrieved from:
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adoption of co-requisite (as opposed to
pre-requisite) remediation programs and
reforming placement policies can help
ensure students successfully complete
college-level coursework needed for
graduation while simultaneously
addressing opportunity gaps in access to
courses, programs, and other supports
that strengthen students’ English or
math skills,11 which may result from
disparities in their secondary school
experiences or delays in college-going to
pursue employment. Similarly, research
indicates that comprehensive, integrated
academic advising—including
wraparound support services such as
transportation and child care as well as
accessibility services—can be critically
important to ensuring students complete
academic coursework and graduate at
higher rates.12 Research also shows that
students with disabilities who access
universally-available or disabilityrelated supports are more likely to
persist in their college program.13
Colleges and universities that have
improved student outcomes often go
beyond implementing specific
interventions by instituting more
comprehensive, data-driven
transformation efforts.14 Research
consistently shows that implementing
these kinds of evidence-based practices
can improve postsecondary success
rates, which is why the Department
www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/
w15387/w15387.pdf; Harris, D. N., & Mills, J.
(2021). Optimal college financial aid: Theory and
evidence on free college, early commitment, and
merit aid from an eight-year randomized trial
(EdWorkingPaper: 21–393). Retrieved from
Annenberg Institute at Brown University: doi.org/
10.26300/wz1m-v526.
11 See, for example, Institute of Education
Sciences (2021). What Works Clearinghouse
Summary of Evidence: Dana Center Mathematics
Pathways. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Education. Retrieved from: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/
Intervention/1602; Miller, T., Daugherty, L.,
Martorell, P., & Gerber, R. (2022). Assessing the
effect of corequisite English instruction using a
randomized controlled trial. Journal of Research on
Educational Effectiveness, v15 n1 p78–102.
Retrieved from eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1327668.
12 See, for example, Karp, M., Ackerson, S.,
Cheng, I., Cocatre-Zilgien, E., Costelloe, S.,
Freeman, B., Lemire, S., Linderman, D., McFarlane,
B., Moulton, S., O’Shea, J., Porowski, A., &
Richburg-Hayes, L. (2021). Effective advising for
postsecondary students: A practice guide for
educators (WWC 2022003). Washington, DC:
National Center for Education Evaluation and
Regional Assistance (NCEE), Institute of Education
Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. Retrieved
from: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/28.
13 Newman, L. A., Madaus, J. W., Lalor, A. R., &
Javitz, H. S. (2020). Effect of accessing supports on
higher education persistence of students with
disabilities. Journal of Diversity in Higher
Education. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/
fulltext/ED605478.pdf.
14 See, for example, Gumbel, A. (2020). Won’t lose
this dream: How an upstart urban university
rewrote the rules of a broken system. New York
City: The New Press.
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wants to shine a spotlight on the
institutions and their partners that are
already doing exceptional work to
ensure successful outcomes for all of
their students.
III. Solicitation of Comments:
Developing a Postsecondary Student
Success Award Program for Institutions
of Higher Education
The Department is interested in
developing an award system to
recognize IHEs 15 that are supporting
success across all of their students by
conferring affordable credentials of
value that lead to economic success
while enrolling student bodies reflective
of their communities—including
students from underserved populations.
The Department requests comments on
how to understand institutions’ efforts
to ensure success in postsecondary
education in order to evaluate and select
institutions to receive the award. We
seek feedback on what information the
Department should request or require of
institutions that are invited to apply and
what information we should use to
determine which institutions should be
selected to receive the award:
1. What metrics should the
Department use and how should the
Department measure performance on
those metrics to determine both which
institutions should be eligible to apply
for and which should be selected to
receive the award? The Department is
particularly interested in—
• Which data and data sources to use
related to access, transfer and
completion, and post-college outcomes
(e.g., preparing students for highdemand occupations that pay a livable
wage or further training and education,
providing economic value or
affordability in relation to earnings);
• What benchmarks to use to measure
performance and progress on these
metrics and what methods to use to
weigh performance across these metrics
to assess eligibility and confer awards;
and
• What contextual factors and
operational structures (e.g., selectivity)
should be considered alongside these
metrics including whether and how to
categorize institutions for purposes of
award eligibility and receipt;
• Which categories to use to
disaggregate student data especially for
underserved students (e.g., economic
status, first-generation status, race/
ethnicity, English learner status,
disability status).
2. How should applicant institutions
demonstrate they are using data to drive
15 The term ‘‘institution of higher education’’ here
has the same meaning ascribed the term in 20
U.S.C. 1001.
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success for all students while enrolling
a student body reflective of the
communities they serve, including
underserved populations? The
Department is particularly interested in
understanding how the application for
the award can show:
• Which data and research have been
used to identify the institutional
policies and practices needed to ensure
success for all students and how data
and research have been used to set goals
and to implement and evaluate
evidence-based solutions;
• Which data are used by
institutional leaders, faculty, and staff to
monitor progress toward success goals
and what processes and structures are
used to ensure data are well understood
and used broadly and frequently across
the campus community to ensure
student success, especially for
underserved populations;
• How institutions have assessed and
addressed gaps in their data systems,
tools, and capacity to support student
success efforts and use these data to
support systems of continuous
improvement, including whether
institutions are using more robust and
real-time data than available from
public data systems (e.g., IPEDS) such as
leading indicators of student success
based on course-level data (e.g., credit
accumulation, gateway course
completion); predictive analytics based
on student engagement; unmet financial
need; retention, transfer, and
completion rates inclusive of all
students; time and credits to credential
or upward transfer; upward transfer
rates and post-transfer success rates;
pursuit of graduate education; and
earnings, debt, and loan repayment by
program and completion status; and
• How data are shared with other
education institutions in the State or
region, including those in the preK–12
system (including alternative
preparation programs) and IHEs from
which and to which students transfer,
and with relevant State agencies, to
inform coordinated student success
efforts.
3. How should applicant institutions
demonstrate a commitment by senior
leadership, including the governing
board of the institution (where
applicable), to support economic
mobility through campus-wide student
success efforts? The Department is
particularly interested in understanding
how the application can show:
• That the vision, mission, and
strategic goals of the institutions reflect
an actualized commitment to shared
success for all students, including
populations that may be underserved by
postsecondary education;
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• That the efforts and strategies
undertaken by the institution create a
shared value system and cross-campus
culture supportive of an institutional
commitment to student success;
• That the organization and staffing of
the institution ensure a continued focus
on maintaining or increasing success
rates for all students, including through
faculty and staff selection, onboarding,
training, and development, and that
faculty are well integrated into, and
committed to, student success efforts;
• That the institution has established
effective external partnerships by the
institution to help support success
efforts; and
• That the success efforts undertaken
by the institution are sustainable, both
through funding and through
organizational design strategies.
4. How should applicant institutions
demonstrate the effectiveness of their
strategies to ensure economic mobility
through student success efforts? The
Department is particularly interested in
understanding how the application can
show:
• The impact of effective
implementation of interventions and
strategies across all student groups
leading to completion and post-college
education and economic opportunity;
• The integration of such strategies
with other institutional planning efforts,
such as strategic plan development and
renewal of accreditation processes, as
well as continuous improvement efforts;
and
• The rigorous evaluation of the
strategies implemented by the
institution and the dissemination of
such evaluations to support knowledgebuilding in the field as well as
transparency regarding student
outcomes, such as through public
dashboards.
This is a request for information only.
This RFI is not a request for proposals
(RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or
a notice inviting applications. This RFI
does not commit the Department to
contract for any supply or service
whatsoever. Further, we are not seeking
proposals and will not accept
unsolicited proposals. The Department
will not pay for any information or
administrative costs that you may incur
in responding to this RFI. The
documents and information submitted
in response to this RFI become the
property of the U.S. Government and
will not be returned.
Accessible Format: On request to the
program contact person listed under FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT,
individuals with disabilities can obtain
this document in an accessible format.
The Department will provide the
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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 81 / Thursday, April 25, 2024 / Notices
requestor with an accessible format that
may include Rich Text Format (RTF) or
text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3
file, Braille, large print, audiotape, or
compact disc, or other accessible format.
Electronic Access to This Document:
The official version of this document is
the document published in the Federal
Register. You may access the official
edition of the Federal Register and the
Code of Federal Regulations at
www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can
view this document, as well as all other
documents of this Department
published in the Federal Register, in
text or Portable Document Format
(PDF). To use PDF you must have
Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is
available free at the site.
You may also access documents of the
Department published in the Federal
Register by using the article search
feature at www.federalregister.gov.
Specifically, through the advanced
search feature at this site, you can limit
your search to documents published by
the Department.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 3402.
James Kvaal,
Under Secretary, U.S. Department of
Education.
[FR Doc. 2024–08541 Filed 4–24–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
[Docket No. 24–28–LNG]
Sabine Pass Liquefaction, LLC;
Application for Blanket Authorization
To Export Previously Imported
Liquefied Natural Gas to Non-Free
Trade Agreement Countries on a
Short-Term Basis
Office of Fossil Energy and
Carbon Management, Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of application.
AGENCY:
The Office of Fossil Energy
and Carbon Management (FECM) of the
Department of Energy (DOE) gives
notice (Notice) of receipt of an
application (Application), filed on
March 21, 2024, by Sabine Pass
Liquefaction, LLC (SPL or Sabine Pass).
SPL requests blanket authorization to
export liquefied natural gas (LNG)
previously imported into the United
States by vessel from foreign sources in
a volume equivalent to 500 billion cubic
feet (Bcf) of natural gas on a cumulative
basis over a two-year period. SPL filed
the Application under the Natural Gas
Act (NGA).
DATES: Protests, motions to intervene, or
notices of intervention, as applicable,
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SUMMARY:
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18:54 Apr 24, 2024
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requests for additional procedures, and
written comments are to be filed as
detailed in the Public Comment
Procedures section no later than 4:30
p.m., Eastern time, May 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES:
Electronic Filing by email (Strongly
encouraged): fergas@hq.doe.gov.
Postal Mail, Hand Delivery, or Private
Delivery Services (e.g., FedEx, UPS,
etc.): U.S. Department of Energy (FE–
34), Office of Regulation, Analysis, and
Engagement, Office of Fossil Energy and
Carbon Management, Forrestal Building,
Room 3E–056, 1000 Independence
Avenue SW, Washington, DC 20585.
Due to potential delays in DOE’s
receipt and processing of mail sent
through the U.S. Postal Service, we
encourage respondents to submit filings
electronically to ensure timely receipt.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Jennifer Wade or Peri Ulrey, U.S.
Department of Energy (FE–34), Office of
Regulation, Analysis, and Engagement,
Office of Resource Sustainability, Office
of Fossil Energy and Carbon
Management, Forrestal Building, Room
3E–042, 1000 Independence Avenue
SW, Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586–
4749 or (202) 586–7893, jennifer.wade@
hq.doe.gov or peri.ulrey@hq.doe.gov.
Cassandra Bernstein, U.S. Department
of Energy (GC–76) Office of the
Assistant General Counsel for Energy
Delivery and Resilience, Forrestal
Building, Room 6D–033, 1000
Independence Avenue SW, Washington,
DC 20585, (240) 780–1691,
cassandra.bernstein@hq.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: SPL
requests a short-term blanket
authorization to export LNG that has
been previously imported into the
United States from foreign sources for a
two-year period commencing on June 7,
2024. SPL states that it will export the
LNG from the Sabine Pass LNG
Terminal located in Cameron Parish,
Louisiana, to any country with the
capacity to import LNG via ocean-going
carrier and with which trade is not
prohibited by U.S. law or policy. This
includes both countries with which the
United States has entered into a free
trade agreement (FTA) requiring
national treatment for trade in natural
gas (FTA countries) and all other
countries (non-FTA countries). This
Notice applies only to the portion of the
Application requesting authority to
export the LNG to non-FTA countries
pursuant to section 3(a) of the NGA, 15
U.S.C. 717b(a). SPL states that its
existing blanket re-export authorization,
set forth in DOE/FECM Order No. 4838
(Docket No. 22–19–LNG), is scheduled
to expire on June 6, 2024. SPL further
PO 00000
Frm 00031
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
states that it does not seek authorization
to export domestically produced natural
gas or LNG.
SPL requests this authorization on its
own behalf and as agent for other parties
that hold title to the LNG at the time of
export. Additional details can be found
in SPL’s Application, posted on the
DOE website at: https://
www.energy.gov/fecm/articles/sabinepass-liquefaction-llc-docket-no-24-28lng.
DOE Evaluation
In reviewing SPL’s Application, DOE
will consider any issues required by law
or policy. DOE will consider domestic
need for the natural gas, as well as any
other issues determined to be
appropriate, including whether the
arrangement is consistent with DOE’s
policy of promoting competition in the
marketplace by allowing commercial
parties to freely negotiate their own
trade arrangements. Parties that may
oppose this application should
comment in their responses on these
issues.
The National Environmental Policy
Act (NEPA), 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.,
requires DOE to give appropriate
consideration to the environmental
effects of its proposed decisions. No
final decision will be issued in this
proceeding until DOE has met its NEPA
responsibilities.
Public Comment Procedures
In response to this Notice, any person
may file a protest, comments, or a
motion to intervene or notice of
intervention, as applicable. Interested
parties will be provided 30 days from
the date of publication of this Notice in
which to submit comments, protests,
motions to intervene, or notices of
intervention.
Any person wishing to become a party
to the proceeding must file a motion to
intervene or notice of intervention. The
filing of comments or a protest with
respect to the Application will not serve
to make the commenter or protestant a
party to this proceeding, although
protests and comments received from
persons who are not parties will be
considered in determining the
appropriate action to be taken on the
Application. All protests, comments,
motions to intervene, or notices of
intervention must meet the
requirements specified by the
regulations in 10 CFR part 590,
including the service requirements.
Filings may be submitted using one of
the following methods:
(1) Submitting the filing electronically
at fergas@hq.doe.gov;
E:\FR\FM\25APN1.SGM
25APN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 81 (Thursday, April 25, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31741-31744]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-08541]
=======================================================================
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2024-OUS-0014]
Request for Information (RFI) Regarding Developing a
Postsecondary Student Success Award Program for Institutions of Higher
Education
AGENCY: Office of the Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.
ACTION: Request for information.
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SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of Education (Department) is requesting
information in the form of written comments that include information,
suggestions, and proposals regarding an award system to recognize
institutions of higher education (IHEs) that serve as engines of
opportunity and economic mobility by supporting all students to
complete affordable credentials of value that prepare them well to
participate in the workforce, their communities, and our democracy.
DATES: We must receive your comments by May 28, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Comments must be submitted via the Federal eRulemaking
Portal at www.regulations.gov. However, if you require an accommodation
or cannot otherwise submit your comments via regulations.gov, please
contact the program contact person listed below under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT. The Department will not accept comments by fax or
by email, or comments submitted after the comment period closes. To
ensure that the Department does not receive duplicate copies, please
submit your comments only once. Additionally, please include the Docket
ID at the top of your comments.
The Department strongly encourages you to submit any comments or
attachments in Microsoft Word format. If you must submit a comment in
Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF), the Department strongly
encourages you to convert the PDF to ``print-to-PDF'' format, or to use
some other commonly used searchable text format. Please do not submit
the PDF in a scanned format. Using a print-to-PDF format allows the
Department to electronically search and copy certain portions of your
submissions to assist in the rulemaking process.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Please go to www.regulations.gov to
submit your comments electronically. Information on using
regulations.gov, including instructions for finding a rule on the site
and submitting comments, is available on the site under ``FAQ.''
Privacy Note: The Department's policy is to generally make comments
received from members of the public available for public viewing on the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at www.regulations.gov. Therefore,
commenters should include in their comments only information about
themselves that they wish to make publicly available. Commenters should
not include in their comments any information that identifies other
individuals or that permits readers to identify other individuals. The
Department will not make comments that contain personally identifiable
information (PII) about someone other than the commenter publicly
available on www.regulations.gov for privacy reasons. This may include
comments where the commenter refers to a third-party individual without
using their name if the Department determines that the comment provides
enough detail that could allow one or more readers to link the
information to the third party. If your comment refers to a third-party
individual, to help ensure that your comment is posted, please consider
submitting your comment anonymously to reduce the chance that
information in your comment about a third party could be linked to the
third party. The Department will also not make comments that contain
threats of harm to another person or to oneself available on
www.regulations.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jennifer Engle, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, room 5C136, Washington, DC 20202.
Telephone: (202) 987-0420. Email: [email protected].
If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: For purposes of this award, the Department
considers postsecondary student success to include providing access to
an affordable education including to underserved populations,\1\
supporting students through to completion of credentials of value, and
helping students navigate to career pathways that improve their lives
through economic opportunity and mobility.
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\1\ The definition of ``underserved student,'' for the purposes
of this award, aligns with the definition of this term in the
Secretary's Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for
Discretionary Grant Programs, published in the Federal Register on
December 10, 2021 (86 FR 70612) (Supplemental Priorities). This may
include: (a) a student who is living in poverty or is served by
schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty; (b)
a student of color; (c) a student who is a member of a federally
recognized Indian Tribe; (d) an English learner; (e) a student with
a disability; (f) a student experiencing homelessness or housing
insecurity; (g) a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or
questioning, or intersex (LGBTQI+) student; (h) a student without
documentation of immigration status; (i) a pregnant, parenting, or
caregiving student; (j) a student impacted by the justice system,
including a formerly incarcerated student; (k) a student who is the
first in their family to attend postsecondary education; (l) a
student enrolling in or seeking to enroll in postsecondary education
for the first time at the age of 20 or older; (m) a student who is
working full-time while enrolled in postsecondary education; (n) a
student who is enrolled in or is seeking to enroll in postsecondary
education who is eligible for a Pell Grant; (o) an adult student in
need of improving their basic skills or an adult student with
limited English proficiency; and/or (p) a military- or veteran-
connected student.
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I. Background
A college education can serve as a ladder to socioeconomic mobility
and lifelong success. Postsecondary education is associated with lower
rates of unemployment, higher levels of earnings, better health, and
greater community engagement.\2\ Higher education--particularly at
certain broad access colleges and universities that enroll a
significant share of students from low-income backgrounds and serve
them well--can dramatically increase students' socioeconomic mobility,
launching students from the lowest-income households into lives with
economic security,\3\ helping to build a strong middle class that
contributes to local communities and the broader economy.
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\2\ See, for example, Ma, J., & Matea, P. (2023). Education Pays
2023. New York: College Board. Retrieved from:
research.collegeboard.org/media/pdf/education-pays-2023.pdf.
\3\ Chetty, R., Friedman, J. N., Saez, E., Turner, N., & Yagan,
D. (2017). Mobility report cards: The role of colleges in
intergenerational mobility (No. w23618. National Bureau of Economic
Research. Retrieved from: www.equality-of-opportunity.org/papers/coll_mrc_paper.pdf.
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However, at too many IHEs, a credential remains out of reach for
many of their students. Just one in three first-time students at two-
year colleges, and only two in three first-time students at four-year
colleges, graduate from the first institution they attend within three
and six years respectively.\4\ Further,
[[Page 31742]]
despite 80 percent of community college students (aspiring to transfer
to a four-year institution to earn bachelor's degrees, only about a
third of community college students transfer to four-year institutions.
Fewer than half of those students complete bachelor's degrees within
six years.\5\ Students from low-income backgrounds, first-generation
students, students of color, English language learners, adult students,
students with disabilities, and other students who have been
historically underserved in postsecondary education often fare worse,
resulting in double-digit gaps in graduation rates for some students of
color (e.g., 43 and 46 percent of Native American and Black students
respectively graduate within six years compared to 68 percent of white
students in four-year institutions) and some students from low-income
backgrounds (e.g., 49 percent of first-time, full-time Pell Grant
recipients in public institutions graduate within eight years compared
to 66 percent of non-Pell students)in comparison to their peers.\6\
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\4\ U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education
Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS),
Spring 2004 through Spring 2013 and Winter 2013-14 through Winter
2021-22, Graduation Rates component. (This table was prepared
January 2023.) Retrieved from: nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_326.20.asp and U.S. Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data System (IPEDS), Graduation Rates component, Spring 2002 through
Spring 2014 and Winter 2014-15 through Winter 2021-22 (final data)
and Winter 2022-23 (provisional data); and Admissions component,
IPEDS Winter 2015 (final data). (This table was prepared January
2024.) Retrieved from: nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d23/tables/dt23_326.10.asp.
\5\ Shapiro, D., Dundar, A., Huie, F., Wakhungu, P. K., Yuan,
X., Nathan, A., & Hwang, Y. (2017/2022 update). Tracking transfer:
Measures of effectiveness in helping community college students to
complete bachelor's degrees. National Student Clearinghouse Research
Center. Retrieved from: nscresearchcenter.org/tracking-transfer/.
\6\ See, for example, U.S. Department of Education, National
Center for Education Statistics, Integrated Postsecondary Education
Data System (IPEDS), Winter 2016-17 and Winter 2021-22, Graduation
Rates component; IPEDS Fall 2010 and Fall 2015, Institutional
Characteristics component; and IPEDS Winter 2015-16, Admissions
component. (This table was prepared February 2023.) Retrieved from:
nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_326.15.asp and U.S.
Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics,
IPEDS, Winter 2022-23, Outcome Measures component (provisional
data). Retrieved from: nces.ed.gov/ipeds/Search?query=&query2=&resultType=all&page=1&sortBy=date_desc&surveyComponents=Outcome%20Measures%20(OM)&collectionYears=2021-
22&sources=Tables%20Library&overlayTableId=36029.
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Many students who leave college unable to earn a credential also
hold debt from financing their postsecondary education. The
consequences of stopping or dropping out can be significant,
particularly for these borrowers. Students who leave college with
educational debt, but no credential, are far more likely to default on
their student loans, even when their balances are relatively low.\7\
Recent Department data show that 68 percent of students in default on
their Federal student loans did not complete their program.\8\ Without
affordable credentials and degrees that lead to good jobs, former
students may not recoup the time and money they have invested in their
schooling, not to mention the public investment in financing their
education. Student debt can also negatively impact the economy by
reducing consumption in homeownership and everyday goods and
services.\9\
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\7\ Miller, B. (2017). Who are student loan defaulters?
Washington, DC: Center for American Progress. Retrieved from:
www.americanprogress.org/article/student-loan-defaulters/.
\8\ Note: Among borrowers in default whose completion status is
known. U.S. Department of Education. (2023). Data about Federal
student loan borrowers in default. Negotiated Rulemaking for Higher
Education 2023-2024. Retrieved from: www2.ed.gov/policy/highered/reg/hearulemaking/2023/data-on-borrowers-in-default.pdf.
\9\ Mezza, A., Ringo, D., Sommer, K. (January 2019). Can Student
Loan Debt Explain Low Homeownership Rates for Young Adults? Consumer
and Community Context (volume 1, number 1). Washington, DC: The
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. Retrieved from: https://www.federalreserve.gov/publications/files/consumer-community-context-201901.pdf.
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II. Postsecondary Education Success Efforts
Many IHEs, non-profit organizations, systems of higher education,
and States have invested in postsecondary education success efforts and
have improved transfer and graduation rates for all students, while
enrolling students reflective of the communities they serve--whether
locally, statewide, or nationally--including underserved populations.
These efforts pay dividends for the students earning credentials of
value--affordable certificates and degrees that lead to economic
opportunity--as well as for their regional economies and communities.
For instance, studies show the importance of early support from
institutions like help completing the Free Application for Federal
Student Aid (FAFSA[supreg]) and well-designed financial aid programs,
including high-quality free community college programs, in promoting
student success.\10\ Other studies show that the adoption of co-
requisite (as opposed to pre-requisite) remediation programs and
reforming placement policies can help ensure students successfully
complete college-level coursework needed for graduation while
simultaneously addressing opportunity gaps in access to courses,
programs, and other supports that strengthen students' English or math
skills,\11\ which may result from disparities in their secondary school
experiences or delays in college-going to pursue employment. Similarly,
research indicates that comprehensive, integrated academic advising--
including wraparound support services such as transportation and child
care as well as accessibility services--can be critically important to
ensuring students complete academic coursework and graduate at higher
rates.\12\ Research also shows that students with disabilities who
access universally-available or disability-related supports are more
likely to persist in their college program.\13\ Colleges and
universities that have improved student outcomes often go beyond
implementing specific interventions by instituting more comprehensive,
data-driven transformation efforts.\14\ Research consistently shows
that implementing these kinds of evidence-based practices can improve
postsecondary success rates, which is why the Department
[[Page 31743]]
wants to shine a spotlight on the institutions and their partners that
are already doing exceptional work to ensure successful outcomes for
all of their students.
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\10\ See, for example, Bettinger, E., Long, B., Oreopoulos, P.,
& Sanbonmatsu, L. (2012). The role of application assistance and
information in college decisions: Results from the H&R Block FAFSA
experiment. Quarterly Journal of Economics, 127(3), 1205-1242.
Retrieved from: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Study/78087; David, D., &
Dynarski, S. (2009). Into college, out of poverty? Policies to
increase the postsecondary attainment of the poor. NBER Working
Paper, 15387. Retrieved from: www.nber.org/system/files/working_papers/w15387/w15387.pdf; Harris, D. N., & Mills, J. (2021).
Optimal college financial aid: Theory and evidence on free college,
early commitment, and merit aid from an eight-year randomized trial
(EdWorkingPaper: 21-393). Retrieved from Annenberg Institute at
Brown University: doi.org/10.26300/wz1m-v526.
\11\ See, for example, Institute of Education Sciences (2021).
What Works Clearinghouse Summary of Evidence: Dana Center
Mathematics Pathways. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
Retrieved from: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/Intervention/1602; Miller, T.,
Daugherty, L., Martorell, P., & Gerber, R. (2022). Assessing the
effect of corequisite English instruction using a randomized
controlled trial. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness,
v15 n1 p78-102. Retrieved from eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1327668.
\12\ See, for example, Karp, M., Ackerson, S., Cheng, I.,
Cocatre-Zilgien, E., Costelloe, S., Freeman, B., Lemire, S.,
Linderman, D., McFarlane, B., Moulton, S., O'Shea, J., Porowski, A.,
& Richburg-Hayes, L. (2021). Effective advising for postsecondary
students: A practice guide for educators (WWC 2022003). Washington,
DC: National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance
(NCEE), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of
Education. Retrieved from: ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/28.
\13\ Newman, L. A., Madaus, J. W., Lalor, A. R., & Javitz, H. S.
(2020). Effect of accessing supports on higher education persistence
of students with disabilities. Journal of Diversity in Higher
Education. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED605478.pdf.
\14\ See, for example, Gumbel, A. (2020). Won't lose this dream:
How an upstart urban university rewrote the rules of a broken
system. New York City: The New Press.
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III. Solicitation of Comments: Developing a Postsecondary Student
Success Award Program for Institutions of Higher Education
The Department is interested in developing an award system to
recognize IHEs \15\ that are supporting success across all of their
students by conferring affordable credentials of value that lead to
economic success while enrolling student bodies reflective of their
communities--including students from underserved populations. The
Department requests comments on how to understand institutions' efforts
to ensure success in postsecondary education in order to evaluate and
select institutions to receive the award. We seek feedback on what
information the Department should request or require of institutions
that are invited to apply and what information we should use to
determine which institutions should be selected to receive the award:
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\15\ The term ``institution of higher education'' here has the
same meaning ascribed the term in 20 U.S.C. 1001.
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1. What metrics should the Department use and how should the
Department measure performance on those metrics to determine both which
institutions should be eligible to apply for and which should be
selected to receive the award? The Department is particularly
interested in--
Which data and data sources to use related to access,
transfer and completion, and post-college outcomes (e.g., preparing
students for high-demand occupations that pay a livable wage or further
training and education, providing economic value or affordability in
relation to earnings);
What benchmarks to use to measure performance and progress
on these metrics and what methods to use to weigh performance across
these metrics to assess eligibility and confer awards; and
What contextual factors and operational structures (e.g.,
selectivity) should be considered alongside these metrics including
whether and how to categorize institutions for purposes of award
eligibility and receipt;
Which categories to use to disaggregate student data
especially for underserved students (e.g., economic status, first-
generation status, race/ethnicity, English learner status, disability
status).
2. How should applicant institutions demonstrate they are using
data to drive success for all students while enrolling a student body
reflective of the communities they serve, including underserved
populations? The Department is particularly interested in understanding
how the application for the award can show:
Which data and research have been used to identify the
institutional policies and practices needed to ensure success for all
students and how data and research have been used to set goals and to
implement and evaluate evidence-based solutions;
Which data are used by institutional leaders, faculty, and
staff to monitor progress toward success goals and what processes and
structures are used to ensure data are well understood and used broadly
and frequently across the campus community to ensure student success,
especially for underserved populations;
How institutions have assessed and addressed gaps in their
data systems, tools, and capacity to support student success efforts
and use these data to support systems of continuous improvement,
including whether institutions are using more robust and real-time data
than available from public data systems (e.g., IPEDS) such as leading
indicators of student success based on course-level data (e.g., credit
accumulation, gateway course completion); predictive analytics based on
student engagement; unmet financial need; retention, transfer, and
completion rates inclusive of all students; time and credits to
credential or upward transfer; upward transfer rates and post-transfer
success rates; pursuit of graduate education; and earnings, debt, and
loan repayment by program and completion status; and
How data are shared with other education institutions in
the State or region, including those in the preK-12 system (including
alternative preparation programs) and IHEs from which and to which
students transfer, and with relevant State agencies, to inform
coordinated student success efforts.
3. How should applicant institutions demonstrate a commitment by
senior leadership, including the governing board of the institution
(where applicable), to support economic mobility through campus-wide
student success efforts? The Department is particularly interested in
understanding how the application can show:
That the vision, mission, and strategic goals of the
institutions reflect an actualized commitment to shared success for all
students, including populations that may be underserved by
postsecondary education;
That the efforts and strategies undertaken by the
institution create a shared value system and cross-campus culture
supportive of an institutional commitment to student success;
That the organization and staffing of the institution
ensure a continued focus on maintaining or increasing success rates for
all students, including through faculty and staff selection,
onboarding, training, and development, and that faculty are well
integrated into, and committed to, student success efforts;
That the institution has established effective external
partnerships by the institution to help support success efforts; and
That the success efforts undertaken by the institution are
sustainable, both through funding and through organizational design
strategies.
4. How should applicant institutions demonstrate the effectiveness
of their strategies to ensure economic mobility through student success
efforts? The Department is particularly interested in understanding how
the application can show:
The impact of effective implementation of interventions
and strategies across all student groups leading to completion and
post-college education and economic opportunity;
The integration of such strategies with other
institutional planning efforts, such as strategic plan development and
renewal of accreditation processes, as well as continuous improvement
efforts; and
The rigorous evaluation of the strategies implemented by
the institution and the dissemination of such evaluations to support
knowledge-building in the field as well as transparency regarding
student outcomes, such as through public dashboards.
This is a request for information only. This RFI is not a request
for proposals (RFP) or a promise to issue an RFP or a notice inviting
applications. This RFI does not commit the Department to contract for
any supply or service whatsoever. Further, we are not seeking proposals
and will not accept unsolicited proposals. The Department will not pay
for any information or administrative costs that you may incur in
responding to this RFI. The documents and information submitted in
response to this RFI become the property of the U.S. Government and
will not be returned.
Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will
provide the
[[Page 31744]]
requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich Text Format
(RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, Braille, large
print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible format.
Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. At this site you can view this
document, as well as all other documents of this Department published
in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at
the site.
You may also access documents of the Department published in the
Federal Register by using the article search feature at
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published
by the Department.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 3402.
James Kvaal,
Under Secretary, U.S. Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2024-08541 Filed 4-24-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P