Hi,  Rachel,

 

Here is additional information in response to  your questions regarding our OMB clearance package (or as much as we are able to supply at this time).  

 

1) Unfortunately, we cannot make the e-Signature happen without financial and technical support from ED's highest echelons. As you know, our managers are continuing to request assistance in implementing this. The record of our many attempts to make this happen is lengthy and was provided with the current package. Other offices in ED have offered little or no help with this endeavor, and we have not even been provided with a promised cost estimate from the Office of the Chief Financial Officer.  We were adivsed, however, that implementation of e-signature will take one year (at the very minimum), assuming that there are absolutely no delays or problems.  Please l be advised  that TQE Team Leader Kathy Price and Teacher and Student Development Services Director Lynn Mahaffie have been and are doing everything possible to emphasize the importance of this initiative to upper management and will continue to do so. Moreover, the implementation of e-signature would provide great benefit to the program office in administering the program and is supported by program leadership.  Unfortunately, mandating this from our office is not possible.

2) There were no changes. The numbers in the earlier package had been miscalculated, but the mistake was not caught at that time.

3) We need SSNs on the verification forms because it's the only sure way to track individuals in our system. As might be expected given the demographics of this group, many of the women who receive scholarship assistance marry shortly after finishing college. As a result, their forms are submitted under a variety of names, including maiden names, married names, and double names. Additionally, given the number of students who have received awards (approximately 5000 to date), we do have multiple students who have the same name but are separate individuals; for example: Graciela Garcia, Melissa Garcia, Mariel Garcia, Maria Sanchez, Maria Sandoval, and Jamie Smith.

4) The most recent OMB approval numbers for the three TQE programs are listed below. All of the packages  were formally allowed to expired  by the proper procedures (83-D) as of this time. Since we have no new competitions scheduled at this time, it is not known if/when they will be renewed.

TQE-Partnerships OMB 1840-0007

TQE-Recruitment OMB 1840-0767

TQE-States OMB 1840-0007

 

Given that we are unable to fulfill the requirement regarding the e-Signature initiative at this time, is there any way that we can at least get a six-month approval for the package?  We are currently tracking over $20.5 million in scholarship dollars and our grantees desperately need the use of our forms as they award scholarships for the fall semester.  The lack of the form's availability is causing severe hardship to grantees and their scholarship recipients and is seriously impeding the office's ability to track students who have completed--or who have failed to complete--their teaching obligation.  With regard to the former group, this results in poor customer service.  With regard to the latter, it is impeding our ability to identify individuals who have a debt to the Department.

 

Thanks,

Rachael