Final - Supporting Statement - 1405-0192

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR
PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

Exchange Programs Alumni Website Application
OMB Number 1405- 0192
DS-7006

A. JUSTIFICATION

1. Why is this collection necessary and what are the legal statutes that allow this?

Each year, the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) manages the exchange programs for more than 55,000 people from around the world. ECA’s Office of Alumni Affairs manages the International Exchange Alumni website (https://alumni.state.gov), an online community for alumni of U.S. government-funded and U.S. government-facilitated exchange programs.

2. What business purpose is the information gathered going to be used for?

The information will be used by ECA’s Office of Alumni Affairs to set up online user accounts for exchange alumni who wish to access the International Exchange Alumni website. Once a user account is activated, the same information may be used for competitions and other public diplomacy initiatives in support of Embassy and foreign policy goals. This is a voluntary information collection for alumni of U.S. government-funded and U.S. government-facilitated. Not all 55,000 exchange program participants will opt to fill out the form to activate the account following the conclusion of their program.

3. Is this collection able to be completed electronically (e.g. through a website or application)?

The information collection is web-based, via an online application. Interested alumni will either choose to activate a link sent to them via email or register manually at https://alumni.state.gov/account-inquiry.

4. Does this collection duplicate any other collection of information?

Currently, no duplication of effort exists; there is no other reliable method for the ECA Office of Alumni Affairs to collect the information needed for website registration.

5. Describe any impacts on small business.

This collection of information does not have an impact on small businesses or other small entities.

6. What are consequences if this collection is not done?

Without the information collection, ECA would not be able to provide alumni of U.S. government-funded and U.S. government-facilitated exchanges access to the International Exchange Alumni website. As such, the U.S. government would be unable to strengthen relationships with alumni as a means of building on the investment in the original exchange program

7. Are there any special collection circumstances?

There are no special circumstances associated with this collection.

8. Document publication (or intent to publish) a request for public comments in the Federal Register

The Department solicited comment on January 22, 20202. 85 FR 3740. The Department received one comment, and appreciates the support of Greenheart International and their interest in ensuring that participants in U.S. government-facilitated J-1 Exchange Visitor Program (https://j1visa.state.gov/) are a part of the International Exchange Alumni network. The Department has broadened the wording throughout the information collection documents to “U.S. government-funded and U.S. government-facilitated exchange programs” to ensure the eligibility of alumni of J-1 Exchange Visitor Programs that are managed by State Department-designated sponsors as set forth in the governing regulations (22 CFR Part 62).

9. Are payments or gifts given to the respondents?

No gifts or payments will be made to respondents.

10. Describe assurances of privacy/confidentiality

There are no assurances of privacy or confidentiality.

The full International Exchange Alumni website privacy policy can be found at https://alumni.state.gov/about-international-exchange-alumni/benefits-joining/terms-service/privacy-notice.

11. Are any questions of a sensitive nature asked?

No questions of a sensitive nature are asked.

12. Describe the hour time burden and the hour cost burden on the respondent needed to complete this collection

January 1, 2018 – December 31, 2018 approximately 25,000 alumni registered on the International Exchange Alumni website: 4,000 members joined by filling out the entire manual registration form (10 minutes), while 21,000 members joined the site through a more automated process (2 minutes). This is an annual burden of approximately 1,367 hours, a reduction of 833 hours since the previous approval.

Time Frame	Last Approval		Current Approval
Number of Respondents	5,000	41,000	4,000	21,000
Amount of Time to Complete Form	10 minutes	2 minutes	10 minutes	2 minutes
Total Burden Hours*	833 hours	1,367 hours	667 hours	700 hours
Burden Cost per Respondent Group**	$29,588.16	$48,555.84	$19,343	$20,300
Total Burden Cost	$78,144.00		$39,643
Difference Since Last Approval	-$34,347.84		-$38,501

*Number of Respondents multiplied by the amount of time to complete each form

** Average wage of $29/hour based on the assumption that those filling out the form will have at a minimum an undergraduate degree and experience that would be equivalent to a GS-11 (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/19Tables/pdf/GS_h.pdf)

13. Describe the monetary burden to respondents (out of pocket costs) needed to complete this collection.

There is no cost to respondents associated with this collection

14. Describe the cost incurred by the Federal Government to complete this collection.

The time/cost burden to the federal government is explained in the following chart.

Time Frame	Last Approval	Current Approval
Number of Staff Members	1	1
Time Devoted per Week	6 hours per person	10 hours/person for 49 weeks 25 hours/person for 3 weeks
Percentage of year	15% per person (6 hours per week x 52 weeks = 312 hours / 2,087 hours in a federal work year = 14.94%)	27% per person 10 hours/week x 49 weeks = 490 hours 25 hours/week x 3 weeks = 75 hours 565/2,080 hours/federal work year = 27%)
Average Annual Wage per Person (GS-11 or equivalent)	$55,000/year	$60,320/year*
Total USG Cost	$8,250per year (15% of 55,000 = $8,250)	$16,286 per year (27% of 60,320)
Change since last approval		+$8,576

*average annual wage is calculated based on a GS-11 step 5 multiplied by 2080 working hours per year (https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/pay-leave/salaries-wages/salary-tables/19Tables/pdf/GS.pdf)

15. Explain any changes/adjustments to this collection since the previous submission

The decreased burden for respondents activating accounts in the International Exchange Alumni network is due to a decreased number of alumni joining the website as compared to the last approval. The increased burden on the federal government is due to an increased number of requests for accounts during a 3-week period leading up to a small grants competition. The staff member is responsible for uploading alumni information to the International Exchange Alumni website to trigger an email inviting alumni to activate their account, responding to account inquiries on email, verifying alumni information to finalize the account, and working with the website developer to maintain the online system.

16. Specify if the data gathered by this collection will be published.

The information gathered by this collection will not be published.

17. If applicable, explain the reason(s) for seeking approval to not display the OMB expiration date.

ECA Alumni Affairs Office will display the OMB expiration date.

18. Explain any exceptions to the OMB certification statement below.

ECA Alumni Affairs Office does not request an exception to the certification of the information collection.

B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

This collection does not employ statistical methods.