Search Results for keywords:"Department of Education"

The Department of Education has released a notice inviting applications for the 2025 fiscal year for the Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad (FRA) Fellowship Program. This program offers grants to colleges and universities to support fellowships for faculty members conducting research abroad to improve their language skills and area studies expertise. The notice outlines important details regarding eligibility, application requirements, and evaluation criteria, with a focus on research projects in specific world regions and academic fields, as well as promoting equity in access to educational resources. The deadline for application submission is March 10, 2025.

The U.S. Department of Education is announcing the re-establishment of a matching program with the Social Security Administration (SSA). This program aims to help individuals with student loans who might qualify for loan discharge due to total and permanent disability. The SSA will share specific disability data with the Department of Education to inform borrowers about their eligibility. The program is scheduled to begin 30 days after the publication date unless there are significant public comments that require changes.

The Department of Education has finalized a rule about income-contingent repayment plans for federal student loans. This rule allows new enrollments in the Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) and Pay As You Earn (PAYE) plans until July 1, 2027. The extension is to ensure the Department complies with legal requirements while making changes to the existing repayment plans. These actions are meant to help borrowers continue their loan payments and stay on track for forgiveness, especially while a court case delays the new SAVE plan.

The Department of Education has announced that it is accepting applications for the Fulbright-Hays Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad (DDRA) Program for fiscal year 2021. This program provides grants to doctoral candidates to support dissertation research conducted abroad in modern foreign languages and area studies. Eligible institutions of higher education must compile and submit applications through the G5 system. The total estimated funding available is $4,274,500, with approximately 90 awards ranging from $15,000 to $60,000 expected to be made. Applications must be submitted electronically unless an exception is granted.

The Department of Education is proposing a new information collection as part of a national study on the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program. This study will look at how afterschool centers help students and families, especially those affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and will focus on enhancing the quality of services provided. Comments on this proposal can be submitted by April 19, 2021. The study aims to better understand and improve the effectiveness of these centers in promoting academic and social skills among students.

The Department of Education's Institute of Educational Sciences is proposing changes to the current information collection related to the Program for International Student Assessment 2022 (PISA 2022). This involves gathering public comments as part of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. PISA is a worldwide test that measures the reading, math, and science skills of 15-year-olds, and this collection will help the U.S. compare its students' performances with those from other countries. The changes address pandemic-related delays and adjustments, such as moving the field test from 2020 to 2021 and the main study to 2022, updating materials, and adding COVID-19 protocols.

The Department of Education is proposing to extend without changes a current information collection request related to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA), which ensures that active-duty military members have a cap of 6% on interest rates for their loans. This effort focuses on verifying borrower's military status using the Department of Defense’s database and providing the interest rate benefit accordingly. Public comments on this proposal are being accepted until January 6, 2025. The Department is particularly interested in feedback on the necessity of the collection, the accuracy of the burden estimate, and suggestions for improving the process.

The Department of Education published updated common instructions for individuals applying for funds from its discretionary grant programs. These new instructions replace those published on December 7, 2022. The changes make the instructions clearer and more straightforward, with added guidance on using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in grant applications. The Department also highlights the importance of responsible AI use and refers applicants to resources for ensuring ethical AI practices in education.

The Department of Education is seeking public comments on the extension of a currently approved data collection known as the Privacy Act Request Form. This form is used to gather information from individuals asking for documents under the Privacy Act. The Department is particularly interested in feedback on whether the data collection is essential, its timeliness, burden estimates, and ways to improve its quality and lessen the burden on respondents. The deadline for submitting comments is April 6, 2021.

The Department of Education is seeking public comments on its proposal to extend, without change, the approval for a collection of information under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. This information collection, titled "Reaffirmation Agreement," relates to loans under the Federal Family Education Loan Program and the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The public is invited to submit their comments on whether this collection is necessary, accurate, and how it might be improved to reduce the burden on responders, by April 26, 2021. This is part of the Department’s efforts to ensure that its information collection requirements are clear and not overly burdensome to the public.