[Federal Register: May 17, 2006 (Volume 71, Number 95)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 28545-28547]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr17my06-1]
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Rules and Regulations
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[[Page 28545]]
OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT
5 CFR Part 410
RIN 3206-AK46
Training; Reporting Requirements
AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing final
regulations requiring agencies to report training data. The new
regulations require all Federal agencies to collect information that
supports agency determinations of its workforce training needs and to
document the results of training and development programs implemented
to address those needs by requiring input into the OPM Governmentwide
Electronic Data Collection System.
DATES: June 16, 2006.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Loretta L. Reeves by telephone at
(202) 606-2419, by fax at (202) 606-2329, by TDD at (202) 418-3134, or
by e-mail at Loretta.Reeves@opm.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On May 27, 2005, OPM issued proposed
regulations (70 FR 30647) to amend the rules in 5 CFR part 410,
subparts C, D, and G, and requested comments by July 26, 2005, which
addressed agency training records and reporting requirements.
OPM created a Governmentwide electronic system to capture employee
human resource information, which includes training data. This system
is explained and agency reporting requirements are defined in the Guide
to Personnel Recordkeeping (http://www.opm.gov/feddata/persdoc.asp) and the Guide to Human Resources Reporting (http://www.opm.gov/feddata/
ata/
To support this data collection, OPM is clarifying established
policy to ensure that agencies maintain records of their training plans
and to require that agencies report training data beginning December
31, 2006, in the form as prescribed by the OPM Governmentwide
Electronic Data Collection System. The Governmentwide system will allow
agencies to maintain accurate records to facilitate reporting on a
regular basis as prescribed by the Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping
(http://www.opm.gov/feddata/persdoc.asp) and the Guide to Human Resources Reporting (http://www.opm.gov/feddata/guidance.asp). In
p). In
addition, there is a change in the period of time required for
retaining records in subparts C and D, and a new method for reporting
requirements subpart G.
Comments
OPM received comments from two agencies and three individuals who
work in the Federal training community. One agency concurred with the
proposal to collect training data through the OPM Governmentwide
Electronic Data Collection System. The comments from the other agency
and the individuals focused on the compatibility of the data elements
to Learning Management Systems (LMS); the timeframe required to report
data to OPM; and the two guides referenced above to guide agencies
through the implementation process of reporting training data. In
addition, the commenters are concerned with providing aggregated costs
for training (e.g., travel and per diem costs) and need more clarity on
this issue to avoid reporting the same data in different data calls.
The agency expressed concern about the compatibility of data
elements in a current LMS and the proposed timelines to begin providing
training data to OPM. The agency explained that there are competing
priorities for their resources, namely resourcing manual collection of
the required 25 data elements vs. continuing to work towards enterprise
Learning Management Systems integration. OPM understands this is a
concern to many Federal agencies. The new training data requirements
were coordinated with service providers under the e-Training
Initiative. All service providers are currently working on
incorporating the data requirements and developing a data feed to OPM's
Enterprise Human Resource Integration (EHRI) data warehouse. Agencies
with LMS that do not incorporate these data requirements should
consider switching to an e-Training Initiative approved e-learning
solution.
The agency is also concerned that, if they are required to provide
training data to OPM within the given deadline of October 1, 2005, they
would have to ask the vendors to customize their system at considerable
added cost. While OPM understands this concern, agencies have been
aware of OPM's requirement to report training data since October 2003,
when the first Interface Control Document (ICD) was published. The new
training data requirements were coordinated with service providers
under the e-Training Initiative. As noted above, all e-Training Service
Providers are currently working on incorporating the data requirements
and developing a data feed to OPM's EHRI data warehouse. Agencies with
LMS that do not incorporate these data requirements should consider
switching to an e-Training Initiative approved e-learning solution or
work to become compliant.
This agency also suggested that the deadlines for regular submittal
be reviewed and consideration be given to allow the OPM-approved LMS
vendors time to react to these requirements in order to better serve
the agencies. OPM agrees and has changed the deadline to begin regular
submittals to December 31, 2006. This new start date will give agencies
more time to make adjustments to their current systems. OPM again notes
that the new training data requirements were coordinated with service
providers under the e-Training Initiative and all service providers are
currently working on incorporating the data requirements and developing
a data feed to OPM's EHRI data warehouse.
In addition, this agency felt that the referenced guidance does not
provide clear business processes for meeting the reporting
requirements. The proposed rule refers to guidance with specific
information about how the training data should be provided; however,
there are still unanswered questions about the process. Procedures for
submitting training data are contained in the Guide to Personnel
Recordkeeping (Table 3-I) and the Guide to Human Resources Reporting
(Chapter 4 and Appendix A). Agencies should develop their own
[[Page 28546]]
training and training documentation processes to meet the requirements
of the guide. In addition, OPM will be providing the agencies with
another reference guide to help HR offices understand how to report
training data.
This same agency stated, if OPM anticipates that each agency pull
this data from its respective systems, OPM will have to negotiate with
their approved vendors in order to allow this level of raw data access
to those hosted systems. The vendors provided through OPM's GoLearn
site do not currently provide the necessary functionality to stream the
data to OPM. In response, all service providers under the E-training
initiative, including those vendors under OPM's GoLearn site are
currently working on incorporating the data requirements and developing
a data feed to OPM's EHRI data warehouse.
Also, this agency felt it does not have clarity on what is expected
for cost data. Because most learning management systems are not
financial systems, costs are usually estimates rather than actual
costs. According to this agency, if estimates are not acceptable, its
staff would have to create the necessary interface with their financial
management and travel management systems. This agency contended that
this would create a significant and undue hardship for them. The agency
asserts that it is also unclear how this requirement will avoid
reporting the same data in different data calls. The cost data that OPM
requires is explained in the Guide to Human Resources Reporting
(Chapter 4 and Appendix A). Agencies are free to determine which of
their systems (HR, training, LMS, or financial) the data comes from to
meet the data requirements as long as the information is reported
accurately. At this time, OPM has no plans to request training data in
another data call or through another mechanism so the chance for
duplicative reporting should be minimal.
The same agency stated rules need to be clarified as they relate to
the reporting requirements so that the rules fully address business
processes. Procedures for submitting training data are contained in the
Guide to Personnel Recordkeeping and the Guide to Human Resources
Reporting. OPM does not dictate agency business processes; however, OPM
is creating another guide to help explain the process for HR
professionals that explains the reporting process in a different way.
The title of the guide is Guide for Collection and Management of
Training Information.
In addition, the individuals who commented stated that this
requirement is an ``unfunded mandate.'' OPM understands that there can
be costs associated with migrating to the EHRI standard, and will work
with agencies to find the least costly method for meeting the training
reporting requirement, including recommending the use of an e-Training
Initiative Approved e-Learning Solution.
These individuals also indicated that the Rule needs to remove
redundant reporting (e.g., travel, tuition). Agencies are free to
determine which of their systems (HR, training, LMS, or financial) the
data comes from to meet the data requirements. The rules on travel and
tuition are explained and defined in the Guide to Human Resources
Reporting. Depending on the agency's system, these cost items may have
different uses internally; however, OPM decided to keep the
distribution of these items as they appear in the Guide. Agencies will
need to determine how to extract the data for each element to report to
OPM as long as it is non-duplicative, accurate and complete.
An individual expressed concern about data elements themselves, the
value of the elements and the integration of the elements with
standards established under the e-Training Initiative for LMS. The data
elements were established to meet both current and future requirements
to analyze and report on the actual costs and utilization of training
throughout the government. The new training data requirements have been
coordinated with service providers under the e-Training Initiative and
all service providers are currently working on incorporating the data
requirements and developing a data feed to OPM's Enterprise Human
Resource Integration (EHRI) data warehouse. As mentioned before, OPM
has the responsibility and authority to establish standards for the
collection and reporting of HR data. Agencies can meet these standards
and requirements by using an e-Training Initiative approved e-Learning
solution.
This individual was also concerned that agency systems may not
readily crosswalk to the training elements match for match. It is up to
the agency to determine how it can respond to the specific training
values and elements required by the Governmentwide system.
One commenter indicated a concern that many of the data elements
are not available as standard elements within agency training systems,
and that, if they are available, the coding types are devised to meet
the agency needs and may not correlate with OPM requirements. OPM
understands this concern, and in response has changed the time when
agencies are to begin reporting training data to December 31, 2006.
This will give agencies more time to make the necessary adjustments to
their systems to comply with the training data reporting requirement.
Agencies can meet these standards and requirements by using an e-
Training Initiative approved e-Learning solution.
The same individual stated that significant potential costs may be
incurred in reconfiguring agency data systems to meet these standards.
OPM understands that additional costs may be incurred and that some
agencies may need additional time to possibly realign funding to
reconfigure current agency systems. For those agencies that require
additional time beyond the newly established date to begin reporting
training data, December 31, 2006, OPM has added a provision (c) under
section 410.701 which allows agencies to request an extension based on
an agency's plan to meet the requirements at a later date. OPM also
notes that service providers under the e-Training Initiative and all
service providers are currently working on incorporating the data
requirements and developing a data feed to OPM's Enterprise Human
Resource Integration (EHRI) data warehouse. Agencies with LMS that do
not incorporate these data requirements should consider switching to an
e-Training Initiative approved e-learning solution.
The same individual expressed that OPM through the e-Training
Initiative has endeavored to standardize LMS across agencies to achieve
economies of scale and eliminate redundancies. This individual observed
that in this process, OPM has directed that a number of data fields be
established as standards within agency LMS applications. The individual
stated that many of the elements required under this rule are not
required as standard data elements within an LMS under the e-Training
Initiative. OPM coordinated internally with e-Training Initiative, EHRI
and OPM's policy offices to ensure that there is consistency with what
training data is required and what training data agencies need to
report. In May of 2005, these 27 data elements were requested to become
mandatory and e-Training Service Providers have worked with vendors in
order for LMS vendors to meet this new mandatory requirement. However,
it is up to the agencies to determine the best solution for capturing
the training data. OPM encourages the agencies to work with their e-
Training Service Provider on the specific solution.
The same individual stated that several data elements are related
to financial costs and observed that this
[[Page 28547]]
data is normally maintained within agency financial systems. The
commenter stated that agencies may be able to report on this data in
the aggregate, but generally cannot do so on a course or per capita
basis since many training and financial systems are not integrated.
Agencies are free to determine which of their systems (HR, training,
LMS, or financial) the data comes from to meet the data requirements.
As long as the data is accurate, agencies can determine how to
aggregate the responses in the report as required.
The same commenter suggested that agencies do not capture per diem
cost separately from overall travel costs and observed that, generally,
all travel costs are recorded as a collective total. Although per diem
costs are a separate item in Table 3-I, OPM is mainly interested in the
final cost of the travel for training completed by the employee and
paid for by the Federal Government.
There were also concerns regarding the granularity of the data to
be reported and the general value of that level of detail to OPM. One
individual noted that reporting training information by training type,
total contact hours, and total cost would appear to be more useful as
an aggregate and would significantly lessen the administrative burden
on agencies in collecting and managing this data. OPM is requesting the
aggregate of the completed training events total cost only. Even though
the required reporting process specifies the cost information needed,
it is not an all-inclusive list nor is it at the lowest granular level
of reporting cost. OPM's objective is to establish a level that is
consistent for agencies Governmentwide. It is important that OPM
require only the level of granularity that OMB, Congress and GAO have
requested without having to go back out to the agencies to request more
information on a regular basis.
One commenter stated that the requirement to begin reporting data
as of April 1, 2005, is a burden for some components due to the
complexity required to go back in time to attach additional data to
historical information. OPM has not required that agencies capture
historical training data. Agencies should start reporting data as of
December 31, 2006. The April 1, 2005 date was originally set for the
pilot to begin where agencies would have had the opportunity to report
data and test the system to determine what errors in their reports need
to be corrected and to be ready to submit accurate data by the
effective date of the final regulation.
A commenter suggested that some components have no current LMS or
electronic mechanism for collecting and submitting the requested data.
Thus, the individual hoped that a reasonable amount of time will be
allowed to collect and submit these data. OPM is aware there are
agencies that do not have a LMS system; however, agencies can meet
these standards and requirements by using an e-Training Initiative
approved e-Learning solution. OPM has also changed the date when
agencies must begin reporting training data to December 31, 2006, and
has added a provision (c) under section 410.701, which allows agencies
to request an extension based on their plan to meet the reporting
requirement at a later date.
E.O. 12866, Regulatory Review
This rule has been reviewed by the Office of Management and Budget
as a significant regulatory action in accordance with Executive Order
12866.
Regulatory Flexibility Act
I certify that these regulations would not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial number of small entities because they
would apply only to Federal agencies and employees.
List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 410
Education, Government employees.
Office of Personnel Management.
Linda M. Springer,
Director.
0
Accordingly, OPM is amending part 410 of 5 CFR as follows:
PART 410--TRAINING
0
1. The authority citation for part 410 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 5 U.S.C. 4101, et seq.; E.O. 11348, 3 CFR, 1967
Comp., p. 275.
Subpart C--Establishing and Implementing Training Programs
Sec. 410.311 [Removed]
0
2. Remove Sec. 410.311.
Subpart D--Paying for Training Expenses
Sec. 410.406 [Removed]
0
3. Remove Sec. 410.406.
Subpart G--Reporting
0
4. In subpart G, revise the subpart title to read as set forth above:
0
5. Revise Sec. 410.701 to read as follows:
Sec. 410.701 Reporting.
(a) Each agency shall maintain records of training plans,
expenditures, and activities in such form and manner as necessary to
submit the recorded data to the Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
through the OPM Governmentwide Electronic Data Collection System.
(b) Beginning December 31, 2006, each agency shall report the
training data for its employees' training and development at such times
and in such form as required for the OPM Governmentwide Electronic Data
Collection System, which is explained in the Guide to Personnel
Recordkeeping and the Guide to Human Resources Reporting.
(c) Agencies may request an extension for the timeframe in which
they will begin reporting the data under paragraph (b) of this section.
OPM may grant an extension based on an approved agency plan to meet the
reporting requirements. No extension will be granted for a timeframe
beyond December 31, 2007.
(d) Each agency shall establish a Schedule of Records for
information required to be maintained by this chapter in accordance
with regulations promulgated by the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA).
[FR Doc. 06-4589 Filed 5-16-06; 8:45 am]
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