42 U.S.C. § 18993 — Graduate STEM education

Page 9273 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18993 1 So in original. 2 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘paragraph’’. across a broad range of institution types, in- cluding historically Black colleges and uni- versities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, mi- nority serving institutions and community colleges; (C) identify and develop best practices to address barriers for faculty, including insti- tutional culture, resources, and incentive structures; (D) identify and address factors that may facilitate or discourage participation by stu- dents from all backgrounds; (E) provide faculty with curriculum, pro- fessional development, training, networking opportunities, and other support to enable the development, adaptation, or expansion of a course-based research experience; and (F) collect data and carry out research to evaluate the impacts of course-based under- graduate research experiences on the STEM workforce. (3) Partnerships In making awards under this paragraph, the Director shall consider the extent to which the proposed Center will establish partner- ships among multiple types of academic insti- tutions, including community colleges, emerg- ing research institutions, EPSCoR institu- tions, historically Black colleges and univer- sities, Tribal Colleges or Universities, and mi- nority-serving institutions, the private sector, and other relevant stakeholders in supporting programs and activities to facilitate faculty training and the widespread and sustained im- plementation of promising, evidence-based practices, models, programs, and curriculum. (4) Report Not later than 180 days after the date on which the pilot program is completed, the Di- rector shall submit to Congress a report that includes— (A) an assessment, that includes feedback from the research community, of the effec- tiveness of the pilot program in increasing the number, diversity, and workforce readi- ness of STEM graduates; and (B) if determined to be effective, a plan for permanent implementation of the pilot pro- gram. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title III, § 10312, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1516.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section is comprised of section 10312 of div. B of Pub. L. 117–167. Subsec. (b) of section 10312 of div. B of Pub. L. 117–167 amended section 1862i of this title. Subsec. (f) of section 10312 of div. B of Pub. L. 117–167 amended sec- tions 1862h, 1862i, and 1862j of this title. § 18993. Graduate STEM education (a) Mentoring and professional development (1) Mentoring plans (A) Omitted (B) Evaluation Not later than 120 days after August 9, 2022, the Director shall enter into an agree- ment with a qualified independent organiza- tion to evaluate the effectiveness of the postdoctoral mentoring plan requirement for improving mentoring for Foundation-sup- ported postdoctoral researchers. (2) Career exploration (A) In general The Director shall make awards, on a com- petitive basis, to institutions of higher edu- cation and nonprofit organizations (or con- sortia of such institutions or organizations) to develop innovative approaches for facili- tating career exploration of academic and nonacademic career options and for pro- viding opportunity-broadening experiences, including work-integrated opportunities, for graduate students and postdoctoral scholars that can then be considered, adopted, or adapted by other institutions and to carry out research on the impact and outcomes of such activities. (B) Review of proposals In selecting award recipients under this subparagraph, the Director shall consider, at a minimum— (i) the extent to which the administra- tors of the institution are committed to making the proposed activity a priority; and (ii) the likelihood that the institution or organization will sustain or expand the proposed activity effort beyond the period of the award. (3) Development plans The Director shall require that annual project reports for awards that support grad- uate students and postdoctoral scholars in- clude certification by the principal investi- gator that each graduate student and postdoctoral scholar receiving substantial sup- port from such award, as determined by 1 has developed and annually updated an individual development plan to map educational goals, career exploration, and professional develop- ment. (4) Professional development supplement The Director shall carry out a five-year pilot initiative to award up to 2,500 administrative supplements of up to $2,000 to existing re- search awards annually, on a competitive basis, to support professional development ex- periences for graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who receive a sub- stantial portion of their support under such award, as determined by the Director. Not more than 10 percent of supplements awarded under this subparagraph 2 may be used to sup- port professional development experiences for postdoctoral researchers. (5) Graduate education research The Director shall make awards, on a com- petitive basis, to institutions of higher edu- cation or nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to sup- Page 9274 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18993 port research on the graduate education sys- tem and outcomes of various interventions and policies, including— (A) the effects of traineeships, fellowships, internships, and teaching and research assistantships on outcomes for graduate stu- dents; (B) the effects of graduate education and mentoring policies and procedures on degree completion, including differences by— (i) sex, race and ethnicity, and citizen- ship; and (ii) student debt load; (C) the development and assessment of new or adapted interventions, including ap- proaches that improve mentoring relation- ships, develop conflict management skills, and promote healthy research teams; and (D) research, data collection, and assess- ment of the state of graduate student men- tal health and wellbeing, factors contrib- uting to and consequences of poor graduate student mental health, and the development, adaptation, and assessment of evidence- based strategies and policies to support emo- tional wellbeing and mental health. (b) Graduate Research Fellowship Program up- date (1) Sense of Congress It is the sense of Congress that the Founda- tion should increase the number of new grad- uate research fellows supported annually over the next 5 years to no fewer than 3,000 fellows. (2) Omitted (3) Cybersecurity scholarships and graduate fellowships The Director shall ensure that students pur- suing master’s degrees and doctoral degrees in fields relating to cybersecurity are eligible to apply for scholarships and graduate fellow- ships under the Graduate Research Fellowship Program under section 1869 of this title. (c) Study on graduate student funding (1) In general Not later than 120 days after August 9, 2022, the Director shall enter into an agreement with a qualified independent organization to evaluate— (A) the role of the Foundation in sup- porting graduate student education and training through fellowships, traineeships, and other funding models; and (B) the impact of different funding mecha- nisms on graduate student experiences and outcomes, including whether such mecha- nisms have differential impacts on subsets of the student population. (2) Report Not later than 1 year after August 9, 2022, the Director shall publish the results of the evaluation carried out under paragraph (1), in- cluding a recommendation for the appropriate balance between fellowships, traineeships, and other funding models. (d) [LOG 165 H10304(g)/S2208] 1 AI scholarship- for-service (1) Definition of executive agency In this subsection, the term ‘‘executive agency’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘Ex- ecutive agency’’ in section 105 of title 5. (2) AI scholarship-for-service initiative report Not later than 1 year after August 9, 2022, the Director, in coordination with the Office of Personnel Management, shall submit to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Trans- portation of the Senate, the Committee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Home- land Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Committee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a re- port on the need and feasibility, and if appro- priate, plans to implement a program to re- cruit and train the next generation of artifi- cial intelligence professionals to meet the needs of Federal, State, local, and Tribal gov- ernments. The report shall include— (A) recent statistical data on the size, composition, and educational requirements of the Federal AI workforce, including an as- sessment of current and future demand for additional AI professionals across the Fed- eral Government; (B) an assessment of the capacity of insti- tutions of higher education to produce grad- uates with degrees, certifications, and rel- evant skills related to artificial intelligence that meet the current and future needs of the Federal workforce; and (C) an evaluation of the need for and feasi- bility of establishing a scholarship-for-serv- ice program to recruit and train the next generation of artificial intelligence profes- sionals to meet the needs of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments, including op- portunities for leveraging existing processes and resources for administering the Federal Cyber Scholarship-for-Service Program es- tablished under section 7442 of title 15 in standing up such a program. (3) Program establishment Upon submitting the report required in para- graph (2), the Director, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Man- agement, the Director of the National Insti- tute of Standards and Technology, and the heads of other agencies with appropriate sci- entific knowledge, is authorized to establish a Federal artificial intelligence scholarship-for- service program (referred to in this section as the Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service Pro- gram) to recruit and train artificial intel- ligence professionals to lead and support the application of artificial intelligence to the missions of Federal, State, local, and Tribal governments. (4) Qualified institution of higher education The Director, in coordination with the heads of other agencies with appropriate scientific knowledge, shall establish criteria to des- ignate qualified institutions of higher edu- cation that shall be eligible to participate in Page 9275 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18993 the Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service pro- gram. Such criteria shall include— (A) measures of the institution’s dem- onstrated excellence in the education of stu- dents in the field of artificial intelligence; and (B) measures of the institution’s ability to attract and retain a diverse and nontradi- tional student population in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathe- matics, which may include the ability to at- tract women, minorities, and individuals with disabilities. (5) Program description and components The Federal AI Scholarship-for-Service Pro- gram shall— (A) provide scholarships through qualified institutions of higher education to students who are enrolled in programs of study at in- stitutions of higher education leading to de- grees or concentrations in or related to the artificial intelligence field; (B) provide the scholarship recipients with summer internship opportunities or other meaningful temporary appointments in the Federal workforce focusing on AI projects or research; (C) prioritize the employment placement of scholarship recipients in executive agen- cies; (D) identify opportunities to promote multi-disciplinary programs of study that integrate basic or advanced AI training with other fields of study, including those that address the social, economic, legal, and eth- ical implications of human interaction with AI systems; (E) support capacity-building education re- search programs that will enable postsec- ondary educational institutions to expand their ability to train the next-generation AI workforce, including AI researchers and practitioners; (F) create courses or training programs in technology ethics for students receiving scholarships; and (G) award fellowships to masters and doc- toral students who are pursuing degrees or research in artificial intelligence and re- lated fields, including in the field of tech- nology ethics. (6) Scholarship amounts Each scholarship under paragraph (5) shall be in an amount that covers the student’s tui- tion and fees at the institution for not more than 3 years and provides the student with an additional stipend. (7) Post-award employment obligations Each scholarship recipient, as a condition of receiving a scholarship under the program, shall enter into an agreement under which the recipient agrees to work for a period equal to the length of the scholarship, following receipt of the student’s degree, in the AI mission of— (A) an executive agency; (B) Congress, including any agency, entity, office, or commission established in the leg- islative branch; (C) an interstate agency; (D) a State, local, or Tribal government, which may include instruction in AI-related skill sets in a public school system; or (E) a State, local, or Tribal government-af- filiated nonprofit entity that is considered to be critical infrastructure (as defined in section 5195c(e) of this title). (8) Hiring authority (A) Appointment in excepted service Notwithstanding any provision of chapter 33 of title 5, governing appointments in the competitive service, an executive agency may appoint an individual who has com- pleted the eligible degree program for which a scholarship was awarded to a position in the excepted service in the executive agency. (B) Noncompetitive conversion Except as provided in subparagraph (D), upon fulfillment of the service term, an em- ployee appointed under subparagraph (A) may be converted noncompetitively to term, career-conditional, or career appointment. (C) Timing of conversion An executive agency may noncompeti- tively convert a term employee appointed under subparagraph (B) to a career-condi- tional or career appointment before the term appointment expires. (D) Authority to decline conversion An executive agency may decline to make the noncompetitive conversion or appoint- ment under subparagraph (B) for cause. (9) Eligibility To be eligible to receive a scholarship under this section, an individual shall— (A) be a citizen or lawful permanent resi- dent of the United States; (B) demonstrate a commitment to a career in advancing the field of AI; (C) be— (i) a full-time student in an eligible de- gree program at a qualified institution of higher education, as determined by the Di- rector; (ii) a student pursuing a degree on a less than full-time basis, but not less than half- time basis; or (iii) an AI faculty member on sabbatical to advance knowledge in the field; and (D) accept the terms of a scholarship under this section. (10) Conditions of support (A) In general As a condition of receiving a scholarship under this section, a recipient shall agree to provide the qualified institution of higher education with annual verifiable documenta- tion of post-award employment and up-to- date contact information. (B) Terms A scholarship recipient under this section shall be liable to the United States as pro- vided in paragraph (12) if the individual— (i) fails to maintain an acceptable level of academic standing at the applicable in- Page 9276 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18993 stitution of higher education, as deter- mined by the Director; (ii) is dismissed from the applicable in- stitution of higher education for discipli- nary reasons; (iii) withdraws from the eligible degree program before completing the program; (iv) declares that the individual does not intend to fulfill the post-award employ- ment obligation under this section; or (v) fails to fulfill the post-award employ- ment obligation of the individual under this section. (11) Monitoring compliance As a condition of participating in the pro- gram, a qualified institution of higher edu- cation shall— (A) enter into an agreement with the Di- rector to monitor the compliance of scholar- ship recipients with respect to their post- award employment obligations; and (B) provide to the Director, on an annual basis, the post-award employment docu- mentation required under paragraph (10) for scholarship recipients through the comple- tion of their post-award employment obliga- tions. (12) Amount of repayment (A) Less than 1 year of service If a circumstance described in paragraph (10) occurs before the completion of 1 year of a post-award employment obligation under this section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under this section shall— (i) be repaid; or (ii) be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with paragraph (13). (B) 1 or more years of service If a circumstance described in clause (iv) or (v) of paragraph (10)(B) occurs after the completion of 1 or more years of a post- award employment obligation under this section, the total amount of scholarship awards received by the individual under this section, reduced by the ratio of the number of years of service completed divided by the number of years of service required, shall— (i) be repaid; or (ii) be treated as a loan to be repaid in accordance with paragraph (13). (13) Repayments A loan described in paragraph (12) shall— (A) be treated as a Federal Direct Unsub- sidized Stafford Loan under part D of title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.); and (B) be subject to repayment, together with interest thereon accruing from the date of the scholarship award, in accordance with terms and conditions specified by the Direc- tor (in consultation with the Secretary of Education). (14) Collection of repayment (A) In general In the event that a scholarship recipient is required to repay the scholarship award under this section, the qualified institution of higher education providing the scholar- ship shall— (i) determine the repayment amounts and notify the recipient and the Director of the amounts owed; and (ii) collect the repayment amounts with- in a period of time as determined by the Director, or the repayment amounts shall be treated as a loan in accordance with paragraph (13). (B) Returned to Treasury Except as provided in subparagraph (C), any repayment under this subsection shall be returned to the Treasury of the United States. (C) Retain percentage A qualified institution of higher education may retain a percentage of any repayment the institution collects under this sub- section to defray administrative costs asso- ciated with the collection. The Director shall establish a fixed percentage that will apply to all eligible entities, and may update this percentage as needed, in the determina- tion of the Director. (15) Exceptions The Director may provide for the partial or total waiver or suspension of any service or payment obligation by an individual under this section whenever compliance by the indi- vidual with the obligation is impossible or would involve extreme hardship to the indi- vidual, or if enforcement of such obligation with respect to the individual would be uncon- scionable. (16) Public information (A) Evaluation The Director, in coordination with the Di- rector of the Office of Personnel Manage- ment, shall annually evaluate and make public, in a manner that protects the person- ally identifiable information of scholarship recipients, information on the success of re- cruiting individuals for scholarships under this section and on hiring and retaining those individuals in the public sector AI workforce, including information on— (i) placement rates; (ii) where students are placed, including job titles and descriptions; (iii) salary ranges for students not re- leased from obligations under this section; (iv) how long after graduation students are placed; (v) how long students stay in the posi- tions they enter upon graduation; (vi) how many students are released from obligations; and (vii) what, if any, remedial training is required. (B) Reports The Director, in coordination with the Of- fice of Personnel Management, shall submit, not less frequently than once every 3 years, to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Page 9277 TITLE 42—THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE § 18995 Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation of the Senate, the Com- mittee on Science, Space, and Technology of the House of Representatives, and the Com- mittee on Oversight and Reform of the House of Representatives a report, including the results of the evaluation under subpara- graph (A) and any recent statistics regarding the size, composition, and educational re- quirements of the Federal AI workforce. (C) Resources The Director, in coordination with the Di- rector of the Office of Personnel Manage- ment, shall provide consolidated and user- friendly online resources for prospective scholarship recipients, including, to the ex- tent practicable— (i) searchable, up-to-date, and accurate information about participating institu- tions of higher education and job opportu- nities related to the AI field; and (ii) a modernized description of AI ca- reers. (17) Refresh Not less than once every 2 years, the Direc- tor, in coordination with the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, shall review and update the Federal AI Scholarship-for- Service Program to reflect advances in tech- nology. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title III, § 10313, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1522.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The Higher Education Act of 1965, referred to in sub- sec. (d)(13)(A), is Pub. L. 89–329, Nov. 8, 1965, 79 Stat. 1219. Part D of title IV of the Act is classified generally to part D (§ 1087a et seq.) of subchapter IV of chapter 28 of Title 20, Education. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 1 of Pub. L. 89–329, set out as a Short Title note under section 1001 of Title 20 and Tables. CODIFICATION Section is comprised of section 10313 of div. B of Pub. L. 117–167. Subsecs. (a)(1)(A) and (b)(2) of section 10313 of div. B of Pub. L. 117–167 amended sections 1862o and 1869 of this title, respectively. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries CHANGE OF NAME Committee on Oversight and Reform of House of Rep- resentatives changed to Committee on Oversight and Accountability of House of Representatives by House Resolution No. 5, One Hundred Eighteenth Congress, Jan. 9, 2023. § 18994. STEM workforce data (a) Skilled technical workforce portfolio review (1) In general Not later than 1 year after August 9, 2022, the Director shall conduct a full portfolio analysis of the Foundation’s skilled technical workforce investments across all Directorates in the areas of education, research, infrastruc- ture, data collection, and analysis. (2) Report Not later than 180 days after the date of the review under paragraph (1) is complete, the Di- rector shall submit to Congress and make widely available to the public a summary re- port of the portfolio review. (b) Survey data (1) Rotating topic modules To meet evolving needs for data on the state of the science and engineering workforce, the Director shall assess, through coordination with other Federal statistical agencies and drawing on input from relevant stakeholders, the feasibility and benefits of incorporating questions or topic modules to existing Na- tional Center for Science and Engineering Sta- tistics surveys that would vary from cycle to cycle. (2) New data Not later than 1 year after August 9, 2022, the Director shall submit to Congress and the Board the results of an assessment, carried out in coordination with other Federal agencies and with input from relevant stakeholders, of the feasibility and benefits of incorporating new questions or topic modules to existing Na- tional Center for Science and Engineering Sta- tistics surveys on— (A) the skilled technical workforce; (B) working conditions and work-life bal- ance; (C) harassment and discrimination; (D) immigration and emigration; and (E) any other topics at the discretion of the Director. (3) Longitudinal design The Director shall continue and accelerate efforts to enhance the usefulness of National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics survey data for longitudinal research and analysis. (4) Government Accountability Office review Not later than 1 year after August 9, 2022, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit a report to Congress that— (A) evaluates Foundation processes for en- suring the data and analysis produced by the National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics meets current and future needs; and (B) includes such recommendations as the Comptroller General determines are appro- priate to improve such processes. (Pub. L. 117–167, div. B, title III, § 10314, Aug. 9, 2022, 136 Stat. 1529.) § 18995. Cyber workforce development research and development (a) In general The Director shall make awards on a merit-re- viewed, competitive basis to institutions of higher education or nonprofit organizations (or consortia of such institutions or organizations) to carry out research on the cyber workforce. (b) Research In carrying out research pursuant to sub- section (a), the Director shall support research and development activities to— (1) understand the current state of the cyber workforce, including factors that influence