OCTAE Functional Statements - Immediate Office of the Assistant Secretary

The Office of the Assistant Secretary (OAS) for career, technical, and adult education provides overall direction, policy, coordination and senior leadership for OCTAE's national program and administrative activities. OAS includes the leadership of the Assistant Secretary for OCTAE as the principal adviser to the Secretary on Departmental matters related to career, technical, and adult education, correctional education, community colleges, and workforce and economic development. The Assistant Secretary represents the Department at national and international meetings related to career, technical, and adult education, and provides policy and executive leadership to:

• Encouraging high-quality and broadly available career, technical and adult education and literacy programs of study and career pathways that transition students seamlessly into postsecondary programs and careers;
• Challenging career, technical and adult education systems to embrace and develop innovative solutions to align workforce needs and learner-centered talent development pipelines;
• Fostering continuous improvement in engaging, developing and inspiring a diverse, high-performing workforce informed by high-quality data and accountability systems, and quality assurance measures;
• Investing in, and supporting research, dissemination, and technical assistance on effective practices in career, technical, and adult education;
• Collaborating and communicating within the Department, as well as with other Federal agencies, States, local education agencies, and organizations to leverage resources and assure coordinated action and learner accessibility to wrap-around support services and resources.

The OAS is assisted by a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges and a Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management and Planning.

1. Serves as principal advisor to the Secretary on matters affecting community and junior colleges;
2. Provides guidance to programs within the Department dealing with functions affecting community and junior colleges; and
3. Works with the Federal Interagency Committee on Education to improve coordination of:
   1. the outreach programs in the numerous Federal departments and agencies that administer education and job training programs;
   2. collaborative business education partnerships; and
   3. education programs located in, and regarding, rural areas.

The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management and Planning is responsible for budgeting, strategic planning and directing the work of the Office of Community Colleges, Correctional Education, Management and Communication in collaboration with the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Community Colleges and the Executive Office. The Deputy Assistant Secretary for Management and Planning advises the Assistant Secretary on matters related to these two units. The OAS includes the Policy, Research, and Evaluation Staff (PRES) unit, the Executive Office, and the Community Colleges, Correctional Education, Management and Communications Staff.

Policy, Research, and Evaluation Staff

The Policy, Research, and Evaluation Staff (PRES) unit serves in the role of providing strategic support and expertise in three primary areas, as follows:

Research and Evaluation

PRES provides analytic support, research, and data expertise to inform the decisions and activities of the Assistant Secretary, division leaders, and program staff and enhances the capacity of the organization to better understand research and to use data effectively. PRES also maintains on-going communication and strategic dialog with Department research offices and represents OCTAE on related agency groups, such as the Evidence Planning Group and Data Strategy Team. PRES' span of functional responsibility includes two critical areas — both policy analysis, and audit liaison and resolution.

Policy Analysis

PRES provides authoritative advice on policy matters that impact the implementation of career, technical, and adult education programs, as well as correctional education and community colleges, and coordinates the development and clearance of documents that communicate or implement policy, including non-regulatory guidance, Federal Register notices, budget justifications, and legislation. It coordinates OCTAE's review of documents circulated by Executive Secretariat and the Office of General Counsel (OGC) so that the expertise and views of the Assistant Secretary and program officials are shared with other Department offices. PRES also coordinates the clearance of grant program announcements, grant competition technical review plans, grant slate memoranda and information collection packages and provides technical assistance to staff on Departmental grants policies and procedures.

Audit Liaison and Resolution

PRES provides leadership for the audit resolution process and resolves and closes Single Audit findings for the formula grant programs administered by OCTAE. It maintains liaison with the Audit Resolution Group in the Office of Finance and Operations, the audit liaison officers in other Department offices, and OGC to stay abreast of Department policies and procedures with respect to audit resolution and to coordinate the resolution and closing of Single Audit findings that are shared with other offices. PRES also coordinates OCTAE's responses to Government Accountability Office (GAO) inquiries and the resolution of internal audit finding from GAO and the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) that are assigned to OCTAE.

Executive Office

The Executive Office is led by the Executive Officer and, provides technical assistance to the Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and OCTAE staff for general administrative and management support services. In ensuring that the Department's management and operations policies are appropriately implemented, the Executive Office executes its functions as follows:

• Serves as an interface and liaison to other ED offices (e.g., Office of Financial Operations, Office of the Chief Information Office (OCIO), etc.,);
• Executes budget formulation, execution, and resource allocation activities, including the formulation of administrative budget requests and justifications for discretionary funding, salaries and staffing allocations, payroll, and spending, and acquisition plans;
• Provides leadership in the management and coordination of contracts and procurements, and grants, travel and purchase card program;
• Monitors internal controls and risk assessments in partnership with the DAS for Management and Planning;
• Manages and coordinates human resource/capital services, including hiring, awards and recognition, employee engagement, workforce and succession planning, performance management, training and development, and diversity and inclusion;
• Supports the implementation of management evaluations, manpower utilization studies and organizational and workforce planning studies;
• Develops and monitors affirmative action, reasonable accommodations, and equal employment opportunity programs, serves as the EEO Liaison, and negotiates personnel related matters, in conjunction with the Union, Employee/Labor Relations, and other Department offices;
• Provides administrative services for space, facilities, and logistics.
• Coordinates and manages physical, and information technology assets, information systems security, and cybersecurity in partnership with the OCIO.
• Manages business continuity plans and emergency management functions.
• Manages and evaluates progress in meeting records management policies, and procedures.
• Establishes standard operating procedures, and administrative guidance, and provides leadership in designing, developing, and assessing alternative management practices that lead to productivity gains, improved efficiency and effectiveness, service delivery innovations, and performance accountability.
• Supports the Assistant Secretary's strategic direction, and leads special initiatives pertaining to OCTAE's strategic agenda, organizational performance, and priorities, as established by the Assistant Secretary and senior leadership team.

Community Colleges, Correctional Education, Management and Communications Staff

The Office of Community Colleges, Correctional Education, Management and Communications Staff serves in the role of providing support and expertise in two primary areas, as follows:

Community Colleges & Correctional Education

• Serves as the primary agency resource on programs, policy, and funding pertaining to community colleges and correctional education;
• Supports the Academic and Technical Education and Adult Education and Literacy divisions in their efforts to gather and report data on community colleges and correctional education programs funded through OCTAE-administered formula grant programs;
• Provides program guidance and technical support to Federal, State, and local governments, businesses, as well as, other involved groups in community colleges and correctional education policy areas;
• Tracks funding opportunities within the Department and, as appropriate, in other agencies that either support or could meaningfully support community colleges and correctional education, including grant, research, and evaluation activities;
• Identifies and disseminates best-practices and cross-division strategies, and advises the OCTAE Assistant Secretary and leadership on applicable policy options and goals;
• Plays a support role, in partnership with the Policy, Research, and Evaluation Staff, to provide technical assistance to the field that is based on and informed by an in-depth understanding of current best-practice related to these two areas;
• Maintains cooperative and collaborative relationships and inter and intra-agency contacts as well as interfaces with key stakeholders, including current and future partners to address community college, and correctional education related issues across government and within States, and;
• Conducts on-going strategic communication and outreach within the Department, and to other agencies, non-governmental organizations, and the public on all matters related to community colleges and correctional education.

Additionally, consistent with the Education Organizational Act, Sec. 212, this staff includes the Office of Correctional Education, led by the Director of Correctional Education. This Office has responsibility for managing and leading the following specific functions:

• Coordinates all correctional education programs within the Department of Education;
• Provides technical support to State and local educational agencies and schools funded by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on correctional education programs and curricula;
• Provides an annual report to the Congress on the progress of the Office of Correctional Education and the status of correctional education in the United States;
• Cooperates with other Federal agencies carrying out correctional education programs to ensure coordination of such programs;
• Consults with, and provides outreach to, State directors of correctional education and correctional educators; and
• Collects from States a sample of information on the number of individuals who complete a vocational education sequence, earn a high school degree or general equivalency diploma, or earn a postsecondary degree while incarcerated and the correlation with job placement, job retention, and recidivism.

Management & Communication

• Provides strategic communications and outreach, with an emphasis on digital content, to a wide variety of OCTAE constituencies in collaboration with all other OCTAE offices and the Department's Office of Communications and Outreach.
• Coordinates and partners across OCTAE in managing and executing cross-functional priorities for the OCTAE Assistant Secretary and leadership team and aligned to applicable directives, goals, objectives, and special projects.