2022-26562. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; 2023-24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:24) Field Test-Student Data Collection and ...

AGENCY:

Institute of Education Sciences (IES), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 6, 2023.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments and recommendations for proposed information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice. Click on this link www.reginfo.gov/​public/​do/​PRAMain to access the site. Find this information collection request (ICR) by selecting “Department of Education” under “Currently Under Review,” then check the “Only Show ICR for Public Comment” checkbox. Reginfo.gov provides two links to view documents related to this information collection request. Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking on the “View Information Collection (IC) List” link. Supporting statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking on the “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” link.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: 2023-24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:24) Field Test—Student Data Collection and Student Records.

OMB Control Number: 1850-0666.

Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved ICR.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 7,237.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 8,663.

Abstract: This request is to conduct the 2023-24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study Field Test (NPSAS:24 FT) student data collection, consisting of a student record data abstraction and a student survey, carrying over the approved NPSAS:24 FT Institution Collection (OMB#1859-0666 v. 33). This study is being conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), part of the U.S. Department of Education.

This submission covers materials and procedures related to the NPSAS:24 student data collection, which includes abstraction of student data from institutions and a student survey, administered primarily as a web survey, and carries over respondent burden, procedures, and materials related to the NPSAS:24 FT institution sampling, enrollment list collection, and matching to administrative data files as approved by OMB in September 2022 (OMB#1859-0666 v. 33). The materials and procedures are based on those developed for previous institution-based data collections, including the 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20) [OMB #1850-0666 v.25].

The first NPSAS was implemented by NCES during the 1986-87 academic year to meet the need for national data about significant financial aid issues. Since 1987, NPSAS has been fielded every 2 to 4 years, most recently during the 2019-20 academic year (NPSAS:20). NPSAS:24 will be nationally- representative. The NPSAS:24 field test sample size will be 6,000 students, and the full-scale sample will include 137,000 nationally representative undergraduate and 25,000 nationally representative graduate students who will be asked to complete a survey and for whom we will collect student records and administrative data. If the full-scale budget allows, we will include state-representative sampling for the full-scale collection and provide the budget for a state-representative sampling plan in the 30-day full-scale package, planned for 2023. Also, if exercised, NPSAS:24 will serve as the base year for the 2024 cohort of the Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) Longitudinal Study and will include a nationally representative sample of students who will complete requirements for the bachelor's degree during the NPSAS year ( i.e., completed at some point between July 1, 2022 and June 30, 2023 for the field test and July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024 for the full-scale). Subsets of questions in the student survey will focus on describing aspects of the experience of students in their last year of postsecondary education, including student debt and education experiences. This submission is designed to adequately justify the need for and overall practical utility of the full study, presenting the overarching plan for all phases of the student data collection and providing as much detail about the measures to be used as is available at the time of this submission.

As part of this submission, NCES is publishing a notice in the Federal Register allowing first a 60- and then a 30-day public comment period. Field test materials, procedures, and results will inform the full-scale study. After completion of this field test, NCES will publish a notice in the Federal Register allowing additional 30-day public comment period on the final details of the NPSAS:24 full-scale student records and student survey data collections.

Dated: December 2, 2022.

Stephanie Valentine,

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.