2014-29390. Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; 2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16) Field Test Student Data Collection

AGENCY:

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

ACTION:

Notice

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a revision of an existing information collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before January 15, 2015.

ADDRESSES:

Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2014-ICCD-0143 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily accept comments at [e-mail]. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted; ED will only accept comments during the comment period in this mailbox when the regulations.gov site is not available. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-2E319, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela, [phone].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education 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: 2015-16 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:16) Field Test Student Data Collection.

OMB Control Number: 1850-0666.

Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 4,818.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 4,422.

Abstract: The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), a nationally representative study of how students and their families finance postsecondary education, was first implemented by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1987 and has been fielded every 3 to 4 years since. The next major data collection will occur in 2016, with a field test collection in 2015. This submission is for the ninth cycle in the series, NPSAS:16, which will also serve as the base year study for the 2016 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) which provides data on the various paths of recent college graduates into employment and additional education. The NPSAS:16 field test sample will include about 300 institutions (full-scale sample about 1,680) and about 4,500 students (126,000 full-scale). Institution contacting for the field test began in September 2014 and student data collection (interviews and institution record data) will be conducted from March through June 2015 (full-scale institution contacting will begin in October 2015 and student data will be collected January through October 2016). Packages to request clearance for the full-scale data collection effort (institution list collection, cognitive testing, student interview, and institution record collection) will be submitted beginning in 2015. This submission for the 2015 field test includes facsimiles of the student interview and student records abstraction instruments as well as student and institution contacting materials.

Dated: December 11, 2014.

Stephanie Valentine,

Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.