Appendix F
Changes to the BPS:04/09 Data Elements

The analysis topics for BPS:04/09 were outlined in the research and policy issues presented in section A.2 above and section C presented the final list of elements to be included in the full-scale instrument. Exhibit F-1 below lists the BPS:04/09 field test data elements with any changes made following consultation with the technical review panel. The highlighted areas indicate the items to be changed in the full-scale.
Exhibit F-1.	BPS:04/09 field test data elements with notes about changes made for full-scale data collection
BPS:04/09 field test data elements	Changes for full-scale	
A.	Current enrollment or completion status (at time of interview)
1.	Still enrolled as undergraduate
a.	Enrolled at NPSAS or last reported institution
b.	Enrolled at another institution		
2.	Not currently enrolled as undergraduate
a.	Enrolled anywhere since July 2006 
•	Completed a program since July 2006 
•	Type of certificate/degree earned
•	Date awarded (MMYYYY)
•	Institution that awarded degree
•	Did not complete a program
•	Last institution attended
•	Date last enrolled (MMYYYY)
•	Primary reason for leaving

b.	Not enrolled anywhere since July 2006  [skip sections B and C below]	
A.2a - Asking only main reason for leaving.	
B.	Undergraduate enrollment history since July 2006
1.	Enrollment in 2006–07 
a.	Enrolled at last school reported for 2005–06  (yes/no)
•	Months enrolled
•	Primarily full time or part time
b.	Enrolled at another school in 2006–07  (yes/no)
•	Name of institution and location (online coding of type)
•	Months enrolled
•	Primarily full time or part time
•	Transfer credits attempted/accepted
•	Reasons for enrolling here (less-than-4-year and non-degree students)	
B.1b, 2b, 3c - Asking reasons for enrolling only of those enrolled at less than 4-year institutions or in nondegree programs.  The purpose of the item is to determine whether or not the student was trying to get a degree, transfer, or other reason.  Nearly all 4-year students say their reason is to earn the bachelor’s degree.	
2.	Enrollment in 2007–08 
a.	Enrolled at last school reported for 2006–07  (yes/no)
•	Months enrolled
•	Primarily full time or part time
b.	Enrolled at another school in 2007–08  (yes/no)
•	Name of institution and location (online coding of type)
•	Months enrolled
•	Primarily full time or part time
•	Transfer credits attempted/accepted
•	Reasons for enrolling here  (less-than-4-year and non-degree students)		

Exhibit F-1.	BPS:04/09 field test data elements with notes about changes made for full-scale data collection—Continued
3.	Enrollment in 2008–09 
a.	Enrolled at last school reported for 2007–08  (yes/no)
•	Months enrolled
•	Primarily full time or part time
b.	Enrolled at another school in 2007–08  (yes/no)
•	Name of institution and location (online coding of type)
•	Months enrolled
•	Primarily full time or part time
•	Transfer credits attempted/accepted
•	Reasons for enrolling here  (less-than-4-year and non-degree students)		
C.	Characteristics of current or last undergraduate enrollment since July 2006
1.	Educational program characteristics
a.	Degree plans (certificate, associate’s, bachelor’s, none)
b.	Major /double major
Changes in major
	Types of courses (if no major and non-degree)
c.	Class level (if no degree)
d.	GPA
e.	Academic performance
f.	Distance education	C.1b - If student has no major and is not in a degree program, ask what types of courses were taken while enrolled only in broad categories.
C.1e - Delete questions about academic performance problems since these can be determined with certainty from the transcripts.
C.1f - Delete distance education course questions, which are covered for a much larger sample in the NPSAS survey.	
2.	Residence, work and financial support
a.	Type of residence (on campus/off campus/with parents)
b.	Distance of school from home
c.	Working while enrolled (most current job)
•	Primary role: student or employee?
•	Participation in work study
•	On/off campus job
•	Number of days per week worked
•	Number of hours per week worked
•	Hourly/weekly earnings
•	Relationship of job to studies
•	Importance of job earnings in financing education
•	Main reason for working
d.	Financial support from parents (respondents under 30)
•	none
•	pay for tuition
•	pay for other educational and living expenses	C.2b - Delete distance from home questions since this has already been asked in the first year and first follow-up interviews.

C.2c - Delete hourly/weekly earnings item.  Number of hours worked is the variable of interest when considering persistence.	

Exhibit F-1.	BPS:04/09 field test data elements with notes about changes made for full-scale data collection—Continued
D.	Financial aid and undergraduate student loan debt		
1.	Pell and SMART grants
a.	Received a Pell grant since July 2006
b.	Awareness of SMART grant requirements [skip if no Pell]
c.	Received SMART grants/number of years
d.	Reason for only one SMART grant [skip if two]
e.	Change in major to qualify for SMART grant	D.1a through 1e - Delete questions about Pell and SMART grants.  Pell and SMART grant information is available by matching with federal databases.  There were only 5 responses to the SMART items in the field test.  Because the SMART program is new and targeted to a small percentage of students (3rd and 4th year Pell recipients in STEM majors), we expect less than 150 responses in the full scale interview.  These items are also included in the NPSAS:08 survey, which has 5,000 SMART recipients and will allow for a much more detailed analysis.	
2.	Student loan debt
a.	Total amount borrowed in student loans (all undergraduate years)
b.	Total amount still owed
c.	Types of loans (federal, private, other)
d.	Reason for private loans 
e.	Currently repaying loans [if yes]
•	Amount of monthly payment
•	Are family or friends helping to repay loans? (respondents under 30)
•	Reasons not repaying (paid off/not required/deferred)
f.	Consider student loan debt a worthwhile investment (very much/somewhat/not at all)
g.	Student loan debt influence enrollment/career decisions
If yes, how? 	
D.2e - Delete reasons for not repaying.  The actual current student loan repayment status is reported in the National Student Loan Data System and will be collected through file matching.	
2.	Supplementary data from outside sources:
a.	Financial aid application data (from CPS)
b.	Annual and cumulative federal student loan amounts (from NSLDS)
c.	Annual Pell grant amounts (from NSLDS)
d.	Annual SMART grant amounts (from NSLDS)
e.	Annual full-time tuition and student budgets (from IPEDS)		
E.	Post-Bachelor/Graduate Education (BA recipients only)
1.	Type of post-BA enrollment
a.	Graduate degree program or post-BA certification
•	Type of degree or certification
•	Full time or part time
•	Date began (MMYYYY)
b.	Taking courses for credit, but not in a degree program
c.	Non-credit or continuing education courses
2.	Post-BA financial aid
a.	Employer tuition reimbursement
b.	Assistantships
c.	Fellowships or scholarships
d.	Loans	E.2a through 2d - Delete graduate financial aid items.  More complete information is available in NPSAS (10,000 graduate students) and B&B (about 4,000 BA recipients in graduate school).  BPS will only have about 1,000 BA recipients in graduate school.	

Exhibit F-1.	BPS:04/09 field test data elements with notes about changes made for full-scale data collection—Continued
F.	Employment – Respondents who are not currently enrolled
1.	Currently employed (yes/no)		
2.	[if yes] Description of relationship to job
a.	Searching for a career
b.	Starting a career
c.	Continuing in a career
d.	Advancing in a career
e.	In a temporary job		
3.	Current job characteristics (if employed)
a.	Number of hours worked per week
b.	Wages/salary
c.	Occupation and industry (online coding)
d.	Type of employer
e.	Held position or similar job 
•	while enrolled
•	before enrolled
•	number of years in this or similar job
f.	Related to coursework/major (closely/somewhat/not)
g.	Related to career goals (closely/somewhat/not)
h.	Degree, certificate, or license required
 	Type of certificate or license held
i.	Was this first job after leaving school?
j.	Did school helped with job placement?
l.	Difficulty of doing job without courses taken (very/somewhat/not)
m.	Did education help advance in career? (great deal/somewhat/not)  
n.	Did education prepare you to do a more demanding job?
o.	Use of skills/equipment/software/technology	F.3h - NEW - Add whether or not a license or certificate was held.

F.3n, 3o - Delete question about educational preparation for a more demanding job and the question about skills/equipment/ software/technology.  Both are awkward to administer and not considered useful. 	
4.	Responsibilities (yes/no)
a.	Supervise work of others
b.	Participate in hiring/firing
c.	Participate in setting salaries		
5.	Satisfaction with aspects of the job (yes/no)
a.	Pay
b.	Fringe benefits
c.	Challenge of work
d.	Opportunities for promotion
e.	Opportunities to use training/education
f.	Job security
g.	Opportunities for further training/education
h.	Overall satisfaction		
6.	Unemployment spells of more than 3 months since end of enrollment
a.	If yes, how many times 
b.	Longest period of unemployment		
7.	If not currently employed:
a.	Looking for a job
b.	Receiving unemployment insurance
c.	Date last employed after leaving school		

Exhibit F-1.	BPS:04/09 field test data elements with notes about changes made for full-scale data collection—Continued
G.	Current demographics
1.	Household composition (live alone/spouse or partner/parents, children/dependents,  or others
2.	Respondent’s current marital status (single, never married/married/separated/divorced/ widowed)		
3.	Respondents under 30: 
a.	Parent’s marital status
b.	Estimated parental income 	G.3a, 3b - Delete these items.  Most respondents will be over 24 and independent making these questions irrelevant.  They were collected in the first and third year as part of the prior interviews.	
3.	Number of dependent children 
a.	Age of youngest and oldest child		
4.	Annual income
a.	Own earnings
b.	Spouse’s earnings
c.	Income from untaxed income and benefits
•	TANF 
•	Social Security
•	Disability or worker’s compensation
•	Food stamps
•	Child support	G.4c - Delete individual items. Ask single item as:  Did you receive any untaxed income or benefits such as TANF or food stamps?	
5.	Spouse’s level of education		
6.	Spouse currently enrolled in school (full time/part time)	G.6 - Delete, not useful.	
7.	Amount of spouse’s student loans
a.	Spouse’s monthly repayment amount		
8.	Monthly payments 
a.	Rent or mortgage
b.	Auto loan or lease		
9.	Use any credit cards
a.	Usually payoff or carry balance
b.	Current outstanding balance on credit cards		
10.	Number of credit cards
	G.10 - Revising to:  Do you use any credit cards?	
H.	Civic participation
1.	Current citizenship
2.	Voting (if citizen)
a.	Registered to vote
b.	Ever voted in any election?
b.	Voted in the last presidential  election?
3.	Volunteering
a.	Voluntary activities in last 12 months
b.	Type of activities
c.	Hours per month or one-time activities
d.	Reasons for participating
e.	Benefits of volunteering	H.2 - NEW - Add:  ever voted in any election? 
3d, 3e - Delete reasons and benefits for volunteering.  These items were designed for college students; most of the respondents will no longer be in college in the sixth year after they started.	

Exhibit F-1.	BPS:04/09 field test data elements with notes about changes made for full-scale data collection—Continued
I.	Disabilities 
1.	Do you have a sensory impairment, such as blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing impairment, that has lasted for 6 months or more?
2.	Do you have a mobility impairment that has substantially limited one or more basic physical activities, such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying, for 6 months or more?
3.	Excluding any disabilities already mentioned, do you have any other physical, mental, emotional, or learning condition that has lasted 6 months or more?
4.	Specify the condition that substantially limits physical activities	I.4 - Delete main disabling condition item.  The full set of disability questions was asked in the first year and third year, when disability may have affected persistence.  It is less relevant by the sixth year.	
J.	Personal goals and assessment of education
1.	Highest level of education ever expected
2.	Plans to pursue a teaching career		
3.	Importance of each of the following
a.	Being a community leader
b.	Being financially well-off
c.	Having children
d.	Influencing political structure
e.	Leisure time
 f.	Living close to relatives
g.	Moving away from hometown
h.	Steady work	J.3a through 3h Delete item.  Item was not considered important enough for the time required in the interview.	
4.	Would make the same choices in institution and course of study again (yes/maybe/no/don’t know)
5.	Were benefits of education in terms of work and pay worth the cost and time spent on your education (very much/somewhat/not at all/don’t know)