Memo to OMB for change to align SOC codes to IPEDS

MEMORANDUM OMB # 1850-0582 v.11

DATE: January 5, 2012

TO: Rochelle W. Martinez

Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Office of Management and Budget

FROM: Elise Miller

IPEDS Program Director, National Center for Education Statistics

Tom Weko

Associate Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics

THROUGH: Kashka Kubzdela

National Center for Education Statistics

SUBJECT: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Web-based Data Collection 2012-13 through 2013-14 – Alignment with 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) Codes Change Request

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) would like to make changes to the IPEDS reporting beginning with the 2012-13 Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) web-based data collection. Our current authorization for IPEDS expires June 30, 2014 (OMB No. 1850-0582 v.10) and covers activities through the 2013-14 data collection. We will submit a formal request for a three-year renewal in late 2013; however, as noted in the v.10 request submitted in 2011, there are some modifications needed to the Human Resources (HR) component before the 2014-15 data collection. Specifically, the v.10 request included a preview of the forthcoming request for changes in the HR Component to align with the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification System. We are therefore requesting your approval to make these modifications for the 2012-13 collection cycle.

Excerpt from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2011-2014,

Supporting Statement Part A

OMB Paperwork Reduction Act Submission

OMB No. 1850-0582 v.10

Please note: IPEDS is not currently aligned with the recently revised Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) System. Since the 2010 SOC was released, the IPEDS HR survey director has worked with a contractor to develop a crosswalk between IPEDS reporting categories for faculty and staff and the new SOC. NCES also gained input from nine higher education institutions on the proposed alignment. In April 2011, NCES sought and obtained approval from the SOC Policy Committee for its plan to align IPEDS reporting with the 2010 SOC. Institutions have alerted NCES that they will need time to reclassify their employees based on the 2010 SOC. Therefore, we plan to allow the 2011-12 collection year for institutions to make the necessary adjustment to their data systems, and beginning with the 2012-13 data collection year, IPEDS HR reporting will be fully aligned with the 2010 SOC. NCES will submit to OMB their alignment plan and any associated burden estimates in time for OMB approval before the 2012-13 data collection.

IPEDS is a web-based data collection system designed to collect basic data from all postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions. IPEDS enables NCES to report on key dimensions of postsecondary education such as enrollments, degrees and other awards earned, tuition and fees, average net price, student financial aid, graduation rates, revenues and expenditures, faculty salaries, and staff employed. The IPEDS web-based data collection system was implemented in 2000-01, and it collects basic data from approximately 7,000 postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions that are eligible to participate in Title IV Federal financial aid programs. All Title IV institutions are required to respond to IPEDS (Section 490 of the Higher Education Amendments of 1992 (P.L. 102-325)). IPEDS allows other (non-title IV) institutions to participate on a voluntary basis. About 200 elect to respond. IPEDS data are available to the public through the College Navigator and IPEDS Data Center websites.

Origin of Changes

The proposed occupational categories come from a new requirement to align IPEDS HR reporting with the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) codes.

As noted on the SOC website http://www.bls.gov/soc/home.htm, “The 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) system is used by Federal statistical agencies to classify workers into occupational categories for the purpose of collecting, calculating, or disseminating data. All workers are classified into one of 840 detailed occupations according to their occupational definition. To facilitate classification, detailed occupations are combined to form 461 broad occupations, 97 minor groups, and 23 major groups. Detailed occupations in the SOC with similar job duties, and in some cases skills, education, and/or training, are grouped together.”

Changes to IPEDS Data Collection 2012-13 HUMAN RESOURCES (all institutions)
Proposed new occupational categories for all institutions due to the required alignment of the HR component with the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC). These new occupational categories will replace the primary function/occupational activity categories currently used for HR reporting. Each job at the institution will need to be categorized according to the 2010 SOC in order to report HR data in 2012-13.
Change	Source
Adopt new occupational categories to replace the current primary function/occupational activity categories. The alignment with the 2010 Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) requires the adoption of new occupational categories for reporting on the HR survey component. However, the currently used categories Primarily Instruction, Instruction Combined with Research and/or Public Service, Primarily Research, and Primarily Public Service will continue to be used, and will not change. The professional/non-professional terminology will no longer be used. NCES asks for approval to use the following categories, and those noted with an asterisk (*) are categories for which salary outlays will be collected: Management Occupations * Business and Financial Operations Occupations * Computer, Engineering, and Science Occupations * Community Service, Legal, Arts, and Media Occupations * Postsecondary Teachers * by function Instruction * Instruction combined with Research and/or Public Service * Research * Public Service * Graduate Assistants Teaching Research Management Occupations Business and Financial Operations Occupations Computer, Engineering, and Science Occupations Community Service, Legal, Arts, and Media Occupations Library and Non-postsecondary Teaching Occupations Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations Library and Non-postsecondary Teaching Occupations * Archivists, Curators, and Museum Technicians Librarians Library Technicians Non-postsecondary Teaching Occupations Healthcare Practitioners and Technical Occupations * Service Occupations * Sales and Related Occupations * Office and Administrative Support Occupations * Natural Resources, Construction, and Maintenance Occupations * Production, Transportation, and Material Moving Occupations *	2010 SOC

Overall Impact on Response Burden

Table 1 below displays the estimated burden for 2012-13 and 2013-14 that was included in the original clearance request and the new estimated burden. Rows with changes have been highlighted in yellow. Overall, burden would increase from 850,320 hours to 900,720 hours in the first year of implementation for the 2012-13 collection and from 832,438 hours to 849,585 hours in the second year of implementation for the 2013-14 collection.

NCES sought input from 9 institutions for assistance in determining the appropriate estimate for the conversion, six of whom responded. One institution stated it would be very difficult to estimate how long this would take as some jobs would be easy to group and others would require determination by a compensation specialist. Of those that responded, the estimates primarily ranged from 8 to 38 hours during the first year and, reduced by approximately a third in the second year. As such, the estimated average hours per institution for completing the Human Resources would increase from 19.0 to 26.0 hours in the first year of implementation and from 18.6 to 21.0 hours in the second year of implementation.

Table 1. Estimated Response Burden for IPEDS 2012-13 (Approved and Revised)

	Number of institutions (respondents)	2012-13		2013-14		Revised 2012-13		Revised 2013-14
		Avg per hours institution	Total hours	Avg per hours institution	Total hours	Avg per hours institution	Total hours	Avg per hours institution	Total hours
Institutional Characteristics and IC Header	7,200	8.3	59,760	8.1	58,480	8.3	59,760	8.1	58,480
Completions	7,200	11.7	84,240	11.5	82,571	11.7	84,240	11.5	82,571
12-Month Enrollment	7,200	7.4	53,280	7.2	52,030	7.4	53,280	7.2	52,030
Human Resources	7,200	19.0	136,800	18.6	134,053	26.0	187,200	21.0	151,200
Fall Enrollment	7,200	14.5	104,400	14.3	102,824	14.5	104,400	14.3	102,824
Finance	7,200	14.2	102,240	13.8	99,330	14.2	102,240	13.8	99,330
Graduation Rates	7,200	12.9	92,880	12.7	91,160	12.9	92,880	12.7	91,160
Graduation Rates 200	7,200	4.1	29,520	3.9	27,950	4.1	29,520	3.9	27,950
Student Financial Aid	7,200	26.0	187,200	25.6	184,040	26.0	187,200	25.6	184,040
Total		118.2	850,320	115.7	832,438	118.2	900,720	115.7	849,585

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