This request is for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to conduct a field test of the 2016/17 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/17). The B&B studies of the education, work, financial, and personal experiences of individuals who have completed a bachelorâs degree at a given point in time are a series of longitudinal studies. Every 8 years, students are identified as bachelorâs degree recipients through the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). B&B:16/17 is the first follow-up of a panel of baccalaureate degree recipients identified in the 2015â16 NPSAS, and part of the fourth cohort (B&B:16) of the B&B series. The primary purposes of the B&B studies are to describe the post-baccalaureate paths of new college graduates, with a focus on their experiences in the labor market and post-baccalaureate education, and their education-related debt. B&B also focuses on the continuing education paths of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates, as well as the experiences of those who have begun careers in education of students through the 12th grade. Since graduating from college in 2014-15 for the field test, and 2015-16 for the full-scale study, members of this B&B:16 cohort will begin moving into and out of the workforce, enrolling in additional undergraduate and graduate education, forming families, and repaying undergraduate education-related debt. Documenting these choices and pathways, along with individual, institutional, and employment characteristics that may be related to those choices, provides critical information on the costs and benefits of a bachelorâs degree in todayâs workforce. B&B studies include both traditional-age and non-traditional-age college graduates, whose education options and choices often diverge considerably, and allow study of the paths taken by these different graduates. The results of this field test will inform the B&B:16/17 full-scale data collection.
This is a reinstatement of a previously approved collection. The estimated time to complete the student survey is the same as in the last administration of B&B.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
Appendix A-B B&B 2016-2017 Field Test.docx
2016-17 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/17) Field Test Data Collection