WESTAT
Gainful Employment, u.s. department of education
SCREENER FOR PROSPECTIVE STUDENT FOCUS GROUP
(MD/DC METRO AREA)
Updated: October 10, 2016
Screener for focus group with first generation (i.e., first in family to attend college), low-to-moderate income students planning to enroll in a career, training, or vocational program at an institution of higher education in 2017
INTRODUCTION FOR SHUGOLL, THE RECRUITMENT FIRM: Westat, a social science research company in Rockville, MD, is working with the U.S. Department of Education on a project to help higher education institutions provide better information about their career, certificate, and training programs. As part of this project, Westat is conducting a focus group to understand prospective students’ plans to enroll in these programs. Students will be asked questions about information contained in a consumer information web page to learn what might be helpful for them to know about career, vocational, and training programs before they enroll in them.
Respondents should know that participation in the focus group is important but voluntary and the information collected will be held confidential in that we will not include a respondent’s name or the name of their school in the study report.
If eligible, the student will be invited to participate in a focus group to be held at Westat in Rockville, MD on TDB. We are offering a $75 incentive for participation.
Required to participate:
Ages 19-43 (We’d like a mix of 19 – 30 year olds and 31 – 43 year olds)
Hold a high school diploma or GED
Planning to enroll in a pre-baccalaureate career, training, or vocational program in an institution of higher education; if currently enrolled, they are not eligible for this focus group
First generation college student (i.e., parents did not attend or graduate from college)
Not earned a bachelor’s degree or beyond (e.g., master’s, Ph.D., J.D., M.D., etc.)
Low-moderate income
How old are you? _______________
Under 19 years old…………………………………....1 [TERMINATE SCREENER]
19 – 30 years old…………………………………… ..2 [CONTINUE]
31 – 43 years old…………………………………… 3 [CONTINUE]
Older than 43………...……………………………….4 [TERMINATE SCREENER]
[NOTE: ALL PARTICIPANTS MUST SIGN A PERMISSION FORM AND BRING A PHOTO ID TO THE DISCUSSION GROUP TO VERIFY AGE. IF THEY DO NOT BRING A PHOTO ID, THEY CANNOT PARTICIPATE]
Do you have a high school diploma or have you earned a GED?
Yes, high school diploma….…………………………… 1 [CONTINUE]
Yes, earned a GED………………………………..…… 2 [CONTINUE]
No high school diploma or GED ……………………… 3 [TERMINATE
SCREENER]
Have either one of your parents attended or graduated from either a 2- or 4-year college?
Yes……………………………………………………1 [TERMINATE SCREENER]
No……………………………………………………2 [CONTINUE]
Don’t Know…………………………………………..3 [TERMINATE SCREENER]
In which of the following programs are you planning to enroll?
1-year vocational or career program……………………1 [CONTINUE]
2-year vocational or career program……………………2 [CONTINUE]
More than 2-year vocational/ career program...................3 [CONTINUE]
Software or hardware certification program (e.g., Microsoft) 4 [TERMINATE
SCREENER]
Don’t know ……………………………………………5 [TERMINATE SCREENER]
In what type of career or training program are you planning to enroll?
[AN EXAMPLE OR TWO TO GIVE IF THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT IS BEING ASKED: e.g., cosmetology, computer technology, nursing aide, commercial trucking, medical records, personal training]
Program type:_____________________________________________
When (date) are you planning to enroll?
______________________ [IF DATE GIVEN IS BEYOND 2017, TERMINATE
SCREENER]
How many schools have you researched to learn about program(s) that interest you?
______________________ [IF NONE, TERMINATE SCREENER]
What is the name of one or two of the schools you are planning to enroll in?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
[MUST PROVIDE THE NAME OF AT LEAST ONE SCHOOL ON THE WESTAT LIST, BUT WRITE IN UP TO TWO, IF PROVIDED. IF NEITHER SCHOOL IS ON THE LIST,TERMINATE SCREENER]
Have you ever taken college-level courses at any school?
Yes…………………………………………..… 1 [TERMINATE SCREENER]
No……………………………………...........… 2 [CONTINUE TO Q10]
How many people currently live in your household, including you, your spouse, your children and/or parents, brothers or sisters who do not live at home year-round, extended family, and others living in and contributing to the household?
Number of people _____________________________
Which of the following best describes your current annual household income?
Annual Household Income Level (circle response) |
Number of people currently living in household (as listed in #10 above) (circle response) |
ACTION |
Less than $45,000 annually |
CONTINUE |
|
$45,001 to $75,000 annually |
1 |
TERMINATE |
2 to 3 people |
CONTINUE |
|
$75,001 to $95,000 annually |
1 to 3 people |
TERMINATE |
4 or more people |
CONTINUE |
|
$95,001 to 105,000 annually |
1 to 4 people |
TERMINATE |
5 or more people |
CONTINUE |
|
Over $105,000 |
TERMINATE |
|
Are you planning to enroll full time or part time?
Full time ……………………..………………………. 1 [CONTINUE]
Part time …………………………………………....... 2 [CONTINUE]
Do you plan to take out any student loans?
Yes ……………………..…………………………….. 1 [CONTINUE]
No …………………………………………..........….. 2 [CONTINUE]
Are you employed:
Full time………………….…………………………... 1 [CONTINUE]
Part time………………………………......................... 2 [CONTINUE]
Not currently employed………………………………. 3 [SKIP TO Q16]
Do you work in a job related to the career or training program in which you are planning to enroll?
Yes, working in a job related to training program…… ….1 [CONTINUE]
No, not working in a job related to the training program.. 2 [CONTINUE]
Are you Hispanic or non-Hispanic? [OPTIONAL, BUT THE DEPT. OF EDUCATION WANTS A DIVERSITYI OF STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FOCUS GROUP]
(Circle 1)
Hispanic or Latino………………….…………………….. 1 [CONTINUE]
Not Hispanic or Latino ………………….……………… 2 [CONTINUE]
How would you describe your race? OPTIONAL, BUT THE DEPT. OF EDUCATION WANTS A DIVERSITY OF STUDENTS TO PARTICIPATE IN THE FOCUS GROUP]
(Circle all categories mentioned. Respondents may choose multiple categories.)
White ………………….…………………………………………1 [CONTINUE]
Black or African American ………………….…………………....2 [CONTINUE]
Asian ………………….…………………………………………3 [CONTINUE]
Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander………………………..4 [CONTINUE]
American Indian or Alaska Native ……………………………….5 [CONTINUE]
IF GENDER NOT APPARENT BY NAME OR VOICE OF RESPONDENT, ASK THIS QUESTION:
Please confirm your gender as:
Female……………………………………………………………… 1
Male………………………………………………………………… 2
[If
recruits have any questions, they may contact: Emily
Tolvinski at Westat, (301) 279-4591.
If they have questions
about the legitimacy of the study, please call: Amy E. Wilson at
202-453-7003 (U.S. Department of Education)]
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| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| Author | Emily Tolvinski |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-23 |