Justification

National Center for Education Statistics

Volume I

Supporting Statement

Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 2020 Survey of Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) Keyholders and Coordinators

OMB #1850-0803 v.214

November 2017

Table of Contents

1) Submittal-Related Information 3

2) Background and Study Rationale 3

What is the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) 3

How is CIP Used, Who Uses It, and Why is it Important to Update It 4

3) Data Collection Universe 3

4) Study Design and Data Collection 4

5) Additional Study Aspects 5

Survey Announcement 5

Accommodations 5

Analysis and Reporting 5

6) Consultations Outside NCES 5

7) Justification for Sensitive Questions 5

8) Paying Respondents 5

9) Assurance of Confidentiality 5

10) Estimate of Hourly Burden 6

11) Cost to Federal Government 6

12) Project Schedule 6

1) Submittal-Related Information

This material is being submitted under the generic National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) clearance agreement (OMB# 1850-0803), which provides for NCES to conduct various procedures (e.g., focus groups, cognitive interviews, usability testing) to test new methodologies, question types, or delivery methods to improve survey and assessment instruments and study procedures, in order to improve the resulting data quality, utility, and study participant experience.

2) Background and Study Rationale

What is the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP)

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a system of interrelated surveys conducted annually by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). IPEDS gathers information from every Title IV postsecondary institution that participates in the federal student financial aid programs. The IPEDS web-based data collection system was implemented in 2000-01, and it collects basic data from approximately 7,100 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); 20 U.S.C. §1094(487)(a)(17); and 34 CFR 668.14(b)(19)). IPEDS allows other (non-title IV) institutions to participate on a voluntary basis. Approximately 200 non-title IV institutions elect to respond. IPEDS data are available to the public through the College Navigator and IPEDS Data Center websites.

IPEDS enables NCES to report on key dimensions of postsecondary education institutions, such as enrollments, degrees and awards earned by field of study (CIP), tuition and fees, average net price, student financial aid, graduation rates, student outcomes, revenues and expenditures, faculty salaries, and staff employed. Congress, federal agencies, state governments, education providers, professional associations, private businesses, media, students and parents, and others rely on IPEDS data for this basic information on postsecondary institutions. These data are made available to students and parents through the College Navigator college search Web site and to researchers and others through the IPEDS Data Center. Additionally, IPEDS forms the institutional sampling frame for other NCES postsecondary surveys, such as the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) and its follow-up studies.

The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is a taxonomic coding scheme that supports the accurate tracking and reporting of postsecondary awards by field of study in IPEDS. The CIP contains titles and descriptions of instructional programs, primarily at the postsecondary level, with each field of study having an identifying number – referred to as its CIP Code. The CIP was originally developed by NCES in 1980, with revisions occurring in 1985, 1990, 2000, 2010, and the next one planned for 2020. In IPEDS, CIP is used primarily in the Completions survey component, which collects degrees and awards conferred by gender, race/ethnicity, program (CIP Code), and level of degree or award.

This request is to conduct a survey of IPEDS Keyholders and Coordinators to solicit their input on new programs of study that have emerged over the last decade since CIP was last updated in 2010. The results will be used to update the 2020 CIP codes and thereby improve the accuracy and quality of the IPEDS Completions survey component by updating the list of instructional programs on which institutions report. The IPEDS Keyholders and Coordinators are best able to comment on needed changes to the CIP codes for their institution.

The Department of Education also gathers CIP code information from institutions through the National Student Lending Data Service (NSLDS). This use of CIP codes in NSLDS is new since the 2010 CIP Code update and is likely raising awareness of the CIP codes and attention to the process of updating them (as described in this request).

The CIP code taxonomy is a 6-digit code whereby the first two digits provide a broad grouping of related programs (i.e.: 14=Engineering), the next two digits provide further specificity (i.e.: 14.08=Civil Engineering), the final two digits are used for specific programs within each leading four digit code (i.e.: 14.0801=Civil Engineering, General). In this hypothetical example if an institution were to have a new Civil Engineering program that is sufficiently different from the 14.0801 program, then the institution would report it as 14.0899. The use of “99” as the final two digits indicates that the reporting institution does not believe that they can precisely map a given field of study onto the existing CIP taxonomy. This is either because the CIP code taxonomy is inadequate to allow proper mapping of the institution’s particular program, or the institution improperly mapped the program. The effort described in this request is meant to identify and address instances when the CIP code taxonomy is inadequate for particularly new fields of study.

The project schedule provided in Table 2 outlines the steps we will take to update the CIP codes.

NCES has used the IPEDS data to identify the institutions that use the “99” codes in their reporting . While we will solicit information from all institutions during our CIP code update effort, the initial communication letter announcing this effort that will be sent to institutions with a large number of completions reported in a CIP Code ending in “99” will include an additional sentence indicating that NCES is particularly interested in hearing from them given their use of “99” codes in IPEDS reporting (see Volume II of this submission).

In this 2020 CIP codes update effort, NCES is focused on adding new CIP Codes to CIP and will minimize potential deletions of CIP Codes or moving CIP Codes across or within the series denoted by the first two digits. Once the 2020 CIP code revisions are finalized, in fall 2018, NCES will submit them to OMB for approval using the regular clearance process, including a 60- and a 30-day public comment periods that will be announced in the Federal Register.

How is the CIP Used, Who Uses It, and Why is it Important to Update It

NCES uses the CIP to report on the number of program completions and completers, which other offices within the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and other federal agencies use to satisfy various programmatic mandates and to make high stake decisions. For example, the Office of Student Financial Aid uses CIP Codes as part of the Gainful Employment (GE) rule. The GE rule estimates students’ annual earnings based on their programs of study, using CIP codes, and is designed to protect students from assuming unreasonable levels of student loan debt payments (defined as less than 12 percent of their annual earnings or 20 percent of their disposable income).

IPEDS Completions data are also used by federal, state, and local agencies, researchers, and policy analysts to evaluate the supply of workers qualified to work in high need areas. For example, the Student and Exchange Visitor Information System (SEVIS) office in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) uses CIP codes to determine whether students may extend their visas for optional practical training after they graduate. Currently, any student who studies in a STEM field is eligible to extend their J-1 visa for up to 3 years for optional practical training. The CIP codes are used to define the STEM fields. Additionally, the Completions data are used extensively by businesses, the military, and other groups in trying to recruit individuals with particular skills. The College Navigator website, in turn, allows students and their families to search for postsecondary education institutions that provide a specific program of study, and to find accredited postsecondary institutions that provide training in a field of interest. Updated CIP codes are needed for stakeholders to obtain information related to new, often high demand instructional programs.

3) Data Collection Universe

As of fall 2017, there are 6,953 IPEDS keyholders and coordinators (6,760 keyholders and 193 coordinators). IPEDS is an administrative data collection in which every member of the universe (Title IV institutions) is included in data collection activities. While participation in the IPEDS administrative data collection is mandatory for Title IV institutions and failure to comply can result in either an institution being fined or losing their Title IV status, institutions’ participation in the 2020 CIP Survey will be voluntary. The IPEDS universe consists of a broad spectrum of institutions, ranging from large 4 year universities with many programs of study, to small, less than 2 year institutions with a single program of study. Some of the institutions may not have added any new programs of study.

4) Study Design and Data Collection

Data on new programs of study will be captured through the use of an online survey. Approximately two weeks prior to the start of the survey, IPEDS keyholders and coordinators will receive an email informing them that NCES is in the process of updating the ClP and that another email will be sent on a specified date with a link to a survey asking them to suggest new programs of studies to be added to the CIP.

On the day the online survey will go live, IPEDS keyholders and coordinators will receive an email with a personalized link to the survey and instructions on how to complete it. A telephone number and an email address will also be provided for any questions about the purpose of the survey or for technical assistance on its completion.

The personalized link to the survey will allow NCES to keep track of who has completed the survey and target follow-up communications to non-respondents only. The survey will be open for 45 days and respondents will receive follow up emails at approximately 2 weeks and 4 weeks after the data collection opens.

5) Additional Study Aspects

Survey Announcement

NCES will announce the plan and timeline for revision of 2020 CIP codes on Twitter, in This Week in IPEDS (TWII), NCES and IES news blasts, and NCES blog posts.

Accommodations

The online survey will be Section 508 compliant as required by NCES Standards, which will allow for the use of screen readers and other assistive technology. Any additional requests for accommodations will be handled on a case by case basis.

Analysis and Reporting

All submitted information will be downloaded into a central database, where it will be reviewed on an on-going basis to: (1) ensure that any responses provided cannot be coded under an already existing CIP code, (2) eliminate responses that do not make sense, and (3) correct spelling and grammar errors. The responses from the CIP survey of IPEDS keyholders and coordinators will be combined with suggestions for new programs of study from other sources and based on the result of our background research. All of the suggestions for new programs of study will be reviewed by members of a technical review panel (TRP) in June 2018. The TRP will consist of representatives from each sector of postsecondary education and state and federal agencies that frequently use CIP. The TRP will review all vetted suggestions for new CIP codes and provide recommendations about which programs of study should be included in the 2020 CIP. Based on the TRP recommendations, a list of changes to CIP will be posted on an NCES website. Members of the TRP and all IPEDS keyholders and coordinators will be emailed that a list of suggested changes to CIP has been posted and NCES would like their feedback. Keyholders, coordinators, and TRP members will be instructed to send their feedback on the suggested changes to the CIP project officer by email to [email protected]. The CIP project staff will review all feedback, and a final draft of the proposed changes will be posted on the NCES website, of which all keyholders, coordinators, and TRP members will be alerted by email. The finalized CIP codes will be then announced in the Federal Register for public comments and submitted to OMB for review and approval.

6) Consultations Outside NCES

NCES will be working with Dr. Allan Joseph Medwick to assist with the creation and administration of the online survey and analysis of the survey results. During a year-long fellowship at NCES, Dr. Medwick administered an online survey to IPEDS Keyholders and Coordinators on methods they use to estimate transfer-out rates (which he summarized in a report “Transfer-Out Reporting on the IPEDS Graduation Rate Survey: A First Look at Trends and Methods”), and he used IPEDS data in his dissertation “The influence of institutional and geographic factors on the enrollment of out-of-state freshmen at four-year colleges”.

7) Justification for Sensitive Questions

There are no sensitive questions included in this survey.

8) Paying Respondents

IPEDS Keyholders and Coordinators will not be offered any monetary incentive for completing this survey.

9) Assurance of Confidentiality

IPEDS data, including the Completions Component, are not collected under any pledge of confidentiality. The following statement will appear at the start of the CIP survey:

NCES is authorized to conduct this study under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543) and the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA), as amended (20 U.S.C. §1094(487)(a)(17) and 34 CFR 668.14(b)(19)).

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this voluntary information collection is 1850-0803. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 15 minutes, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments or concerns regarding the accuracy of the time estimate(s), suggestions for improving the form, or questions about the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: 2020 ClP, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12^th Street, SW, 4th floor, Washington, DC 20202 or email us at [email protected].

OMB No. 1850-0803, Approval Expires 7/31/2019.

10) Estimate of Hourly Burden

We will send the survey to all 6,953 IPEDS keyholders and coordinators. We estimate that it will take, on average, 15 minutes to complete the CIP survey, resulting in a total of 1,739 burden hours.

11) Cost to Federal Government

Per Table 1, the overall project cost estimate—including data collection, analysis, and reporting—is $6,552.

Table 1: Estimate of Costs

Activity	Provider	Estimated Cost
Creating and Testing Survey	Synergy and Consultant	$1,002
Survey Administration and Monitoring	Synergy and Consultant	$2,775
Data Analysis and Report	Synergy and Consultant	$2,775
Total	Synergy and Consultant	$6,552

12) Project Schedule

Table 3 provides the study schedule.

Table 2. Schedule

Event	Dates
Introductory Email to keyholders and coordinators to notify data providers about the opportunity to update the CIP codes (also announced to the public via Twitter and TWII).	January 15, 2018
Data collection opens (with public Twitter and TWII announcements).	February 1
First follow-up Email to keyholders and coordinators non-respondents (also reminder via TWII).	February 15, 2018
Second follow-up Email to non-respondents (also reminder via TWII).	March 1, 2018
Data collection closes.	March 15, 2018
Data reviewed and collated.	April 1, 2018
Post planned CIP discussion issues on NCES website for a 45-day comment period (with public Twitter and TWII announcements).	April 13, 2018
IPEDS Technical Review Panel (TRP) meeting to solicit feedback on proposed changes from a panel of CIP experts.	June 26-27, 2018
List of proposed CIP changes (as informed by the TRP) posted on NCES Website for feedback from TRP members, CIP keyholders and coordinators, and the public.	September 17, 2018
Close feedback period, revise CIP codes based on comments, and prepare the final draft of CIP changes.	October 12th
Submit CIP revisions to NCES OMB liaison for review and publication of the 60-day public comment period (begin regular OMB clearance of CIP revisions).	November 12, 2018
Final CIP codes published in CIP user tools and implemented in IPEDS Collection and in NSLDS Reporting by July 1, 2020.	early 2019 (upon OMB approval)