Change Sheet Memo

Memorandum United States Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Statistics

DATE: September 16, 2019

TO: Robert Sivinski, OMB

THROUGH: Kashka Kubzdela, OMB Liaison, NCES

FROM: Tracy Hunt-White, Team Lead, Postsecondary Longitudinal and Sample Surveys, NCES

SUBJECT: 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20) Institution Collection Change Request (OMB# 1850-0666 v.24)

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the U.S. Department of Education, examines how students and their families pay for education after high school. The fundamental purpose of NPSAS is to create a research data set that brings together information about a variety of programs for a large sample of undergraduate and graduate students. NPSAS provides the data for comprehensive descriptions of the undergraduate and graduate student populations in terms of their demographic characteristics, academic programs, types of institutions attended, attendance patterns, and employment. Demographic and enrollment data establish the appropriate context that allows researchers and policy analysts to address basic issues about postsecondary affordability and the recipients of student financial assistance. These results are presented in multiple publications. NPSAS was first implemented during the 1986–87 academic year and has been fielded every 2 to 4 years since. The 11^th cycle in the NPSAS series, NPSAS:20, will be conducted during the 2019–20 academic year and will be both nationally- and state-representative. NPSAS:20 also will serve as the base year data collection for the 2020 cohort of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:20), a study of first-time beginning postsecondary students that will be conducted three years (BPS:20/22) and six years (BPS:20/25) after beginning their postsecondary education. NPSAS:20 will consist of nationally-representative sample of undergraduate and graduate students, and a nationally-representative sample of first-time beginning students (FTBs). Subsets of questions in the student interview focus on describing aspects of the experience of beginning students in their first year of postsecondary education, including student debt and education experiences.

The institution sampling, institution contacting, enrollment list collection, and matching to administrative data files that are the first part of the NPSAS:20 data collection were approved in July 2019 (OMB# 1850-0666 v.23). In August 2019, NCES began a clearance process for all aspects of the NPSAS:20 data collection, including student record data abstraction and student interviews (OMB# 1850-0666 v.25). The NPSAS:20 materials and procedures are based on those developed for previous institution-based data collections, including NPSAS:16, BPS:12 student record collection, and the 2018 NPSAS Administrative Collection (NPSAS:18-AC). The NPSAS:20 enrollment list collection from institutions will take place from October 2019 through July 2020, the student records collection will take place from February through November 2020, and the student survey data collection will take place from January through November 2020.

This request is to provide the final institution contacting materials and content of the Postsecondary Data Portal website, as well as Spanish language translations of materials to be used to facilitate participation of institutions in Puerto Rico. It includes the addition of a Spanish language Handbook for how to use the Postsecondary Data Portal (PDP), which is available in English language only. This request does not introduce changes to the estimated respondent burden or the costs to the federal government. Revisions were made to Parts A and B and Appendix D (Institution Contacting Materials) and are summarized below.

The following edits were made in section A.10 of Part A (p.10, see text in red font below):

NCES is authorized to conduct the 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20) by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543) and the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 (HEOA 2008, 20 U.S.C. §1015). The data are being collected for NCES by RTI International, a U.S.-based nonprofit research organization. All of the information [you provide/provided by individuals or institutions] may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151).

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA, 20 U.S.C. §1232g) allows for the release of institution record information to the Secretary of Education or her agent without prior consent of survey members (34 CFR §§ 99.31(a)(3)(iii) and 99.35).

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 1850-0666. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average approximately 5 the number of hours listed below per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data sources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate, suggestions for improving this information collection, or any comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of these data, please write directly to: Postsecondary Data Portal studies, ATTN: [NCES PDP Project Officer Name], National Center for Education Statistics, PCP, 550 12th St., SW, 4th floor Room 4007, Washington, DC 20202.

NPSAS:20 OMB Clearance No: 1850-0666 Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

NPSAS:20 List Collection: 5 hours

The following edits were made in Part B:

• DELETED – The following footnote was deleted on p.5 because the final sampling plan is provided in the NPSAS:20 submission that is currently in the 60-day public comment period (OMB# 1850-0666 v.25):

“If a decision is made to oversample any subgroup of FTBs for BPS, then that subgroup would be a separate stratum. The final sampling plan will be provided in the student data collection submission in the summer of 2019.”

• REVISED – The following edit (see red font) was made on p.15 to clarify which materials would be translated into Spanish:

“Select contact materials have been translated into Spanish and will be sent to institution staff at institutions in Puerto Rico, including The contact materials include the letters sent to the chief administrator and coordinator, the Handbook - Volume I, enrollment list preparation instructions, as well as the study brochure, and the Quick Guide to NPSAS:20 (see appendix D).”

• REVISED – One clause was deleted (see struck-through red font) from footnote 19 on p.15 because the NSC and VBA data agreements have been secured.
  “Data from the NSC, VBA, ACT, and SAT data scores are pending contracts or agreements with those testing organizations. If NCES is unable to secure an agreement with any of these organizations, a change memo will be submitted to OMB by September 2019 for NSC or VBA, and by October 2020 for ACT and SAT.”

The following edits were made in Appendix D:

Contacting Materials

• REVISED - FERPA citation (p. D-2)

The Federal Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) citation per which NCES can collect students’ education records for NPSAS:20 was added to the block of legal language that will appear on all letters, thereby aligning this block with what is stated in section A.10 of the approved Part A.

• REVISED - FERPA citation (global – multiple pages, see red font)

The FERPA citation was revised to better specify the relevant clause: “34 CFR §§ 99.31(a)(3)(iii)” instead of “34 CFR §§ 99.31(a)(3).” This revision was made in multiple places throughout the appendix and is consistent with all references to FERPA that have been provided in the recently begun clearance request for all aspects of the NPSAS:20 data collection, including student record data abstraction and student interviews (OMB# 1850-0666 v.25).

• REVISED - Chief Administrator Letters and emails (pp. D-5 to D-10) – The following text was added to the Chief Administrator letters in Appendix D:

“Data from NPSAS collections are used to inform a wide range of critical education policies. For the study to be successful and to be representative of institutions like yours, we need your help and participation.”

• REVISED – Quick Guide to NPSAS:20 (pp. D-18)

The Quick Guide was revised to include this sign out feature information and image example:

Please note that for security purposes, your session will end and you will be logged out of the PDP if you remain idle for 30 or more minutes.

This image is provided as an example. The PDP website is still being developed and the final image may include aesthetic changes that do not impact the content of the page.

• REVISED – Spanish Chief Administrator Letters (pp. D-60 to D-64) – The following text was added to the Spanish Chief Administrator letters:

“Los datos de recoleciónes de NPSAS se usan para informar una amplia variedad de políticas críticas de educación. Para que el estudio sea exitoso y representativo de instituciones como la suya, nececitamos su apoyo y participación.”

• NEW - Coordinator letter to introduce the data collection manager (pp. D-26 and D-74)

This letter was added in both English and Spanish to introduce institution staff to the data collection manager assigned to their institution and provide them with a specific person they can contact (in addition to the NPSAS Help Desk):

Dear [Salutation] [LastName]:

We recently contacted you about the start of the next cycle of the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) conducted by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a congressionally mandated study of how students and their families pay for college. Your institution has been selected to participate in NPSAS:20, and I am writing to introduce myself and my team.

As the Data Collection Manager for sampled institutions in your region, I am here to ensure that your NPSAS:20 experience is a positive one and that you receive timely and professional assistance as you respond to the request for information.

Examples of assistance we can provide include

• helping you complete the registration page;

• providing guidance on the data requested on the enrollment list; and

• assisting with technical issues such as difficulty accessing the website or uploading a file.

You can reach me or a member of my team Monday to Friday, 9AM to 5PM [fill time zone], or by appointment, at:

[email protected]

[HelpDeskNumber]

To help us serve you more quickly, please have your institution’s ID number, [SchoolID] handy when contacting us. Including this number in the subject line of emails or entering it when prompted on calls to us will ensure that your inquiry is routed directly to my team.

We’re looking forward to working with you on NPSAS! To get started, please log in to the NCES Postsecondary Data Portal (PDP) and complete the Registration Page.

https://surveys.nces.ed.gov/xxxx

Your user ID: (UserID)

Sincerely,

[DCM name]

Data Collection Manager, NPSAS:20

RTI International

• NEW - New Year’s card (pp. D-40)

This holiday greeting was added to the list of contact materials that will be sent to the institution coordinator from the region’s data collection manager. The purpose of the card is to remind the coordinator about the study and maintain goodwill.

The text of the postcard will read as follows:

Outside

Happy New Year from NPSAS:20

[NPSAS logo]

Inside

Best wishes for a wonderful year ahead.

[staff signature]

• NEW – Spanish translations of the NCES authorization statements, the confidentiality and FERPA statements, and the PRA statement for this project, along with guidelines for the use of this language, were added on p. D-59. The following text was added:

For the sake of space, text stating OMB authorization and the control number has not been included in each letter and e-mail in this document. However, unless otherwise indicated, all letters will include the following text:

NCES está autorizado a hacer el Estudio Nacional de Ayuda Económica a Estudiantes de Postsecundaria de 2019-20 (NPSAS:20) por el Acta de Reforma de las Ciencias de la Educación de 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. § 9543) y el Acta de Oportunidad para Educación Superior de 2008 (HEOA 2008, 20 U.S.C. §1015). RTI International, una organización sin fines de lucro que realiza estudios y está basada en los Estados Unidos, está recopilando los datos para NCES. Toda la información que usted proporcione podrá usarse solamente para propósitos estadísticos y no podrá divulgarse ni usarse de manera que permita identificar a los participantes para ningún otro propósito, salvo que lo requiera la ley (20 U.S.C. § 9573 y 6 U.S.C. §151).

La Ley de Derechos Educativos y Privacidad Familiar de 1974 (FERPA, 20 U.S.C. §1232g) permite la entrega de récords institucionales al Secretario de Educación o su agente sin consentimiento previo de los miembros de la encuesta (34 CFR§§ 99.31 (a)(3)(iii) y 99.35).

Según lo establece el Acta de Reducción del Papeleo de 1995, ninguna persona está obligada a responder a un pedido de información si la misma no contiene un número de control de OMB válido. El número de control de OMB válido para recolectar esta información que se proporciona voluntariamente es 1850-0666. Se calcula que el tiempo necesario para completar este pedido de información es en promedio la cantidad de minutos aproximadamente por participante que se menciona abajo, incluyendo el tiempo que lleva revisar las instrucciones, buscar fuentes de datos existentes, juntar los datos necesarios, y completar y revisar la información que se solicita. Si usted tiene algún comentario con respecto a la precisión del cálculo de tiempo, sugerencias para mejorar esta encuesta, o cualquier comentario o inquietud acerca del estatus del envío de su encuesta individual, por favor escriba directamente a: Postsecondary Data Portal studies, National Center for Education Statistics, PCP, 550 12th St., SW, Room 4007, Washington, DC 20202.

Número de control de OMB para NPSAS:20: 1850-0666

Fecha de Vencimiento: xx/xx/xxxx

Colección de listas: 5 horas

Colección de los récords estudiantiles: X horas

• REVISED – Spanish Letters, brochure, and quick guide (starting on pp. D-60) – The following text was revised:

“El Centro Nacional de Estadísticas de la Educación” to “El Centro Nacional para Estadísticas de Educación”

“Instituto de Ciencias de la Educación” to “Instituto de Ciencias de Educación”

• REVISED – Spanish Letters and brochure (starting on pp. D-60) – The following text was revised in the Spanish letters and brochure:

Added salutation fill options “[Sr./Sra./Dr./Dra.]” (all letters)

“ayuda financiera” to “ayuda económica” (all letters, brochure)

“estimados” to “estimaciónes” (Chief Administrator letters, brochure)

• REVISED – Spanish letters (starting on pp. D-60) – The following text was revised:

Deleted “se trata de” (chief administrator and registration letters)

Chief Administrator letters

Changed “Seleccionada” to “seleccionado”

Added “y también”

Added a fill option “al Coordinador o a la Coordinadora”

Changed “del sector y los niveles nacionales” to “por sector y a nivel nacional”

Changed “nuevo” to “alternativo(a)”

Changed “el sistema de recolección de datos para NPSAS:20” to “el sistema para recolectar datos para NPSAS:20”

Registration letters

Removed text “NPSAS cuenta con el apoyo de [fill name of organization most closely tied to institution.] Me complace informarle que [Institution] ha sido seleccionada para participar en este nuevo ciclo, NPSAS:20, el cual se enfocará en los estudiantes matriculados durante el año académico 2019-20. A continuación presentamos un calendario general de las actividades del estudio.”

Changed “presenter” to “proporcionar”

Changed “estamos pidiendo” to “pedimos”

List Request letters

Changed “va a participar” to “participara”

Changed “de Otoño” to “para Otoño”

Added “Postsecondary Data Portal”

Changed “Muchas gracias por sus actividades” to “Gracias por sus esfuerzos”

Added “alguna”

• REVISED – Spanish brochure (pp. D-66) – The following text was revised only in the Spanish brochure:

Changed “escuela superior” to “escuela secundaria”

Changed “Promueven” to “propugnen”

Changed “Más importante” to “principal”

Changed “Completar” to “presenter”

Changed “Visibles” to “prominentes”

Changed “de ustedes” to “su institución”

Changed “Adecuadamente” to “certeramente”

Added “por sus siglas en inglés”

Changed “estudiantes nuevos” to “estudiantes universitarios de primera ves”

Changed “BPS permite examinar factores que afectan cómo los estudiantes persisten en programas de estudios postsecundarios y los completan, cómo hacen “la transición a empleos” to “BPS permite examinar factores que afecta la persistencia y finalización de programas de estudios postsecundarios para los estudiantes, sus transiciones al empleo, y los cambios a lo largo del tiempo en sus metas, su estado civil, sus ingresos y deudas”

Changed “viene obteniendo” to “ha recolectado”

Changed “puede” to “podrá”

Changed “a menos que lo exija alguna ley” to “salvo que lo requiera la”

Changed “pude” to “puede”

Changed “Para más información sobre nuestros procedimientos de confidencialidad at:” to “Para más información sobre nuestros procedimientos de confidencialidad, visite a:”

• NEW - Spanish translation of handbook volume I (pp. D-75)

A new Spanish-language handbook was added for sampled institutions located in Puerto Rico. The handbook provides institution staff who may have limited English proficiency with an overview of the Postsecondary Data Portal, which has not been translated into Spanish, and guides them through registering for NPSAS:20 and providing their student enrollment list(s). It is a supplemental guide for staff working in the PDP, but for whom Spanish translations of the English instructions and videos would be helpful. A second volume of the Spanish handbook will be included in the clearance package for student records and survey collection (1850-0666 v.25).

• NEW - Spanish enrollment list preparation instructions (pp. D-87)

The existing student enrollment list preparation instructions approved as part of the NPSAS:20 Institution Collection clearance package (1850-0666 v.23) have been translated into Spanish for sampled institutions located in Puerto Rico.

• REVISED – Spanish Timeline (pp. D-100) – The following changes were made:

Added “estudiantes”

Changed “en Otoño” to “de Otoño”

Added additional timeline and its translation

Postsecondary Data Portal (PDP) Text

• Frequently Asked Questions (p. D-104 and D-117)

REVISED - The final sentence in the response to: “What assistance is available from RTI staff?” was revised from “Help Desk staff are available from 9 AM to 9 PM Eastern time, Monday – Friday” to “Help Desk staff are available Monday to Friday from 9 AM to 5 PM in Eastern, Central, Mountain, and Pacific time.”

NEW - The following FAQ was added:

“What should I do if I cannot provide students’ first names, middle initials, last names, and name suffixes as four separate fields?

When uploading your file on the website, let us know how your file is constructed by providing comments in the text box located on the upload page or in an e-mail to [E-MAIL ADDRESS].”

• REVISED - Welcome Page (p. D-107)

The following text was added to introduce the page and the accompanying instructional video:

“This page provides an overview of what to expect during NPSAS:20. [You can view this page any time by clicking What to Expect in the Help Menu at right.]”

“The Introduction to NPSAS:20 Video (right) summarizes what to expect during NPSAS:20 and the resources available to you on the Postsecondary Data Portal website.”

The text describing step 2 in the NPSAS:20 data collection timeline was revised to include conditional text for institutions selected for the calibration sample fall enrollment list collection:

“2a. Provide Your FALL Student Enrollment List – starting [date] [For calibration institutions]

Submit a list of all students enrolled at your institution between July 1, 2019 and October 31, 2019. The due date for providing your list will vary based on your institution’s term structure.

2b. Provide Your SPRING Student Enrollment List – starting [date] [For calibration institutions]

Submit a list of all students enrolled at your institution between July 1, 2019 and [date]. The due date for providing your list will vary based on your institution’s term structure.”

• REVISED - Registration Page, REGINST form (p. D-109)

The text introducing the REGINST form on the Registration Page was revised from “You have already designated your PDP users. Next, you will register your institution to participate in NPSAS:20” to

“Next you will designate your PDP users and register your institution to participate in NPSAS:20.”

• REVISED - Registration Page, LISTDATE form (p. D-113)

The conditional text that describes the due date for providing the fall enrollment list was changed to reflect the fact that the due date will no longer by set on this form. Instead, a member of the project team will contact each institution to set a due date for the fall list.

The following text was added: “A member of our team will contact you to discuss a due date for this list.”

The following text was removed:

“Based on your institution’s term structure, the suggested due date for your first list (students enrolled from July 1, 2019 through October 31, 2019) is [date]. Can you provide the first enrollment list by this date?

1 = Yes, we will provide the first list by [date].

0 = No, please contact me to discuss a due date.”

• REVISED - Registration Page, OBSTACLE form (p. D-114)

The following text was added to the OBSTACLE form on the Registration Page to instruct institutions how to proceed if they have no obstacles to report: “If you have no obstacles to report, click Next to continue.”

• REVISED - Enrollment List Page (p. D-115)

The Enrollment List Page was revised to more clearly organize the instructions into numbered steps. The following changes were made to the text:

• Step 1: Added a new heading entitled, “Review Instructions and Prepare Your List;” renumbered subsequent sections.

• Under Check for Errors (step 2), added an example to the second bullet. The text now reads “Critical data elements are missing (e.g., Item 43: First-time Beginning Student).”

• Under Check for Errors (step 2), added the following as a fourth bullet: “List omits dually-enrolled high school students who otherwise meet the NPSAS eligibility criteria.”

• Under “Staff who prepared the list,” the following text was added: Select the person(s) we should contact for questions about your institution’s student enrollment list.

• Step 5: Added a new heading entitled, “Finalize”

The table below provides a summary of the above detailed changes to the Appendix D contacting materials.

Changes to institution contacting materials

Contact Material	Page in v.23 package	New page in v.24	Change	Reason for change
Letters and PDP text	Global	Global	Revised - FERPA citation updated	To better specify the applicable subsection.
Chief Administrator Letters	D-6 to D-10	D-6 to D-10	Revised - Added text	To convey the importance of the study and participating in it.
Quick Guide to NPSAS	D-18	D-18	Revised – Added text about signout feature	Provides information to users about signout feature in the PDP introduction text.
Chief Administrator Letters - Spanish	D-58 to D-63	D-60 to D-64	Revised – Current Spanish translation will be updated	To convey the importance of the study and participating in it.
Coordinator Letter to Introduce Data Collection Manager and Staff	n/a	D-26	New - Added new letter	Provides the campus coordinator with a specific person to contact instead of only the study-wide help desk.
Coordinator Letter to Introduce Data Collection Manager and Staff - Spanish	n/a	D-73	New – Spanish translation of new letter	To provide the letter in Spanish for institution staff at institutions in Puerto Rico.
New Year’s card	n/a	D-40	New - Added card	To remind the coordinator about the study and maintain goodwill between coordinator and data collection manager
Spanish letters, brochure, quick guide	D-58 to D-72	D-60 to D-99	Revised – changed text	To provide an improved translation of NCES and IES.
Spanish letters and brochure	D-58 to D-75	D-60 to D-66	Revised – changed text	To provide an improved translation of financial aid, estimates, and several other words.
Spanish letters	D-58 to D-75	D-60 to D-99	Revised – changed text	To clarify the date and salutation fills and to provide improved translation of several words.
Spanish brochure	D-64 to D-65	D-66	Revised – changed text	To add the study year and provide an improved translation of high school and several other words.
NPSAS:20 Institution Handbook Volume I (Spanish language)	n/a	D-74	New - Spanish translation of handbook	To provide materials in Spanish for institution staff at institutions in Puerto Rico.
Student Enrollment List Preparation Instructions- Spanish	n/a	D-86	New - Spanish translation of list instructions	To provide materials in Spanish for institution staff at institutions in Puerto Rico.
Spanish Timeline Graphic	D-76	D-100	Revised – changed text	To provide improved translation and an additional timeline and its translation.
Frequently Asked Questions	D-80 and D-92	D-104 and D-118	Revised - Help Desk hours to include specific time zones (instead of Eastern time only).	To clarify when the Help Desk will be available in each of the four contiguous U.S. time zones.
Frequently Asked Questions	D-94	D-120	New - Added FAQ for “What should I do if I cannot provide students’ first names, middle initials, last names, and name suffixes as four separate fields?”	To correct error; this FAQ was included in the package as part of the student enrollment list instructions but was omitted from the FAQ page.
PDP Welcome Page	D-82	D-107	Revised - Added introductory text for page and instructional video; revised the timeline description.	Add transitional text to introduce the page content and the embedded instructional video. Added conditional text to more clearly describe the study timeline for institutions selected for the fall enrollment list collection as part of the calibration sample.
PDP Registration page, REGINST form	D-84	D-109	Revised - Edited introductory text.	Revised text will more accurately match the order in which users will complete steps on the PDP.
PDP Registration Page, LISTDATE form	D-88	D-113	Revised - Edited text to remove the item that asks the institution coordinator to commit to a due date for the fall enrollment list.	Instead of setting the fall list due date on the PDP, the institution contactor will reach out to the institution coordinator to discuss a due date.
PDP Registration Page, OBSTACLE form	D-89	D-114	Revised - Added text to instruct institutions how to proceed if they have no obstacles to report.	Added based on feedback from PDP testing.
PDP Enrollment List Page	D-90	D-115	Revised - Updated numbering of steps to be completed on the page; added additional examples to the provided list of errors that users should avoid.	Added based on feedback from website users during qualitative testing.
Scripts for Instructional Videos	D-108	D-139	Revised – added a line to the script	To clarify that a small group of institutions will also be asked to submit an enrollment list in fall 2019.