OMB83 C Worksheet

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT
CHANGE WORKSHEET
NCER-NPSAS Grant Study - Financial Aid Nudges 2017 New Messages Change Request
Agency/Subagency

OMB Control Number

U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences
Enter only items that change
Agency form number(s)
Annual reporting and record keeping hour
burden
Number of respondent
Total annual responses
Percent of these responses
collected electronically
Total annual hours

1850-0932 v.3

Current Record

New Record

NA

NA

6,800
102,000

6,800
102,000

100%

100%

10,540

10,540

Difference

0

Explanation of difference
Program change

NA

0
0

Adjustment
Annual reporting and record keeping cost
burden (in thousands of dollars)
Total annualized capital/startup costs

NA
NA
NA

Total annual costs (O&M)
Total annualized cost requested
Difference

NA
NA
NA
NA

Explanation of difference

NA
NA

Program change
Adjustment
Other change**

In 2010, the National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES),
both within the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), began collaborating on an
education grant opportunity related to the cross-sectional National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS).
NPSAS is a large, nationally-representative sample of postsecondary institutions and students that contains studentlevel records on student demographics and family background, work experience, expectations, receipt of financial aid,
and postsecondary enrollment (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/about.asp; (OMB #1850-0666)). Since 1987, NPSAS
has been fielded every 3 to 4 years, most recently during the 2015–16 academic year. The goal of the NCER-NPSAS
grant opportunity collaboration is to provide researchers with the possibility of developing unique research projects
pertaining to college persistence and completion that utilize a subset of the NPSAS sample that is not already set
aside for one of the NPSAS-based longitudinal studies (BPS or B&B). Under the NCER-NPSAS grant opportunity,
researchers can submit applications to the Postsecondary and Adult Education topic within the Education Research
Grants program (CFDA 84.305A), under either the Exploration or Efficacy and Replication research goal. Consistent
with these two goals, NCER supports research projects using NPSAS to: (1) explore relationships between malleable
factors (e.g., information on benefits of financial aid and FAFSA renewal) and postsecondary persistence and
completion, as well as the mediators and moderators of those relationships; and (2) evaluate the efficacy of
interventions aimed at improving persistence and completion of postsecondary education (e. g., financial aid and
FAFSA renewal advice delivered via text messaging). Researchers approved for funding through this program can
obtain indirect access to a subsample of the national NPSAS sample (after the study’s student interviews are
completed) in order to conduct unique research projects that adhere to the guidelines set forth in the Request for
Applications (RFA) for the Education Research Grants Program, as well as guidelines set forth by NCES and the
NPSAS program. The request is to conduct, in 2017, the “Financial Aid Nudges 2017: A National Experiment to
Increase Retention of Financial Aid and College Persistence” study, funded by the NCER-NPSAS grant and designed
to measure the effectiveness of an intervention that will provide financial aid information, reminders, and advising to
college students who were initially interviewed as part of NPSAS:16 was approved by OMB in January 2017 (18500932 v.1-2). In light of changes to FAFSA submission options that took place in March 2017, this memorandum
requests an addition of two different text messages to the approved intervention communication materials.
Signature of Senior Official or designee:

Date:

For OIRA Use

March 13, 2017
**This form cannot be used to extend an expiration date

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OMB 83-C