Adult Interview/Focus Group Consent form

Consumer Financial Protection Bureau

Racial Disparities in Higher Education Project

Black Students in Higher Education: Facilitators and Barriers to Completion

Adult Interview/Focus Group Consent Form

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has hired a company, ICF, to conduct a study into facilitators and barriers to college completion for Black students. This includes postsecondary institution initiatives or strategies that have successfully supported Black student persistence and completion, and issues related to non-completion faced by Black students. We are collecting data through interviews and focus groups with hundreds of former students and postsecondary institution staff across the U.S. CFPB hopes to share the results of the study in published reports and national convenings and use the findings to inform policy and programming.

As part of this important research, you are being asked to participate in a one-time interview/focus group which should take approximately 60-90 minutes. The discussion will include questions about your experiences with or knowledge about barriers that Black students face in completing college. Please consider the details below prior to deciding to participate in this interview/focus group:

• Confidentiality and Privacy Notice: Your individual answers during the interview/focus group will be kept in confidence from anyone outside of the research team to the extent permitted by law. The interview/focus group discussion will be recorded by audio file and/or written notes, including your verbal consent (and for focus groups, the consent of all participants). The recordings of what you share will only be used by the ICF research team. Transcripts of audio recordings will be provided to the CFPB at the conclusion of the study; however, these transcripts will be deidentified prior to being shared. In other words, all names of persons, schools/colleges, organizations, locations, job titles, or any other identifying details of what you share will be anonymized prior to sharing the transcript with the CFPB. In written reports, the data collected by researchers will be reported in a manner that summarizes across participants. We will not include participant names or any other personally identifiable information about you in written reports. If you are participating in a focus group, please keep in mind that what individuals talk about during the focus group is private and you should not discuss it with anyone after the session is finished.

• Risks: The study presents minimal risk to you. Participants will not be identified outside of the interview/focus group. Interview notes and/or recordings will be stored in a secure area accessible only to ICF researchers. Please note that if you participate in a focus group, while we will ask all individuals who participate to not discuss any of the information after the session is finished, we cannot guarantee that all participants will keep information private. It is also possible that depending on your own experience with postsecondary education, you could experience feels of discomfort.

• Benefits: For completion of participation in the interview/focus group, you will receive a monetary stipend of $125. The information provided by participants will help CFPB to develop policy and programming to close racial equity gaps in higher education.

• Voluntary Participation: Your participation in this interview/focus group is voluntary, meaning that you do not have to participate if you do not want to. If you decide to participate then change your mind, you can stop participating at any time. We hope you will participate in the conversation, but you do not have to share information that makes you feel uncomfortable. You will not face any consequences if you decide to withdraw from the study at any time.

By signing below, you are consenting to participate. If you have any questions about the interview/focus group, you can contact Samantha Spinney at ICF at samantha.spinney@icf.com or 703-272-6681. If you have questions about your rights as a research subject, you can contact Christine Walrath at christine.walrath@icf.com or (646) 695-8154.

To indicate your consent to participate in this interview/focus group, please sign your name below in black/blue ink pen.

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