The NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Programs: Online Post-Application Customer Service Survey for Recommenders/Referees

Request for Approval under the “Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback” (OMB#: 0925-0925-0648 ExpDate: 03/2018)

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

The NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Programs: Online Post-Application Customer Service Survey for Recommenders/Referees

PURPOSE:

The NIH Extramural Loan Repayment Programs (LRP) FY2017 application period began on September 1^st, 2016 and will end December 1^st, 2016. Referees of LRP applicants are required to interact with LRP systems in order to upload a recommendation document in support of applicants.

The purpose of the currently proposed online survey, hosted on SurveyMonkey, is to garner feedback from Referees about the ease and usability of LRP systems and the understandability of the email they receive that directs them to the site. The survey will be anonymous, and information garnered from the survey will remain internal to DLR and be used solely to make improvements to our Referee processes for the following year.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

Respondents will be approximately 3,120 extramural, doctoral-level researchers who are named as Referees in support of an LRP applicant.

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [X] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[ ] Focus Group [ ] Other: ______________________

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Jill I. Mattia, Ph.D.

To assist review, please provide answers to the following question:

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [ ] Yes [X] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [ ] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [ ] Yes [X] No

ESTIMATED BURDEN HOURS and COSTS

Category of Respondent	No. of Respondents	No. of Responses per Respondent	Time per Response (in hours)	Total Burden Hours
Individuals	3,120	1	2/60	104
Totals	3,120	3,120		104

Category of Respondent	Total Burden Hours	Wage Rate*	Total Burden Cost
Individuals	104	$66	$6,864
Totals	104	$66	$6,864

Source is the Chronicle of Higher Education (hyperlink - http://data.chronicle.com/category/sector/1/faculty-salaries/)

The mean annual salary for an assistant professor is $71,130, and the mean hourly wage is $66.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $1,180.

Staff	Grade/Step	Salary	% of Effort	Fringe (if applicable)	Total Cost to Gov’t
Federal Oversight
Scientific Prog Eval Spec	14-3	$118,000	1		$1,180
Contractor Cost
Travel
Other Cost
Total					$1,180

If you are conducting a focus group, survey, or plan to employ statistical methods, please provide answers to the following questions:

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [X ] Yes [] No

If the answer is yes, please provide a description of both below (or attach the sampling plan)? If the answer is no, please provide a description of how you plan to identify your potential group of respondents and how you will select them?

Potential respondents will be all individuals named as Referees to, and who submit a recommendation in support of, LRP applicants. All such individuals will be sent an email with the link to the survey hosted by SurveyMonkey after the LRP application period has closed. Based on last year application numbers, DLR anticipates the number of individuals invited to participate in the survey will be N=5,200. Assuming a 60% response rate obtained in prior research, the final total respondent sample is anticipated to be n=3,120.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[X] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[ ] In-person

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [ ] Yes [X] No

Please make sure that all instruments, instructions, and scripts are submitted with the request.

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