Part A QRIS 2017-2020 System Clearance

Quick Response Information System

(QRIS) 2017-2020 System Clearance

Supporting Statement Part A

OMB # 1850-0733 v.34

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

Washington, DC

July 2017

Section A. Justification

A.1. Importance of the Information

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Quick Response Information System (QRIS) consists of the Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) and the Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS). The QRIS currently conducts surveys under OMB generic clearance 1850-0733, which expires in February 2018. This request is to continue the current clearance for the next 3 years, through the end of 2020. FRSS primarily conducts surveys of the elementary/secondary sector (districts, schools) and public libraries. PEQIS conducts surveys of the postsecondary education sector. FRSS and PEQIS surveys are cleared under the QRIS generic clearance. The QRIS generic clearance goes through the regular clearance process at OMB with a 60-day notice and a 30-day notice as part of the 120-day review period. The QRIS package describes the general scope of the surveys, their quick turnaround time, their length, size of sample, sample design, and some typical topics. Each individual FRSS or PEQIS survey goes into the clearance process with an abbreviated clearance package, justifying the particular content of the survey, describing the sample design, the timeline for the survey activities, and the questionnaire. The review period for each individual survey is 45 days, including a 30-day Federal Register notice period. OMB will provide comments as soon after the end of the 30-day notice period as possible. This generic clearance request is for surveys of state education agencies, school districts, schools, postsecondary institutions, and libraries.

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), established in 1975, and the Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS), established in 1991, are operated by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, to meet the data needs of Department of Education officials and other government officials with education data needs (e.g., the Department of Agriculture or the National Endowment for the Arts). FRSS and PEQIS, referred to in their combined form as the Quick Response Information System (QRIS), provide information that is needed quickly and that cannot be collected through traditional NCES surveys, either because the topic of interest is not covered by current surveys or because of time constraints. NCES receives requests for data to help formulate policy; to make legislative, budgetary, and planning decisions for existing programs; and to develop new programs. Findings from QRIS surveys may be included in Congressional reports, testimony to Congressional subcommittees, and Department of Education reports. The findings may also be used by state and local education officials. QRIS surveys are authorized under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ERSA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543), which authorizes NCES to collect and report statistical data related to education in the United States.

FRSS is designed to conduct brief surveys of state education agencies (SEAs), public school districts, public and private elementary and secondary schools, and school and public libraries. A nationally representative probability sample of the appropriate respondent group is selected for each FRSS survey. The typical sample size for an FRSS survey of districts or schools is 1,200 respondents. Depending on the survey topic, samples are either nationally representative general purpose probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) samples selected from the appropriate NCES sampling frame (e.g., the Common Core of Data district or school frames), or nationally representative special purpose samples tailored to the specific needs of a survey (e.g., districts with Title I funding or schools with specific grade spans). FRSS sampling approaches are discussed in more detail in Part B.

PEQIS is designed to conduct brief surveys of postsecondary education institutions or state higher education agencies. Most PEQIS surveys of postsecondary education institutions use the PEQIS panel, which is a nationally representative sample of approximately 1,650 2-year, 4-year, and graduate level postsecondary institutions in the United States (see Part B for additional information about the PEQIS panel). The panel consists of all types of Title IV degree-granting postsecondary institutions at the 2-year, 4-year, and graduate levels, including universities, baccalaureate colleges, community colleges, technical schools, graduate and professional schools, and nursing and health science schools. PEQIS can also include a supplementary sample of less-than-2-year or non-degree-granting postsecondary institutions when required for a particular survey. These institutions were not included in the basic PEQIS panel because of the great volatility of these types of institutions and low frequency of survey topics for which these institutions are appropriate. These institutions, many of which are proprietary, open and close at a much faster rate than the types of postsecondary institutions included in the PEQIS panel. Thus, NCES decided that when a survey was requested through PEQIS that included less-than-2-year or non-degree-granting institutions, the most recent IPEDS Institutional Characteristics file would be used to draw an up-to-date supplementary sample of these institutions to be used for that survey. This procedure was used for the PEQIS surveys on financial aid, campus crime, and occupational programs, where obtaining information from less-than-2-year institutions was crucial. The PEQIS universe and panel are discussed in more detail in Part B. Depending on the topic of the survey, questionnaires can either be sent to all institutions in the PEQIS panel or to a subsample of the institutions, for example, 2-year institutions. Surveys can also be sent to state higher education agencies.

QRIS surveys are designed to encourage fast response and minimize respondent burden. They are limited to three pages of items that take approximately 30 to 45 minutes to complete. QRIS uses a mixed-mode data collection approach, with respondents given the option of completing the survey by mail or via the Web. Telephone follow-up is conducted for survey nonresponse and data clarification. Data are imputed for item nonresponse and weighted to produce national estimates of the sampled education sector. A report summarizing the data is released on the NCES website. In addition, a disclosure risk analysis designed to protect respondent confidentiality is conducted, and a public use data file is made available through the NCES website.

A.2. Purposes and Uses of the Data

QRIS is designed to conduct up to 10 surveys each year in response to requests from Department of Education and other government officials who have education data needs that cannot be met through other NCES surveys. For example, the FRSS survey on dual credit and exam-based courses in public high schools provided data on a timely basis to the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education regarding the availability of courses through which high school students can earn high school and postsecondary credit simultaneously. Other recent FRSS surveys provided information about career and technical education programs in public school districts, programs and services for high school English learners, distance education courses for public elementary and secondary school students; alternative schools and programs for public school students at risk of educational failure; dropout prevention services and programs in public school districts; arts education in public schools; and the condition of public school facilities. A recent PEQIS survey provided information about dual enrollment programs for high school students at postsecondary institutions. Other PEQIS surveys provided information about distance education at postsecondary institutions; students with disabilities at postsecondary institutions; and services and support programs for military service members and veterans at postsecondary institutions. Individual surveys typically are nonrecurring, although a few, such as the arts education and distance education surveys, have been repeated at various intervals. Over 100 FRSS and 18 PEQIS surveys have been conducted thus far on a variety of topics. A listing of the surveys conducted under FRSS and PEQIS is provided in Exhibit 1 a and b.

A.3. Improved Information Technology

QRIS uses a mixed-mode data collection approach, with respondents given the option of completing the survey by mail or via the Web. Telephone follow-up is conducted for survey nonresponse and data clarification. When paper versions of the questionnaire are used, they are transmitted to and from respondents by secure fax server whenever possible. In addition, the email address for the contractor responsible for answering respondent questions is included on the front of the questionnaire. These procedures are all designed to minimize burden on respondents.

Exhibit 1a. Summary of FRSS surveys and data requesters

No	FRSS Survey Title	Sector Surveyed	Data Requester
1.	Statewide Developments in Performance-Based Education, 1976	SEAs	National Institute of Education (NIE)/DHEW
2.	Job Placement Services Provided by Public School Districts to High School Students, Graduates, and Dropouts, 1976	Public school districts	Office of Assistant Secretary for Education (OASE)/DHEW -- coordinated with U.S.E.S.
3.	Part-time Student Financial Aid Counselors in Institutions of Higher Education, 1977	Colleges	Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation, OE/DHEW
4.	Teacher and Administrator Shortages in Public School Systems, Fall 1977	Public school districts	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/DHEW
5.	Training Needs of Public School Administrators, Summer 1978	Public school districts	Assistant Secretary for Education/ DHEW—coordinated with American Association of School Administrators
6.	Arts Education: Policies and Programs, Winter 1978-1979	SEAs	Arts Coordinator, OE/DHEW
7.	School Districts Participating in Multiple Federal Programs, Winter 1978-79	Public school districts	Office of Assistant Secretary for Education (OASE)/DHEW
8.	ESEA Title I Evaluation: School District Needs for Technical Assistance, 1979	Public school districts	Office of Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE)/DHEW
9.	ESEA Title I Schoolwide Projects: Eligibility and Participation, 1979	SEAs	Office of Legislation, OE/DHEW
10.	Availability of Evening-Weekend Baccalaureate Degree-Credit Courses, 1980	Four-year colleges	National Council on Women's Educational Programs/DHEW
11.	State Vocational Education Programs in the Arts and Related Careers, 1980	SEAs	Office of Occupational and Adult Education(OAE)/ED
12.	Interactive Use of Computers for Instruction, 1980	Public school districts	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
13.	School District Perceptions of Federal Competitive Education Programs, 1981	Public school districts	School Finance Project/ED
14.	Instructional Use of Computers in Public Schools, 1982	Public schools	Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement/ED
15.	School District Academic Requirements and Achievement, 1982	Public school districts	National Commission on Excellence in Education/ED
16.	Undergraduate Teacher Education, 1982-83	Four-year colleges	National Commission on Excellence in Education/ED
17.	Federal Discretionary Program Priorities for the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), 1983-84	SEAs	Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
18.	Teacher Preparation in the Use of Computers in Education, 1984	Four-year colleges	Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement/ED
19.	Remedial/Developmental Studies in Institutions of Higher Education, 1984	Colleges	Under-Secretary of Education/ED
20.	Patron Use of Computers in Public Libraries, 1984-85	Public library systems	Center for Libraries and Education Information, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
21.	School Discipline Policies and Practices, 1985	Public schools	National Council on Educational Research (NCER) through the National Institute of Education (NIE)/ED
22.	Use of Volunteers in Adult Literacy, 1985	Adult literacy programs	Adult Literacy Initiative
23.	High School Academic Requirements/ Initiatives, 1985	Public school districts	National Commission on Excellence in Education (NCEE)/ED
24.	ECIA Chapter 1 Oversight Experience, 1986	Public school districts	Office of Research, Office of Educational Research and Improvements (OERI)/ED
25.	ECIA Chapter 1 Participation of Nonpublic School Students, 1986	Public school districts	Office of Research, Office of Educational Research and Improvements (OERI)/ED
26.	Teacher Perspectives of School Discipline, 1986-87	Teachers in public schools	Office of the General Counsel/ED
27.	Arts and Humanities Policies of School Districts, 1987	Public school districts	National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
28.	Library Services to Young Adults in Public Libraries, 1987	Public libraries	Office of Library Programs, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
29a.	State Survey on Substance Abuse Education, 1987	SEAs	Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
29b.	District Survey on Substance Abuse Education, 1987	Public school districts	Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
30.	State Vocational Education Policies, 1987	SEAs	Office of Planning, Budget and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
31.	Public School Early Estimates, 1987		Survey canceled by NCES
32.	Principals' Perceptions of Academic Reform, 1987	Principals in public high schools	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
33.	Education Partnerships, 1988	Public schools	Private Sector Initiative (PSI)/ED
34.	Use of Research and Development Resources, 1989	Public school districts	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
35.	Private School Early Estimates, 1988	Private schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
36.	Services to Children in Public Libraries, 1989	Public libraries	Office of Library Programs, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
37.	Survey of State Library Agencies, 1989		Survey canceled by Office of Library Programs/ED
38.	Remedial Developmental Studies in Colleges, 1990	Colleges	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
39.	Office for Civil Rights Feasibility Study, 1991	Public school districts	Office for Civil Rights (OCR)/ED
40.	District Survey on Safe, Drug-free, Disciplined Schools, 1991	Public school districts	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Office of Planning, Budget, and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
41.	School Survey on Safe, Drug-free, Disciplined Schools, 1991	Public schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Office of Planning, Budget, and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
42.	Teacher Survey on Safe, Drug-free, Disciplined Schools, 1991	Teachers in public schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Office of Planning, Budget, and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
43.	Postsecondary Institutional Reporting Capability, 1991	Postsecondary institutions	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
44.	Survey on Teacher Performance Evaluations, 1993	Teachers in public elementary schools	Office of Research, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
45.	National Assessment of Vocational Education Survey of Teachers, 1992	Teachers in public secondary schools	Office of Research, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
46.	Kindergarten Teacher Survey on School Readiness, 1993	Kindergarten teachers in public schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED and National Education Goals Panel
47a.	Public Library Services to Children, 1994	Public libraries	Office of Library Programs, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
47b.	Public Library Services to Young Adults, 1994	Public libraries	Office of Library Programs, Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
48.	High School Curricular Options, 1993-94	Public high schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
49.	Survey of Attitudes and Expectations toward Secondary Education in the U.S., 1994	Household RDD	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
50a.	Arts Education for Elementary Schools, 1994	Public elementary schools	National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
50b.	Arts Education for Secondary Schools, 1994	Public secondary schools	National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
51.	Advanced Telecommunications in Public Elementary and Secondary Schools, 1994	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
52.	Nutrition Education in U.S. Public Schools, 1995	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of Analysis and Evaluation, Food and Consumer Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
53.	School Survey on Racial and Ethnic Classifications, 1995	Public elementary and secondary school principals	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)/ED
54.	School Education Reform, 1996	Public elementary and secondary school principals	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), and the Planning and Evaluation Service (PES)/ED
55.	Teacher Education Reform, 1996	Public elementary and secondary school teachers	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), and the Planning and Evaluation Service (PES)/ED
56.	Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Private Schools, K-12, 1995	Private schools, K-12	Office of Nonpublic Education/ED
57.	Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Public Schools, K-12, 1995	Public schools, K-12	Office of the Secretary /ED
58.	Parental Involvement in Public Schools, 1996	Public schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
59.	State Survey on Racial and Ethnic Classifications in Public Schools, 1997	Telephone survey of SEAs	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Office for Civil Rights (OCR)/ED
60.	Teacher Nutrition Education, 1997	Teachers in public elementary schools	U.S. Department of Agriculture
61.	Advanced telecommunications in U.S. public schools, K-12, 1996	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
62.	Summer Migrant Education Programs, 1998	Providers of summer migrant education programs	Office of Migrant Education (OME)/ED
63.	Principal/School Disciplinarian Survey on School Violence, 1997	Public elementary and secondary schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and the Planning and Evaluation Service (PES)/ED
64.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 1997	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
65.	Teacher Survey on Professional Development and Training, 1998	Teachers in public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
66.	Programs for Adults in Public Library Outlets, 2000	Public libraries	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), the National Library of Education , and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
67a.	Elementary Arts Education Survey, Fall 1999	Public elementary schools	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED and the National Endowment for the Arts
67b.	Secondary Arts Education Survey, Fall 1999	Public secondary schools	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED and the National Endowment for the Arts
68.	Advanced Telecommunications in U.S. Private Schools: 1998-1999	Private elementary and secondary schools	Office of Nonpublic Education/ED
69.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 1998	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
70.	Public School Teachers Use of Advanced Telecommunications and Other Technologies in the Classroom, 1999	Teachers in public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
71.	Service-Learning and Community Service, 1999	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
72.	Vocational Programs in Secondary Schools, 1999	Public secondary schools	Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
73.	Condition of Public School Facilities, 1999	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Under Secretary/ED
74.	Teacher Professional Development and Training in U.S. Public Schools, 1999-2000	Teachers in public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
75.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 1999	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
76.	District Survey of Alternative Schools and Programs, 2000	Public school districts	Office of the Under Secretary and Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)/ED
77a.	Elementary School Visual Arts Specialists, 2000	Visual arts specialists in public elementary schools	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED and the National Endowment for the Arts
77b.	Elementary School Music Specialists, 2000	Music specialists in public elementary schools	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED and the National Endowment for the Arts
77c.	Arts Survey of Elementary School Classroom Teachers, 2000	Classroom teachers in public elementary schools	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED and the National Endowment for the Arts
78.	Classes that Serve Children Prior to Kindergarten, 2001	Public elementary and special education schools	Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI)/ED
79.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2000	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
80.	Survey of High School Guidance Counseling, 2001	Public high schools	Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
81.	Effects of Energy Needs and Expenditures on U.S. Public Schools, 2001	Public school districts	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
82.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2001	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
83.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2002	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
84.	Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2002-03	Public school districts	Office of the Secretary/ED
85.	Dual Credit and Exam-based Courses, 2003	Public high schools	Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
86.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2003	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
87.	Foods and Physical Activity in Public Elementary Schools: 2005	Public elementary schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
88.	Public School Principals’ Perceptions of Their School Facilities: Fall 2005	Public elementary and secondary schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
89.	Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2004-05	Public school districts	Office of the Secretary/ED
90.	Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2005	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
91.	After-school Programs in Public Elementary Schools, 2008	Public elementary schools	Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)/ED
92.	Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2008	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
93.	Educational Technology in Public School Districts, Fall 2008	Public school districts	Office of the Secretary/ED
94.	Unfunded Retiree Health Insurance, 2008	Public school districts	Survey cancelled by NCES
95.	Teachers’ Use of Educational Technology in U.S. Public Schools, 2009	Teachers in public elementary and secondary schools	Office of the Secretary/ED
96.	District Survey of Alternative Schools and Programs, 2008	Public school districts	Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools/ED
97.	State Survey on Career and Technical Education	State CTE Directors	Survey cancelled by NCES
98.	Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2009-10	Public school districts	Office of the Secretary/ED
99.	Dropout Prevention Services and Programs, 2010-11	Public school districts	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
100.	Elementary School Arts Education Survey: Fall 2009	Public elementary schools	Office of Innovation and Improvement/ED
101.	Secondary School Arts Education Survey: Fall 2009	Public secondary schools	Office of Innovation and Improvement/ED
102.	Surveys of Elementary School Music Specialists and Visual Arts Specialists, and Arts Survey of Elementary School Classroom Teachers, 2010	Teachers in public elementary schools	Office of Innovation and Improvement/ED
103.	Surveys of Secondary School Music Specialists and Visual Arts Specialists, 2010	Teachers in public secondary schools	Office of Innovation and Improvement/ED
104.	Dual Credit and Exam-based Courses, 2010-11	Public high schools	Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)/ED
105.	Condition of Public School Facilities: 2012-13	Public elementary and secondary schools	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
106.	School Safety and Discipline: 2013-14	Public elementary and secondary schools	Office of Safe and Healthy Students/ED and National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
107.	Programs and Services for High School English Learners, 2015-16	Public school districts	Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA)
108.	Career and Technical Education Programs in Public School Districts	Public school districts	Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE)

Exhibit 1b. Summary of PEQIS surveys and data requesters (continued)

No	PEQIS Survey Title	Sector Surveyed	Data Requester
1.	Higher Education Finances and Services, 1993	Higher education institutions	Office of Policy and Planning (OPP) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
2.	Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students in Postsecondary Education, 1993	Postsecondary institutions	Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)/ED
3.	Precollegiate Programs for Disadvantaged Students at Higher Education Institutions, 1994	Higher education institutions	Office of the Under Secretary/ED
4.	Financial Aid at Postsecondary Education Institutions, 1994-95	Postsecondary institutions	Office of the Under Secretary/ED
5.	Survey on Distance Education Courses Offered by Higher Education Institutions, 1995	Higher education institutions	Office of Educational Research and Development (OERI)/ED
6.	Survey on Remedial Education in Higher Education Institutions, 1995	Higher education institutions	Office of the Under Secretary/ED
7.	Campus Crime and Security at Postsecondary Education Institutions, 1996	Postsecondary institutions	Office of Educational Research and Development (OERI)/ED
8.	Students with Disabilities at Postsecondary Education Institutions, 1998	Postsecondary institutions	Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)/ED
9.	Distance Education at Postsecondary Education Institutions, 1998	Postsecondary institutions	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
10.	Noncredit Offerings at Higher Education Institutions, 1999	Higher education institutions	Survey cancelled by NCES
11.	Occupational Programs in Postsecondary Education Institutions, 1999	2-year and less-than-2-year postsecondary institutions	Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
12.	Remedial Education in Higher Education Institutions: Fall 2000	Higher education institutions	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
13.	Distance Education at Higher Education Institutions: 2000-2001	Title IV degree-granting institutions	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED
14.	Dual Enrollment Programs and Courses for High School Students, 2004	Title IV degree-granting institutions	Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
15.	Educational Technology in Teacher Education Programs for Initial Licensure, 2006	4-year Title IV degree-granting institutions	Office of the Secretary/ED
16.	Distance Education at Postsecondary Institutions, 2007	Title IV degree-granting institutions	Office of the Secretary/ED
17.	Students with Disabilities at Postsecondary Education Institutions, 2009	Title IV degree-granting institutions	Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS)/ED
18.	Dual Enrollment Programs and Courses for High School Students, 2011	Title IV degree-granting institutions	Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)/ED
19.	Services and Support Programs for Military Service Members and Veterans, 2012-13	Title IV degree-granting institutions	National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)/ED

A.4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

One of the criteria for QRIS is to collect only data that are not available elsewhere. Prior to the implementation of a given survey, every effort is made to determine if the requested information is available from another source. Depending on the survey, this might include contacting other federal agencies or other offices within the Department of Education, seeking input from national associations (e.g., the Council for American Private Education, the American Library Association, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators), or obtaining background information on a topic through searches of databases and clearinghouses such as the What Works Clearinghouse, ERIC, and Higher Education Abstracts. In addition, other programs within NCES are asked for input about surveys during the survey development process. This internal NCES review provides an early opportunity to identify duplication, as well as providing QRIS with the topic-area and methodological expertise of other NCES staff.

A.5. Methods Used to Minimize Burden on Small Entities

Burden is minimized for all respondents by keeping the questionnaires short, restricting questions to generally available information, giving respondents the option of completing a Web version of the questionnaire, conducting follow-up for nonresponse and data clarification by telephone, and transmitting paper versions of the questionnaire by fax whenever possible. In addition, smaller institutions were sampled at a lower rate than larger institutions in the PEQIS panel, and are generally sampled at a lower rate for FRSS surveys.

A.6. Consequences of Not Collecting the Information

QRIS surveys are conducted in response to requests from Department of Education and other government officials who have education data needs that cannot be met through other NCES surveys, either because the topic is not covered by current surveys or because of time constraints. NCES receives requests for data to help formulate policy; to make legislative, budgetary, and planning decisions for existing programs; and to develop new programs. Findings from QRIS surveys may be included in Congressional reports, testimony to Congressional subcommittees, and Department of Education reports. The findings may also be used by state and local education officials. ED officials will not have the information they need if the QRIS surveys are not conducted.

A.7. Adherence to the Guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5

Data collection will be conducted in a manner consistent with the guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5. The only exception is that responses are requested in fewer than 30 days, following the well-developed procedures for NCES quick response surveys such as PEQIS and FRSS, which are intended to collect data quickly.

A.8. Consultations Outside NCES

Prior to the implementation of a given survey, input is sought from outside sources. Depending on the survey, this might include contacting other Federal agencies or other offices within the Department of Education, or seeking input from national associations (e.g., the Council for American Private Education, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers, the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the National Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education Consortium).

In addition, one or more rounds of feasibility calls are usually conducted in the early phases of survey development. The purpose of feasibility calls is to explore topics for survey items, identify and correct any potential issues with the content and format of the survey before conducting a pretest, and assure that the survey captures the intended meaning of the questions and minimizes the burden imposed on respondents. Feasibility calls involve asking members of the target population to review a draft survey and participate in a telephone discussion. Approval is requested from OMB under the NCES system clearance for Cognitive, Pilot, and Field Test Studies (OMB #1850-0803) prior to conducting the feasibility calls.

After the feasibility calls and review of the survey by the NCES Quality Review Board, a pretest is conducted to further test the survey instrument prior to seeking OMB approval to conduct the full data collection. The pretest involves asking respondents to complete the survey and participate in a telephone debriefing. Prior to conducting the pretest, approval is requested from OMB under the NCES system clearance for Cognitive, Pilot, and Field Test Studies (OMB #1850-0803).

A.9. Payments to Respondents

No payments or gifts to respondents will be made on QRIS surveys covered under this generic clearance.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality

Data security and confidentiality protection procedures have been put in place for QRIS to ensure that the QRIS contractor and its subcontractors, when applicable, comply with all privacy requirements, including:

1. The statement of work of this contract;

2. Family Educational and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1974 (20 U.S.C. §1232(g));

3. Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. §552a);

4. Privacy Act Regulations (34 CFR Part 5b);

5. Computer Security Act of 1987;

6. U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-56);

7. Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9573);

8. Confidential Information Protect and Statistical Efficiency Act of 2002;

9. E-Government Act of 2002, Title V, Subtitle A;

10. Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. §151);

11. The U.S. Department of Education General Handbook for Information Technology Security General Support Systems and Major Applications Inventory Procedures (March 2005);

12. The U.S. Department of Education Incident Handling Procedures (February 2009);

13. The U.S. Department of Education, ACS Directive OM: 5-101, Contractor Employee Personnel Security Screenings;

14. NCES Statistical Standards; and

15. All new legislation that impacts the data collected through the contract for this study.

Furthermore, the contractor will comply with the Department’s IT security policy requirements as set forth in the Handbook for Information Assurance Security Policy and related procedures and guidance, as well as IT security requirements in the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) publications, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards and guidance. All data products and publications will also adhere to the revised NCES Statistical Standards, as described at the website: http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/2012/.

Data to be collected will not be released with institutional or personal identifiers attached. Data will be presented in aggregate statistical form only. In addition, each data file undergoes extensive disclosure risk analysis and is reviewed by the NCES/IES Disclosure Review Board before use in generating report analyses and before release as a public use data file.

Each respondent will be assured that all information identifying them or their school or agency will not be published in reports, and both the cover letter accompanying the questionnaire and the header on the questionnaire will state: “All of the information you provide 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).”

In addition, all contractor and subcontractor staff members working on the study are required to sign the NCES Affidavit of Nondisclosure, as well as the contractor’s confidentiality pledge. Westat is the current contractor conducting QRIS.

A.11. Sensitive Questions

The types of questions asked on QRIS surveys are not likely to be considered sensitive. Questions focus on institution-level information rather than on personal information about individuals. Published data from the surveys consist of composite information that does not identify individual respondents.

A.12. Estimates of Response Burden

Questionnaire completion time for each survey is estimated to average 45 minutes. Information about estimated respondent burden hours and cost for QRIS surveys is summarized in Exhibit 2. If ten QRIS surveys are conducted each year, with one state survey, three school surveys, three district surveys, one library survey, and two postsecondary surveys sent to every institution in the PEQIS panel, the total annual respondent burden would be 10,568 hours. The burden time cost to respondents is estimated to be $48.36 per hour for a total annual burden time cost to respondents of $511,068 for the ten surveys (10,568 hours x $48.36).¹

Prior to contacting schools for FRSS school surveys, a courtesy information packet is mailed to the superintendent of each district with sampled schools. Notification of districts is estimated to take approximately 5 minutes per district. Any special requirements that districts have for approval of surveys will be met before schools in those districts are contacted. Each special clearance districts has unique requirements for obtaining approval. For school surveys, there are approximately 100 special clearance districts; for district surveys, there are approximately 10 special clearance districts. The materials sent to special districts will be tailored to meet the specific requirements of each district, based on information from the OMB package. The respondent burden for special clearance districts is estimated to be approximately 2 hours per special district. The estimated burden time for sampled entities (schools, districts, postsecondary institutions, etc.) to review the introductory letter requesting their participation (initial contact) is 5 minutes per entity. The response rates for QRIS surveys of districts, schools, and postsecondary institutions typically have been approximately 90 percent. Response burden for each survey is estimated to average 45 minutes. Based on past experience, it is estimated that about 25 percent of the sample will have returned the completed survey before nonresponse follow-up begins; about 75 percent of the sample will receive a nonresponse follow-up call that will take about 5 minutes.

Exhibit 3. Estimated burden for data collection and nonresponse follow-up: FRSS and PEQIS

Type of collection	Sample size	Estimated response rate (percent)	Estimated number of respondents per survey	Estimated number of surveys	Estimated number of responses per survey	Burden hours per respondent per survey	Total respondent burden hours	Respondent cost (@$48.36 per hour)
State Survey
Initial state contact	51	100%	51	1	51	0.083	5	$242
Questionnaire	51	100%	51	1	51	0.75	39	$1,886
Nonresponse follow-up call	51	75%	38	1	38	0.083	4	$193
State survey total	--	--	140	1	140	--	48	$2,321
FRSS School Survey
District notification	1,070	100%	1,070	3	3,210	0.083	267	$12,912
Special clearance district review	100	100%	100	3	300	2	600	$29,016
Initial school contact	1,200	100%	1,200	3	3,600	0.083	299	$14,460
Questionnaire	1,200	90%	1,080	3	3,240	0.75	2,430	$117,515
Nonresponse follow-up call	1,200	75%	900	3	2700	0.083	224	$10,833
School survey total	--	--	4,350	3	13,050	--	3,820	$184,735
FRSS District Survey
Special clearance district review	10	100%	10	3	30	2	60	$2,902
Initial district contact	1,200	100%	1,200	3	3,600	0.083	299	$14,460
Questionnaire	1,200	90%	1,080	3	3,240	0.75	2,430	$117,515
Nonresponse follow-up call	1,200	75%	900	3	2700	0.083	224	$10,833
District survey total	--	--	3,190	3	9,570	--	3,013	$145,709
FRSS Library Survey
Initial library contact	1,200	100%	1,200	1	1,200	0.083	100	$4,836
Questionnaire	1,200	90%	1,080	1	1,080	0.75	810	$39,172
Nonresponse follow-up call	1,200	75%	900	1	900	0.083	75	$3,627
Library survey total	--	--	3,180	1	3,180	--	985	$47,635
PEQIS Panel Survey
Initial institution contact	1,647	100%	1,647	2	3,294	0.083	274	$13,251
Questionnaire	1,647	90%	1,482	2	2,964	0.75	2,223	$107,504
Nonresponse follow-up call	1,647	75%	1,235	2	2,470	0.083	205	$9,914
PEQIS survey total	--	--	4,364	2	8,728	--	2,702	$130,669
Total annual burden	--	--	15,224	10	34,668	--	10,568	$511,068
Total 3-year burden 2017-2020	--	--	45,672	30	104,004	--	31,704	$1,533,205

A.13. Estimates of Cost Burden for Collection of Information

Respondents will not need to purchase or maintain equipment or services to respond to QRIS surveys.

A.14. Estimates of Cost to the Federal Government

Different FRSS and PEQIS surveys carry different costs. Costs to the Federal Government for contractual costs, including the costs for survey preparation, data collection, data analysis, and report preparation and dissemination, will be provided for each survey when it is submitted to OMB for approval.

A.15. Changes in Burden

No changes in burden are being requested.

A.16. Publication Plans/Time Schedule

After each survey is approved by OMB, the QRIS contractor will mail the questionnaire to the respondents. Included in the mailing will be information about the option to complete a Web version of the survey. About 3 weeks after mailout, the contractor will begin telephone follow-up for nonresponse and data consistency. Data collection is scheduled for completion about 20 weeks after mailing. See Exhibit 4 for the anticipated time schedule for QRIS institutional surveys.

Tabulations will be produced for each data item. Crosstabulations of data items will be made with selected classification variables such as instructional level and school size for FRSS surveys, and level and control of the institution for PEQIS surveys. The findings will be made available to the data requesters about 8 weeks after the end of data collection. Reports of the findings will be released on the NCES website.

For all FRSS and PEQIS surveys, NCES will publish First Look reports. The First Look reports include one brief page of summary findings accompanied by no more than 15 tables of estimates. Each table of estimates disaggregates the data by selected characteristics (e.g., school enrollment size; region; postsecondary institution type). In addition, NCES sometimes publishes a statistical analysis report that expands upon analyses from the First Look report. All published data and reports will be made available on the NCES website.

Exhibit 4. Anticipated Time Schedule for QRIS Institutional Surveys

	Cumulative workdays
	From submission to OMB	From OMB approval
Package to OMB	0	-
Package approved by OMB	45	0
Mailout	55	10
Follow-up started	70	25
Follow-up completed	155	110
Basic tabulations	195	150
Survey report - draft	235	190

A.17. Approval to Not Display Expiration Date

All QRIS surveys will display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection.

A.18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement

No exceptions to the certification statement are being sought.

1 The time cost to respondents was derived by averaging the hourly earnings of elementary and secondary school administrators and postsecondary education administrators as reported in the May 2016 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment Statistics. If mean hourly wage was not provided, it was computed assuming 2,080 hours per year. Source: BLS Occupational Employment Statistics, https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm#11-0000, Occupation codes: Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School (11-9032) and Education Administrators, Postsecondary (11-9033); accessed on July 18, 2017.