Volume 1

Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) List of Programs Regularly Assigned to -99 Codes in the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Data Collection

Volume I

Supporting Statement

OMB #1850-0803 v.320

June 2022

Contents

Submittal-Related Information 1

1. Background and Study Rationale 1

2. Study Design and Characteristics 1

3. Data Collection 2

3.1 Recruitment 2

3.2 Information Collection Methods 2

4. Consultation Outside the Agency 2

5. Assurance of Confidentiality 2

6. Estimate of Costs for Recruiting and Paying Respondents 2

7. Estimate of Hourly Burden 2

8. Schedule 3

9. Cost to the Federal Government 3

Attachments

Attachment 1: Instrument

Submittal-Related Information

The following material is being submitted under the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) generic clearance agreement (OMB# 1850-0803), which provides NCES the capability to improve data collection instruments by conducting testing—such as usability tests, focus groups, and cognitive interviews—to improve methodologies, survey questions, and/or delivery methods. In this package, we request clearance to ask IPEDS data coordinators to provide NCES lists of academic programs assigned to Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) codes ending in -99 in order to inform the development of the CIP 2025.

1. Background and Study Rationale

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES is located within the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Sciences. NCES fulfills a Congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is a web-based data collection system designed to collect basic data from all postsecondary institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions. The IPEDS data collection enables NCES to report on key dimensions of postsecondary education such as enrollments, degrees and other awards earned, tuition and fees, average net price, student financial aid, graduation rates, student outcomes, revenues and expenditures, faculty salaries, and staff employed.

The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) provides a taxonomic scheme that supports the accurate tracking and reporting of fields of study and program completions activity. CIP was originally developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1980, with revisions occurring in 1985, 1990, 2000, 2010 and 2020. Information on the 1985, 1990, 2000 and 2010 CIP can be accessed on the resources page under the section heading Archive and Historical. On the 2020 CIP Website, you can view both the 2020 CIP and the 2010 CIP. The default option is to view the 2020 CIP, which is the most recent version of the CIP. To view the 2010 CIP on this webpage, look for the Change Year Box, click on the down arrow and select 2010.

To improve the CIP and plan for changes to the 2025 CIP, NCES reviews data provided by institutions via the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data collection, OMB control number 1850-0582. During the review of write-in responses for codes ending in “99”, NCES learned that some institutions have a list of academic programs that they assign to specific CIP Codes. For example, some institutions assign their Technical Studies degrees to CIP Code 41.9999, which is the code for Science Technologies/Technicians, Other. NCES plans to request these lists from IPEDS coordinators, since the information in the lists can be used to help determine whether these programs should be coded under a new 6-digit CIP Code in CIP 2025.

2. Study Design and Characteristics

Since NCES noticed that many of the lists of academic programs were referenced by IPEDS coordinators, NCES plans to reach out to these coordinators to ask them to voluntarily provide these lists. NCES will reach out to coordinators via the IPEDS program director to make coordinators aware of the collection effort and let them know that it is a legitimate request. The NCES CIP contractor will then send a follow-up email to coordinators to request the lists be sent via email. In order to minimize burden on coordinators, who may have the lists in different formats, there is no predetermined format for the lists.

3. Data Collection

3.1 Recruitment

The pool of potential respondents to these items will be all state-level IPEDS data coordinators for 2- and 4-year public systems, state-level (or multi-state) coordinators for independent colleges, and coordinators for large for-profit institutions. These coordinators cover the breadth of sectors and a majority of coordinated institutions. All coordinators will be contacted and invited to respond using the materials in Attachment A.

3.2 Information Collection Methods

The information collection method entails an email request to all coordinators requesting they provide any lists to the NCES contractor. Lists will then be collated by the contractor and reviewed to determine whether additional programs should be added to the CIP 2025.

4. Consultation Outside the Agency

Ursidae Analytics will be assisting NCES to collect this information from IPEDS state coordinators. Dr. Allan Medwick, the President and CEO of Ursidae Analytics, has worked closely with NCES since 2017 to provide technical assistance for updating the CIP. Ursidae Analytics will contact the IPEDS Data Coordinators by email using the text in Attachment 1.

NCES is not consulting with outside agencies for this collection, as it is not necessary for this collection of already existing lists to inform the development of the CIP 2025.

5. Assurance of Confidentiality

The submission of this information is voluntary, and respondents are given no guarantees that the information they provide will be confidential. This collection does not collect any personally identifiable information (PII) or information that is sensitive to institutions. 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 1850-0803, which expires June 30, 2025. The information provided will only be used in identifying potential additions to CIP 2025.

6. Estimate of Costs for Recruiting and Paying Respondents

No monetary or in-kind payments will be made for the purposes of recruitment or lists provided.

7. Estimate of Hourly Burden

The poll questions entail a response from 127 state and system coordinators. It is estimated that it will take approximately 5 minutes for a coordinator to read email requests and 25 minutes to locate lists and send them to the NCES contractor.

Table 1 below shows burden estimates for (a) recruiting participants; and (b) providing the requested information.

Table 1. Estimate of hourly burden

Activity	Number of Respondents	Number of Responses	Burden Minutes per Respondent	Total Burden Hours
Recruitment	127	127	5	11
Information Collection	127	127	25	53
Total	127	1271	-	64

¹In this collection, recruitment is not considered distinct from the response.

8. Schedule

Recruitment/collection for the poll questions will occur between July 5, 2022 and August 5, 2022.

Table 2 below provides the overall schedule for the project.

Table 2. Schedule of high-level activities

Activity	Start Date	End Date
Recruitment	July 5, 2022	August 5, 2022
Information Collection	July 5, 2022	August 5, 2022

9. Cost to the Federal Government

The estimated cost to prepare for, collect, and collate the results of the information collection is approximately $5,000. The cost includes salaried labor for contractor staff and other direct costs associated with the organization of the information collection.