2023–24 NATIONAL POSTSECONDARY STUDENT AID STUDY (NPSAS:24) FULL-SCALE STUDY
Student Data Collection and Student Records
Appendices A-C
Technical Review Panel Members
Endorsing Organizations for NPSAS:24
Confidentiality for Administrative Record Matching
OMB # 1850-0666 v. 36
Submitted by
National Center for Education Statistics
U.S. Department of Education
LaJanis Allen
Douglas J Aveda Institute
331 E Grand River Avenue
East Lansing, MI 48823
Email: lajanis.allen@douglasj.com
Peace Bransberger
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
3035 Center Green Drive, Suite 200
Boulder, CO 80301
Email: pbransberger@wiche.edu
Rachel Burns
State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO)
3035 Center Green Drive, #100
Boulder, CO 80301
Email: rburns@sheeo.org
Margaret Cahalan
Council for Opportunity in Education (COE)
1025 Vermont Avenue NW, 9th Floor
Washington, DC 20005
Email: margaret.cahalan@pellinstitute.org
Stephanie Cellini
George Washington University
805 21st Street, NW, Room 601M
Washington, DC 20052
Email: scellini@gwu.edu
Diane Cheng
Institute for Higher Education Policy
1825 K Street NW, Suite 720
Washington, DC 20006
Email: dcheng@ihep.org
Bryan Cook
Urban Institute
500 L'Enfant Plaza SW
Washington, DC 20024
Email: bcook@urban.org
William Doyle
Vanderbilt University
230 Appleton Place
Peabody #414
Nashville, TN 37203
Email: w.doyle@vanderbilt.edu
Charlotte Etier
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
1101 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 1100
Washington, DC 20036
Email: etierc@nasfaa.org
Shaun Williams-Wyche
Midwestern Higher Education Compact
105 Fifth Avenue, South, Suite 450
Minneapolis, MN 55401
Email: shaunw@mhec.org
Christine Keller
Association for Institutional Research
1983 Centre Pointe Blvd., #101
Tallahassee, FL 32308
Email: ckeller@airweb.org
Dawn Kenney
Office of Data Strategy
Central New Mexico Community College
525 Buena Vista SE, TM 208
Albuquerque, NM 87106
Email: dkenney@cnm.edu
Nicholas Kent
Career Education Colleges and Universities
1530 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1050
Arlington, VA 22209
Email: nicholas.kent@career.org
Jillian Kinzie
Center for Postsecondary Research
Indiana University School of Education
201 N. Rose Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405
Email: jikinzie@indiana.edu
Daniel Klasik
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
B 3500 Peabody Hall
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3500
Email: djklasik@unc.edu
Andrew Kwok
Texas A&M University
343 Bldg EDCT
College Station, TX 77843
Email: akwok@tamu.edu
Amy Li
College of Arts, Sciences, & Education
Florida International University
110 SW 112th Avenue
Miami, FL 33199
Email: amli@fiu.edu
Hironao Okahana
American Council on Education
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 1B
Washington, DC 20036
Email: hokahana@acenet.edu
Zeke Perez
Education Commission of the States
7 00 N Broadway, Suite 810
Denver, CO 80203
Email: zperez@ecs.org
Kent Phillippe
American Association of Community Colleges
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 410
Washington, DC 20036
Email: kphillippe@aacc.nche.edu
Sarah Pingel
National Center for Higher Education Management Systems
3035 Center Green Drive, Suite 150
Boulder, CO 80301
Email: sarah.pingel@nchems.org
Stephen Pruitt
Southern Regional Educational Board
592 10th St. N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30318
Email: stephen.pruitt@sreb.org
Jason Ramirez
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
1025 Connecticut Ave NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20036
Email: jason@naicu.edu
Deborah Santiago
Excelencia in Education
1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 1001
Washington, DC 20005
Email: dsantiago@EdExcelencia.org
Nicole Smith
Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce
3300 Whitehaven Street NW, Suite 5000
Washington, DC 20007
Email: nicole.smith@georgetown.edu
Omari Swinton
Howard Universtiy
Department of Economics
Academic Support Building “B”, Room 319
Washington, DC 20059
Email: oswinton@howard.edu
Marvin Titus
University of Maryland
Benjamin Building, 3209
College Park, MD 20742
Email: mtitus@umd.edu
Jeff Webster
Trellis Company
301 Sundance Pkwy.
Round Rock, TX 78681
Email: jeff.webster@trelliscompany.org
Amanda Winters
National Governors Association
444 N. Capitol, Suite 267
Washington, DC 20001
Email: awinters@nga.org
Enyu Zhou
Council of Graduate Schools
One Dupont Circle NW, Suite 230
Washington, DC 20036
Email: ezhou@cgs.nche.edu
Federal Panelists
Sharon Boivin
U. S. Department of Education
Office of the Chief Data Officer
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Email: sharon.a.boivin@omb.eop.gov
Ann Carson
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503
Email: Elizabeth_A_Carson@omb.eop.gov
Benjamin Collins
Congressional Research Service
101 Independence Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20540
Email: bcollins@crs.loc.gov
Neil Danberg
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503
Email: Neil_B._Danberg@omb.eop.gov
Catherine Derbes
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503
Email: Catherine_A_Derbes@omb.eop.gov
John Finamore
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 965
Arlington, CA 22230
Email: jfinamor@nsf.gov
Brian Fu
U. S. Department of Education, Policy and Program Studies Service
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Email: brian.fu@ed.gov
Jeffrey Groen
US Bureau of Labor Statistics
2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE, Suite 4945
Washington, DC 20212
Email: groen.jeffrey@bls.gov
Jordan Matsudaira
U. S. Department of Education
Office of the Under Secretary
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Email: jordan.matsudaira@ed.gov
Lynn Milan
National Science Foundation, NCSES
2415 Eisenhower Avenue
Alexandria, VA 22314
Email: lmilan@nsf.gov
John Mingus, Jr.
U.S. Government Accountability Office
441 G Street, NW
Washington, DC 20548
Email: MingusJ@gao.gov
Jagir Patel
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503
Email: jpatel@omb.eop.gov
Daniel Pollard
U.S. Department of Education, FSA
830 First Street NE
Washington, DC 20202
Email: daniel.pollard@ed.gov
Mark Prell
USDA, Economic Research Service
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20250
Email: mprell@ers.usda.gov
Venetia Richardson
US Department of Education, Office of Innovation and Improvement, Teacher Quality Program
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Email: Venitia.Richardson@ed.gov
Julian Schmoke
US Dept of Education, Federal Student Aid
830 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20005
Email: julian.schmoke@ed.gov
Beverly Pratt
Office of Management and Budget
725 17th Street NW
Washington, DC 20503
Email: beverly.m.pratt2@omb.eop.gov
Rich Williams
US Dept of Education, Office of Postsecondary Education
400 Maryland Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20202
Email: rich.williams@ed.gov
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
Aida Ali Akreyi
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Peggy Carr
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: peggy.carr@ed.gov
Chris Chapman
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: chris.chapman@ed.gov
Elise Christopher
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: elise.christopher@ed.gov
Carrie Clarady
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: Carrie.Clarady@ed.gov
Tracy Hunt-White
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: tracy.hunt-white@ed.gov
Tara Lawley
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: tara.lawley@ed.gov
Julia Merlin
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: julia.merlin@ed.gov
Gail Mulligan
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: gail.mulligan@ed.gov
David Richards
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: david.richards@ed.gov
Sean Simone
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP)
Washington, DC 20202
Email: sean.simone@ed.gov
Maura Spiegelman
U.S. Department of Education, NCES
550 12th Street SW
Potomac Center Plaza (PCP), Room 4035
Washington, DC 20202
Email: maura.spiegelman@ed.gov
RTI International
S. Austin Caperton
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: acaperton@rti.org
Jeff Franklin
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: jwf@rti.org
T. Austin Lacy
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: tlacy@rti.org
Emilia Peytcheva
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: epeytcheva@rti.org
Joshua Pretlow
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: jpretlow@rti.org
Peter Siegel
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: siegel@rti.org
Erin Thomsen
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: ethomsen@rti.org
Erin Velez
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: evelez@rti.org
Jamie Wescott
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: jwescott@rti.org
Ashley Wilson
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: awilson@rti.org
Jennifer Wine
RTI International
P.O. Box 12194
Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Email: jennifer@rti.org
Consultants
Eric Atchison
Arkansas State University System
501 Woodlane Drive
Suite 600
Little Rock, AR 72201
Email: eatchison@asusystem.edu
Vincent Castano
Fayetteville Technical Community College
2201 Hull Rd.
Administration Bldg, Room 167-C
Fayetteville, NC 28303
Email: castanov@faytechcc.edu
Anthony Jones
University of Utah
201 President’s Circle
Salt Lake City, UT 84112
Email: apjuga@gmail.com
Endorsements are being sought1 from the following organizations:
ACPA – College Student Educators International
American Association of Colleges & Universities
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers
American Association of Community Colleges
American Association of State Colleges and Universities
American Council on Education
Association for Institutional Research
Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities
Association of Public and Land-grant Universities
Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching
Career Education Colleges and Universities
The College Board
Council of Graduate Schools
Council of Independent Colleges
Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities
Midwestern Higher Education Compact
NASPA – Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education
National Association of College and University Business Officers
National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities
National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators
New England Board of Higher Education
Southern Regional Education Board
State Higher Education Executive Officers Association
United Negro College Fund
Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education
Linkages will be developed with existing data sources to supplement the 2023–24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:24). The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recognizes the great value added to NPSAS:24 with the addition of data from specific administrative sources. Many data elements can only be accurately obtained from sources other than the student. Postsecondary studies, including previous NPSAS, Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS), and Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B), have included file merges with many existing sources of valuable data, including the U.S. Department of Education’s Central Processing System (CPS) for Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) data, the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), the National Student Clearinghouse (NSC), ACT, the College Board (SAT), and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) data. For NPSAS:24, contractor and NCES staff plan to perform file merges with these same datasets.
As described in detail in Section A.10 of the Supporting Statement Part A, the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (34 CFR Part 99) allows the disclosure of information without prior consent for the purposes of NPSAS:24, according to 34 CFR §99.31.
As part of initial sampling activities, we will ask participating institutions to provide Social Security Numbers (SSNs) for all students on their enrollment lists. Having this initial list of student SSNs minimizes the time and burden on both the institution and the data collection contractor. If SSNs were provided only for those students selected, the institutions would have to provide an additional enrollment list as part of list collection. SSNs and all other sample member identifying information are protected using the security measures described in section A.10.
Secure Data Transfers. The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has set up a secure data transfer system (https://transfer.ies.ed.gov/) which uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology. The contractor will use this electronic system for submitting data to be matched. The data may contain potentially personally identifiable information (PII) such as SSNs, names, and dates of birth of sample members along with a special file match ID (different from the ID used in data collection, on interim data files, and the restricted-use data files).
Data will be received from the IES transfer system as well. At least one party of the transfer must be a registered user of the NCES Members Site, and their Members Site privileges must be set to allow use of the secure data transfer service as described above. The data collection contractor has such users. These privileges are set up and carefully controlled by IES’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO), a service designed by IES specifically for the secure transfer of electronic files containing PII (i.e., data protected under the Privacy Act or otherwise posing risk of disclosure). This service can be used for NCES-to-contractor, contractor-to-subcontractor, subcontractor-to-contractor, and contractor-to-other-agency data transfers. The party uploading the information onto the secure server at NCES is responsible for deleting the file(s) after the successful transfer has been confirmed. This process will be used for file matching procedures described below, except in instances when the vendor already has a secure data transfer system in place.
File merges will be performed by the contractor with the CPS data containing federal student aid application information. The merge with CPS will only occur for cases with an SSN that meets the criteria for validity. A file containing the SSN and the first two letters of the sample member’s last name (but no other information) will be electronically uploaded to the FAFSA secure website for matching. Access to the FAFSA data site is restricted to authorized users who are registered and provide identification/authentication information (ID, password, and token key). The file is retrieved by the CPS (FAFSA contractor data system) for linkage. The linked file, containing student aid applications for matched records, is then made available to the data collection contractor through a secure connection, which also requires ID, password, and token key. Files will be downloaded directly into the contractor’s Enhanced Security Network (ESN). All CPS files will be processed, edited, and documented for inclusion in the final restricted use file (RUF).
A file merge will be conducted with NSLDS to collect federal loan and Pell Grant data. The resulting file will contain cumulative amounts for each student’s entire postsecondary education enrollment. There are two methods for obtaining NSLDS data. One is an automated process developed specifically for NCES studies. A file containing SSNs, names, and dates of births are uploaded through the same secure connection discussed in section C.2 for CPS which requires ID, password, and token key. The results file is transmitted back to the study contractor using the same system. In the second process for obtaining NSLDS data, the study contractor uploads a file of SSNs via IES File Transfer System. The file merge is performed using custom SQL queries and matched files are downloaded through the same IES site.
NSC matching will be used for two purposes in NPSAS:24. In one case, it will be used to obtain the Student Tracker data on enrollment dates and degree completions for preloading to the student survey to reduce burden on respondents. During the field test, NSC data were used to test a new process for collecting enrollment list data for selected institutions. The contractor has an account with NSC which enables sending and receiving of files securely over encrypted FTPS connections. The file containing PII will be encrypted and then submitted to NSC using their secure FTP site. All files received by NSC will be securely stored using current industry standard tools that meet the U.S. federal encryption standard. Results files will be returned to the contractor through the same encrypted FTPS site. The contractor has a data use agreement in place with NSC for NPSAS:24.
To obtain valuable admissions test data, a file merge will be performed with ACT data by the data collection contractor. NPSAS has collected and utilized ACT data since NPSAS:96. Matching of students to ACT data uses PII to assist in performing confirmatory data quality checks. This process will be initiated by providing a file containing the sample member information then creating a password-protected, encrypted file and uploading the electronic file to the IES File Transfer System for download by ACT. ACT will process the data on their database and provide the matched data to IES File Transfer System for secure download. The contractor must establish a data use agreement (DUA) with the vendor prior to conducting this match.
To obtain SAT data, a file merge will be performed with the College Board by the data collection contractor. Matching of students to SAT data uses PII to assist in performing confirmatory data quality checks. This process will be initiated by providing a file containing the sample member information. The same procedures will be used as described in section C.5 for ACT linkage: creating a password-protected, encrypted file and uploading the electronic file to the IES File Transfer System for download by the College Board. The College Board will process the data on their database and provide the matched data to the IES File Transfer System for secure download. The study contractor must establish a DUA with the vendor prior to conducting this match.
To identify veterans and their federal Veteran’s education benefits, a file merge will be performed with VBA data, containing the military service records of all applicable sample members, so that variables pertaining to military service can be derived. The data obtained from the VBA also contain detailed information on veterans’ federal education benefit amounts, and the enrollment information associated with those benefits. Matching of sample members to VBA data uses PII to assist in performing confirmatory data quality checks. The data collection contractor will initiate this process by providing a file containing the sample member information. The same procedures will be used as described above for the ACT and SAT linkages: creating a password-protected, encrypted file, and uploading the electronic file onto IES’ File Transfer system for pick-up by the VBA. The VBA will process the data on their system and provide the matched data on the IES File Transfer system for secure download. In addition to the flag for sampling, full benefits information will be obtained for creating derived variables.
For the NPSAS:24 full-scale collection, the contractor will send files for matching. Files may need to be matched to a source more than once during the course of the full-scale study. All of the collected information 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). The data from all administrative sources, when allowed by the vendor and stripped of direct identifiers, will be delivered for inclusion on the RUF and will be used for creating derived variables. The derived variables will be available on DataLab’s PowerStats. Both direct-pull and derived variables will be documented thoroughly. Data will also be used for locating sample members, for panel maintenance and communications encouraging survey participation.
1 The majority of these organizations have confirmed endorsement of NPSAS:24. The list of endorsing organizations will be finalized prior to data collection and will include all organizations that have confirmed endorsement at that time.
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