[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16455-16456]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8247]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request

AGENCY: National Science Foundation.

ACTION: Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) has submitted the 
following information collection requirement to OMB for review and 
clearance under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, Public Law 104-13. 
This is the second notice; the first notice was published at 67 FR 4762 
and no comments were received. Comments regarding (a) whether the 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the agency, including whether the information will 
have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of 
burden including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; 
(c) ways to enhance the quality, utility and clarity of the information 
to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection 
of information

[[Page 16456]]

on those who are to respond, including through the use of appropriate 
automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection 
techniques or other forms of information technology should be addressed 
to: Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs of OMB, Attention: 
Desk Officer for National Science Foundation, 725--17th Street, NW. 
Room 10235, Washington, DC 20503, and to Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports 
Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, 
Suite 295, Arlington, Virginia 22230 or send email to [email protected]. 
Comments regarding these information collections are best assured of 
having their full effect if received within 30 days of this 
notification. Copies of the submission(s) may be obtained by calling 
703-292-7556.
    NSF may not conduct or sponsor a collection of information unless 
the collection of information displays a currently valid OMB control 
number and the agency informs potential persons who are to respond to 
the collection of information that such persons are not required to 
respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently 
valid OMB control number.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:   
    Title of Collection: Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates 
in Science and Engineering.
    OMB Approval Number: 3145-0062.
    Expiration Date of Approval: September 30, 2002.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend with revision an 
information collection for three years.

Proposed Project

    Graduate students in science, engineering, and health fields in 
U.S. colleges and universities, by source and mechanism of support and 
by demographic characteristics. An electronic/mail survey, the Survey 
of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering 
originated in 1966 and has been conducted annually since 1972. The 
survey is the academic graduate enrollment component of the NSF 
statistical program that seeks to ``provide a central clearinghouse for 
the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on the 
availability of, and the current and projected need for, scientific and 
technical resources in the United States, and to provide a source of 
information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal 
government'' as mandated in the National Science Foundation Act of 
1950.
    The proposed project will continue the current survey cycle for 
three to five years. The annual Fall surveys for 2002 through 2006 will 
survey the universe of approximately 725 reporting units at 
approximately 600 institutions offering accredited graduate programs in 
science, engineering, or health. The survey has provided continuity of 
statistics on graduate school enrollment and support for graduate 
students in all science & engineering (S&E) and health fields, with 
separate data requested on demographic characteristics (race/ethnicity 
and gender by full-time and part-time enrollment status). Statistics 
from the survey are published in NSF's annual publication series 
Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering, in NSF 
publications Science and Engineering Indicators, Women, Minorities, and 
Persons with Disabilities in Science and Engineering, and are available 
electronically on the World Wide Web.
    The survey will be sent primarily to the administrators at the 
Institutional Research Offices. To minimize burden, NSF instituted a 
Web-based survey in 1998 through which institutions can enter data 
directly or upload preformatted files. The Web-based survey includes a 
complete program for editing and trend checking and allows institutions 
to receive their previous year's data for comparison. Respondents will 
be encouraged to participate in this Web-based survey should they so 
wish. Traditional paper questionnaires will also be available, with 
editing and trend checking performed as part of the survey processing. 
Overall burden is expected to be reduced from 2002 to 2004 due to 
expanded use by institutions of the Web-based data collection system.
    In Fall 2000, the survey achieved a total response rate of 99.4 
percent for institutions and 99.0 percent for departments.

Estimate of Burden

    Burden estimates are as follows:

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                                                                       Total No. of                      Burden
                                                                       institutions     Departments      hours
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Fiscal year:
    1998...........................................................             722           11,718        1.83
    1999...........................................................             720           11,833        2.53
    2000...........................................................             717           11,899        2.42
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    Respondents: Individuals.
    Estimated Number of Responses: 11,899 (from the 2000 collection).
    Estimated Total Annual Burden on Respondents: 28,796 hours (from 
the 2000 collection).
    Frequency of Responses: Annually.

    Dated: April 1, 2002.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 02-8247 Filed 4-4-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7555-01-M