[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 202 (Tuesday, October 20, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63545-63546]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-26598]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2015-ICCD-0124]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) 2015-2016 
Pension Liabilities Update

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences (IES)/National Center of 
Education Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
chapter 3507(j)), ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget 
(OMB) to conduct an emergency review

[[Page 63546]]

of a revision of an existing information collection.

DATES: An emergency review has been requested in accordance with the 
Act (44 U.S.C. chapter 3507 (j)), due to an unanticipated event. 
Approval by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has been 
requested by November 20, 2015; therefore, comments are requested on or 
before November 10, 2015. A regular clearance process is also hereby 
being initiated. Interested persons are invited to submit comments on 
or before December 21, 2015.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://wwww.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2015-ICCD-
0124. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period 
will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Room 2E103, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela at 202-502-7411 
or by email [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System 
(IPEDS) 2015-2016 Pension Liabilities Update.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0582.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: State, local and tribal governments, 
Private Sector.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 71,867.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,050,870.
    Abstract: 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. IPEDS enables The National Center of Education 
Statistics (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, 
revenues and expenditures, faculty salaries, and staff employed. The 
IPEDS web-based data collection system was implemented in 2000-01, and 
it collects basic data from approximately 7,500 postsecondary 
institutions in the United States and the other jurisdictions that are 
eligible to participate in title IV Federal financial aid programs. All 
title IV institutions are required to respond to IPEDS (section 490 of 
the Higher Education Amendments of 1992; Pub. L. 102-325). IPEDS allows 
other (non-title IV) institutions to participate on a voluntary basis. 
About 200 institutions elect to respond. IPEDS data are available to 
the public through the College Navigator and IPEDS Web sites.
    Additional Information: ED is requesting emergency processing due 
to an unanticipated event. The Government Accounting Standards Board 
(GASB) changed the reporting standards for pensions such that unfunded 
pension liabilities are now included in the financial statements (GASB 
Standard 68). In the initial reporting year (2015), institutions will 
report the total amount of accrued pension liabilities. This will 
result in a dramatic increase in reported expenses for the 2015 year. 
In subsequent years, reporting will show only the incremental increase 
in unfunded pension liabilities. The approximately 2,000 public 
institutions using GASB accounting standards that have ever 
participated in pension systems will be particularly affected by this 
change in reporting standards when the IPEDS collection opens on 
December 9, 2015. To accommodate this change, NCES proposes to add to 
the IPEDS Finance survey a new screening question and three new fields 
related to the unfunded pension liabilities to allow the affected 
institutions to provide information that will allow NCES to correctly 
calculate cost per Full-Time Enrolled Student for these institutions. 
This addition is expected to increase IPEDS reporting burden for 
approximately 2,000 Public GASB institutions by an average of 30 
minutes. ED requests approval of this emergency request by November 20, 
2015.

    Dated: October 15, 2015.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer (OCPO), Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-26598 Filed 10-19-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P