[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 249 (Monday, December 30, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 71908]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-28134]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2019-ICCD-0162]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 2016/
20 Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B:16/20) Full-Scale Study

AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Department of 
Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a revision of an existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 28, 2020.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2019-ICCD-
0162. 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. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily 
accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the docket ID 
number and the title of the information collection request when 
requesting documents or submitting comments. 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 Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 
LBJ, Room 6W-208B, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela, 202-245-7377 or 
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: 2016/20 Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B:16/20) 
Full-Scale Study.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0926.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 34,682.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,435.
    Abstract: The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 
conducts the Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) studies. The B&B studies of 
the education, work, financial, and personal experiences of individuals 
who have completed a bachelor's degree at a given point in time are a 
series of longitudinal studies. Every 8 years, students are identified 
as bachelor's degree recipients through the National Postsecondary 
Student Aid Study (NPSAS). B&B:16/20 is the second follow-up of a panel 
of baccalaureate degree recipients identified in the 2015-16 NPSAS, and 
part of the fourth cohort (B&B:16) of the B&B series. NPSA:16 is the 
base year for B&B:16 follow-up interviews in 2017, 2020, and 2026 
(anticipated). B&B cohorts prior to B&B:16 were approved under OMB# 
1850-0729. The B&B:16 cohort is submitted and reviewed under OMB# 1850-
0926. The primary purposes of the B&B studies are to describe the post-
baccalaureate paths of new college graduates, with a focus on their 
experiences in the labor market and post-baccalaureate education, and 
their education-related debt. B&B also focuses on the continuing 
education paths of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics 
(STEM) graduates, as well as the experiences of those who have begun 
careers in education of students through the 12th grade. Since 
graduating from college in 2014-15 for the field test, and 2015-16 for 
the full-scale study, members of this B&B:16 cohort will begin moving 
into and out of the workforce, enrolling in additional undergraduate 
and graduate education, forming families, and repaying undergraduate 
education-related debt. Documenting these choices and pathways, along 
with individual, institutional, and employment characteristics that may 
be related to those choices, provides critical information on the costs 
and benefits of a bachelor's degree in today's workforce. B&B studies 
include both traditional-age and non-traditional-age college graduates, 
whose education options and choices often diverge considerably, and 
allow study of the paths taken by these different graduates. B&B:16/20 
panel maintenance activities were cleared in July 2019 and are 
currently scheduled to continue through February 2020. This request is 
for the full-scale study student interview data collection scheduled to 
take place from July 2020 through March 2021.

    Dated: December 23, 2019.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-28134 Filed 12-27-19; 8:45 am]
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