[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 147 (Wednesday, August 2, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 50916-50917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-16401]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; Survey 
of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and Engineering

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 request for revision of the approved collection of research 
and development data in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 
1995. This is the second notice for public comment; the first was 
published in the Federal Register and no comments were received. NSF is 
forwarding the proposed renewal submission to the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) for clearance simultaneously with the publication of 
this second notice.

DATES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAmain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review--
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance 
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, 
Alexandria, VA 22314; or send email to [email protected]. Individuals 
who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the 
Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-

[[Page 50917]]

8339, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a 
year (including federal holidays).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 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.
    Title of Collection: Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates 
in Science and Engineering.
    OMB Control Number: 3145-0062.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: August 31, 2023.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend an information 
collection for three years.
    The Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and 
Engineering (GSS), sponsored by the NCSES within NSF and the National 
Institutes of Health, is designed to comply with legislative mandates 
by providing information on the characteristics of academic graduate 
enrollments in science, engineering, and health fields. This request to 
extend the information collection for three years is to cover the 2023, 
2024, and 2025 GSS survey cycles. The information collected by the GSS 
is solicited under the authority of the National Science Foundation Act 
of 1950, as amended and the America COMPETES Reauthorization Act of 
2010. Data collection starts each fall in October and data are obtained 
primarily through a Web survey. Data are disseminated annually. All 
information will be used for statistical purposes only. Participation 
in the survey is voluntary.
    To improve coverage of postdocs, the GSS periodically collects 
information on postdocs employed in Federally Funded Research and 
Development Centers (FFRDCs). This survey of postdocs at FFRDCs will be 
conducted as part of the 2023 and 2025 GSS survey cycles.
    Additional details regarding this survey are provided in an earlier 
Federal Register Notice, at 88 FR 10386.
    Use of the Information: The GSS data are routinely provided to 
Congress, other parts of NSF, other Federal agencies, the GSS 
institutions themselves, and several professional societies. In 
addition, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) publish GSS data 
annually in the NIH Data Book https://report.nih.gov/nihdatabook/.
    Expected Respondents: The GSS is an annual census of all eligible 
academic institutions in the U.S. with graduate programs in science, 
engineering, and health fields. The response rate is calculated based 
on the number of reporting units (departments, programs, research 
centers, and health care facilities) that respond to the survey. For 
reference, in 2021, the GSS population was 21,365 units reported from 
787 schools at 699 academic institutions. Based on recent cycles NCSES 
expects the annual response rate to be around 96 percent.
    Estimate of Burden: The total estimated respondent burden of the 
GSS, including 2,000 hours for potential methodological studies to 
improve the survey procedures, will be 60,367 hours over the three-
cycle survey clearance period. NCSES may review and revise this burden 
estimate based on completion time data collected during the 2022 GSS 
survey cycle, which is ongoing.

                 Table 1--GSS Estimated Response Burden
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                                            Respondents
                                            (number of     Total burden
                Category                      school          (hours)
                                           coordinators)
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Total burden for 2023:                               919          19,442
    GSS institutions....................             876          19,352
    FFRDCs..............................              43              90
Total burden for 2024...................             881          19,396
Total burden for 2025:                               929          19,529
    GSS institutions....................             886          19,439
    FFRDCs..............................              43              90
Potential future methodological studies   ..............           2,000
 (across all 3 survey cycles)...........
                                         -------------------------------
    Total estimated burden..............           2,729          60,367
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Estimated average annual burden.........             910          20,123
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    Comments: As required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), comments on the 
information collection activities as part of this study were solicited 
through publication of a 60-Day Notice in the Federal Register on 
February 17, 2023, at 88 FR 10386. NCSES received no comments.

    Dated: July 27, 2023.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2023-16401 Filed 8-1-23; 8:45 am]
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