[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 171 (Wednesday, September 4, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71938-71939]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-19850]


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NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION


Agency Information Collection Activities: Comment Request; 
National Survey of College Graduates

AGENCY: National Science Foundation, National Center for Science and 
Engineering Statistics.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The National Science Foundation (NSF) is announcing plans to 
renew this collection. In accordance with the requirements of the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, we are providing opportunity for 
public comment on this action. After obtaining and considering public 
comment, NSF will prepare the submission requesting Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) clearance of this collection for no longer 
than 3 years.

DATES: Written comments on this notice must be received by November 4, 
2024 to be assured consideration. Comments received after that date 
will be considered to the extent practicable. Send comments to the 
address below.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance 
Officer, National Science Foundation, 2415 Eisenhower Avenue, Suite 
E6300, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; telephone (703) 292-7556; 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 1-800-877-8339, which is accessible 24 hours a day, 7 
days a week, 365 days a year (including Federal holidays).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Title of Collection: 2023 National Survey of College Graduates.
    OMB Control Number: 3145-0141.
    Expiration Date of Current Approval: April 30, 2025.
    Type of Request: Intent to seek approval to extend an information 
collection for three years.
    Abstract: Established within NSF by the America COMPETES 
Reauthorization Act of 2010 Sec.  505, codified in the National Science 
Foundation Act of 1950, as amended, the National Center for Science and 
Engineering Statistics (NCSES) serves as a central Federal 
clearinghouse for the collection, interpretation, analysis, and 
dissemination of objective data on science, engineering, technology, 
and research and development for use by practitioners, researchers, 
policymakers, and the public.
    The National Survey of College Graduates (NSCG) is designed to 
comply with these mandates by providing information on the supply and 
utilization of the nation's scientists and engineers. The purpose of 
the NSCG is to collect data that will be used to provide national 
estimates on the size, composition such as demographics, fields of 
degree and veteran's status, and activities such as work activities, 
work-related training, professional conference attendance of the 
science and engineering workforce and changes in their employment, 
education, and demographic characteristics (for example, race and 
ethnicity, citizenship, gender, age, disability status, place of 
birth). The NSCG has been conducted biennially since the 1970s. The 
2025 NSCG sample will be selected from the 2023 American Community 
Survey (ACS) and the 2023 NSCG. By selecting the sample from these two 
sources, the 2025 NSCG will provide coverage of the college graduate 
population residing in the United States.
    The U.S. Census Bureau, as the agency responsible for the ACS, will 
serve as the NSCG data collection contractor for NCSES. The survey data 
collection is expected to begin in March 2025 and continue for 
approximately six months. Data will be collected using web and mail 
questionnaires. The individual's response to the survey is voluntary. 
The survey will be conducted in conformance with Census Bureau 
statistical quality standards and, as such, the NSCG data will be 
afforded confidentiality protection under the applicable Census Bureau 
confidentiality statutes.
    Use of the Information: NSF uses the information from the NSCG to 
prepare congressionally mandated reports such as Diversity and STEM: 
Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities (https://www.nsf.gov/statistics/women/) and Science and Engineering Indicators (https://ncses.nsf.gov/indicators), both of which are available online. A public 
release file of collected data, designed to protect respondent 
confidentiality, will be made available on the internet and will be 
accessible through an online data tool (https://ncsesdata.nsf.gov/ids/
).
    Expected Respondents: A statistical sample of approximately 161,000 
individuals (103,000 returning sample members and 58,000 new sample 
members) will be contacted in 2025, using the ACS as the sampling frame 
in the rotating panel design. Under the rotating panel design, the 2025 
NSCG production sample will include 161,000 sample cases which 
comprises:
    1. Returning sample from the 2023 NSCG (originally selected from 
the 2017 ACS);
    2. Returning sample from the 2023 NSCG (originally selected from 
the 2019 ACS);
    3. Returning sample from the 2023 NSCG (originally selected from 
the 2021 ACS); and
    4. New sample selected from the 2023 ACS
    Based on recent survey cycles, NCSES expects the overall response 
rate to be 60-65 percent.
    Estimate of Burden: The amount of time to complete the 
questionnaire may vary depending on an individual's educational 
history, employment status, and past response to the NSCG. The time to 
complete the 2023 NSCG web survey ranged from 19.6 minutes on average 
for the returning sample members to 26.3 minutes on average for the new 
members, and approximately 91% of respondents completed the survey by 
using the web mode. Among respondents who completed the survey using 
Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing (CATI) and Telephone 
Questionnaire Assistance (TQA) modes, in which sample members contacted 
Census's call center and took the survey over the phone, their 
interview times ranged from 33.6 minutes for returning sample members 
to 44.3 minutes for new sample members, and less than 2% of respondents 
completed the NSCG questionnaire by using the telephone mode. It was 
estimated that all forms of the 2023 NSCG paper questionnaire took 30 
minutes to complete, and about 7% of respondents completed the paper 
form. Although the 2023 NSCG include a CATI mode, this mode is proposed 
to be discontinued in the 2025 NSCG due to increasing costs, reduced 
budget and low response in the 2023 cycle. TQA staff will take incoming 
interviews.
    Based on the 2023 cycle's survey completion times, it is estimated 
that it will take approximately 23 minutes, on average, to complete the 
2025 NSCG questionnaire. This takes into account the proposed removal 
of CATI and the continuation of TQA. This estimate also takes into 
account the continuation of

[[Page 71939]]

web and paper modes. The estimated response burden has been adjusted by 
proportionally allocating the number of CATI cases in the previous year 
to mail, web, and TQA cases in the previous year. NSF estimates that 
the average annual burden for the 2025 survey cycle over the course of 
the three-year OMB clearance period will be no more than 13,372 hours 
[(161,000 individuals x 65% response rate x 23 minutes)/3 years].
    Comments: Comments are invited on (a) whether the proposed 
collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of 
the functions of the NSF, including whether the information shall have 
practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the NSF's estimate of the burden 
of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the 
quality, use, and clarity of the information on respondents, including 
through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of 
information technology; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the 
collection of information 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.

    Dated: August 29, 2024.
Suzanne H. Plimpton,
Reports Clearance Officer, National Science Foundation.
[FR Doc. 2024-19850 Filed 9-3-24; 8:45 am]
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