82 FR 20321 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; 2016-17 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B: 16/17) Main Study

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 82 (May 1, 2017)

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

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 82 (Monday, May 1, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 20321-20322]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-08739]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2017-ICCD-0058]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; 2016-17 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B: 16/
17) Main Study

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

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 
May 31, 2017.

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-2017-ICCD-
0058. 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 224-82, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact NCES Information Collections at 
[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: 2016-17 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal 
Study (B&B: 16/17) Main 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: 22,481.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 9,812.
    Abstract: This request is for the National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES) to conduct the 2016/17 Baccalaureate and Beyond 
Longitudinal Study (B&B:16/17). 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:16/17 is the first 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. 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

[[Page 20322]]

choices often diverge considerably, and allow study of the paths taken 
by these different graduates. B&B:16/17 main study data collection is 
scheduled to take place from July 2017 through March 2018.

    Dated: April 26, 2017.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2017-08739 Filed 4-28-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P