Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Shaping the Future of Loan Repayment
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a new information collection request (ICR).
Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education (ED).
ACTION:
Notice.
SUMMARY:
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a new information collection request (ICR).
DATES:
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before September 9, 2026.
ADDRESSES:
Written comments and recommendations for proposed information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of publication of this notice. Click on this link
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain
to access the site. Find this information collection request (ICR) by selecting “Department of Education” under “Currently Under Review,” then check the “Only Show ICR for Public Comment” checkbox.
Reginfo.gov
provides two links to view documents related to this information collection request. Information collection forms and instructions may be found by clicking on the “View Information Collection (IC) List” link. Supporting statements and other supporting documentation may be found by clicking on the “View Supporting Statement and Other Documents” link.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Matt Soldner, 202-453-7441.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
The Department 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:
Shaping the Future of Loan Repayment.
OMB Control Number:
1850-NEW.
Type of Review:
A new ICR.
Respondents/Affected Public:
Individuals and Households
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses:
60.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours:
30.
Abstract:
The National Center for Education Evaluation (NCEE) at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) within the U.S. Department of Education (ED) requests clearance from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct new data collection activities for the Shaping the Future of Loan Repayment: Participation and Repayment Progress in Federal Student Loan Plans study.
Little information exists on what borrowers understand about how repayment plan features such as longer repayment period, forgiveness, a payment cap, an interest subsidy, or income-driven monthly payment, affect aspects of repayment and how borrowers may prioritize these different plan features. Improving the borrower repayment experience requires understanding how borrowers choose repayment plans, including their understanding of available options, comprehension of plan features and how those features affect their ability to pay back their loans, and the priorities that guide their decisions. In this study, ED seeks to understand which borrowers do and do not enroll in IDR plans, why they do so, how long they stay in their plans, their repayment behaviors, and other household finance and life course outcomes, as feasible.
The 60-day
Federal Register
notice was published on March 19, 2026, Vol. 91., No. 53 page 13297. Four comments were received on the study's recruitment and proposed data collection plan. No comments expressed opposition to or concerns about the proposed data collection. Broadly, commenters emphasized the importance of acknowledging broader factors in the framing for the study and highlighted the need to account for the diversity of borrowers and their complex repayment experiences in sampling, recruitment, and interview methods. After reviewing the public comments, the study team revised selected measures of household financial circumstances in the interview protocol. No changes are recommended to the IDR sampling plan, recruitment strategy, data collection plan, or the analytic focus.
This request covers telephone/virtual interviews with federal student loan borrowers in repayment. This is the first and only request for the collection of data for this study.
Ross Santy,
Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy Development.
Use this for formal legal and research references to the published document.
91 FR 51472
Web Citation
Suggested Web Citation
Use this when citing the archival web version of the document.
“Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; Shaping the Future of Loan Repayment,” thefederalregister.org (August 10, 2026), https://thefederalregister.org/documents/2026-16223/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-for-review-and-approval-comme.
www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain