NPSAS20_-_Draft_PWS_v21.pdf

ATTACHMENT A

i

DRAFT

PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study

(NPSAS:20) & Postsecondary Surveys ii

Contents

I. Introduction

II. Background

III. Legislative Authority

IV. Period of Performance

V. Contract Type

VI. Definitions

VII. Quality Control

VIII. NCES Statistical Standards and Tabular Guidelines

IX. Confidentiality

X. Scope of Work

BASE TASKS ................................................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

Task 1: Project Management

Task 2: Meetings, Travel, and Technical Review Panels

Task 3: 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20)

Task 4: Statistical Data Support for Postsecondary Studies

Optional Tasks

Optional Task 5: 2020/22 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:20/22)

Optional Task 6: 2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:20/25)

Optional Task 7: Postsecondary Data Portal

Optional Task 8: 2021-22 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:22-

AC)

Optional Task 9: Restricted-use file Electronic Codebook Conversion

Optional Task 10: BPS Postsecondary Education Transcript Study

Optional Task 11: National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Administrative Follow-up to

Secondary/Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies

Optional Task 12: State representative samples in NPSAS:20 using administrative data

Optional Task 13: Contract closeout and transition

XI. Deliverable Specifications

Appendix A: Data Confidentiality, Data Security Plan, Affidavit of Nondisclosure, and Quality Control

Confidentiality of Individuals and Institutions

Data Security Plan

Affidavit of Nondisclosure

Quality Control Measures

Property of Information Technology Programming or Source Code iii

Use of Institutional Review Boards

Appendix B: Contractor Employee Security Screening Requirements

Appendix C: Sample IT Reporting Monthly Report

Appendix D: External Review of NPSAS

Appendix E: Sample Publications

Appendix F: Publication Tip Sheets

Appendix G: Estimated Turnaround Times for Publication Deliverables

Appendix H: Sample Reviewer Template

Appendix I: Authorship Credit Form

Appendix J: NewsFlash Form

Appendix K: Sample Web Posting Template iv

The following abbreviations are used in this Performance Work Statement (PWS):

B&B – Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study

BPS – Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study

CATI – Computer Assisted Telephone Interview

CAPI – Computer Assisted Personal Interview

CCM – College Course Map

CIP – Classification of Instructional Programs

CO – Contracting Officer

COR – Contract Officer’s Representative

DRB – Disclosure Review Board e-QIP - Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing eDAT – Education Data Analysis Tool

FSA – Office of Federal Student Aid

HSLS – High School Longitudinal Study

IRB – Institution Review Board

IPP – Invoicing Payment Platform

IES – Institute of Education Sciences

LSB – Longitudinal Surveys Branch

MDS – Meta Data System

NCER – National Center for Education Research

NCES – National Center for Education Statistics

NISS – National Institute for Statistical Sciences

NPEC-S – National Postsecondary Education Cooperative-Sample Surveys

NPSAS – National Postsecondary Student Aid Study

NPSAS-AC – National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative

Collection

NSLDS – National Student Loan Data System

OMB – Office of Management and Budget

PDP – Postsecondary Data Portal Website (used to collect date from postsecondary institutions)

PEDSS – Postsecondary Education Data System Support

PII – Personally Identifiable Information

PUF – Public-Use Data File

RIMS – Regulatory Information Management Services

RUF – Restricted-Use Data File v

RUD – Restricted-Use Data

SSD – Sample Surveys Division

SSDCP – Statistical Standards and Data Confidentiality Program

TRP – Technical Review Panel

WebVTS – Web variable tracking system

DRAFT PERFORMANCE WORK STATEMENT

2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20)

& Postsecondary Surveys

I. INTRODUCTION

The United States (U.S.) Department of Education (the Department), National Center for

Education Statistics (NCES) has a requirement for a series of studies to comply with the Higher

Education Act of 1965, as amended. These studies, which include student interviews and administrative records, are designed to describe (1) how students and their families finance postsecondary education and (2) students’ persistence, attainment, and workforce outcomes.

They include:

National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (http://nces.ed.gov/npsas);

Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b); and

Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/bps).

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is a cross-sectional survey study that provides information about the costs of postsecondary education and how students and their families pay for these costs. NPSAS is based on a nationally representative sample of undergraduate and graduate students attending all types of postsecondary institutions. The

National Postsecondary Student Aid Study serves two purposes:

1. Primarily, to examine how students and their families pay for college.

2. Secondarily, to examine the characteristics of students enrolled in all levels of postsecondary education that cannot be measured in the Integrated Postsecondary

Education Data System (e.g., remedial course taking, distance education, enrollment intensity, etc.).

Historically, NPSAS has served as the base-year data collection for the Baccalaureate and

Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B) and the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal

Study (BPS) in alternating administrations. The purpose of the B&B is to collect data on students’ education and work experiences after they complete a bachelor’s degree. The purpose of BPS is to track students’ pathways through postsecondary education, helping to answer questions related to undergraduates’ persistence and attainment outcomes.

II. BACKGROUND

NCES postsecondary sample surveys are scheduled on regular intervals. Since 1987, NPSAS has been conducted every three to four years with each administration serving as the base year for one of the two longitudinal studies (B&B and BPS) in alternating data collection years as shown in Figure 1. In the preceding NPSAS contract, NPSAS:16 serves as the base year for the 2016/26

Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study. This Performance Work Statement (PWS) http://nces.ed.gov/npsas http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/bps continues the cycle with NPSAS:20 scheduled for the 2019-20 academic year, which will serve as the base year for the 2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study

(BPS:20/25).

In addition to NPSAS:20 and BPS:20/25, the PWS provides for the 2021-22 National

Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:22-AC). Beginning in

2018, NCES added a new data collection to improve the timeliness of financial aid estimates and to include state-representative estimates. The NPSAS Administrative Collection (NPSAS-AC) includes the collection of student records from postsecondary institutions and the Department’s databases; it does not include a student interview like the prior NPSAS collections. NPSAS-AC was added to provide financial aid estimates on a 2-year cycle, when combined with the existing

NPSAS study, instead of 4-year cycle. The NPSAS Administrative Collection will be conducted on alternating cycles with NPSAS.

Figure 1: Postsecondary Sample Survey Data Collections

NPSAS:87

NPSAS:90 BPS:90/92 BPS:90/94

NPSAS:93 B&B:93/94 B&B:93/97 B&B:93/03

NPSAS:96 BPS:96/98 BPS:96/01

NPSAS:00 B&B:00/01

NPSAS:04 BPS:04/06 BPS:04/09

NPSAS:08 B&B:08/09 B&B:08/12 B&B:08/18*

NPSAS:12 BPS:12/14 BPS:12/17*

NPSAS:16 B&B:16/17 B&B:16/20* B&B:16/26*

NPSAS:18-AC*

NPSAS:20* BPS:20/22* BPS:20/25*

NPSAS:22-AC*

* Planned and/or budgeted

III. LEGISLATIVE AUTHORITY

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Institute of Education Sciences

(IES), within the Department, conducts this study in compliance with the mandate stated in the

Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, (Public Law [P.L.] 107-279, Title I, Part C), which requires NCES to “collect, report, analyze, and disseminate statistical data related to education in the United States and in other nations.” The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended in the

Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008, 20 U.S.C. § 1015a, also requires NCES to conduct a student aid recipient survey at least once every four years.

Additionally, Section 154 (c) of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, (Public Law [P.L.]

107-279, Title I, Part C) provides the Commissioner for Education Statistics with the authority to renew a contract beyond five years. Specifically, “Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements under this section may be awarded, on a competitive basis, for a period of not more than five years, and may be renewed at the discretion of the Statistics Commissioner for an additional period of not more than five years.”

IV. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE

The period of performance for this contract is 60 months with an option renewal period of up to an additional 60 months.

V. CONTRACT TYPE

All tasks and Subtasks in this contract are designated as cost-reimbursement.

VI. DEFINITIONS

The following definitions are used in this Performance Work Statement:

Longitudinal follow-up – a cohort derived from a subsample of the NPSAS study with a subsequent interview at a later time period. For the purposes of this PWS, "longitudinal follow-up" refers to first-time beginning students in a BPS OR graduating seniors in a

B&B study OR any other longitudinal study where NPSAS serves as the base-year.

Minimum acceptable response rate – the percent of the institutions or students in the sample that participate in the study. It also includes item-level response or the percent of respondents who respond to a questionnaire item (or for administrative data, a valid match from an administrative database). The calculation of response rates must be consistent with NCES Statistical Standards and Tabular Guidelines

(http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/). The response rates are as follows and assume a two-staged sampling design (some of these exceed the guidelines in the Statistical Standards):

80 percent participation (both list and student records collections) of postsecondary institutions (with no stratum below 70 percent) for a NPSAS study, 70 percent response rate for the student interview of a NPSAS study (if applicable), 75 percent response rate for the student interview of a longitudinal follow-up study, 95 percent participation (both list and student records collections) of postsecondary institutions (with no stratum below 85 percent) for a NPSAS study if NPSAS becomes compulsory for postsecondary institutions), and

90 percent item response rate (or valid match to an administrative database).

http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/

Nationally representative sample – a sample drawn from the U.S. population in the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia such that the individuals sampled are collectively similar to those in the national population and key estimates for each stratum have relative standard errors (RSEs) less than 10 percent. For the purposes of this PWS, the following institutional sectors shall comprise the major strata for a nationally representative sample:

Public 4-year doctorate

Public 4-year nondoctorate

Public 2-year

Public less-than-2-year

Private nonprofit 4-year doctorate

Private nonprofit 4-year nondoctorate

Private nonprofit less-than-4-year

Private for-profit 4-year

Private for-profit 2-year

Private for-profit less-than-2-year

State-representative sample – a sample drawn from each state population of the 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia such that the individuals sampled are collectively similar to those in the state population and key estimates for each stratum have relative standard errors (RSEs) less than 10 percent for 90 percent of the states. For the purposes of this PWS, the following institutional sectors shall comprise the major strata within each state (provided that the state has institutions in each of these sectors):

Public 4-year

Public 2-year

Other sectors (so analysts can obtain state-level estimates)

VII. QUALITY CONTROL

NCES is firmly committed to determining how well each project meets 1) the project goals, 2) the quality of data collected, and 3) implications for future projects. Project quality control should be integrated into every phase of the project. For instance, potential problems should be identified early so that possible solutions are tested as part of the field test. Item reliability and validity tests for questionnaires must be built into the data collection efforts, non-response analyses should be conducted as part of the final weighting process, and survey methodology and sample design effects should be documented for use by all data users. Thus, as in other NCES projects, statistical quality control shall be incorporated into each stage of this project as appropriate. As part of quality control, the contractor shall also anticipate and plan for problems related to confidentiality and protection of data (including the transmittal of confidential data).

In addition, deliverables must be submitted on time and be of sufficient quality (in terms of accuracy, coherence, clarity, and comprehensiveness) to meet NCES statistical standards, professional standards, and NCES and IES style guidelines. NCES expects that only minor changes to drafts will be needed for products to become final deliverables. Deliverables must be delivered in electronic format to the contracting officer’s representative (COR) in Microsoft

Word or Microsoft Word-compatible format, unless prior approval for a different format is received from the COR.

VIII. NCES STATISTICAL STANDARDS AND TABULAR GUIDELINES

NCES standards set guidelines to ensure the quality of NCES surveys, data, data products, and statistics. All work conducted under this contract must, at minimum, meet the standards and guidelines set forth in the most currently available statistical standards (from 2012 at the time of the writing of this PWS) and guidelines for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and as amended by standards implemented since that time. The NCES Standards can be accessed at http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/. Publication style guidelines for IES products shall also be followed. The guidelines can be accessed at http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/style.asp.

IX. CONFIDENTIALITY

Appendix A provides a guide to issues of confidentiality.

X. SCOPE OF WORK

The contractor shall provide all personnel, materials, services, and facilities necessary for the project and perform the tasks as described below. The scope of this contract includes NPSAS, BPS, B&B, and NCES surveys that cover postsecondary education, and may include work to answer questions about past studies or maintain datasets from past studies. The main tasks include:

Task 1: Project Management

Task 2: Meetings, Travel, and Technical Review Panels

Task 3: 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study

Task 4: Statistical Data Support for Postsecondary Studies

Optional Task 5: 2020/22 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study

Optional Task 6: 2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study

Optional Task 7: Postsecondary Data Portal

Optional Task 8: 2021-22 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study-AC

Optional Task 9: Restricted-Use File Electronic Codebook Conversion

Optional Task 10: BPS:20/25 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study

Optional Task 11: National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Administrative

Follow-up to Secondary/Postsecondary Studies http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/style.asp

Optional Task 12: State representative samples in NPSAS:20 using administrative data

Optional Task 13: Contract transition and closeout

The estimated years covering the period of performance for the tasks in the Performance Work

Statement are displayed in Table 1:

Table 1: Period of performance for the major tasks in the NPSAS:20 contract by year.

Years

Study or Activity 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Task 1: Project Management X X X X X X X X X X

Task 2: Meetings, Travel, and Technical Review Panels X X X X X X X X X X

Task 3: 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study X X X X X

Task 4: Statistical Data Support for Postsecondary Studies X X X X X X X X X X

Optional Task 5: 2020/22 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal

Study X X X X X

Optional Task 6: 2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal

Study X X X X X

Optional Task 7: Postsecondary Data Portal X X X X X

Optional Task 8: 2021-22 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study-AC X X X X

Optional Task 9: Restricted-Use File Electronic Codebook Conversion X X X X X

Optional Task 10: BPS:20/25 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study X X X X X

Optional Task 11: NSLDS Administrative Follow-up to Studies X X X

Optional Task 12: State representative samples in NPSAS:20 using administrative data X X X X X

Optional Task 13: Contract transition and closeout X

The following studies use similar Subtasks:

Task 3 (2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study), Optional Task 5 (2020/22 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study), Optional Task 6 (2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study), Optional Task 8 (2021-22 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study-AC), Optional Task 10 (BPS:20/25 Postsecondary Education Transcript Study), and

Optional Task 11 (NSLDS Administrative Follow-up to Studies).

These Subtasks are first described under Task 3 and are then referenced in future tasks to avoid repetition. Table 2 summarizes these repeated Subtasks. The table indicates which tasks are included (designated by the letter “I”), which are amended in the description of the task

(designated by the letter “A”), and which are excluded and not applicable (designated by the abbreviation “N/A”).

Table 2: Subtasks for all sample survey tasks.

Task 3

Optional

Task 5

Optional

Task 6

Optional

Task 8

Optional

Task 10

Optional

Task 11

Sub-task # Subtask Description NPSAS:20 BPS:20/22 BPS:20/25

NPSAS:22-

AC

BPS-

PETS NSLDS

3.1 Study design and testing

3.1.1 Research and development I I I N/A N/A N/A

3.1.2 Field test sampling I I I N/A I N/A

3.1.3 OMB forms clearance I I I N/A I N/A

3.1.4 Instrument design and testing I I I A N/A N/A

3.1.5 Training I I I A A N/A

3.1.6 Develop and deploy websites for field test data

collection I I I A A N/A

3.1.7 Field test data collection - Student list collection I N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

3.1.8 Field test data collection - Student questionnaire and interview

I I I N/A N/A N/A

3.1.9 Field test respondent Incentives I I I N/A N/A N/A

3.1.10 Field test data collection - Student records

collections I N/A N/A N/A A N/A

3.1.11 Field test data collection - Administrative records and data processing

I I I N/A N/A N/A

3.1.12 Field test methodology memo I I I N/A I N/A

3.2 Full-scale data collection

3.2.1 Full-scale sampling I I I I I N/A

3.2.2 Full-scale OMB forms clearance I I I I I N/A

3.2.3 Develop and deploy website for full-scale data collection

I I I A A N/A

3.2.4 Full-scale data collection - Student list collection I N/A N/A I N/A N/A

3.2.5 Full-scale data collection - Student questionnaire

and interview I I I N/A N/A N/A

3.2.6 Full-scale respondent incentives I I I N/A N/A N/A

3.2.7 Full-scale data collection - Student records

collection I A A I A N/A

3.2.8 Full-scale data collection – Administrative records and data processing

I I I I N/A A

3.2.9

Nonresponse bias analysis and weight adjustments, and imputing missing variable values

I I I I I I

3.2.10 Develop and implement a plan to prevent data

disclosure I I I I I I

3.3 Publication production

3.3.1 Analysis prospectus I I I I I I

3.3.2 Preliminary draft manuscript for Concept

Review I I I I I I

3.3.3 Draft Manuscript I I I I I I

3.3.4 Page layout and formatting (Pre-508 compliant document)

I I I I I I

3.3.5 Report pre-release quality control I I I I I I

3.3.6 Final Manuscript for Secretary

Announcement/Review (Pre-508 compliant document)

3.3.7 Page layout and formatting (Post-508 compliant

document)

3.4 Data file products

3.4.1 Web-based analysis tools I I I I I A

3.4.2 Restricted- and Public-Use data files I I I I I A

I = Included

A = Amended version of the Subtask as described in the task

N/A = Not applicable to the study

If it is later learned by the contractor, expert reviewers from a Technical Review Panel, or the findings from field tests that any of the specifications for the studies are not feasible, either technically or due to cost, the contractor may propose other study designs after clearly articulating a rationale for doing so in the Sampling Plan as long as it is consistent with the proposed budget.

BASE TASKS

Task 1: Project Management

The contractor shall manage all the data collections in an efficient manner that fosters communications with study staff, the NCES Contracting Officer's Representative (COR), and potential users of the data.

Subtask 1.1: Monthly reports and schedules

Monthly Reports

The contractor shall report monthly on the progress made in accomplishing the project tasks, the consumption of funds, problems encountered, and the plans for next month. Although monthly reports shall be used to document problems encountered in addition to proposed solutions, the contractor shall not wait to communicate problems to the COR in the monthly report. The contractor shall inform the COR of challenges being faced on a flow basis as challenges arise. The monthly report shall be due on the same day each month (or next business day if the date occurs on a weekend or Federal holiday) and at least one business day prior to submitting the invoice. The contractor shall submit monthly reports by electronic transmission. The monthly report, invoice, and supporting documentation shall cover the previous month’s activities, for both the contractor and subcontractor(s). The report shall include the following components for each task:

The progress on each task and activity relative to the schedule and a discussion of discrepancies;

Accomplishments associated with each task and activity for the month;

Problems that have been resolved or are in need of resolution;

A discussion of the work to be performed during the next monthly reporting period;

Earned Value Management (EVM) report;

Progress toward small business goals;

The number of hours expended by all contractor and subcontractor staff by person;

Brief description of the work performed by each subcontractor during the month;

Funding expended by major category, including staff, travel, consultant, subcontractors, and other costs, including obligated costs of subcontractors; and

Expected future technical and budgetary problems and proposed solutions to these.

Schedules

Due to the uncertainties of large data collection projects, the contractor shall develop and maintain a general schedule for all activities of the project. The schedule(s) for each Subtask shall be updated monthly and include a detailed schedule for the upcoming 3-month period.

Recognizing the “dynamic” nature of project activities, the contractor will discuss possible delays and changes in project activities affecting the schedule of deliverables. Changes in the schedule of project activities are approved by the COR and must be subsequently documented in the monthly report.

Deliverable #1: Monthly Progress and Financial Report and Project Schedules

Subtask 1.2: Data security and data security plan

The contractor shall develop and maintain a security plan that details the security and confidentiality measures that shall guide the operation of this contract. The plan should include the components addressed in Appendix A including materials necessary for the

Department’s Certification and Accreditation (C&A) or Security Authorization (SA) process.

Once accepted by NCES, the contractor shall execute the provisions of the plan.

The contractor shall submit confidentiality reports that have three parts. Part 1 shall be a list of all project staff that will have access to pre-released restricted data or sensitive personally identifiable information (PII). Part 2 shall be a completed (signed and notarized) set of NCES

Affidavits of Nondisclosure for all project staff listed (in part 1). The contractor should refer to Appendix A for other confidentiality requirements. Part 3 shall be a summary of staff members who are in the Electronic Questionnaires for Investigations Processing (e-QIP) clearance process. See Appendix A for more information about the e-QIP process. Materials for C&A/SA processes may be delivered under separate cover.

Each NCES Affidavit of Nondisclosure shall be completed before allowing access to pre-released or restricted data or sensitive PII. The contractor shall hold original copies, deliverable upon request from NCES, and shall provide NCES pdf versions of the affidavits on a monthly flow basis or as requested. If staff do not have a clearance for access to restricted data issued through the e-QIP system, staff shall apply for clearance before they access restricted data. Please note that part of the data security requirements include provisions that staff with access to personally identifiable information have clearances in place upon assignment to the contract or very soon thereafter. Contractors will not be paid for work carried out by staff members who are required to have clearances but who have not met requirements to obtain them by the time invoices are submitted. Data collection systems shall not be used until the C&A/SA process is completed.

Deliverable #2: Confidentiality reports, including affidavits of nondisclosure; Data security plan

Subtask 1.3: Major Information Technology (IT) data reporting

The contractor shall manage necessary reporting for the Department of Education's IT investments (both hardware, software, and service) related to this contract. The contractor will develop and execute an IT management plan to address:

Management processes

Requirements documentation, execution, testing, and implementation (e.g. a

Requirements Traceability Matrix)

Cost and schedule management

Quality management

Risk management

Performance management

Operational analysis

Security & privacy

The contractor shall respond to requests for monitoring the IT project assessment program within this contract, set goals in the above areas, and develop corresponding measures to track progress in improving the Department's IT investment related to this contract. See the following links for more information about Department requirements for IT Program

Assessment :

OMB Circular A-130

(https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A130/a130revi sed.pdf) and

OMB Memorandum M-15-14 (https://management.cio.gov/implementation/).

Appendix C includes a sample monthly IT spending tracking report. The reporting requirements have changed yearly and may require adapting to changing circumstances.

Monthly IT reports shall be included as a section in the monthly progress reports (see

Deliverable #2).

Deliverable #3: Monthly IT reporting, Log of Information Request, and the Annual

Assessment

Subtask 1.4: Document repository

The contractor shall develop and maintain an electronic document repository to allow

Department staff to monitor all projects and activities within the contract and to foster communications with the COR and survey staff, as needed. The contractor shall update the repository and routinely produce information about the project (including all optional tasks) including project schedules, minutes for all meetings, contact information for project staff, organization charts, instruments, testing protocols, quality control procedures, training materials, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) documents/materials, Technical Review

Panel documents/materials, daily data collection reports (during data collections), invoices, IT cost reporting, and all deliverables (without sensitive personally identifiable or respondent information). The contractor shall provide access to this information to the survey staff, the

CO, and the COR on an on-going, as-needed basis. The contractor shall provide examples of reports from the proposed Document Repository in advance.

https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A130/a130revised.pdf https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/omb/circulars/A130/a130revised.pdf https://management.cio.gov/implementation/

Deliverable #4: Document Repository

Task 2: Meetings, Travel, and Technical Review Panels

Subtask 2.1: Initial meeting with Department staff

Within one week after contract award (or the applicable optional task), the contractor's project director and other key project staff as identified in the proposal shall meet with the NCES

Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) and other Department staff in Washington, D.C.

to review the overall contract tasks and to discuss issues relating to the proposed project staffing plan and other management requirements. The purpose of this meeting is to refine the management, staffing, and overall scheduling plan contained in the contractor's technical proposal. These refinements will not alter the specifications or the design of the contract, but will provide management information for use by the contractor and the Department in monitoring the work to be performed. The content and format of the monthly progress reports will be discussed.

The contractor shall submit a summary of the meeting and a revised detailed project management plan, based on the contractor’s proposed management plan and the understandings reached at the meeting, detailing the organization chart, staffing plan, schedule, budget control procedures, personnel and task coordination procedures, quality control procedures, and procedures for protecting survey data.

Deliverable #5: Summary of initial meeting/Expanded project management plan

Subtask 2.2: Technical Review Panels

To obtain peer review of project plans and products and to foster communications with potential users of the data, the contractor shall establish Technical Review Panels (TRPs) for the NPSAS, B&B, BPS, and related studies, if exercised. The meetings shall be held in the

Washington, DC Metropolitan area at a location convenient to the Department and easily accessible by public transportation.

The contractor shall coordinate with the Department’s Conference and Policy Operations

Office and the COR to plan the meeting.

The TRPs shall work with the contractor to improve plans, products, and user-friendliness of resulting data products; the TRPs, however, do not report to or advise the Department. Based on discussions at these meetings, the contractor shall propose a sample design of institutions and another sample design of individual students within institutions. These designs shall yield results to determine strategies for sampling to provide reliable estimates on student-level characteristics and, if applicable, allow for the selection of a sample for a longitudinal study.

Technical review panel meetings may be convened on any topic related to postsecondary or secondary sample studies related to this contract (including predecessor studies).

The contractor shall coordinate two two-day TRP meetings for the following studies

(meetings below may be re-purposed for any topic within the scope of this contract):

NPSAS:20 – 65 panelist (30 non-local and 35 local with not more than 15 federal members);

NPSAS:22-AC – 35 panelists (20 non-local members and 15 local with not more than eight (8) federal members);

BPS:20/22 – 35 panelists (20 non-local members and 15 local with not more than eight (8) federal members);

BPS:20/25 – 35 panelists (20 non-local members and 15 local with not more than eight (8) federal members); and

BPS Postsecondary Education Transcript Study – 35 panelists (20 non-local members and 15 local with not more than eight (8) federal members).

For each TRP that is scheduled, the contractor shall

Select the federal and non-federal members for the TRP to provide consultation and coordination for the study (The contractor shall consult with the COR in selecting TRP members);

Prepare, for COR approval, letters of invitation to join the TRP;

Establish a schedule, for COR approval, to inform the TRP of the progress of the project;

Prepare and upon approval of the COR, disseminate all materials required for TRP consideration and review (i.e., pre-meeting information packets and meeting materials), and secure the Panel's advice;

Prepare the agenda and the presentations to facilitate the discussion at the panel, with the review and approval of the COR.

Select a meeting location in a federally owned/leased space (or other location if approved by the Department’s Conference and Policy Operations Office clearance process) and provide for all audio-visual, room set-up, and meeting supplies;

Arrange meeting logistics including registration, the rental of push-to-talk microphones, projectors, and other audio/visual or physical materials if necessary

(Department policy requires the use of the Department’s space first, but the contractor may request a waiver from using federal space should no space meet specifications required for the TRP);

Arrange hotel and transportation arrangements for out-of-town panelists, coordinate the process for reimbursement, and secure necessary approvals and/or letters of intent/contracts (any contracts need to be approved in advance by the

Department’s Conference and Policy Operations Office clearance process);

Complete all written justifications, to be submitted for clearance review to the

Department’s Conference and Policy Operations Office clearance process;

Complete all necessary pre-security screening requests to allow panelists to access federal spaces (which may include submitting background information about each panelist for background checks);

If approved by the Department’s Conference and Policy Operation’s Office clearance process, arrange for food and beverage (without approval, no food or beverages shall be provided – all food and beverage costs must be incurred by the non-federal participants through the Meals and Expenses per diem only);

Provide on-site staff support at the TRP meeting to register panelists, conduct presentations, record minutes, and coordinate Department staff to manage the logistics of the meeting.

The contractor shall prepare meeting minutes and post them to the Document Repository within 20 business days of the meeting.

Deliverable #6: Technical Review Panel meeting minutes and materials

Subtask 2.3: On-site reviews at the Department

The contractor shall convene six on-site reviews including Department staff, contractors, subcontractors, and a subset of any Technical Review Panel members (up to 25 contractors, subcontractors, federal staff, and non-federal members) to allow for more focused discussion of sample design, survey design, instrumentation, state representation, and other survey methodology aspects of the postsecondary data collections in this contract. As needed, experts in a particular area may be invited to participate as well. Non-federal, non-contractor staff shall only participate in these meetings remotely via conference call or teleconference unless travel is approved by the Department’s Conference Services and Policy Operations Office clearance process. Meetings may cover topics addressing any NCES postsecondary study or a similar topic.

The contractor will consult with the COR in selecting members for the on-site meetings. All meetings will be held in the Washington, DC metropolitan area, or at a location convenient to the Department and easily accessible by public transportation. Pre-meeting information packets, including agendas and materials to be discussed, will be posted to the Document

Repository for the Department’s review three (3) weeks before each meeting. The contractor shall compile a list of follow-up activities as well as meeting minutes within three (3) weeks of the meeting.

Deliverable #7: Mini-technical review meeting minutes and materials (for each meeting)

Subtask 2.4: Travel, hotel, meals and lodging for contractor and subcontractor staff and consultants

The contractor shall provide for contractor personnel to be on-site during the Technical

Review Panels or on-site reviews at or near the Department.

Deliverable #8: Meeting and travel expense report appended to monthly report (for each meeting)

Subtask 2.5: Travel, hotel, meals and lodging for Technical Review Panel panelists

The contractor shall provide for travel to panelists to attend the Technical Review Panels or on-site reviews at or near the Department.

Deliverable #9: Meeting and travel expense report appended to monthly report (for each meeting)

Subtask 2.6: Honoraria

The contractor shall provide non-federal, non-contractor panelists with an honorarium of at least $500 per person per day. No contractor, subcontractor, or consultant staff paid under this contract shall receive an honoraria.

Deliverable #10: Meeting and travel expense report appended to monthly report (for each meeting)

Task 3: 2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20)

The contractor shall develop all systems for data collection, prepare materials for the Office of

Management and Budget (OMB) forms clearance, train staff in the methods of data collection, test all data collection systems, and report on the quality of the data collection systems in a field test (or equivalent).

The contractor shall improve the data collection using information from the field test (or equivalent) in the full-scale data collection and provide for a Restricted-Use Data File, a Public

Use Data File, and supporting publications.

The contractor shall provide data files that meet the following objectives:

1) Precision of National Financial aid estimates. Accurate estimation of percentage distribution and mean/median estimates within each stratum meeting the precision requirements described to meet a Nationally representative sample for the following measures:

Percentage of students applying for Federal Financial Aid

Total aid amount and percent with aid

Total grant amount and percent with grants

Total Federal loan amount and percent with Federal loans

Total Pell grant amount and percent with Pell grants

Total Federal grant amount and percent with Federal grants

Total State aid amount and percent with State aid

Total Institution aid amount and the percent with Institution aid

Dependency status

Income

Attendance Intensity

Attendance Pattern

2) Trends. The trends for key national estimates must be maintained as well as the estimates presented in previous studies on the TrendStats website (see https://nces.ed.gov/datalab).

3) Longitudinal study. The contractor shall maintain the ability to conduct future follow-up interviews with students, if applicable.

4) Quality control. Quality control and analyses of sampling coverage and quality must be incorporated into sampling procedures and evaluation plans.

The contractor shall provide a sampling plan in which the relative standard errors (RSEs) are comparable to or less than those obtained in prior studies.

In addition, the total dollars for Pell and Stafford loans shall be less than 10 percent and the average amounts received are within two (2) standard errors of the Department’s program totals. Otherwise, the contractor shall perform post-stratification weight adjustments.

Subtask 3.1: Study design and testing

Subtask 3.1.1: Research and development

The contractor shall design and propose a research and development program to prepare for the full-scale data collection based upon feedback from the COR, Department Staff, the academic literature, experts in the field, the National Postsecondary Education

Cooperative-Sample Surveys (NPEC-S), the National Institute for Statistical Sciences

(NISS), and/or technical review panels. Studies may include experiments, mode-effect studies, concordance analysis, instrument testing and design, sampling, or any other research activity that may contribute to reducing total error and bias in the collected data.

Deliverable #11: Internal Research and Development Report

Subtask 3.1.2: Field test sampling

For studies that require two-stage sampling, the contractor shall select an institutional sample (if applicable) from an NCES supplied postsecondary education institution file of institutions participating in the Department of Education’s Title IV financial aid programs. The contractor shall develop a field test sample design for the selection of institutions that specifies the rationale for the selected approach. The contractor is also required to develop a sample design for the full-scale study under Subtask 3.2.1. To the extent possible, the contractor shall select non-overlapping samples of institutions for the field test and for the full-scale study. In developing the sampling plans, the contractor shall take into account other data collections in the field and propose ways to reduce institutional burden.

The contractor shall design a field test sample to meet the data collection objectives proposed for the study. The contractor shall propose a sample to accommodate the experiments and/or procedures the contractor is proposing. Field test samples shall not be less than 300 institutions and/or 3,500 sampled students with an estimated yield of 2,000 interviews.

The field test sample shall be nationally representative, but the contractor is not required to meet the relative standard error requirement for the field test. State-representative samples are not required in field tests. The contractor shall note that legislation does not require Title IV postsecondary education institutions to participate.

The contractor shall test procedures to ensure the attainment of the minimum acceptable response rate from institutions and student interviews (for studies with a student interview). The contractor shall propose reimbursement to institutions for participating in the study, i.e., providing student lists and student-level data for sampled students.

Deliverable #12: Field test sampling specifications and final field test sample

Subtask 3.1.3: OMB forms clearance

For any data collection or intervention (e.g., pilot tests, cognitive interviews, structured interviews, focus groups, speak-alouds, etc.) involving 10 or more respondents (students or institutions), the contractor shall prepare the OMB Forms Clearance Package separately for the cognitive testing, student list collection from institutions (i.e., collecting lists of students enrolled at sampled institutions), and the field test data collection from students, institutions, and outside sources such as the federal government

(e.g., interviews with students and financial aid data from institutions and the federal government). Each package shall request clearance for the field test collection and a waiver of the 60-day Federal Register notice for the full-scale collection (note that this

Subtask involves an iterative process and, at minimum, will require three revisions). If the contractor proposes not to conduct a field test, the contractor shall allow for additional time for the OMB full-scale package approval. The contractor shall be prepared to develop a formal change memo for submission to OMB in the event that changes are needed to the plans and/or protocols for the cognitive interviews, field test sampling, or field test data collection after the respective clearance package is approved by OMB.

Deliverable #13: OMB Forms Clearance Package(s) and change memos

Subtask 3.1.4: Instrument design and testing

The contractor shall use a variety of techniques (e.g., pilot tests, cognitive interviews, structured interviews, focus groups, speak-alouds, etc.) to test data collection instruments and to test techniques that will significantly reduce bias of key estimates.

Deliverable #14: Instrument testing results memo

Subtask 3.1.5: Training

The contractor shall develop training materials for the data collection staff.

Deliverable #15: Training materials

Subtask 3.1.6: Develop and deploy websites for field test data collection

The contractor shall develop and maintain a website on NCES’s website

(http://surveys.nces.ed.gov). The website shall describe the study, including the study’s purpose, frequently asked questions, and the protection of confidentiality of information http://surveys.nces.ed.gov/ obtained. The website also will provide links to data collection instruments. The data collection instruments shall present respondents with screens of questions to be completed, with the software guiding the respondent through the survey. Inapplicable questions shall be skipped automatically based on prior response. On-screen clarification and help text shall be available for all items. The instrument also shall provide real-time error checking for inconsistent or out-of-range responses and shall minimize the potential for inadvertently skipped items. The website shall accommodate Computer Assisted

Telephone Interviews (CATI). The contractor shall employ technology that would allow the COR to monitor field test telephone interviews remotely in real time and through stored recordings of the telephone interviews.

For studies with student records collections from postsecondary institutions, the contractor shall develop contacting materials to refer institutions to the Postsecondary

Data Portal (PDP) website during the data collection window for the student records. The contractor shall update the website with content that shall describe the study, including the study’s purpose, frequently asked questions, instruction materials for uploading data, and the protection of confidentiality of information obtained (including information from the Federal Education Privacy Rights Act (FERPA) allowing for the release of data for this study).

Deliverable #16: Field-test data collection website

Subtask 3.1.7: Field test data collection – Student list collection

The contractor shall maintain a call center to assist potential respondents in completing student lists. The contractor shall obtain a list of all students from sampled postsecondary institutions so students may be sampled using the Department’s Postsecondary Data

Portal (PDP) website.

Deliverable #17: Production reports-Field test student list and final list of students

Subtask 3.1.8: Field test data collection – Student questionnaire and interview

The contractor shall maintain a call center to assist potential respondents in completing the survey instrument. The contractor may propose multiple methods for data collection including computer assisted telephone interviews (CATI), computer assisted personal interviews (CAPI), interviews through the web, mobile devices, text, or other technologies.

In support of this Subtask, the contractor shall develop a set of contacting materials including letters requesting participation in the study, reminder letters/postcards, and thank you letters/postcards.

The contractor shall re-collect data from 800 field test sample respondents for reliability testing. The contractor shall develop and execute a plan for locating and tracing difficult-to-reach respondents.

Deliverable #18: Production reports-field test student interview and student interview data files

Subtask 3.1.9: Field test respondent incentives

The contractor shall include respondent incentives consistent with OMB Guidance (see

PMC Survey Guidance 2006). The use of incentives shall be justified and approved in advance in the OMB Forms Clearance Package. Incentives shall be deployed to reduce non-response bias or other sources of survey error.

Deliverable #19: Production reports-field test incentives

Subtask 3.1.10: Field test data collection – student records collection

The contractor shall send the list of sampled students to the Postsecondary Data Portal

(PDP) website according the file specifications provided by the Department. The PDP provides for a standardized administrative data collection from postsecondary institutions. At minimum the contractor shall provide either a social security number OR an institution identification (ID) number OR name, birthdate, and address for institutions to match to, depending on the availability of the data. Using the PDP website as a platform, the contractor shall contact institutions to request student records data.

In support of this task, the contractor shall develop a set of contacting materials. At a minimum, the contractor shall develop a study brochure, an initial letter requesting participation in the study (the initial letter is typically sent to the president or chief operating officer), several reminder letters, and thank you letters. In addition, the contractor shall develop a set of instructions to institutions regarding the requirements for the data collections from institutions. The contractor shall seek endorsements education organizations and agencies. The contractor shall develop and be prepared to provide institution review board exemption letters to institutions that request IRB review before agreeing to participate in the NPSAS.

Deliverable #20: Production reports-field test student records and student records data files

Subtask 3.1.11: Field test data collection – Administrative records and data processing

The contractor shall merge student-level data with administrative records. This field test

Subtask shall be designed to test the procedures used in the full-scale study. The contractor shall match to the following databases:

The Department’s Central Processing System to obtain student-level information from the student financial aid application and reduce reporting burden on sampled institutions (the Department will provide the contractor access to the system to extract records from the database).

The Department's National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) files to collect student-level Pell grant and federal loan data (these files contain more than 60 million records) needed for award amounts for the current award year and cumulative amounts throughout the student’s…