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

This is a presolicitation notice. If any vendor has a question or comment regarding the attached Draft Performance Work Statement (PWS), please e-mail to the references above. The Government will only accept questions or comments by e-mail.

The United States Department of Education (hereafter, Department), Institute of Education Sciences (IES), National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), has a requirement for a series of studies, based on student interviews and administrative records, to comply with the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. These studies are designed to describe: (1) how students and their families finance postsecondary education and (2) students' persistence, attainment, and workforce outcomes. They include the following:

• 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 requirements under the anticipated contract are to:

(1) Develop and implement a plan to field a study in the 2019-20 academic year of how postsecondary education students finance postsecondary education that is nationally-representative for both graduate and undergraduate students;

(2) Conduct student interviews and collect administrative records for the 2019-20 cohort of the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS) with follow-up interviews three and six years after starting postsecondary education;

(3) Develop and implement a plan to field a study in the 2021-22 academic year of how postsecondary education students finance postsecondary education that is nationally-representative for both graduate and undergraduate students, and state-representative in select sectors (for undergraduate students only);

(4) Maintain and enhance the data portal that automates data extractions from postsecondary institutions and reduces burden;

(5) Respond to and track internal and external user data requests pertaining to NCES studies;

(6) Convert old data sets to a new file format; and

(7) Provide data and information as necessary to administer the contract, meet the NCES study requirements, and/or the Department's accountability requirements.

The Department anticipates the release of the "2019-20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS 2016) & Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies" solicitation no later than December 2017. The anticipated period of performance for a cost-reimbursement contract will be 120-months.