Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Proposed Data Collection: Comment Request Comments Requested by September 17, 1996

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION

Directorate for Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences

Proposed Data Collection: Comment Request Comments Requested by

September 17, 1996

In compliance with the requirement of Section 3506(c)(2)(A) of the

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 for opportunity for public comment on

proposed data collection projects, the National Science Foundation

(NSF) will publish periodic summaries of proposed projects. To request

more information on the proposed project or to obtain a copy of the

data collection plans and instruments, call the NSF Clearance Officer

on (703) 306-1243.

[[Page 38229]]

Comments are invited on (a) Whether the proposed collection of

information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of

the agency, including whether the information shall have practical

utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency's estimate of the burden of the

proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality,

utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways

to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents,

including through the use of automated collection techniques or other

forms of information technology.

Proposed Project: Graduate students in science, engineering, and

health fields in U.S. colleges and universities, by source and

mechanism of support and by demographic characteristics--A mail survey,

the Survey of Graduate Students and Postdoctorates in Science and

Engineering originated in 1966 and has been conducted annually since

1972. The survey is the academic graduate enrollment component of the

NSF statistical program that seeks to ``provide a central clearinghouse

for the collection, interpretation, and analysis of data on the

availability of, and the current and projected need for, scientific and

technical resources in the United States, and to provide a source of

information for policy formulation by other agencies of the Federal

government'' as mandated in the National Science Foundation Act of

1950. The proposed project will continue the current survey cycle for

three to five years. The annual Fall surveys for 1996 through 2000 will

survey the universe of approximately 725 institutions offering

accredited graduate programs in science, engineering, or health. The

survey has provided continuity of statistics on graduate school

enrollment and support for graduate students in all science &

engineering (S&E) and health fields, with separate date requested on

demographic characteristics (race/ethnicity and gender by full-time and

part-time enrollment status). Statistics from the survey are published

in NSF's annual publication series Academic Science and Engineering

Graduates, in NSF publications Science and Engineering Indicators,

Women, Minorities, and Persons with Disabilities in Science and

Engineering, and are available electronically on the World Wide Web.

The survey will be mailed primarily to the administrators at the

Institutional Research Offices. To minimize burden, the NSF is

exploring possibilities for using an automatic survey questionnaire

(ASQ) diskette, on which institutions would receive their previous

year's data and a complete program for editing and trend checking.

Respondents will be encouraged to participate in these initiatives

should they so wish. Traditional paper questionnaires will also be

available, with editing and trend checking performed as part of the

survey processing.

In Fall 1994, the survey achieved a total response rate of 98.9%

for institutions and 96.0% for departments.

Burden estimates are as follows:

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Total No. of Burden

institutions Departments hours

------------------------------------------------------------------------

FY 1992............................. 727 10,981 1.76

FY 1993............................. 725 11,134 1.80

FY 1994............................. 724 11,411 1.97

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Send comments to Herman Fleming, Clearance Officer, National

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 485, Arlington, VA

22230. Written comments should be received by September 17, 1996.

Dated: June 17, 1996.

Herman G. Fleming,

NSF Clearance Officer.

[FR Doc. 96-18560 Filed 7-22-96; 8:45 am]

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