2023-24 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:24) & Postsecondary Longitudinal Studies   2

NCES postsecondary sample surveys are scheduled on regular intervals. Since 1987, NPSAS has been conducted every 3 to 4 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:20 serves as the base year for the 2020/25 Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS:20/25). This Performance Work Statement (PWS) continues the cycle with NPSAS:24 scheduled for the 2023-24 academic year, which would serve as the base year for the 2024/28 Baccalaureate and Beyond Longitudinal Study (B&B:24/28), should the optional task for that study be exercised.

In addition to NPSAS:24 and two data collections for the next B&B cohort, B&B:24/25 and B&B:24/28, this PWS provides for the 2025-26 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study, Administrative Collection (NPSAS:26-AC) and the ten-year follow-up of the 2015-16 cohort of B&B as optional tasks. In 2018, NCES piloted 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 survey like the standard 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. NPSAS:18-AC is the only administrative collection to date. The NPSAS:20 contract includes an Optional Task for NPSAS:22-AC to yield state-level estimates; however, NCES increased the sample for the NPSAS:20 data collection to yield state-level estimates instead.

Interested parties may submit clarification questions to Ms. Charlotte McCormack at Charlotte.McCormack@ed.gov with a courtesy copy to Mr. Kevin T. Wade at Kevin.Wade@ed.gov no later than 2:00 PM EST, Friday, October 22, 2021. All clarification questions received on or before this date will be responded to via Amendment to Sam.Gov. Any questions received after this date may not be answered. The RFP will close on at 2:00 PM EST, Monday, November 08, 2021. Any proposal received after this time will be deemed non-responsive and not evaluated.