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EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: 1840-0827 v.6 Revised: 6/17/2013

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

A. Justification 

1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any

legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a hard copy of the 

appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of 

information, or you may provide a valid URL link or paste the applicable section1. Specify the 

review type of the collection (new, revision, extension, reinstatement with change, reinstatement 

without change). If revised, briefly specify the changes. If a rulemaking is involved, make note 

of the sections or changed sections, if applicable.

The purpose of this submission is to extend the previously approved collection for the Equity in 

Athletics Disclosure Act (EADA), found in section 485 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 

(HEA), as amended. The statute (20 U.S.C. 1092(e)), and its implementing regulations (34 CFR 

668.41 and 34 CFR 668.47) require coeducational institutions that participate in the Title IV, 

HEA federal student aid programs and that have an intercollegiate athletic program to annually 

prepare a report on athletic participation, staffing, revenue and expenditures by gender, and by 

men’s and women’s teams. An institution must make the report available to students, potential 

students, and the public upon request. An institution must also report the data to the Department 

of Education and the Department makes the information publicly available on its website.

In response to public comment, we have revised the User’s Guide and the data collection to 

instruct institutions with an opposite player on a men’s or women’s team to clarify in the caveat 

box how many participants on that team are males and how many are females. In addition, we 

have clarified on the landing page for the Data Analysis Cutting Tool, in the User's Guide, and 

on the survey log-in page that the data reflected on these sites may not be the same as data used 

for determining compliance with other Federal or state laws, including Title IX of the Education 

Amendments of 1972. 

2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new 

collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the 

current collection.

The information in the EADA report is used by prospective student-athletes to help them choose 

a postsecondary institution. Prospective and current students and the public also use the 

 

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EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: 1840-0827 v.6 Revised: 6/17/2013

information to assess an institution’s commitment to and progress toward gender equity in

intercollegiate athletics.

3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of 

automated, electronic, mechanical, or other technological collection techniques or forms of 

information technology, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the 

decision of adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration given to using 

technology to reduce burden.

The information collection is conducted via a web-based application (the EADA Survey). 

Institutions are required to submit their information electronically using the EADA survey. Data 

submitted online are migrated to the Office of Postsecondary Education’s 

(OPE’s) public dissemination website at http://ope.ed.gov/athletics for anyone to view. The 

EADA Survey has been conducted electronically since collection year 2001. 

Institutions must also disclose the report to current and prospective students and the public. 

Institutions are encouraged to use appropriate information technologies to reduce their burden. 

For instance, in the preamble to the final rules (60 Fed Reg 61426 (1995)), the Department 

explicitly noted that institutions may opt to make the information available by electronic means.

4. Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information 

already available cannot be used or modified for use for the purposes described in Item 2 above.

There is some overlap between these requirements and those with which an institution must 

comply pursuant to its Program Participation Agreement (PPA) in 34 CFR 668.14, but there is 

no duplication in the data collected. Under those regulations, an institution entering into a PPA 

with the department must agree that, if the institution is coeducational and has an intercollegiate 

athletic program, it will comply with the provisions in 34 CFR 668.48.

5. If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities, describe any

methods used to minimize burden. A small entity may be (1) a small business which is deemed 

to be one that is independently owned and operated and that is not dominant in its field of 

operation; (2) a small organization that is any not-for-profit enterprise that is independently

owned and operated and is not dominant in its field; or (3) a small government jurisdiction, 

which is a government of a city, county, town, township, school district, or special district with a 

population of less than 50,000.

These requirements have no impact on small businesses or other entities. 

6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not 

conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing 

burden.

Per statute, the information must be collected and disclosed annually.
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EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: 1840-0827 v.6 Revised: 6/17/2013

7. Explain any special circumstances that would cause an information collection to be conducted 

in a manner:

 requiring respondents to report information to the agency more often than quarterly;

 requiring respondents to prepare a written response to a collection of information in 

fewer than 30 days after receipt of it;

 requiring respondents to submit more than an original and two copies of any document;

 requiring respondents to retain records, other than health, medical, government contract, 

grant-in-aid, or tax records for more than three years;

 in connection with a statistical survey, that is not designed to produce valid and reliable 

results than can be generalized to the universe of study;

 requiring the use of a statistical data classification that has not been reviewed and 

approved by OMB;

 that includes a pledge of confidentiality that is not supported by authority established in 

statute or regulation, that is not supported by disclosure and data security policies that are 

consistent with the pledge, or that unnecessarily impedes sharing of data with other 

agencies for compatible confidential use; or

 requiring respondents to submit proprietary trade secrets, or other confidential 

information unless the agency can demonstrate that it has instituted procedures to protect 

the information’s confidentiality to the extent permitted by law.

This information collection requires no special circumstances.

8. As applicable, state that the Department has published the 60 and 30 Federal Register notices 

as required by 5 CFR 1320.8(d), soliciting comments on the information collection prior to 

submission to OMB. Summarize public comments received in response to that notice and 

describe actions taken by the agency in response to these comments. Specifically address 

comments received on cost and hour burden.

Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the 

availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instruction and record keeping, 

disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or 

reported.

Consultation with representatives of those from whom information is to be obtained or those 

who must compile records should occur at least once every 3 years – even if the collection of 
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EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: 1840-0827 v.6 Revised: 6/17/2013

information activity is the same as in prior periods. There may be circumstances that may

preclude consultation in a specific situation. These circumstances should be explained.

The appropriate Federal Register notices were published soliciting public comments. The 

Department received approximately 1,450 comments from the public on this data collection. The 

majority of the comments (roughly 1,400) were duplicate letters that stressed the importance of 

the continued collection and requested changes to clarify the data. Specifically, these 

commenters recommended that the Department 1) require institutions to report the race and 

ethnicity of their student populations and athletic participants in order to reveal any differences 

among subgroups and 2) change the definition of a “participant” so that opposite sex players, 

such as male practice players on a women’s team, do not count. In response to the commenters’ 

first recommendation, we noted that the HEA currently provides us only the authority to collect 

data by gender and not by race and ethnicity. Accordingly, we did not make this change. With 

regards to the second comment, we noted that we would need to conduct a negotiated 

rulemaking process to change the definition of “participant” in the way the commenters suggest. 

However, we have revised the User’s Guide and collection instrument to instruct institutions to 

use the existing Caveat Box to specify how many participants on each team were males and how 

many were females.

We received only a handful of comments on the cost and hour burden associated with this 

collection. Four commenters believed that the estimates were low, however, one of the 

commenters noted that for the subset of schools that also complete the National Collegiate 

Athletics Association’s (NCAA) data collection, the burden would be shared. Several 

commenters urged the Department to explore ways to merge the EADA data collection with the 

NCAA’s data collection. In response to these comments, we explained that our estimated average 

takes into account the diversity of the institutions required to complete an EADA report, in terms 

of the size of their athletic programs and their administrative capacities. We further noted that

we have received very few comments indicating that our estimate is inaccurate since the 

collection began. As the information collected has not changed substantively in several years, 

we do not believe that a significant increase in the burden estimate is warranted. As far as 

comments related to the NCAA collection, we noted that the HEA does not provide a waiver for 

institutions participating in an athletic association or conference to use that data in lieu of the 

EADA report. 

In addition to these comments, we received comments on the timing of the survey, the utility and 

need for the EADA data collection, on the interaction of the survey with Title IX of the Education 

Amendments of 1972, and other items.

Please see the attached excel file for a complete summary of the comments received. 

9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration 

of contractors or grantees with meaningful justification.

There are no payments or gifts to respondents.
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EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: 1840-0827 v.6 Revised: 6/17/2013

10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the 

assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy. If personally identifiable information (PII) is 

being collected, a Privacy Act statement should be included on the instrument. Please provide a 

citation for the Systems of Record Notice and the date a Privacy Impact Assessment was 

completed as indicated on the IC Data Form. A confidentiality statement with a legal citation that 

authorizes the pledge of confidentiality should be provided.2If the collection is subject to the 

Privacy Act, the Privacy Act statement is deemed sufficient with respect to confidentiality. If 

there is no expectation of confidentiality, simply state that the Department makes no pledge 

about the confidentially of the data.

The EADA and regulations require an institution to disclose the average salaries of head and 

assistant coaches of men and women’s teams. There are a very small number of co-ed teams. 

Requiring institutions to report separate averages for coaches of co-ed teams might effectively 

require the institution to disclose an individual’s salary. To avoid this, the Department allows 

institutions to include the average salaries of coaches of co-ed teams as a pro-rated portion of 

the average salaries of coaches of men’s and women’s teams (60 Fed Reg 61432 (1995)).

11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual 

behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private. 

The justification should include the reasons why the agency considers the questions necessary, 

the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from 

whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.

These requirements contain no questions of a sensitive nature.

12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information. The statement should:

 Indicate the number of respondents by affected public type (federal government, 

individuals or households, private sector – businesses or other for-profit, private 

sector – not-for-profit institutions, farms, state, local or tribal governments), 

frequency of response, annual hour burden, and an explanation of how the burden was 

estimated, including identification of burden type: recordkeeping, reporting or third 

party disclosure. All narrative should be included in item 12. Unless directed to do 

so, agencies should not conduct special surveys to obtain information on which to 

base hour burden estimates. Consultation with a sample (fewer than 10) of potential 

respondents is desirable. If the hour burden on respondents is expected to vary widely 

because of differences in activity, size, or complexity, show the range of estimated 

hour burden, and explain the reasons for the variance. Generally, estimates should 

not include burden hours for customary and usual business practices.

 

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Requests for this information are in accordance with the following ED and OMB policies: Privacy Act of 1974, 

OMB Circular A-108 – Privacy Act Implementation – Guidelines and Responsibilities, OMB Circular A-130 

Appendix I – Federal Agency Responsibilities for Maintaining Records About Individuals, OMB M-03-22 – OMB 

Guidance for Implementing the Privacy Provisions of the E-Government Act of 2002, OMB M-06-15 –

Safeguarding Personally Identifiable Information, OM:6-104 – Privacy Act of 1974 (Collection, Use and Protection 

of Personally Identifiable Information)
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EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: 1840-0827 v.6 Revised: 6/17/2013

 If this request for approval covers more than one form, provide separate hour burden 

estimates for each form and aggregate the hour burdens in the ROCIS IC Burden 

Analysis Table. (The table should at minimum include Respondent types, IC activity, 

Respondent and Responses, Hours/Response, and Total Hours)

 Provide estimates of annualized cost to respondents of the hour burdens for 

collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories. 

The cost of contracting out or paying outside parties for information collection 

activities should not be included here. Instead, this cost should be included in Item 

14.

These requirements apply to institutions that participate in a title IV, HEA program AND have 

an intercollegiate athletic program. 2068 institutions reported data in the 2011 collection cycle, 

and 2074 institutions reported data in the 2012 collection cycle. We do not anticipate that this 

number will grow substantially in the coming years. 

The annual reporting burden is 5.5 hours per respondent. Therefore, the total overall annual 

burden is 11,407 hours (5.5 hours per respondent X 2074 respondents). 

The annual cost per respondent is $110.00 (5.5 hours X $20.00 per hour). The total annual cost 

for all respondents is $228,140 (2074 respondents X $110.00).

13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers 

resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown 

in Items 12 and 14.)

 The cost estimate should be split into two components: (a) a total capital and start-up cost 

component (annualized over its expected useful life); and (b) a total operation and 

maintenance and purchase of services component. The estimates should take into account 

costs associated with generating, maintaining, and disclosing or providing the 

information. Include descriptions of methods used to estimate major cost factors 

including system and technology acquisition, expected useful life of capital equipment, 

the discount rate(s), and the time period over which costs will be incurred. Capital and 

start-up costs include, among other items, preparations for collecting information such as 

purchasing computers and software; monitoring, sampling, drilling and testing 

equipment; and acquiring and maintaining record storage facilities.

 If cost estimates are expected to vary widely, agencies should present ranges of cost 

burdens and explain the reasons for the variance. The cost of contracting out information 

collection services should be a part of this cost burden estimate. In developing cost 

burden estimates, agencies may consult with a sample of respondents (fewer than 10), 

utilize the 60-day pre-OMB submission public comment process and use existing 

economic or regulatory impact analysis associated with the rulemaking containing the 

information collection, as appropriate.
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EDICS Tracking and OMB Number: 1840-0827 v.6 Revised: 6/17/2013

 Generally, estimates should not include purchases of equipment or services, or portions 

thereof, made: (1) prior to October 1, 1995, (2) to achieve regulatory compliance with 

requirements not associated with the information collection, (3) for reasons other than to 

provide information or keep records for the government or (4) as part of customary and 

usual business or private practices. Also, these estimates should not include the hourly

costs (i.e., the monetization of the hours) captured above in Item 12

Total Annualized Capital/Startup Cost : $0.00

Total Annual Costs (O&M) : $0.00

____________________

Total Annualized Costs Requested : $0.00

There are no costs associated with responding to these requirements other than those detailed in 

response to Question No. 12.

14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description 

of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational 

expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that 

would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may

aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.

Estimated annual cost to the Federal government:

Salaried Staff 12 hours $1,000.00

Contract Costs 1400 $380,000.00

Estimated total costs to the Federal Government: $381,000.00

15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments. Generally, adjustments in 

burden result from re-estimating burden and/or from economic phenomenon outside of an 

agency’s control (e.g., correcting a burden estimate or an organic increase in the size of the 

reporting universe). Program changes result from a deliberate action that materially changes a 

collection of information and generally are result of new statute or an agency action (e.g., 

changing a form, revising regulations, redefining the respondent universe, etc.). Burden changes 

should be disaggregated by type of change (i.e., adjustment, program change due to new statute, 

and/or program change due to agency discretion), type of collection (new, revision, extension, 

reinstatement with change, reinstatement without change) and include totals for changes in 

burden hours, responses and costs (if applicable).

The total annual cost burden to respondents increased slightly due to an increase in the 

reporting universe. As explained above, the number of institutions in the most recent year with 

data available was 2074, an increase over the previously estimated 2000. 
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The annual cost to the Federal Government has increased due to increased contract costs. 

Previously, we estimated that we spent approximately $183,718 on contractor costs and an 

additional $31,285 on salaried staff. The responsibilities for this collection, which include for 

example collecting the data, supporting the database, and cleaning the data, are largely 

concentrated with the contractor. Accordingly, we believe that it is appropriate to shift the bulk 

of the costs previously listed for salaried staff to costs included in the contract. 

In response to comments from the public, we have revised the collection to instruct institutions to 

specify the number of male and female participants on each team reported. The current 

regulatory definition of “participants” includes opposite sex players on a men’s or women’s 

team. This revision will clarify for users of the data how many of the reported participants are 

males and how many are females. This information is readily available and is already collected 

at the schools that have these players for other purposes. Therefore, this clarification will not 

add burden to the overall estimate.

Also in response to comments from the public, we have added a statement to the log-in page for 

the survey, to the landing page for the Data Analysis Cutting Tool, and to the EADA User’s 

Guide clarifying that the data reflected on these sites are provided in accordance with the EADA 

and may not be the same as data used for determining compliance with other laws, such as Title 

IX of the Education Amendments of 1972. This clarifies for the public how the data will be 

utilized and does not add burden to the overall estimate.

16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation 

and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time 

schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of 

information, completion of report, publication dates, and other actions.

This information collection is available via the Department’s web site if the public wishes to 

view the information.

17. If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information 

collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

We are not seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval.

18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in the Certification of 

Paperwork Reduction Act.

There are no exceptions to the certification statement.