Privacy Impact Assessment 

for the 

IES Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows Survey 

Date 

August 5, 2008 

Contact Point 

System Owner: Robin Harwood 

IES/NCER 

U.S. Department of Education 
 

U.S. Department Privacy Impact Assessment 

of Education Secretary’s Communications Control System 

Office of the Secretary 

1. What information will be collected for the system (Ex. Name, Social Security Number, 

annual income, etc)? 

IES/NCER uses the Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows’ Survey to assess the satisfaction of 

the fellows with their IES-funded training programs, and to track their professional 

accomplishments both during and following their fellowship years. The information received 

includes fellows’ names, email addresses, and citizenship status (a requirement of the training 

program). The authority for collecting this data is in 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq., the "Education 

Sciences Reform Act of 2002," Title I of Public Law 107-279, November 5, 2002. 

2. Why is this information being collected? 

This information is collected annually to monitor the quality of the IES-funded training programs, 

as assessed through fellows’ satisfaction ratings and comments, as well as their professional 

accomplishments. The information is provided voluntarily by the fellow, and is collected and 

maintained so that fellows’ professional progress and accomplishments can be tracked over time. 

3. How will the information be used? 

The information is used to track and manage the information from the fellows’ surveys received 

by the Department, including any individual suggestions for improvement regarding the training 

programs. The information is also used to track and respond to fellows’ email as appropriate. 

4. Will this information be shared with any other agency or entity? If so, with whom? 

Generally, this information will not be disclosed with any other entity. However, the 

Department of Education may disclose information contained in a record in this system of 

records under the applicable routine uses without the consent of the individual if the disclosure is 

compatible with the purposes for which the record was collected, i.e., tracking fellows’ progress 

and program satisfaction. Possible disclosures include internal reports regarding the 

achievement of program goals. 

5. Describe the notice or opportunities for consent that are provided to individuals about 

what information is collected and how that information is shared with other organizations 

(e.g., posted Privacy Notice). 

On the cover page to the survey that fellows complete, the fellows are told: 

“Your confidential responses are extremely important to us as we seek to ensure that the IES 

Education Research training programs are meeting their goals of providing high-quality, rigorous 

training in education research. Data collected through this survey will be presented at the group 

level only, and only IES/NCER staff will know your individual responses.” 

6. How will the information be secured? 

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U.S. Department Privacy Impact Assessment 

of Education Secretary’s Communications Control System 

Office of the Secretary 

The data from the IES Predoctoral and Postdoctoral Fellows’ Survey resides electronically in the 

hard drive of the office desktop computer of the system owner, Robin Harwood. 

Data covered by the Privacy Act needs to be protected from unauthorized disclosure, 

modification, and destruction. The following safeguards have been implemented for protecting 

the data. 

• All physical access to the Department of Education sites is controlled and monitored by 

security personnel who check each individual entering the building for his or her 

employee or visitor badge. 

• The computer systems employed by the Department of Education offer a high degree of 

resistance to tampering and circumvention. 

• The data is only accessible by the system owner, and the data is protected by user name 

and password. 

7. Is a system of records being created or updated with the collection of this information? 

A Privacy Act system of records notice is being developed. 

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