OMB Support Statement Student Messaging in GEAR UP

Abt Associates Inc. Appendix B. Student Roster Collection Letter ▌ pg B-1

Appendix B. Student Roster Collection Request Letter to High 

Schools
OMB Support Statement Student Messaging in GEAR UP

Abt Associates Inc. Appendix B. Student Roster Collection Letter ▌ pg B-2

Date

First/Last Name of School Contact

High School Name

Street Address

City, State, Zip Code

Dear (NAME):

Thank you for volunteering your high school to participate in the Demonstration of Student 

Messaging in GEAR UP that the U.S. Department of Education (ED) is funding. This is an exciting 

opportunity to learn whether sending targeted text messages to students can help improve students’ 

college outcomes. At this time, we are asking all participating high schools to provide basic 

information about their current seniors.

Specifically what we are requesting and why

Students who are currently seniors (in 12th grade) are the focus of the study. In order to know who 

they are, and to be able to collect information from them, we need a list of the following eight data 

elements for every senior currently in your school:

1. Name

2. Date of birth

3. Home address 

4. Telephone number

5. Student email address

6. Student cell phone number

7. Parent name

8. Parent email address

9. Parent telephone number

Submitting student roster data

We have set up a secure portal that allows you to easily transfer this information to the study team 

over the web, at a time and in a format that is convenient for you. We expect that compiling and 

submitting this information will take no more than 2 hours of your time.

By DATE please upload your roster of current high school juniors at: 

http://transfer.abtassoc.com

Your username is: XXXXXX

Your password is: YYYYYYYYY

Please follow the instructions attached to this email to securely upload your student roster. 

Need help or have questions?

A senior researcher from the study team will be contacting you in the next week to answer any 

questions you may have, and to familiarize you with the portal transfer process. 

If you have any questions about participating in the study, you may call 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX, or 

email me at XXXX@abtassoc.com. 
OMB Support Statement Student Messaging in GEAR UP

Abt Associates Inc. Appendix B. Student Roster Collection Letter ▌ pg B-3

Ensuring confidentiality and data security

ED and its study team, Abt Associates and partners Decision Information Resources (DIR) and 

Survey Research Management (SRM), take confidentiality and privacy of information seriously:

1. Under the provisions of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), you may 

disclose this directory information to the study team because they are conducting a federal 

evaluation on behalf of the Department.

2. All information will be kept confidential at all times. We will follow strict rules to protect the 

information provided by and about students. Further, we will not provide information that 

identifies any student to anyone outside the study team and the study collaborators, except as 

required by law.

3. The secure portal allows you to easily and safely transfer information to the study team over 

the web. All data will be stored on secure computer networks.

Your help is critical to the success of this study and we very much appreciate your involvement!

Sincerely,

Alina Martinez, Ed.D.

Study Project Director

Study Contacts

Alina Martinez Marsha Silverberg

Project Director Federal Project Officer

Abt Associates Inc. IES/US Department of Education

Marsha.Silverberg@ed.gov

Study Website: www.XXX.com

Study Email: XXXXX@abtassoc.com

Study Toll-Free Number: 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX

Per the policies and procedures required by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183, responses to this data collection will be used only for 

statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific program, district, or 

individual. Any willful disclosure of such information for nonstatistical purposes, except as required by law, is a class E felony.

Paperwork Burden Statement: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such 

collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is xxxx-xxxx. Public reporting burden for this collection is 

estimated to average 2 hours per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the 

information collection. The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of 

this form, application or survey, please contact (National Center for Education Evaluation/Institute of Education Sciences U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey 

Avenue, SW Room 502i, Washington, DC 20208) directly. (Note: Please do not return the completed instrument, form, application or survey to this address.)
OMB Support Statement Student Messaging in GEAR UP

Abt Associates Inc. Appendix B. Student Roster Collection Letter ▌ pg B-4

Instructions for Using the Abt Associates Data Transfer Website 

for the First Time

Please note that any browser can be used but Internet Explorer allows a few additional capabilities. 

The instructions above are based on the Internet Explorer interface but should be similar enough for 

Firefox users. 

Once you have logged in successfully, you will also have access to an online manual (lower left 

column) if this guide does not answer all of your questions.

Logging in for the first time

1. Access the Abt Associates file transfer website by opening a browser and entering the URL: 

http://transfer.abtassoc.com. 

You will be prompted to accept a certificate. After accepting, enter the username and 

password included in the email from your site liaison.

a. Click the Sign On button.

2. You will be prompted to change the password after successfully logging in with the initial 

password.

a. Enter your New Password in the New Password field and enter it again in the 

New Password Again field.

b. Click the Change Password button.

Navigating to your folder

1. From the home screen, type your district/camp/site name into the Find File/Folder search 

box on the left-hand side of the screen.

a. Click the Find File button.

2. Click on your folder path in the middle of the screen.

3. You are now in your folder.

Uploading a File

1. Under the heading Upload Files Now... click on the link (at the bottom) that says CLICK 

HERE to Launch the Upload/Download Wizard...

2. A popup window will appear that is titled MOVEit Upload Wizard – Upload to... and has 

the Abt logo in top left corner.

a. Click on the Add File button

3. A window will open displaying the files on your computer.

a. Navigate to the file(s) you would like to upload, select the file(s), and click the open 

button. (Note this process is similar to adding an attachment to an email).

i. If you have multiple files to upload, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting 

multiple files.

4. Back in the MOVEit Upload Wizard – Upload to... popup window, click the Next button.

a. Choose the upload option:
OMB Support Statement Student Messaging in GEAR UP

Abt Associates Inc. Appendix B. Student Roster Collection Letter ▌ pg B-5

i. If you only have one file, select Upload files individually

ii. If you have two or more files, select Upload all files as one .zip

iii. Click the Next button.

b. Your file will now upload. The popup window should say Transfer complete. 

Integrity verified on all files.

i. Click the OK button

5. Now back in your folder you should see your file.

6. You should now sign out of the website. The Sign Out button is at the top right corner of the 

screen.

THANK YOU!

Technical Difficulties

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR NON-ABT USERS: The Abt data transfer web portal only accepts 

connections with TLS 1.0 enabled. Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer 7 have this turned on by 

default. If you are having difficulty even seeing the web site, you probably need to enable TLS. To 

do so, go to 'Tools -> Internet Options -> Advanced', then scroll down and check the box next to TLS 

1.0. Refresh your browser.

The Abt Associates secure data transfer system is based on software that utilizes U.S. and Canadian government validated 

FIPS 140-2 cryptography. All authentication, data in transit, and data at rest are encrypted. Furthermore, for security 

reasons, all data is automatically deleted after 30 days.