In spring 2025, we plan to implement Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System functionality that will support the processing of Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant), Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant, and William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) awards for the 2025–26 award year. In conjunction with this implementation, we will begin using a new version of the COD Common Record Extensible Markup Language (XML) Schema. The new schema version is 5.0c.
Effective upon completion of the spring 2025 COD System implementation—
-
All 2025–26 Common Record documents must be sent using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c. All 2025–26 Common Record responses will be sent by the COD System using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c.
-
Unsolicited system-generated responses for all award years will be sent by the COD System using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c.
-
COD Web Activity responses for all award years will be sent by the COD System using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c.
-
All available school reports, including data requests, will continue to be sent in formats other than XML.
-
We will continue to fully validate all Common Record files against the published COD Common Record XML Schema.
COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c
The COD Common Record XML Schema is being updated to support upcoming COD System changes. In summary—
-
There will be a new <CIP> complex element added to the schema. The new complex element can be provided for up to three occurrences per disbursement; only one will be required for new disbursements, and the tags will be optional for maintenance records. The following seven existing tags will become part of the <CIP> complex element: Program CIP Code, Published Program Length Years, Published Program Length Months, Published Program Length Weeks, Weeks Programs Academic Year, Special Programs, and Program Credential Level.
We will provide more detailed information about the valid values and business rules for these tags and other planned 2025–26 COD System changes in forthcoming Electronic Announcements and technical documentation planned for late 2024 and early 2025.
All incorporated changes are outlined in the attachment titled “Common Record Change Log.” It is important that a school or third-party software provider carefully review the COD Common Record XML Schema changes, including the new tags and valid values, in conjunction with the Common Record Layout. When planning the update to COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c, a school or third-party software provider should consider the following impact areas:
-
Common Record Documents
-
Unsolicited System-Generated Responses
-
COD Web Activity Responses
-
School Reports and Data Requests
-
Full COD Schema Validation
Note to EDExpress Users: We plan to post EDExpress for Windows 2025–26, Release 2.0 in spring 2025. This release will incorporate schema version 5.0c for 2025–26 records.
Information about each of the impact areas follows below.
Common Record Documents
All 2025–26 Common Record documents must be sent using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c. All 2025–26 Common Record responses will be sent by the COD System using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c.
Unsolicited System-Generated Responses
Unsolicited system-generated responses for all award years will be sent by the COD System using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c.
A full list of unsolicited system-generated responses is in Volume 2, Section 2 of the COD Technical Reference.
COD Web Activity Responses (CRWB)
Like unsolicited system-generated responses, COD Web Activity responses for all award years will be sent by the COD System using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c.
If a school is unable to import COD Web Activity responses, it has two options:
-
Submit new records or update existing records for an impacted award year via batch processing. These records will be acknowledged by the COD System using the schema version used by the school for Common Record documents.
-
Change its “Web Activity Response Option” for each applicable program/award year so that it will not receive COD Web Activity responses. The school will make these changes on the COD website’s School Options Information screen. To change the “Web Activity Response Option” from “Y” to “N”:
-
Click on the School link on the COD website’s main menu bar, then click on School Information, and then click on Options. The School Options Information screen will open.
-
After selecting the applicable program and the applicable award year, scroll to the Program Relations Information section and change “Web Activity Response Option” from “Y” to “N.”
-
Click on Update.
-
School Reports and Data Requests
All available school reports, including data requests, will continue to be sent in formats other than XML.
Full COD Schema Validation
We will continue to fully validate all Common Record batches against the published COD Common Record XML Schema. This means that if a school submits a Common Record that does not conform to the published schema format, all student, award, and disbursement information within the batch will not be processed by the COD System.
To help schools and software providers identify XML errors, we will continue to send COD System edits as follows:
COD Reject Edit 210 – This reject edit will be returned for batches that fail XML validation. The reject edit will be returned at the document level and will indicate that a batch contains invalid XML. The student, award, and disbursement information within the batch will not be processed.
Schema Files and 2025–26 COD Technical Reference Information
A file that schools and third-party software providers can use to prepare for using COD Common Record XML Schema Version 5.0c is attached to this announcement. A change log that identifies the changes made to the current version of the COD Common Record XML Schema is also attached. In addition, information about the COD Common Record XML Schema will be included in the initial posting of the 2025–26 COD Technical Reference (planned for November 2024).
Contact Information
If you have questions, contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.
Attachments
*The Department of Education strives to make all content accessible to everyone. While this document does not currently meet the standards of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended, Federal Student Aid is working to create an accessible version. If you need access to this document before the accessible version is available, please contact the Information Technology Accessibility Program Help Desk at ITAPSupport@ed.gov to help facilitate.