| DCLPublicationDate: 1/1/95 DCLID: 95-G-273 AwardYear: Summary: This letter describes the telecommunications services provided to state and non-state guarantee agencies under the General Electronic Support (GES) system and invites new users to become enrolled in these services. Enrollment will be carried forward each year unless the agency calls to cancel the service. January 1995 SG-95-1 95-G-273 SUMMARY: This letter describes the telecommunications services provided to state and non-state guarantee agencies under the General Electronic Support (GES) system and invites new users to become enrolled in these services. Enrollment will be carried forward each year unless the agency calls to cancel the service. Dear State Agency Director: A primary purpose of GES services is to provide you with processed data from the Free Application for Federal Student Aid so that, in combination with state data, you may award state scholarships and grants and, in combination with common loan application data , you may guarantee Federal student loans. The data provided under the electronic services is completely compatible with that provided on tapes or cartridges under the Applicant Data Service. State and non-state guarantee agencies may receive data electronically using their own mainframe or personal computer and software provided by the Department of Education (ED). The site responsible for retrieving data from the network is called a destination point. Your agency may choose to become its own destination point, or you may choose to have another entity act as a destination point on your behalf. Either way the participation agreement is between ED and the state agency. Some state agencies act as destination points for institutions within their state. If you wish to act for institutions in this capacity, you must use the information and forms provided by ED in the 1995-96 Action Letter #5, dated October 1994 (GEN-94-40). Please read this letter and its enclosures carefully as it describes the electronic services available to you, participation issues, computer requirements, and billing issues. If you are a new user or decide to change your services, submit the appropriate information on the forms included with this letter for the services in which your agency wishes to participate. If after reading this letter you have any questions regarding enrollment, call GES Customer Service at 319/339-6642. GES provides three basic services which allow your agency to: - Retrieve student financial aid application data with Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) - Access bulletin boards and electronic mail using OPEnet - See the status of batches of applicant data transmitted via the network using Query EDE establishes a link between ED's Title IV Central Processing System (CPS) database and participating state agencies, state guarantee agencies, and non-state guarantee agencies. Your agency is eligible to electronically receive processed applicant data. As a participant in EDE you may receive data for 1) residents (those who indicate your state as their state of legal residence) and/or 2) non-residents (those who indicate an institution that is within your state but do not indicate your state as their state of legal residence). You may also receive data for individual students who do not meet either of these two conditions as long as you have, and maintain, a signed form whereby the students release their data to you. There are three ways for you to obtain processed student data: - Automatic ISIRs - Year-to-Date Data Requests - Federal Data Requests (FDR) The Electronic SAR, or ESAR is being renamed the Electronic Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) for 1995-96. Under Automatic ISIRs when students submit applications and corrections, electronic versions of the ISIR from these transactions are automatically transmitted to you on a daily basis. You may request the data from the CPS in one of two ISIR formats, full or abbreviated, described as follows: Full - This ISIR format is 1343 bytes in length and represents complete information submitted by the student as well as CPS processing results (see Enclosure A). If a student does not release data to your state, only certain demographic and processing result fields are provided in the ISIR you receive. These fields are also listed in Enclosure A. Abbreviated - This ISIR format is a shortened form of the full format, designed to provide a subset of key data (see Enclosure B). It is 237 bytes in length. Year-to-Date Data Requests provide you the ability to receive electronic ISIRs from any official transaction processed to date by the CPS. For example, if you become operational to receive ISIR after the CPS cycle start-up, you may request ISIRs for those students who were processed since that time. Like automatic ISIR processing, you may request the data in either the full or abbreviated format. Your data can be returned to you electronically over the GES network or via first class mail on magnetic tape or cartridge. Year-to-Date requests will only be handled using Query through the GES network. You will be billed for both processing and transmission costs. The Federal Data Request process allows any state or non-state guarantee agency to electronically request a processed record for any student on the CPS data base. If the student is not a resident of the state, nor attends an institution in the state, the student must have signed a loan or state grant application that releases CPS data to the agency. The signed application must be maintained by the agency. To request an applicant's record, you transmit via the GES network the applicant's Social Security number and first two letters of his or her last name. The format of a request record is provided in Enclosure C. If data is on file for the applicant, you may receive either a full or abbreviated ISIR for the applicant. If data is not on file for the applicant, you will receive an electronic notice informing you that it is not on file. The CPS will retain this request for 30 calendar days and either (1) forward the applicant's ISIR record to you if it is received within the 30-day period or (2) send a record back to you stating that the application has not been received within the 30-day period. EDE uses a batch store-and-forward data transmission methodology. As applications and corrections are processed, the CPS batches and transmits the applicant data to the GES network where it is stored for destination point retrieval. For FDRs the destination point sends requests to the network from which the CPS retrieves them. The requests are processed, as described above, and the results are sent back to the network, from which the destination point can retrieve them. ED provides software at no cost to you to perform these transmission and retrieval functions. Of course, a destination point is allowed to develop its own software or purchase third-party software. Two packages are provided by ED: - expEDIte - Handles the communications between you and the GES network -EDExpress - Enables you to manage the Title IV applicant data provided by ED under these services Compatibility with Applicant Data Tapes and Cartridges State agencies may independently and simultaneously receive Federal student aid applicant data under the Applicant Data Service. The record format for the Applicant Data Service is virtually the same as the full format ISIR. Refer to Action Letter #8, 1995-96 State Agency Applicant Data Service for Federal Title IV Student Aid Programs, dated December 1994, for the applicant data tape and cartridge record description. EDE offers a faster availability of data than is possible using the Applicant Data Service. Although we see electronic data transmission as the delivery medium of choice, ED offers the two alternatives. You may find that using a combination of the EDE and Applicant Data tape and cartridge services provides optimal benefits. Changes for 1995-1996 Changes to the system and software for 1995-1996 are minor and address requests from the financial aid community. These changes include DOS-based mouse support for EDExpress and the ability to import abbreviated ISIRs into EDExpress. The GES network itself will be undergoing change during the 1995-96 award year. The contract which provides the GES telecommunications network and support services is currently under re-competition. We expect that the new network contract, titled Title IV Wide Area Network, will be awarded in early 1995 and will go into operation during the spring of 1995. Current data transmission and on-line services will continue under the new contract. However, there will likely be some modifications to the fee schedule that is presented in Enclosure D. We will keep you informed about how the new Title IV WAN network will affect your processing operations. It is important to remember, however, that the current GES network will continue to support the start-up of the 1995-96 processing activities and will make every effort not to disrupt continuing services with the switch in contracts. The remaining two GES services are: OPEnet is a menu driven system that allows access to a wealth of ED information directly from a personal computer or mainframe terminal. OPEnet includes electronic bulletin boards that contain Federal regulations, Dear Colleague letters, policy directives, and information about special initiatives. Additionally, using electronic mail, users may send messages to other OPEnet subscribers, including ED, the GES Contractor, and other destination points. Query allows on-line access to GES users who have a personal computer, modem, and telecommunications software. Information maintained by GES Query includes: -Year-to-Date Data Request. Participants may request Year-to-Date data on-line using Query. Instructions for submitting a request are provided in the EDExpress User's Guide. -Batch Status. Destination points that transmit EDE data may check the status of their batches in the GES. They are apprised of time of receipts, number of characters, transmission content and processing cycle, and date and time data are retrieved or archived. -Billing. Users may receive an on-line summary of monthly or Year-to-Date charges. Refer to the GES Fee Schedule (Enclosure D) for cost information on EDE, OPEnet and Query services. PARTICIPATING IN GES New Participants All state and non-state guarantee agencies are eligible to use EDE, OPEnet, and Query. Non-state guarantee agencies are limited under EDE to the FDR service. New EDE users may enroll in EDE for the 1994-95 and/or the 1995-96 processing cycles. To participate in GES services each new EDE state agency must: 1) Complete and sign a Letter of Application (Enclosure E) indicating the services desired, the year these services are to begin, and agreeing to share the cost of the services provided by GES. Once submitted, the destination point's primary contact listed on the Letter of Application will receive EDExpress and expEDIte software along with the GES, EDExpress, EDE Technical Reference, Direct Loan Technical Reference and Direct Loan User's Guides (5 volumes). They will be mailed to you via certified first class mail. Those wishing to enroll in OPEnet must check the item labeled OPEnet on the Letter of Application. After receiving this form, the GES contractor will mail you an OPEnet User's Guide. 2) Complete and submit a signed Electronic Data Exchange Participation Agreement (Enclosure F). This agreement describes how your agency must protect and may use the processed FAFSA data supplied by ED. 3) Read the User's Guide 4) Install the software 5) Complete the certification testing Current Participants Current participants who do not wish to add or change services, should not submit any new forms. In December, all current GES participants will receive software changes for 1995-96, together with a new multi-volume set of User's Guides. Service to current participants will continue automatically into the 1995-96 processing cycle. Unlike prior years, you do not need to place a telephone call to go into operation for the new year. If you receive 1994-95 Electronic SARs, you will automatically begin receiving 1995-96 Electronic ISIRs when the system goes into production in mid-January 1995. If you do not want your institution to begin receiving 1995-96 Electronic ISIRs when the system goes into production for 1995-96, call NCS User Services at 800/553-2159. If you do not call, you must be ready to receive transmission when the system goes into production. Data not retrieved will be archived after residing on the network for 27 days. Current participants who want to add or change services for 1995-96 must submit a new Letter of Application. Send all enrollment materials to GES Customer Service, P.O. Box 30, Iowa City, IA 52244. Address your questions regarding enrollment to GES Customer Service at 319/339-6642. COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS The requirements differ depending on whether you use a personal computer or mainframe to access the network. Refer to Enclosure G for a description of the requirement for each. Note that the minimum PC hardware configuration has changed to require a 486DX2 microcomputer processor. Most PC communication packages will connect you to the network and allow you to view OPEnet bulletin boards, transmit messages to other users, and view Query screens. However, in order to transfer data from an OPEnet bulletin board to you PC, or vice versa, you will need a communications package that supports the IND$FILE protocol. One package which supports this protocol, GESPCS, may be purchased from the GES contractor. Contact GES Customer Service at 319/339-6642 for more information about how this software works or about ordering GESPCS. BILLING GES participants are billed for services provided within each monthly billing period. Three copies of each destination point's invoice are sent to the billing address within 10 working days after the end of each month. The invoices contain charges for all services rendered for the previous month. These services are listed on the 1995 GES Fee Schedule (Enclosure D). Enclosure D also contains a table identifying the costs that ED assumes and those that state agencies are responsible for paying. In addition, ED pays for certification testing transmissions and supplies the first copy of the User's Guide and software at no cost to participants. Participants are billed for year-to-date data requests and transmission charges if the data is delivered over the GES network. The earlier participants begin downloading ISIRs in the processing cycle, the fewer year-to-date requests they will need to make. Down loading data during non-prime time hours (7 p.m. - 7 a.m. Central Time) ensures considerable cost savings. We are pleased to offer these services to help make your job and the Title IV aid delivery process easier. We look forward to welcoming you as a new participant and continuing to serve our current participant. Sincerely, Leo Kornfeld Deputy Assistant Secretary for Student Financial Assistance Enclosure A: Full ISIR Format & List of Fields in Non-Release Records (23 pages)** Enclosure B: Abbreviated ISIR Format (5 pages)** Enclosure C: FDR Request Record Format (6 pages)** Enclosure D: Fee Schedule and Definition of Terms (5 pages)** Enclosure E: Letter of Application (2 pages)** Enclosure F: Electronic Data Exchange Participation Agreement (3 pages)** Enclosure G: Computer Requirements (2 pages) ** |