| PublicationDate: 6/30/99 Summary: RFMS begins processing Regular Disbursements and Testing Update Author: PSS - Program Systems Service To: All Destination Points From: Jerry Russomano, Director Program Systems Service, Office of Student Financial Assistance Subject: Update on the Recipient and Financial Management System (RFMS) This message - Announces RFMS begins processing Regular Disbursements Updates you on Testing Tip of the Week RFMS BEGINS PROCESSING REGULAR DISBURSEMENTS We are very pleased to announce that beginning today, June 30, 1999 RFMS will begin processing Regular Disbursement records. After completing rigorous testing, the system is ready to pass into production, receiving your Regular Disbursement records. We look forward to seeing another portion of the system in production. TESTING CONTINUES Beta testing for Regular Disbursements has completed successfully. The schools that participated have been very pleased with their experiences and with the speed and ease with which they were able to process disbursements. We anticipate production flowing just as smoothly. There is still time to participate in Year 2000 Testing for Regular Disbursements. Visit the Departments Year 2000 Testing Page for more information at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OCIO/year/3-18rfms.html. We are in the home stretch for completing our testing of the special disbursement and multiple reporting record portions of RFMS. We will update you on the schedule for the implementation of the next components of the system. WHAT TO EXPECT Our team here at the Department has worked very hard on RFMS to produce a system that will improve the Pell Grant process for institutions and students. Each portion of the system goes through stringent testing and quality assurance checks before it is put into production and interfaces with you, the customer. As each new piece of RFMS is added it affects the whole system, presenting the possibility of unanticipated difficulties. We ask for your patience in the event that, initially, delays occur. We remain strongly committed to processing your records quickly and efficiently before peak processing periods, and appreciate your understanding in helping us make that possible. If you do encounter any problems in processing please call Pell Customer Service at 1-800/474-7268 (select option 2) or send an e-mail to #Pell_Systems@ed.gov. TIP OF THE WEEK Beginning on July 1, 1999, the initial authorization amounts for 1999-2000 will be available to view on the GAPS website (http://gapsweb.ed.gov), and will be available for you to draw down from GAPS. Please note that your GAPS award number has changed for the Pell Grant Program for 1999-2000 and future years. The new number is available on your Statement of Account for 1999-2000. WE WILL CONTINUE TO SEND YOU WEEKLY STATUS REPORTS Look for them in- - Title IV Wide Area Network (TIVWAN) - The Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website located at http://www.ifap.ed.gov, and - Listserves: - FINAID-L - FINNET-L - MEDAID-L - BURSAR-L - SFATECH IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS - If you have questions, comments, or concerns about RFMS, please call Pell Customer Service at 1-800/474-7268(select option 2) or send an e-mail to #Pell_Systems@ed.gov. - If you have questions about the 1999-2000 EDExpress Pell software, contact the Central Processing System customer service staff at 1-800/330-5947 or send an e-mail to CPS@NCS.COM. - If you have questions about RFMS message classes or problems connecting to the network, contact the TIVWAN customer service staff at 1-800/615-1189 or send an e-mail to T4WAN@NCS.COM. Reminder: Your TIVWAN EDConnect Desk Reference contains all the information you need about getting help by telephone or on the Internet. |