Publication Date: January 28, 2002
Author: General Manager: SFA Student Channel
Summary: Availability of QA Tool 2002-2003, Version 2.0
Posted on January 28, 2002
TO: All Destination Points
FROM: U.S. Department of Education
RE: Availability of QA Tool 2002-2003, Version 2.0
Have you ever been curious about the type of changes your students make after filing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid? Would you like to better identify and understand these changes? Such insights can prompt identification and implementation of verification practices that make a difference in awarding aid, leading to improvements in FAFSA filing, and ultimately improving program integrity.
We are pleased to announce the availability of the Quality Analysis Tool (QA Tool) for Windows 2002-2003, Version 2.0 that any school can use to gain valuable information regarding the effectiveness of verification on their campus.
QA Tool was designed to help schools conduct in-depth analysis of applicant populations using data from initial and paid on ISIR transactions. The analysis will provide data to help schools understand the effectiveness of their own institutional verification program or the Federal edits, as well as how changes in student reported data items impact the EFC and Pell Grant Eligibility.
Version 2.0 is available on the U.S. Department of Education’s Student Financial Assistance Download (SFAdownload) Web site located at http://fsadownload.ed.gov/index.htm. The QA Tool 2002-2003 Installation Guide and the Version 2.0 Cover Letter are also available on the SFAdownload Web site. Both documents contain important information you should review after downloading the software.
The 2002-2003 QA Tool Desk Reference is also available on the SFAdownload Web site. This electronic desk reference replaces the paper desk reference distributed in prior years for QA Tool software.
Version 2.0 is available on the SFAdownload Web site in two formats. You can download the entire software in one file, called QATool20.exe, or you can download the software in six separate installments, which can be copied to a network drive or diskettes. Please review the download and installation instructions in the Cover Letter for further information.
You must have Windows 98, Windows NT, Windows 2000, or Windows ME as your PC workstation operating system in order to run QA Tool Version 2.0. Other system and network requirements are outlined in the Installation Guide.
QA Tool can be installed in a standalone or networked environment. In a standalone installation, all program files, including the software database, are installed and stored on the hard drive of a single PC.
For network installations you must first run a network server install, designating a network drive location for your QA Tool database. Once the server install is complete, you must run network workstation installations on all PCs which will access the networked database, designating the correct network drive and directory during each installation.
If you need assistance connecting to the SFAdownload site, downloading QA Tool in single or multiple file format, or help with the installation or use of QA Tool once downloaded, please contact CPS/WAN Technical Support at 800/330-5947 or via e-mail at CPSWAN@NCS.COM.
If you have technical questions about our SFA systems and software, you may want to subscribe to our email listserve, SFATECH. For more information about SFATECH, including how to subscribe, go online to http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/sfatech/.