Publication Date: March 4, 2003
Author: General Manager: FSA Students Channel
Summary: Draft of ISIR XML Schema, Sample ISIR, and ISIR Record Layout
Posted on 03-04-2003
TO: All Destination Points
FROM: U.S. Department of Education
RE: Draft of ISIR XML Schema, Sample ISIR, and ISIR Record Layout
DATE: March 3, 2003
The Department is pleased to provide the financial aid community with a draft of the ISIR XML schema. We are also providing a sample ISIR in XML format and an accompanying ISIR record layout/data description, based on the 2003-04 cycle. Receiving ISIR data in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format will be an option for destination points during the 2004-05 processing cycle. This posting will also be provided in the US Department of Education's Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site (located at http://FSAdownload.ed.gov )
The Department is making the information available now for schools to begin developing and planning systems and to allow time for comments and questions about the schema structure. Additional information about XML Schema and FSA approved XML Resources is provided in the COD Overview, Volume 3 document at the following web link: (See pages I-3-10 to I-3-12).
We will provide a method for destinations points to inform us if they wish to participate in receiving ISIRs in XML for 2004-05. More information about that process will be provided in mid-summer.
The XML schema describes in detail the structure of the ISIR document. It is intended for the application developers who are familiar with the tools and technologies around XML. It provides information on document structure, element names, element data types, complex types, cardinality relationships, and other data relationships as defined in XML schema. HTML documentation of the schema is also provided, in a zip file format for a more user-friendly (yet still technical) view of the schema.
A sample ISIR in XML format is provided in both XML format and in MSWord format. For informational purposes, the sample ISIR contains values for all possible ISIR fields. Live ISIRs will not have all the fields populated simultaneously. The current ISIR field numbers are displayed next to the XML field values in parentheses in the MSWord document as a cross-reference.
The ISIR record layout/data dictionary lists all the XML tags available for the ISIR record, provides a brief description of the field and lists valid field content for each tag. The layout is based on the 2003-04 ISIR data and will be modified as necessary for 2004-05. Updated drafts as well as additional information will be posted in midsummer
The Department welcomes and looks forward to feedback from the financial aid community. Please e-mail general questions, suggestions, or comments to Candy Dominy at candy.dominy@pearson.com. Although we cannot respond to your questions individually, answers to common questions will be provided in a Question and Answer section of the 2004-2005 Technical Reference, which will be provided in midsummer when we post an updated draft.
Please understand that providing ISIRs in XML format will not eliminate the flat file format for 04-05. In addition, we will continue to support you in implementing new technology by providing mechanisms, like EDExpress, for managing your business processes.
Attachments/Enclosures:
Documentation
Sample XML ISIR
XML Schema Documents
XML Schema (Technical Documentation)