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Summary: COD Full Participant Set Up for 2004-2005 Award Year

Publication Date: October 31, 2003

Author: General Manager: FSA Schools Channel

Summary: COD Full Participant Set Up for 2004-2005 Award Year


Posted on 10-31-2003


TO: All Destination Points
FROM: U.S. Department of Education
RE: COD Full Participant Set Up for 2004-2005 Award Year


This message provides important instructions on how to become a Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Full Participant for the 2004-2005 Award Year.

As a reminder, a Full Participant school submits data using the COD Common Record in XML format. As a Full Participant you will also be able to:

  • Send a "common" XML record that allows for fewer transmissions and eliminates scheduling problems,
  • Use a flexible record format to send required data only, and
  • Use the same process to report changes in both Pell Grants and Direct Loans.

For the 2005-2006 Award Year, all schools participating in either the Direct Loan or the Pell Grant program will be required to become Full Participants and to submit the XML/Common Record format to COD.

What if I was a Full Participant for the 2003-2004 Award Year?

If you processed as a Full Participant for the 2003-2004 Award Year, and want to continue processing the same way, you do not need to take any action. COD will update your 2004-2005 participation status to Full Participant. However, if there is a change in your participation type for either program, you must notify the COD School Relations Center by submitting the Full Participant Request Letter indicating the change.

What is the consequence of not signing up to become a Full Participant for the 2004-2005 Award Year?

If you submit Pell Grant and/or Direct Loan records using the COD Common Record in XML format and COD has not been set up by the COD School Relations Center staff to accept your records in that format, they will reject.

If you plan to submit Pell Grant and/or Direct Loan records in flat-file legacy formats, no action is necessary. Except for EDExpress users of the Pell and Direct Loan module, Full Participant status remains optional in the 2004-2005 Award Year as it was in 2003-2004.

Once COD has accepted Pell Grant and/or Direct Loan records for 2004-2005, in either format, you may not switch formats.

How do I sign up my school to become a Full Participant for the 2004-2005 Award Year?

Schools must send a Full Participant Request Letter, printed on school or corporate letterhead, to the COD School Relations Center. In order to set up your school as a Full Participant and process your records correctly, the request letter must contain the following information:

1. School Information:

School Name,

Address,

OPE ID#, Pell ID, and DL G/E code (if applicable).

2. Full Participant Status:

Program(s) for which your school intends to transmit data to COD as a Full Participant. (E.g. Pell Grant Program and/or Direct Loan Program).

3. Do you plan on submitting Campus Based information to COD?

Indicate Yes (you will be submitting Campus Based information) or No (will not participate in Campus Based processing).

Pell Grant Program Full Participants: If you intend to transmit data to COD as a Full Participant in the Pell Grant Program, you must also include the following information:

  1. Software Products -- List the software product(s) used to transmit data to COD.


  2. Contact Information for Financial Aid Administrator -- Provide the name, email address, and phone number of your school's Financial Aid Administrator

    Note: The COD School Relations Center will send important information and updates regarding processing as a Full Participant to this contact. It will NOT be used to update the COD web site.


  3. Contact Information by Program -- Provide the name, email address and phone number of the primary contact for the Pell Grant Program. If this is the same individual as the Financial Aid Administrator, please indicate this.

    Note: The COD School Relations Center will send important information and updates regarding processing as a Full Participant to this contact. It will NOT be used to update the COD web site.

Direct Loan Program Full Participants: If you intend to transmit data to COD as a Full Participant in the Direct Loan Program, you also must include the following information:

  1. Data Source -- Indicate the school/organization name, OPE ID#, and DL G/E code (if applicable) of the school/organization that transmits your data to COD. This organization is the SAIG Destination point. It can be either a school or a third party servicer.


  2. Reporting School -- Indicate whether your campus/location reports its own data to COD or uses another campus/location to report data on its behalf. This is the DL Code included in the Direct Loan Header record.


  3. Attended School -- List any additional schools or locations, their OPE ID, and Direct Loan G/E Code (if applicable) for whom your campus/location reports data to COD. These are the DL Codes included in the individual detail records.


  4. Software Product(s) -- For campus/location from above, list the software product(s) used to transmit data to COD.


  5. Contact Information for Financial Aid Administrator -- Provide the name, email address and phone number of your school's Financial Aid Administrator.

    Note: COD School Relations will send important information and updates regarding processing as a Full Participant to this contact. It will NOT be used to update the COD web site.


  6. Contact Information by Program -- Provide the name, email address and phone number of the primary contact for the Direct Loan program.

    Note: COD School Relations will send important information and updates regarding processing as a full participant to this contact. It will NOT be used to update the COD web site.

Where do I send my Full Participant Request Letter?

Print the Full Participant Request Letters on school or corporate letterhead and mail or fax them to:

U.S. Department of Education
COD School Relations Center
Attn: Full Participant for 2004-2005
P.O. Box 9003
Niagara Falls, NY 14302
Fax #: 877/623-5082

You must notify the COD School Relations Center of your intent to become a Full Participant for the 2004-2005 Award Year. We are encouraging schools to do so as soon as possible.

What if my school uses vendor software or a third party servicer?

If you use vendor software or a third party servicer to submit data to COD, you should contact your provider for a status update on processing the XML/Common Record. If you plan to use an XML Common Record compatible product or servicer, you must complete the Full Participant Request Letter described above and mail or fax it to the COD School Relations Center.

What should I do if I am changing software vendors or third party servicers?

COD strongly recommends that you confirm with your vendor, or third party servicer, the format they plan on using to submit records to COD. If you are changing software vendors or third party servicers, and the format is not compatible with how you are currently set up (either as Phase-In or Full Participant), you must notify the COD School Relations Center of any changes before you submit any records for 2004-2005 processing. Once COD accepts records in any format (Phase-In or Full Participant) for an award year, we cannot modify the participation type.

Note: All schools that use EDExpress to transmit data to COD are required to be a Full Participant. If you are a new user of EDExpress, and were not a Full Participant for 2003-2004, you must notify the COD School Relations Center by submitting a Full Participant Request Letter.

What if I have more questions?

If you have any questions regarding this message or COD in general, please contact the COD School Relations Center at (800) 4PGRANT for Pell Grants and (800) 848-0978 for Direct Loans. Staff is available Monday through Friday, from 8a.m. -8p.m. Eastern Time. Schools may also submit questions to CODSupport@acs-inc.com at any time.