Publication Date: November 2003
Author: General Manager: FSA Application, School Eligibility and Delivery Services
Summary:Updated Draft of ISIR XML Schema, Sample ISIR, and ISIR Record Layout
Posted on 11-26-2003
| TO: | All Destination Points |
| FROM: | U.S. Department of Education |
| RE: | Updated Draft of ISIR XML Schema, Sample ISIR, and ISIR Record Layout |
The Department is pleased to provide the financial aid community with an updated draft of the ISIR XML schema, a sample ISIR in XML format, and an accompanying ISIR record layout/data description, based on the 2004-2005 cycle. Receiving ISIR data in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format will be an option for destination points during the 2005-2006 processing cycle.
The information will soon be available on U.S. 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 to allow time for comments and questions from schools about the XML schema, and so schools can begin to plan and develop systems for working with ISIR data in XML format. Additional information about the 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 destination points to inform us if they wish to participate in receiving ISIRs in XML for 2005-2006. More information about that process will be provided next year.
The XML schema describes in detail the structure of the ISIR document. It is intended for application developers who are familiar with XML tools and technologies. The schema provides information on document structure, element names, element data types, complex types, cardinality relationships, and other data relationships. 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 XML ISIR is provided in both XML format and in Adobe PDF 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 2004-2005 ISIR field numbers are displayed next to the XML field values in parentheses in the Adobe PDF 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 2004-2005 ISIR data and will be modified as necessary for 2005-2006. Updated drafts as well as additional information will be posted next year.
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 2005-2006 EDE Technical Reference, which will be available next summer.
Please understand that although receiving ISIR data in XML format will be an option, the current flat file ISIR format is not being eliminated for 2005-2006. In addition, we will continue to support you in implementing new technology by providing tools, such as EDExpress, to assist you in managing your financial aid processes.