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Summary: COD System Implementation for 2004-2005 Award Year

Publication Date: March 12, 2003

Author: General Manager| School Delivery Channel| FSA ASEDS

Summary: COD System Implementation for 2004-2005 Award Year


Posted on 03-12-2004

To: All Destination Points
From: General Manager, School Delivery Channel, FSA ASEDS
Summary: COD System Implementation for 2004-2005 Award Year

During this weekend, March 12 14, 2004, we will implement additional Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System functionality that supports the processing of Pell Grants and Direct Loans for the 2004 2005 Award Year. (For details on the COD System outage, see the Electronic Announcement that we posted on March 4, 2004 at http://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0304CODoutage0312.html.)

Following a couple reminders and start date information for 2004 2005 Pell Grant authorizations and disbursement processing, we describe the key features and enhancements we are adding to the COD System as well as the modifications we are making to existing functionality.

Reminders

  • For the 2004 2005 Award Year, the COD System will continue to process both the Common Record, XML format for Full Participants as well as the fixed-length flat files for Phase In Participants. Beginning with the 2005 2006 Award Year, ALL schools will be required to process with COD as Full Participants.
  • Prior to submitting 2004 2005 records to the COD System, ensure that your school software/system is ready to process 2004 2005 records. If your school uses a third party software provider, please check with your provider for the availability of the provider's 2004 2005 software release.
    Note: For EDExpress users, the 2004 2005 EDExpress for Windows Release 2.0 will be available in early April 2004.

2004 2005 Pell Grant Authorizations and Disbursement Processing Start Dates

Initial Pell Grant Authorizations for 2004 2005 will be determined in May 2004. Current Funding Levels (CFLs) will be established in COD at that time, and an Electronic Statement of Account (ESOA) containing this information will be sent to a school's SAIG mailbox. Funds for the Pell Grant Program will be available in GAPS on July 1, 2004.

Pell Grant disbursement processing for the 2004 2005 Award Year will begin on June 21, 2004.

  • From implementation of the COD System for the 2004 2005 Award Year until June 21, 2004, Phase In Participants may submit only origination records. Schools that submit disbursement records prior to June 21, 2004 will receive reject Edit 408 (Disbursement Date is Not Valid for Processing Date, Not in Valid Range, or Not a Valid Date Format).
  • From implementation of the COD System for the 2004 2005 Award Year until June 21, 2004, Full Participants may submit common records that contain anticipated disbursement information provided the Disbursement Release Indicator (DRI) value is equal to "False". If the DRI value is equal to "True", the actual disbursement will be rejected, and schools will receive Edit 996 (Invalid Value). Beginning June 21, 2004, schools may change the DRI to "True", and COD will process the actual disbursements.

COD System Processing Function Enhancements and Modifications for 2004 2005

Non Program Specific Changes

  • As explained in an Electronic Announcement posted on March 10, 2004 at http://www.ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/0310CODSchemaChange0405.html, COD acknowledges 2003 2004 and 2004 2005 Common Record documents for Full Participants as follows:
    • All 2003 2004 Award Year Common Record documents (both web and system- generated) are acknowledged using Version 2.0c of the Common Record XML Schema.
    • All 2004 2005 Award Year Common Record documents (both web and system-generated) are acknowledged using Version 2.0d of the Common Record XML Schema.
    • If a Common Record document contains data for multiple award years, the document is acknowledged using the schema version for the latest award year. (For example, if a Common Record document contains both 2003 2004 and 2004 2005 data, the document is acknowledged using Version 2.0d of the Common Record XML Schema.)
  • The variable Batch Number on the SAIG Transmission Batch Header is increased from positions 42 67 to 42 91. Positions 42 61 are reserved for school use. Positions 62 91 are reserved for use by the Department of Education. The COD System populates positions 62 91 with the Batch/Document ID on acknowledgements for all award years. If a school populates positions 62 91 on the incoming record, COD overwrites the data with the Batch/Document ID.
    Note: EDConnect users must upgrade to EDConnect version 5.3 or higher for their records to be transmitted to COD. EDConnect version 6.0 will be available in mid April 2004.
  • For the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward, Full Participants are able to choose the message class in which they send and receive documents to and from the COD System. Message class options include the following:
    • Non program specific and non award year specific (COMRECIN, COMRECOP);
    • Non program specific and award year specific (2004 2005);
    • Program specific (Pell or Direct Loan) and non award year specific; and
    • Program specific (Pell or Direct Loan) and award year specific (2004 2005).


    The complete list of message classes available for use in 2004 2005 is available in the 2004 2005 COD Technical Reference Volume 2, Section 2 at http://www.fsadownload.ed.gov/index.htm.

    For award years prior to 2004 2005, Full Participants must continue to send documents in the non program specific and non award year specific message class (COMRECIN, COMRECOP).

  • Two new tags have been added to the 2004 2005 Common Record Layout to assist schools in processing. These tags are also located on the Batch Detail Response screen on the COD web site. The tags are as follows:
    • CPS Verification Indicator- Upon receipt of an actual disbursement if the school's verification status code for a Pell award is equal to "Blank" or "W", the COD System reviews the CPS verification indicator on file with COD. If the CPS verification indicator for the award year is equal to "Y", COD returns the CPS Verification Indicator with a value of "True" to the school in the response.
    • CPS Highest Transaction Number- COD compares all CPS transaction numbers for an award year. Upon receipt of an actual disbursement if any CPS transaction number on file at COD for a student is greater than the school reported transaction number, COD returns the CPS highest transaction number to the school in the response.
  • Several screens on the COD web site are modified as follows:
    • The Batch ID label under the COD web site's Batch Search and Batch Detail Information screen is renamed Document ID.
    • The Batch Search screen includes additional search options in the drop down menu for the Batch Type field. The search options include: Common Record, DL Phase In Sub/Unsub Origination, DL Phase In PLUS Origination, DL Phase In Disbursement, DL Phase In Change, Booking Notification, Credit Decision Override, Payment to Servicing, Promissory Note, and Web Initiated Response (Common Record).
    • The Search Results screen that displays after searching by Entity ID and SSN includes the following new columns:
      • Record Type- This column displays the value Common (Common Record), DL (Direct Loan), or PL (Pell).
      • Document Type- This column displays the value BN (Booking Notification), ND (Negative Disbursement), PS (Payment to Servicing), PN (Promissory Note), RC (Receipt), RS (Response), or WB (Web Response).
      • Date Received- This column displays the date the batch was received by COD.
      • Date Response Sent- This column displays the date the response was sent to the school.
      • Warning- This column displays a "Y" if there are warnings in the batch.
    • The Batch Detail Information screen displays two separate sections for Common Record only. These two sections are School Reported Data and Batch Statistics.
    • Due to the changes to the Batch Detail Information screen, there will be a two-week delay in the conversion of batches submitted prior to the implementation of the COD System for the 2004 2005 Award Year to include the new information. When viewing a batch submitted prior to the implementation, zero values will display in some of the fields until the batch is converted to the new format. The expected completion date for the conversion is March 29, 2004.
    • A new column, Award Type, is added to the Batch Detail Information screen. This column displays the value: PEL (Pell), DLS (Direct Loan Subsidized), DLU (Direct Loan Unsubsidized), or DLP (Direct Loan PLUS).
    • The Award No column under the Batch Detail Information screen displays the last three digits of the Award ID.
    • On the Cash Activity screen, the GAPS Debit Date field is populated with a date that COD receives from GAPS. The GAPS software update is tentatively scheduled for April 18, 2004.
      • New transactions that enter the COD System before the April 18, 2004 software update will be populated with zeroes.
      • New transactions that enter the COD System after the April 18, 2004 software update will be populated with the date COD receives from GAPS.
  • COD web users are able to view the actual data submitted by schools to COD and the acknowledgments sent to schools from COD. The Batch Search screen is modified to show the incoming view when a school selects a status (accepted, rejected, or corrected) on the Batch Detail Information screen. The incoming and outgoing data is view only; however, web users can make changes to data on the existing update screens.
  • The Person Direct Loan Information screen and the Person Pell Grant Information screen include an award year drop down menu as well as fields for the Award Amount Approved and Award Amount Disbursed.
  • A new screen, Applicant Detail, is added under the Person tab on the COD web site. This new screen displays the CPS data that COD receives from CPS. This screen displays the following information: Original SSN, CPS Transaction Number, Award Year, Original Name Code, EFC, Date of Birth, First Name, Middle Initial, Last Name, Current SSN, Secondary EFC, Address, City, State, Zip, Pell Eligibility Flag, Verification Selection Indicator, SSA Match Flag, NSLDS Match Flag, Processed Record Type, and Process Date.

    Additionally, the Application Data Type and Transaction Data Type are displayed for the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward.

Changes Specific to the Pell Grant Program

  • The conditions that trigger Pell Grant data being transmitted from COD to NSLDS are expanded. COD sends data to NSLDS when an initial actual disbursement for a Pell Award is accepted by COD. This includes initial Pell actual disbursements accepted 30 days in advance of the disbursement date. Additionally, updated data are sent from COD to NSLDS when a change is made to the following data elements in the COD System: Current SSN, DOB, Current First Name, Cost of Attendance, CPS Transaction Number, POP Flag, Verification Status, Total Percent of Eligibility Used, Award Amount, and Disbursement or Disbursement Adjustment Activity.
  • For the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward, there are six school submitted data elements that no longer are used in the processing of a Pell award. These data elements are:
    • Academic Calendar Code;
    • Payment Methodology Code;
    • Weeks Used Calculate;
    • Weeks Program Academic Year;
    • Hours Award Year; and
    • Hours Program Academic Year.

    Note: These data element updates do not affect the processing of Pell awards for years prior to the 2004 2005 Award Year.

    When a school submits data for any of these data elements for the 2004 2005 Award Year, the COD system ignores the data and does not perform edits. If a Full Participant submits data in these fields, the data are ignored and are not included in a response document. If a Phase-in Participant submits data in these fields, the data are ignored but will be included in an origination acknowledgement response and in the Year to Date report. These fields are removed from any reports and COD web site pages. Additionally, the data are no longer transmitted from COD to the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS).

  • For the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward, the Pell Award Detail screen displays the following new fields: Selected for Verification by CPS, CPS Highest Application Process Date, and CPS Highest Transaction Number. These fields do not display for awards years prior to 2004 2005.
  • To assist schools in meeting verification reporting needs, a new report is available for the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward. The report identifies student disbursement records selected for verification by the Central Processing System (CPS) for which the school has not reported verification activity to COD.

    Per the default settings, the report is pushed to the school's SAIG mailbox (in a pre formatted report format) and to the school's COD newsbox (in a PDF or comma delimited format) once every month. Additionally, schools can request the report as needed by submitting a batch data request and by using the Pell Data Request link located on the Batch screen on the COD web site.

Changes Specific to the Direct Loan Program

  • All COD web users are able to search for a Master Promissory Note (MPN) by SSN, MPN ID, Name (Last, First), or First Name (first two characters) with Date of Birth. This new search capability allows web users to find MPNs that are linked, unlinked, pended, or rejected.
  • The School Summary Financial Information screen (Direct Loan drop down menu) on the COD web site is redesigned to reflect only information that is provided on the School Account Statement (SAS). The screen includes amounts for Net Drawdowns/Payments, Booked Disbursements (replaces former Disbursement Amount field), Booked Adjustments (replaces former Disbursement Adjustment Amount field), Total Net Booked Disbursements, Unbooked Disbursements, Unbooked Adjustments, Total Net Unbooked Disbursements (replaces former Disbursement Amount for Disbursements with Missing Pnote Status field), and Cash > Accepted and Posted Disbursements. The former Number of Disbursements with Missing Pnote Status field no longer displays on the screen.
  • For the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward, the COD System requires anticipated disbursement amounts on all Direct Loans. As a result, COD Edit 110 (School must print/provide the disclosure statement unless it sends disbursement data to COD at least 5 days before the first disbursement date.) no longer applies to Direct Loans for the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward.

    In accordance with this new requirement, COD has a new reject edit, COD Edit 117 (Disbursement information is incomplete or rejected. Direct Loan award is not accepted.). COD Edit 117 is returned to schools for an initial award when:

    • The sum of the anticipated and actual gross disbursements does not equal the Award Amount;
    • Anticipated or actual disbursements are rejected; or
    • A school that is ineligible to disburse a loan in a single installment submits a single disbursement greater than, less than, or equal to the award amount.
  • For the 2004 2005 Award Year and forward, the COD System automatically recalculates the anticipated disbursements until the sum of the disbursements is equal to the new award amount when a downward adjustment to an existing Direct Loan award is submitted to COD. The COD System then returns to schools a new warning edit, COD Edit 118 (The sum of the anticipated disbursements does not equal the updated Direct Loan award amount. COD will recalculate the anticipated disbursements.). For more details on the recalculation method, see the 2004 2005 COD Technical Reference Volume 2, Section 1 at http://www.fsadownload.ed.gov/index.htm.
  • The COD System automatically recalculates the anticipated disbursements to zero when a Direct Loan is inactivated. The COD System then returns to schools a new warning edit, COD Edit 119 (COD has reduced the anticipated disbursements and made this loan inactive based upon your record reducing the award amount to $0.).
  • The Direct Loan Program does not process awards or disbursements using pennies. As a result, if a Full Participant submits an award or disbursement with pennies, the COD System truncates the cents to the right of the decimal. The truncated amount displays as such on the COD web site and in any responses to schools. Schools are notified of the change to the amount via a corrected tag. Also, the COD web site does not allow users to enter pennies in an award or disbursement amount.
  • The Direct Loan Rebuild file is updated to include information for Full Participants. The following new fields are added to accommodate the Common Record layout: Disbursement Release Indicator, Previous Disbursement Sequence Number, CPS Transaction Number, Endorser Amount, and Disbursement Date. Additionally, the following fields are for Phase-In Participants only, (and are populated with "Blank" for Full Participants): Borrower's Alien Registration Number, Disbursement Activity, Additional Unsubsidized Eligibility of Dependent Student, and Original Disbursement Date of an Adjusted Disbursement Date Activity.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this announcement or COD, please contact the COD School Relations Center at: 1 800 4PGRANT for Pell Grants, or 1 800 848 0978 for Direct Loans. You may also email COD Customer Service at: CODSupport@acs-inc.com.

Thank you for your continued support of the COD System.