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Summary: Additional COD System Implementation for 2004-2005 Award Year

Publication Date: July 14, 2004

Author: General Manager, FSA Application, School Eligibility and Delivery Services

Summary: Additional COD System Implementation for 2004-2005 Award Year


Posted on 07-14-2004

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

We plan to implement additional Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System functionality during the weekend of July 23-24, 2004. These system changes will support the processing of Pell Grants and Direct Loans for the 2004-2005 Award Year.

In this announcement, we provide--

  • Information about COD batch processing suspension and web site outages; and
  • A description of the key features and enhancements that we plan to add to the COD System as well as the modifications that we plan to make to existing functionality.

COD Batch Processing Suspension and Web Site Outage Information

In order to install the system changes that will enhance the COD System--

  • We will suspend COD batch processing beginning at 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, July 23, 2004. Records submitted after 8:00 P.M. (ET) will be held and processed after 5:30 A.M. (ET) on Saturday, July 24, 2004.
  • The COD web site will be unavailable from 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, July 23, 2004 through 9:15 A.M. (ET) on Saturday, July 24, 2004.

The Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS) will be available during the July 23-24, 2004 period, and schools may continue to request funds. The suspension of COD batch processing will not impact the regularly scheduled processing of funds requests.

Additionally, for Direct Loan participants--

  • The Direct Loan Electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN) web application, http://dlenote.ed.gov, will be unavailable from 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, July 23, 2004 through 9:15 A.M. (ET) on Saturday, July 24, 2004. Individuals starting the process by 7:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, July 23, 2004 will be able to complete their MPNs before the web site becomes unavailable. Individuals attempting to access the web site after the cutoff time will see a web site maintenance message and will not be able to start the process or retrieve an existing MPN.
  • As a reminder, the Direct Loan Electronic MPN web site is unavailable every Sunday morning from 5:00 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. (ET) and every Monday morning from 12:00 A.M. until 7:00 A.M. (ET) while routine maintenance is performed. During these periods, borrowers are not able to complete a new MPN electronically or retrieve an existing MPN that was completed electronically.
  • If you have any questions about Direct Loan Electronic MPN web site availability, refer to the "Contact Us" feature on the web site's upper menu bar.

We apologize for any inconvenience the batch processing suspension and web site outages may cause and appreciate your understanding and patience while we complete this important activity.

COD System Processing Function Enhancements and Modifications

Non Program Specific Changes

  • We will no longer send all types of correspondence requested via the COD web site's Person Correspondence screen to the address listed in the original origination record submitted to the COD System for processing. These types of correspondence will be sent to the current address on file in the COD System.
  • The SSN/Name/Date of Birth Change Report, which has been available for the Direct Loan Program, will be available for use in the Pell Grant Program. This report will show a change in SSN, name, or date of birth for a person on the COD System and will be produced for all schools that have an award for that person on file for at least one of the three most current award years.

    After a change has been submitted, the SSN/Name/Date of Birth Change Report will be generated and pushed to a school's SAIG mailbox in the Preformatted Text File format and to the school's COD newsbox on the COD web site.

Changes Specific to the Pell Grant Program

  • The Pell POP Report will be available for the Pell Grant Program for the 2004-2005 Award Year and forward. This will be a cumulative report that lists students who are or have been in a POP situation during an award year. The report also lists other attended schools that have reported disbursements for the student during the award year.

    The Pell POP Report will be generated and pushed weekly to a school's SAIG mailbox in the Preformatted Text File format (PGPR05OP ) and to the school's COD newsbox on the COD web site. Additionally, schools will be able to request the report as needed by submitting a batch data request or by using the Pell Data Request link located on the Batch screen on the COD web site.

  • The Funded Disbursement List for the Pell Grant Program (Push Cash/Just-in-Time funding method schools only) will be available for use. This report will display all disbursements that have been funded.

    The Pell Funded Disbursement List will be generated and pushed daily to a school's SAIG mailbox in the Preformatted Text File format (PGFD05OP) and to the school's COD newsbox on the COD web site.

For further information regarding the Pell POP Report and the Pell Funded Disbursement List, refer to the 2004-2005 COD Technical Reference Volume 8, Section 8.

Changes Specific to the Direct Loan Program

  • The Master Promissory Note (MPN) linking logic will be enhanced to better ensure that awards and MPNs link appropriately. As an example, code will be added to improve the linking of awards and MPNs when a nickname is used instead of a full name (such as "Bob" instead of "Robert").
  • A quality control step will be added to the process for releasing the School Account Statement (SAS). Before the release of the SAS, all reports will be checked to ensure that the Ending Cash Balance from the prior month's report equals the Beginning Cash Balance in the current report. If a problem is discovered in a school's SAS, the discrepancy will be researched and resolved before the SAS is released to the school.

Contact Information

If you have any questions about this announcement or the COD System, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/4PGRANT for Pell Grant or 800/848-0978 for Direct Loan. You may also e mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com.

Thank you for your continued support of the COD System.