Publication Date: August 6, 2004
Author: General Manager, FSA Application, School Eligibility and Delivery Services
Summary: COD Full Participant Requirement for 2005-2006 Award Year
Posted on 08-06-2004
To: | All Destination Points |
From: | General Manager, FSA ASEDS |
Summary: | COD Full Participant Requirement for 2005-2006 Award Year |
Full Participant Requirement for the 2005-2006 Award Year
We would like to take this opportunity to once again remind the financial aid community that all schools must be Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Full Participants beginning with the 2005-2006 Award Year. This means that all schools must be able to submit 2005-2006 Pell and/or Direct Loan origination and disbursement data to the COD System using the COD Common Record in XML format.
Note: We recently informed schools in GEN-04-06 that the implementation of the Common Record: ISIR will not be implemented for the 2005-2006 Award Year. The adjustment of the Common Record: ISIR implementation schedule does not affect the requirement that all schools must be COD Full Participants beginning with the 2005-2006 Award Year.
Action Your School Must Take
If your school is processing 2004-2005 data for all of the programs in which it participates as a Full Participant, it does not need to take any action. We will update your 2005-2006 participation status to Full Participant.
If your school is processing 2004-2005 data for one or all of the programs in which it participants as a Phase In Participant, it must follow the "Instructions for Becoming a COD Full Participant" below. If it has not done so yet, your school must determine a solution for processing all 2005-2006 Pell Grant and/or Direct Loan data as a Full Participant.
Instructions for Becoming a COD Full Participant
Through a series of questions and answers, we provide important instructions on how to become a COD Full Participant for the 2005-2006 Award Year. Please review these instructions and take the appropriate action as soon as possible.
How does my school sign up to become a Full Participant for the 2005-2006 Award Year?
Your school must submit a Full Participant Request Letter by mail or fax to the COD School Relations Center. This letter must be printed on school or corporate letterhead and contain the information specified below.
All Schools
- School Name;
- School Address;
- School OPE ID#, Pell ID, and/or Direct Loan G/E code (if applicable); and
- The program or programs for which your school will transmit data to the COD System as a Full Participant (i.e., Pell Grant Program and/or Direct Loan Program).
Pell Grant Schools
If your school will transmit Pell Grant data to the COD System, the letter must include the following information:
- Software Products--The software product or products that your school will use to transmit data to the COD System.
- Financial Aid Administrator's Information--The name, e mail address, and phone number of your school's Financial Aid Administrator.
- Primary Pell Grant Program Contact's Information--The name, e-mail address, and phone number of your school's primary contact for the Pell Grant Program. Please indicate if this individual is also the Financial Aid Administrator.
Note: The COD School Relations Center will send important information and updates regarding processing as a Full Participant to the contacts provided in the letter. We will not update the COD web site with the information that your school provides for this purpose.
Direct Loan Schools
If your school will transmit Direct Loan data to the COD System, the letter must include the following information:
- Data Source--The name, OPE ID#, and Direct Loan G/E code (if applicable) of the school/organization that transmits your school's data to the COD System. This school/organization is the SAIG Destination point. It can be either a school or a third party servicer.
- Reporting School Information--A statement regarding whether your campus/location reports its own data to the COD System or uses another campus/location to report data on your school's behalf. The Direct Loan G/E code for the reporting school is in the Direct Loan Header record.
- Attended School Information--A list of any additional schools or locations, their OPE IDs, and Direct Loan G/E Codes (if applicable) for which your campus/location reports data to the COD System. The Direct Loan G/E code for an attended school is in the individual detail record.
- Software Products--The software product or products that the data source above will use to transmit data to the COD System.
- Financial Aid Administrator's Information--The name, e-mail address, and phone number of your school's Financial Aid Administrator.
- Primary Direct Loan Program Contact's Information--The name, e-mail address, and phone number of your school's primary contact for the Direct Loan Program. Please indicate if this individual is also the Financial Aid Administrator.
Note: The COD School Relations Center will send important information and updates regarding processing as a Full Participant to the contacts provided in the letter. We will not update the COD web site with the information that your school provides for this purpose.
How does my school submit its Full Participant Request Letter?
Your school must mail or fax the Full Participant Request Letter (printed on school or corporate letterhead) to the COD School Relations Center.
U.S. Department of Education
COD School Relations Center
Attn: Full Participant for 2005-2006
P.O. Box 9003
Niagara Falls, NY 14302
Fax
U.S. Department of Education
COD School Relations Center
Attn: Full Participant for 2005-2006
877/623-5082
By when must my school submit its Full Participant Request Letter?
We encourage your school to mail or fax its Full Participant Request Letter to the COD School Relations Center as soon as possible. Doing so will assist us in preparing the COD System to accept and process your school's 2005-2006 Pell Grant and/or Direct Loan data.
What is the consequence of not signing up as a Full Participant for the 2005-2006 Award Year?
If your school does not sign up as a Full Participant for the 2005-2006 Award Year and submits 2005-2006 Pell Grant and/or Direct Loan data in flat file legacy formats, the COD System will reject the data.
Are there resources to which my school can refer in evaluating its Full Participant solution?
Your school can refer to the following sections of the 2004-2005 COD Technical Reference (http://www.ifap.ed.gov/cod/0405CODTechRefDraft.html/) for information that may be helpful in determining its Full Participant solution:
- Volume I, Section 3 provides information about XML.
- Volume II, Section 1 and Volume V, Section 1 provide information about FSA's EDExpress software that can be used to submit data to the COD System.
What if my school uses vendor software or a third party servicer?
If your school uses vendor software or a third party servicer to submit data to the COD System, it should contact the provider for a status update on processing the COD Common Record in XML format. If your school plans to use a COD Common Record in XML format compatible product or servicer, it must mail or fax the Full Participant Request Letter to the COD School Relations Center.
Note: If your school will be a new user of FSA's EDExpress software for the 2005-2006 Award Year and is not a Full Participant for the 2004-2005 Award Year, it must mail or fax the Full Participant Request Letter to the COD School Relations Center.
What should my school do if it is changing its software vendor or third party servicer for the 2005-2006 Award Year?
We strongly recommend that your school confirm with the new vendor or third party servicer its awareness that your school must be able to submit 2005-2006 Pell and/or Direct Loan origination and disbursement data to the COD System using the COD Common Record in XML format.
Note: A school may not change from Phase-In Participant to Full Participant after the COD System accepts data for the 2004-2005 Award Year. Therefore, if your school is already processing 2004-2005 Award Year data, it should make the vendor or third party servicer change beginning with the 2005-2006 Award Year.
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 assistance in completing the transition to the COD Common Record in XML format.