Summary: Beta Testers Needed for DL Tools for Windows, Release 6.0

Publication Date: April 14, 2006

Author: G. Kay Jacks, General Manager, FSA Application, School Eligibility and Delivery Services

Summary: Beta Testers Needed for DL Tools for Windows, Release 6.0

Posted on 04-14-2006

The U.S. Department of Education is recruiting Direct Loan participants for the beta test of Direct Loan (DL) Tools for Windows, Release 6.0. The beta test is scheduled to start May 8, 2006 and run through May 19, 2006.

DL Tools Release 6.0 has been developed to provide the following functionality:

1) Compare the School Account Statement (SAS) Report to loans and actual disbursements recorded in EDExpress or an external file, and/or compare the SAS to the DL Tools Cash Database.
2) Print the SAS Report in a readable format.
3) Track cash receipts (drawdowns) and Refunds of Cash for Direct Loans.
4) Rebuild your Direct Loan origination and disbursement records in EDExpress using an automated process.

DL Tools was developed to process data for multiple cycles. Release 6.0 contains Rebuild, Cash Management, and Compare functionality for the 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007 cycles.

All Direct Loan schools can use the Compare and Cash Management functionality. The Rebuild process can be used by schools to rebuild Direct Loan module records in the EDExpress database.

Beta test participants download the DL Tools software from an FTP site along with detailed test procedures. During testing, participants are asked to replicate their typical use of the software in a mock-production environment, report any problems encountered, and submit a summary report detailing their testing experience.

If you are interested in being considered as a beta test site for DL Tools Release 6.0, please send an e-mail to CPSSAIG@ed.gov to the attention of "DL Tools Beta Testing" and provide the following information:

1) School name and TG number.
2) School type (4-year public university, 2-year private college, proprietary/trade school, etc.).
3) Primary and Secondary testing contact names, phone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.
4) Windows operating system version(s) for PC workstations.
5) DL Tools operating environment (network/standalone). If your DL Tools database is stored on a network, please identify the network type and version (Novell 5.1, Windows 2003 Server, etc.).
5) Number of years participating in the Direct Loan Program.
6) Do you use EDExpress for Windows? If yes, do you use EDExpress in combination with mainframe or 3rd party software to perform Direct Loan processing?
7) Are you currently using DL Tools, Release 5.0?
8) FTP download capability (i.e., can you upload/download files from an FTP server?).

We will select participants with a wide variety of processing environments to ensure a diverse and thorough testing of the software is performed.

We will call or e-mail all interested schools by May 3, 2006. If your school is selected, further information will be provided at that time.

We thank you for your interest in helping make DL Tools a superior software product. We look forward to hearing from you.