Summary: Beta Test Volunteers Needed for EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 2.0 Pell (including ACG and National SMART Grant) and Direct Loan Modules

Publication Date: January 12, 2007

Author: G. Kay Jacks, General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services, Federal Student Aid

Summary: Beta Test Volunteers Needed for EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 2.0 Pell (including ACG and National SMART Grant) and Direct Loan Modules

Posted on 01-12-2007

Federal Student Aid is recruiting schools and servicers to participate in beta tests of the Pell and Direct Loan modules of EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 2.0. The Pell and Direct Loan beta tests are scheduled to run from February 5 through February 9, 2007.

Beta test participants download an in-development version of the EDExpress software and test documentation from an FTP site, replicate typical usage of the software in a mock-production environment, report any problems encountered, and submit a summary report detailing test findings and software suggestions for our analysis.

In addition to testing existing and new Pell and Direct Loan functionality, beta test participants will have the opportunity to examine enhancements related to provisions of the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 (the HERA), Pub. L. 109-171 in Release 2.0. For example:

• Pell beta test participants can test functionality related to the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant) in the 2007-2008 Pell module.
• Direct Loan beta test participants can test functionality related to the Federal Direct PLUS Loan (Direct PLUS) for graduate or professional students (or "Grad PLUS" loan, as it is defined in EDExpress) and other Direct Loan enhancements related to the HERA in the 2007-2008 Direct Loan module.

If you are interested in being considered as a beta test participant for the Pell and/or Direct Loan module(s) for Release 2.0, please send an e-mail to CPSSAIG@ed.gov with the subject line "Attention: EDExpress 2007-2008 Release 2.0 Beta Testing" and provide the following information:

1) School name and TG number
2) Primary and secondary testing contact names, telephone numbers, and e-mail addresses
3) Windows operating system version(s) for PC workstations accessing EDExpress
4) EDExpress operating environment (network/standalone). If your EDExpress database is stored on a network, please identify the network type and version (Novell 5.1, Windows 2003 Server, etc.).
5) EDExpress module(s) you want to test (Pell, Direct Loan, or both)
6) EDExpress functionality you would like to beta test (please provide specific details, such as External Add Import, Multiple Entry, list and report printing, etc.)
7) Do you use EDExpress in combination with a mainframe system or 3rd party software to process Direct Loan and/or Pell data? If so, what type of mainframe system and/or 3rd party software do you use?
8) FTP download capability (i.e. can you upload and download files from an FTP server?)
9) Number of student records processed using Pell and/or Direct Loan module functionality in EDExpress for Windows 2006-2007

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

We will contact all Release 2.0 beta test volunteers by January 31, 2007. If your school is selected for participation in the Pell or Direct Loan beta test, further information will be provided by e-mail at that time.

Thank you for your interest in helping make EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 2.0, a superior software product. We look forward to hearing from you.