Maintained for Historical Purposes

This resource is being maintained for historical purposes only and is not currently applicable.

Summary: Correction/Clarification Alert for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Versions of COD Technical Reference, Volume III, Section 3 (Combination System Record Layouts) Used by EDExpress Combo Schools

Publication Date: January 19, 2007

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

Summary: Correction/Clarification Alert for 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 Versions of COD Technical Reference, Volume III, Section 3 (Combination System Record Layouts) Used by EDExpress Combo Schools

Posted on 01-19-2007

We have identified information in Volume III, Section 3 (Combination System Record Layouts) of both the 2006-2007 COD Technical Reference and the 2007-2008 COD Technical Reference that requires the attention of schools that process records using the EDExpress software in combination with another system.

Specifically, we need to correct/clarify the valid field content for three fields included in the Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant), Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant) External Origination Add/Change record layout. The three fields are #37 (College Year), #38 (Eligibility/Payment Reason Code), and #39 (High School Program).

Note: Field #39 only requires correction/clarification in the 2007-2008 COD Technical Reference, Volume III, Section 3. The 2006-2007 version is correct as currently published.

Clarification of Valid Field Content

The valid field content for field #37 (College Year), field #38 (Eligibility/Payment Reason Code), and field #39 (High School Program) differs depending on which record type-Pell Grant, ACG, or National SMART Grant-you are adding/modifying in the EDExpress software.

The valid field content for field #37, field #38, and field #39 for 2006-2007 (message class PGEO07OP) and 2007-2008 (message class PGEO08OP) files follows below.

Field #37 (College Year)

It is important to remember that the College Year for ACG and National SMART Grant records may be reported differently than a student's grade level used for institutional and other Title IV program purposes. The College Year field is asking for the Title IV defined academic year, not the student's class standing or grade level used for student loans.

The EDExpress software will allow you to import a value of 0-7 for College Year for ACG and National SMART Grant records in an External Origination Add/Change file; however, you should only use 0, 1, or 2 for ACG records and 3 or 4 for National SMART Grant records when building your import file. This will help prevent potential rejection of the record by the COD System, which performs data edits on the College Year field in the COD Common Record to ensure the value provided is appropriate to the grant type.

As explained in Volume II, Section 3 of the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 versions of the COD Technical Reference, a school can use either 0 or 1 to indicate the academic level of a first-year student regardless of the student's previous college attendance. The COD System does not require or perform data edits on previous college attendance information. The option to use either 0 or 1 for first-year students allows a school the flexibility to provide academic level information as it is recorded in the school's system.

Valid Field Content:

  • For Pell Grant records - blank (constant spaces).
  • For ACG records - 0 (1st year/never attended college), 1 (first year/attended college before), or 2 (2nd year/sophomore).
  • For National SMART Grant records- 3 (3rd year/junior) or 4 (4th year/senior).

Note: Although we use our cross-program standard naming convention to identify the valid values for College Year field for ACG and National SMART Grant records, we again remind you that, in the case of ACG and National SMART Grant records, College Year field is asking for the Title IV defined academic year, not the student's class standing or grade level used for student loans.

Field #38 (Eligibility/Payment Reason Code)

Valid Field Content:

  • For Pell Grant records - blank (constant spaces).
  • For ACG records - 1 (High School Program), 2 (AP/IB Courses), or 3 (Coursework).
  • For National SMART Grant records - blank (constant spaces).

Field #39 (High School Program)

Valid Field Content:

  • For Pell Grant records - blank (constant spaces).
  • For ACG records - AA0000-ZZ9999 or blank (constant spaces) if field #38 = 2 (AP/IB Courses) or 3 (Coursework).
  • For National SMART Grant records - blank (constant spaces).

We will publish change pages for the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 versions of the COD Technical Reference, Volume III, Section 3 in early February 2007 that add the clarifying detail regarding field #37 and field #38. As noted earlier in this message, the clarification/correction to field #39 will only be included in the 2007-2008 change pages.

You can download the most current 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 versions of the COD Technical Reference from the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, located at http://ifap.ed.gov, or the Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at http://fsadownload.ed.gov/, under "Technical References and Guides."

If You Have Questions

If you have any questions regarding the Pell Grant, ACG, and National SMART Grant External Origination Add/Change record layout in the 2006-2007 and 2007-2008 versions of the COD Technical Reference, Volume III, Section 3 (Combination System Record Layouts), contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.

If you have questions regarding the COD System, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/4PGRANT (800/474-7268) for ACG, National SMART Grant, and Pell Grant or 800/848-0978 for Direct Loan. You can also e-mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com.

If you have policy-related questions, contact Federal Student Aid's Research and Customer Care Center (RCCC) at 800/433-7327 or by fax at 202/275-5532. You can also e-mail the RCCC at fsa.customer.support@ed.gov. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, excluding federal holidays.