| Publication Date: April 25, 2007 Author: William Leith, Acting General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services, Federal Student Aid Summary: Federal Student Aid Implementing 2007-2008 Federal Pell Grant Functionality in EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 3.0 Posted on 04-25-2007 As indicated in recent electronic announcements posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site (http://ifap.ed.gov), Federal Student Aid is in the process of updating its systems and software products, including EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, to incorporate changes to the 2007-2008 Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) payment and disbursement schedules. In an Electronic Announcement posted on February 27, 2007 , we announced that the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007, (P.L. 110-5), establishes the maximum Pell Grant award for the 2007-2008 Award Year at $4,310 and, with the minimum award continuing to be $400, sets the maximum Expected Family Contribution (EFC) that a student may have to be eligible to receive a Pell Grant at 4110. The EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 2.0 Pell module will not calculate Pell Grant awards according to the updated 2007-2008 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules. As previously announced, on May 18, 2007, we plan to post EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 3.0, an upgrade version that will incorporate the 2007-2008 Pell Grant changes into EDExpress Global, Packaging, and Pell functionality. For this reason, you should delay creating Pell Grant origination records in EDExpress 2007-2008 until you have upgraded to Release 3.0. In addition, as explained most recently in an Electronic Announcement posted on April 4, 2007 , we plan to update the 2007-2008 Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System with the 2007-2008 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules during the period May 11-12, 2007. Until we update the 2007-2008 COD System with the Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules, the COD System will reject origination and anticipated disbursement records for 2007-2008 Pell Grant awards. While the COD System will accept origination and anticipated disbursement records for 2007-2008 Pell Grant awards after the May 11-12, 2007 update has been completed, again, you should delay your creation and submission of Pell Grant origination records until after you have upgraded to EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 3.0. Release 3.0 will also update the valid values for the Low Tuition & Fees Code field on the Origination (Pell) tab, and the Low Tuition field on the Packaging Awards tab. Additional Guidance for EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 2.0 Please note the following additional recommendations regarding EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 2.0, listed by software module, in order to better prepare for the implementation of 2007-2008 Pell Grant changes in Release 3.0: EDExpress Global Users should disregard the Pell Regular Schedule and Pell Alternate Schedule tabs available under Tools, Browse, Global. The amounts displayed reflect the 2006-2007 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules, not the updated 2007-2008 schedules. EDExpress Application Processing We began processing new 2007-2008 application and correction records according to the updated Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules on March 15, 2007. We also reprocessed 2007-2008 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) on March 22, 2007 for students who applied prior to March 15 and who, under earlier formulas, were not designated as being “Pell Grant Eligible,” but who are now eligible for a 2007-2008 Pell Grant. EDExpress 2007-2008 users should import all reprocessed ISIR transactions (File, Import, App Express, ISIR Data) sent by Federal Student Aid to ensure the most accurate and recent student data is loaded in your database. You may import these reprocessed ISIRs into Release 1.0, 2.0, or 3.0. EDExpress Packaging The Package and Repackage processes will not be updated to award Pell Grant funds according to the updated Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules until Release 3.0. However, EDExpress users can manually adjust Pell Grant awards on 2007-2008 Packaging records at any time by following the updated Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules published in Dear Colleague Letter P-07-01 . If you create Packaging records by importing ISIR data, you should re-import ISIR data for student records impacted by the March 22 reprocessing. This will ensure the Pell Eligibility field on the Packaging record is set correctly. You must unpackage student records at a Packaging Status of P (Packaged), M (Manually Adjusted), or H (Hand Packaged) in order to import new ISIR transactions. You may wish to print the Packaging Record for impacted students before unpackaging so you have a record of the funds you originally awarded to them (in case you wish to recreate the awards). Once you have imported all reprocessed ISIR data into the Release 2.0 Packaging module, you can package the impacted student records again and either manually adjust the students’ Pell Grant awards or repackage the records once you have installed Release 3.0. EDExpress Packaging users should also be aware that we will be revising the valid field content of the Low Tuition field on the Awards tab in Release 3.0 to match the revised 2007-2008 Alternate Federal Pell Grant Schedules for Students with Low Assessed Tuition. This change may impact Pell Grant awards for some of your students and should also be taken into account if you choose to manually adjust Pell Grant awards on Packaging records in Release 2.0. For this reason, you may want to wait until you download Release 3.0 to make your awards. We will publish an updated version of the 2007-2008 Packaging Technical Reference in May 2007 to revise the valid field content for the Low Tuition field in the External Add Import record layout and the Import Field Change Number table. EDExpress ACG and National SMART Grant You can create and submit 2007-2008 Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant) origination and anticipated disbursement data using Release 2.0. The COD System is now accepting ACG and National SMART Grant data for the 2007-2008 Award Year. It is not necessary for the COD System to accept a 2007-2008 Pell Grant record for a student before it can accept a 2007-2008 ACG or National SMART Grant record for that student. Therefore, if you wish to submit 2007-2008 ACG and/or National SMART Grant origination and anticipated disbursement records to the COD System before the COD System begins accepting 2007-2008 Pell Grant origination and anticipated disbursement records (after the May 11-12, 2007 update has been completed), you may do so. Note: We will perform a COD System-wide job to check for a corresponding Pell Grant later in the award year. EDExpress Direct Loan You can create and submit 2007-2008 Direct Loan origination and anticipated disbursement data using Release 2.0. The COD System is now accepting Direct Loan data for the 2007-2008 Award Year. COD Technical Reference, Volume III We will publish an updated version of the 2007-2008 COD Technical Reference, Volume III (Pell Grant, ACG, National SMART Grant and Direct Loan Combination System Supplement) in May 2007 to revise the valid field content for the Low Tuition field in the EDExpress 2007-2008 Pell, ACG, and National SMART Grant External Origination Add/Change Import record layout. If You Have Questions If you have any questions regarding EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 2.0 or Release 3.0, 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 may also e-mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com. |