Publication Date: May 21, 2007 Author: William Leith, Acting General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services, Federal Student Aid Summary: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 3.0 Posted on 05-21-2007 The U.S. Department of Education is pleased to announce the posting of EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 3.0, on the Department's Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at http://fsadownload.ed.gov. Release 3.0 incorporates changes to the 2007-2008 Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) payment and disbursement schedules into EDExpress Global, Packaging, and Pell functionality. In addition to the Release 3.0 software, the EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008, Release 2.0 Cover Letter, Release 2.0 Desk Reference and Release 2.0 Desk Reference HERA Addendum are available on the FSAdownload Web site at the EDExpress for Windows 2007-2008 Release 2.0 location. No updates of these documents will be posted for Release 3.0. 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. You must upgrade to Release 3.0 before you can begin submitting 2007-2008 Pell Grant award information to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System using EDExpress 2007-2008. The COD System began accepting 2007-2008 Pell Grant awards based on the updated 2007-2008 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules on May 12, 2007. 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. Release 3.0 Enhancements The following software enhancements, listed by module, are available in EDExpress 2007-2008, Release 3.0: EDExpress Global
EDExpress Packaging
Note: The 2007-2008 Packaging Technical Reference has been revised to update the valid field content for the Low Tuition field in the Packaging Import External Add record layout and the Packaging Import Field Change Fields table. EDExpress Pell
Note: 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. Software Issues Resolved in Release 3.0 Two software issues from earlier EDExpress 2007-2008 versions are resolved in Release 3.0:
Note: As in prior EDExpress releases, the automatic population of the EDconnect Transmission Queue will only occur following export if the "Export to EDconnect?" checkbox is selected in Security Users setup for the user performing the export. You can access Security Users setup by selecting Tools, Setup, Global, Security Users in the EDExpress 2007-2008 software. Before You Install Release 3.0 Before upgrading from Release 1.0 or Release 2.0 to Release 3.0, ensure you have a valid, reliable backup copy of your current production EDExpress 2007-2008 database (expres78.mdb). You must also make sure there are no record locks on the database and that no user IDs are logged in by following the steps listed below:
Release 3.0 Download/Installation Process Release 3.0 is available on the FSAdownload Web site in two formats. You can download the entire software in one file, called express78r3.exe, or you can download the software in separate "disk" installment files, which can be copied to a Local Area Network (LAN) drive or CDs. Review the download and installation instructions in the Installation Guide for further information. You are required to have Windows 2000 or Windows XP as your PC workstation operating system to run Release 3.0. Note: At this time, Federal Student Aid has not certified the Microsoft Corporation's recently released Windows Vista as a supported operating system for EDExpress or its other PC software products. This guidance also applies to the Local Area Network (LAN) or "server" version of Windows Vista, due for release later in 2007. We will provide additional information as it becomes available. You must also adhere to either the minimum or the optimal hardware and software configuration requirements outlined in the September 2004 Federal Register Notice, available on the IFAP Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/fregisters/FR09142004.html. Additional details and frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding system requirements are also available on IFAP at http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0408.html. Important Installation Note: You must be an Administrator on your workstation to install EDExpress 2007-2008 in the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating systems. If you are not an Administrator, you will receive a warning when you try to install EDExpress. After an Administrator has installed EDExpress, you can run it as a member of the Power Users group. If your database is on a network server, you must be a Power User or higher on the network (or "domain") as well as on your workstation. There are no workarounds for these Windows rights issues. Consult with your school's technical department if you receive a warning that an Administrator must install the EDExpress software. Release 3.0 can be installed as an upgrade to Release 1.0 or Release 2.0. You must have Release 1.0 or Release 2.0 installed in order to run an upgrade (or "Custom") installation of Release 3.0. To upgrade to Release 3.0, select either the Stand Alone Custom or Workstation Custom option during installation, depending on your EDExpress operating environment. Do NOT mark the "Database" checkbox unless you are performing a first-time installation or want to overwrite your EDExpress 2007-2008 database. If you choose to overwrite your database, all data previously entered will be lost. Note: If you have not installed EDExpress 2007-2008 on your system, you can proceed directly to a Stand Alone Full or Network Server/Workstation Full installation of Release 3.0. Remember, a Stand Alone Full or Network Server/Workstation Full installation will load a completely new, blank 2007-2008 EDExpress database to your system. If a database already exists for 2007-2008 on your system, a full installation of Release 3.0 will overwrite it and all data previously entered will be lost. If you receive any prompts during the Release 3.0 installation indicating an existing file was found and asking if you want to overwrite it, click Yes. After you upgrade to Release 3.0, reboot your PC, then log on to EDExpress 2007-2008 to allow the software to perform a one-time only database update. This update loads important changes to your database structure. If You Have Questions If you have any questions regarding downloading, installing, or using EDExpress 2007-2008, 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. You can also post questions regarding EDExpress on FSATECH. FSATECH is an electronic mailing list for technical questions about Federal Student Aid systems, software, and mainframe products. For more information about FSATECH, including how to subscribe, go to http://fsa4schools.ed.gov, click "Listserves/Mailing Lists" on the left menu, and click the "FSATech" link. 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. |