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(Application Processing) Summary: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 1.0

Publication Date: January 3, 2008

Author: William Leith, Acting General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services, Federal Student Aid

Summary: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 1.0


Posted on 01-03-2008


Federal Student Aid is pleased to announce the posting of EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 1.0, on the Department's Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at http://fsadownload.ed.gov. This release contains Global, Application Processing, and Packaging functionality for the 2008-2009 cycle.

In addition, the following EDExpress 2008-2009 documents are available on the FSAdownload Web site:

  • Installation Guide for EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009

  • EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 1.0 Cover Letter

  • EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 1.0 Desk Reference (covers Global, Application Processing, and Packaging functionality) and Addendum (covers changes related to the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 [the HERA], Pub. L. 109-171, such as Academic Competitiveness Grant [ACG] and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant [National SMART Grant] processing)

  • 2008-2009 Packaging Technical Reference

These documents contain important information regarding EDExpress 2008-2009 installation, functionality, and enhancements that you should review.

Note: At the time this software was prepared, the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) Fiscal Year 2008 Appropriation had not been approved and the 2008-2009 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedule included in Release 1.0 was based on the current maximum Pell Grant award. Now that the appropriations bill has been enacted, we will update the Pell Grant Payment Schedule through a future release of EDExpress. If you use the EDExpress Packaging module to award Pell Grants, you will want to wait until the updated software is available.

Release 1.0 Download/Installation Process

Release 1.0 is available on the FSAdownload Web site in two formats. You can download the entire software in one file, called express89r1.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 EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009 for further information.

You are required to have Windows 2000 or Windows XP as your PC workstation operating system to run Release 1.0.

Note: At this time, we have not certified the Microsoft Corporation's Windows Vista as a supported operating system for EDExpress or the other EDESuite software products. This guidance also applies to the Local Area Network (LAN) or "server" version of Windows, known as Windows Server 2008, which we understand will be released by the Microsoft Corporation in 2008. We will communicate about additional supported operating systems after completion of our certification process.

Check Federal Student Aid's Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, located at http://ifap.ed.gov, for the most recent guidance concerning minimum and optimal system configuration recommendations.

Important Installation Note: You must be an Administrator on your workstation to install EDExpress 2008-2009 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 1.0 can be installed in a standalone or LAN environment. In a standalone installation, all program files, including the EDExpress database, are installed and stored on the hard drive of a single PC.

If you want to run EDExpress for Windows in a LAN environment, you must first run a network server installation and designate a location on your LAN for your EDExpress database. After the network server installation is complete, you must run network workstation installations on all PCs that will access the EDExpress database on your LAN, designating the correct LAN drive and folder for your database during each workstation installation.

If you receive any prompts during the Release 1.0 installation indicating an existing file was found and asking if you want to overwrite it, click Yes.

Other system and network requirements are outlined in the Installation Guide for EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, available now on the FSAdownload Web site, located at http://fsadownload.ed.gov.

If You Have Questions

If you have any questions regarding downloading, installing, or using EDExpress 2008-2009, Release 1.0, 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 e-mail listserv 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 listserv" link.