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Summary: Beta Test Volunteers Needed for EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 2.0 Pell (including ACG and National SMART Grant) and Direct Loan Modules

Publication Date: January 18, 2008

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

Summary: Beta Test Volunteers Needed for EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 2.0 Pell (including ACG and National SMART Grant) and Direct Loan Modules

Posted on 01-18-2008

Federal Student Aid is recruiting schools and servicers to participate in beta tests of the Pell and Direct Loan modules of EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 2.0. The Pell and Direct Loan beta tests are scheduled to run from February 4 through February 29, 2008.

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.

Note: In addition to testing existing functionality, Pell beta test participants will have the opportunity to examine enhancements related to the Academic Competitiveness Grant (ACG) and the National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant) in the 2008-2009 Pell 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 2008-2009 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 2007-2008

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

We will contact all Release 2.0 beta test volunteers by January 30, 2008. 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.

We appreciate your interest in helping us test EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 2.0 and look forward to hearing from you.