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Summary: EDExpress 2008-2009 Release 3.0 Program File Now Available That Enables Users to Originate Direct Loans at ECASLA Annual Loan Limits

Publication Date: July 17, 2008

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

Summary: EDExpress 2008-2009 Release 3.0 Program File Now Available That Enables Users to Originate Direct Loans at ECASLA Annual Loan Limits

Posted on 07-17-2008

In the Direct Loan Bulletin (DLB) 08-16, posted to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals Web site (http://ifap.ed.gov) on June 27, 2008, we announced that Packaging and Direct Loan functionality in all available versions of EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009 (including the recently posted Release 3.0) would continue to calculate loan awards according to the annual loan limits defined prior to the enactment of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 (ECASLA), Pub. L. 110-227.

As part of the to DLB 08-16, we advised Direct Loan users to originate new unsubsidized loans to accommodate students with additional loan eligibility as a result of the increased annual loan limits defined by the ECASLA. We have since received feedback indicating that creating an additional unsubsidized loan record to cover expanded ECASLA annual loan limits is not a viable solution for some schools.

To assist schools in these situations, we have posted an updated EDExpress 2008-2009 program file named DirectLoan9.dll to the Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at http://fsadownload.ed.gov. After copying the DirectLoan9.dll to your EDExpress 2008-2009 workstations, you will be able to originate individual Direct Loan records according to ECASLA annual loan limit amounts.

If the previously published EDExpress workaround is sufficient for your school, or you do not use the EDExpress Direct Loan module, you do not need to load the DirectLoan9.dll file to your system. The updated DirectLoan9.dll will be loaded automatically to your system as part of the upcoming EDExpress 2008-2009, Release 4.0 (currently scheduled for release in early January 2009).

Note: Schools that load the updated DirectLoan9.dll to their system should be aware that the file removes all software edits pertaining to Direct Loan subsidized and unsubsidized annual loan limits from the origination process. After loading the file, you should plan to more closely monitor and verify loan award amounts for individual students and ensure they do not exceed pre-ECASLA or ECASLA annual loan limits based on your students’ eligibility.

EDExpress 2008-2009 Packaging Module Guidance

As noted in the to DLB 08-16, EDExpress 2008-2009 Packaging users can manually adjust subsidized and unsubsidized Direct Loan awards to the increased annual loan limits defined by the ECASLA. This can be accomplished by modifying loan award amount(s) on the Awarded Funds dialog box (accessible from the Awards tab within a student record). You can also add subsidized and unsubsidized loan awards that follow ECASLA loan limits using Packaging Multiple Entry and the Packaging External Add Funds import.

Packaging users should note the following considerations:

  • The Package and Repackage processes will not award Direct Loan subsidized or unsubsidized loans according to the ECASLA annual loan limits. If you package or repackage a student record, Direct Loan awards will be packaged according to pre-ECASLA annual loan limits.
  • You can import Packaging Direct Loan awards that exceed pre-ECASLA annual loan limits into the Direct Loan module to create origination records if you load the DirectLoan9.dll to your system.
  • If you adjust loan awards on packaging records, you may want to consider reprinting award letters for your students.

Installing the Program File on Your System

The DirectLoan9.dll file should be downloaded and copied into the EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009 program directory of all PC workstations in your office that have Release 3.0 installed.

Note: Be sure to close EDExpress 2008-2009 on your PC(s) before performing
this download and copy procedure.

To download the DirectLoan9.dll program file, go to http://fsadownload.ed.gov/, click the “Software and Associated Documents” link, and select “EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009, Release 3.0.” On the “EDExpress 2008-2009” page, you can initiate the download of the DirectLoan9.dll program file by clicking the “DirectLoan9.dll” link under the “Software” section. You will receive a message asking if you want to open the file or save it to your computer. You should choose to save the file to your computer. Please note the following additional tips regarding this process:

  • Save the DirectLoan9.dll to the program directory for EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009 on each PC running Release 3.0. For most users, this is the default directory of C:\Program Files\EDESuite\EDExpress for Windows 2008-2009 (unless you changed this location during the installation process).

During the copy procedure, you will receive a prompt asking if you want to replace the existing DirectLoan9.dll file with the new version you are downloading. You should click “Yes” and allow Windows to overwrite the file. Note: If you receive a message indicating you cannot overwrite the file (usually due to a “sharing violation”), restart your computer and try again. Windows may think the file is in use until you restart.

  • You do not need to reboot your PC(s) once the copy procedure is complete in order to resume using EDExpress 2008-2009.

Reminder! If your EDExpress 2008-2009 database is installed on a network drive, and you have multiple PC workstations accessing that database, you must install the DirectLoan9.dll file on EACH workstation.

If You Have Questions

If you have any questions regarding this message or downloading, installing, or using EDExpress 2008-2009, 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 tohttp://fsa4schools.ed.gov, click “Listserves/Mailing Lists” on the left menu, and click the “FSATech listserv” link.

If you have any questions about the COD System, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/474-7268 for Grants or 800/848-0978 for Direct Loans. You may also e-mail CODSupport@acs-inc.com.