| Publication Date: September 12, 2008 Author: Susan Szabo, Chief Business Operations Officer, Federal Student Aid Summary: Availability of Release 2 of the Electronic cohort default rate appeals process Posted on 09-12-2008 Summary: Federal Student Aid is pleased to announce the availability of Release 2 of the electronic Cohort Default Rate Appeals process (eCDR Appeals) for the fiscal year (FY) 2006 official season. As you will recall, in February 2008, schools were provided the opportunity to submit and process CDR challenges during the FY 2006 draft season via eCDR Appeals, a web-based application. With Release 2, schools will be able to submit their Uncorrected Data Adjustments (UDA) and New Data Adjustments (NDA) electronically, providing certain conditions apply. eCDR Appeals facilitates the exchange of information between parties for three of the challenge/adjustment processes: the Incorrect Data Challenge (IDC) and, as mentioned earlier, the UDA and NDA processes. The application allows schools to electronically submit these challenges and adjustment requests during a cohort default rate cycle, and allows the guaranty agency/Direct Loan Servicer (hereafter referred to as the data manager) and Federal Student Aid personnel to electronically view and respond to these challenges and adjustment requests. The application tracks the entire life cycle of each challenge/adjustment request from the time the case is submitted until the time a decision is made and the case is closed. Use of eCDR Appeals remains optional for schools at this time. Please note that if your school submitted its FY 2006 IDC via paper, your school may not submit an electronic UDA or NDA, and must submit via the paper process. If your school submitted its FY 2006 IDC electronically via eCDR Appeals, your school is encouraged to submit any UDA and/or NDA electronically, but is not required to do so. Also, if your school did not submit an IDC during the draft process (neither paper nor electronic), your school may submit an NDA electronically. Additional note: If a school that submitted an IDC electronically now wishes to allege that fraudulent loans were included in the FY 2006 cohort default rate calculation, the school should submit these fraudulent loan allegations as part of a separate UDA submitted via the paper process. Because fraudulent loan allegations are handled differently than other allegation types and are not included in an IDC, these type of allegations cannot be worked through eCDR Appeals. Please refer to Chapter 4.3 of the Cohort Default Rate Guide for further information on allegations of fraudulent loans. The school can submit all other valid allegations electronically via the NDA or UDA process. The attachment below provides a summary of important features the system offers. This information may help you determine whether you will choose to use eCDR Appeals after the FY 2006 official CDR release in September 2008. Our description focuses on the UDA and NDA processes for the official FY 2006 CDR cycle. If your school has any questions regarding eCDR Appeals, please contact Default Prevention and Management at (202) 377-4259 or via e-mail at fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov. |
