Posted Date:May 18, 2009
Author: William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid
Subject: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2009-2010, Release 3.0
We are pleased to announce the posting of EDExpress for Windows 2009-2010, Release 3.0, on our Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at https://www.fsadownload.ed.gov. Release 3.0 implements the 2009-2010 Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) Payment and Disbursement Schedules in the EDExpress Packaging and Pell Grant modules and updates the EDExpress interface with the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site.
Important Note! You must install Release 3.0 to continue to use the EDExpress 2009-2010 interface with the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site. For more information, see the "Security Authentication Updates for FAA Access to CPS Online Interface in EDExpress" section later in this letter.
In addition to the Release 3.0 software, the EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 3.0 Cover Letter is now available on the FSAdownload Web site. This document, along with the Installation Guide for EDExpress for Windows 2009-2010 (also available on the FSAdownload Web site), contains important information and guidance regarding EDExpress 2009-2010 functionality that you should review.
Security Authentication Updates for FAA Access to CPS Online Interface in EDExpress
As described in the April 6, 2009 Electronic Announcement posted on the IFAP Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/040609PMSARegistration.html, Federal Student Aid implemented a new authentication process for the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site on May 17, 2009 in order to eliminate the use of personal identifiers such as Social Security Number (SSN), date of birth (DOB), and name ID as login elements.
To access the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site through the EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 3.0 interface (or directly through a Web browser at faaaccess.ed.gov), you must apply for and use a new FSA User ID and password. The login credentials you used in previous EDExpress 2009-2010 versions will no longer work as of May 17, 2009. All destination point administrators (DPAs), secondary destination point administrators (SDPAs), and other FAA Access users at your school can obtain their new FSA User ID by completing the FSA User ID enrollment process.
Note: For more detailed information on the FSA User ID creation process, see the April 6, 2009 Electronic Announcement posted on the IFAP Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/040609PMSARegistration.html.
We made the following changes to EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 3.0 as a result of the new authentication process:
We modified FAA Access setup (Tools, Global, FAA Access) to eliminate collection of all personally identifiable information (SSN, DOB, and Name ID). You can continue to define default values for TG #, School Code, and the Application Save/Restore Password, which EDExpress will feed to the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site when you access it through the software's interface.
We also updated all EDExpress interfaces to the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site, including the FAFSA and Student Inquiry tabs and all applicable View menu options, to eliminate collection of personally identifiable information during the authentication process. After you provide the TG #, School Code, and the Application Save/Restore Password on the FAA Access Automation Information dialog box, EDExpress interfaces with the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site using the new authentication process, where you must provide your new FSA User ID and password.
If you require any assistance with using the updated EDExpress interface to the FAA Access to CPS Online Web site or have questions regarding establishing your FSA User ID or password, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.
2009-2010 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules
We announced the 2009-2010 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules in Dear Colleague Letter P-09-01, posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/P0901.html. In addition to changes to the maximum and minimum Pell Grant award amount, the maximum Expected Family Contribution (EFC) that a student can have to be eligible to receive a Pell Grant is now 4617.
The Central Processing System (CPS) began processing 2009-2010 application and correction records following the updated Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules on March 17, 2009. The CPS also reprocessed 2009-2010 ISIRs on April 1, 2009 for students who applied before March 17 and who, under earlier formulas, were not designated as being "Pell Grant Eligible," but are now eligible for a 2009-2010 Pell Grant.
EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 3.0 incorporates the 2009-2010 Pell payment and disbursement schedules into EDExpress in the following functionality (listed by module):
Global
We updated the Pell Grant Regular Schedule tab available under Tools, Browse, Global to reflect the 2009-2010 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules.
Packaging
We updated the Package and Repackage processes to award Pell Grants (Packaging Aid Type = F) according to the 2009-2010 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules.
If you create Packaging records by importing ISIR data, you should re-import ISIR data for student records impacted by the April 1, 2009 reprocessing. This will ensure the Pell Eligibility field on the Packaging record is set correctly. You must unpackage student records at a Packaging Status of P (Packaged), M (Manually Adjusted), or H (Hand Packaged) in order to import new ISIR transactions. You may want to print the Packaging Record for impacted students before unpackaging so you have a record of the funds you originally awarded to them (in case you need to recreate the awards).
After you import all reprocessed ISIR data into the Release 3.0 Packaging module, run the Package process for the impacted student records. If you did not receive reprocessed ISIR data, run the Repackage process for students with Pell Grant awards after upgrading to Release 3.0. This will ensure your students' Pell Grant awards follow the 2009-2010 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules.
Pell Grant
- We updated the Pell module's Calculate Award Amount for Entire School Year function, available on the Process menu from the EDExpress main menu and the Origination (Pell) tab, to follow the 2009-2010 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules.
Before You Install Release 3.0
Before upgrading to Release 3.0 from an earlier version of EDExpress 2009-2010, ensure you have a valid, reliable backup copy of your current EDExpress 2009-2010 production database (expres90.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:
1) To check for record locks, select Tools, Utilities, Clear Locks from the menu bar. If you receive the message "No records selected," there are no record locks. If the Clear Locks dialog box appears, click Select All, then OK to clear any record locks.
2) To check for logged-in user IDs, select Tools, Setup, Global, Security Users from the menu bar, and then click Retrieve. The user ID you are currently using should be the only ID with a "Y" displayed in the Logged In column (you can disregard the Locked column). Select any user ID displayed as logged in and click OK. Clear the Logged In? checkbox and click OK. Repeat the process for each logged-in user ID except the one you are using.
After clearing any record locks and logging out any user IDs, run the Compact and Repair Database and Verify Database utilities by selecting Tools, Utilities from the menu bar before installing Release 3.0. You should run Compact and Repair Database first, then Verify Database, and lastly run Compact and Repair Database again.
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 express90r3.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: We tested Microsoft Windows Vista as an operating system for our EDESuite PC products in 2008. For information on our Vista testing results, issues we discovered, and steps schools need to take in order to run EDExpress on Vista operating systems, see the September 18, 2008 electronic announcement posted on the IFAP Web site, located at ifap.ed.gov.
Important Installation Note: You must be an Administrator on your workstation to install EDExpress 2009-2010 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.
EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 3.0 can be installed as an upgrade to any earlier 2009-2010 version (Release 1.0 or Release 2.0). You must have an earlier version installed 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 select the "Database" checkbox unless you are performing a first-time installation or want to overwrite your EDExpress 2009-2010 database. If you choose to overwrite your database, all data previously entered will be lost.
Note: If you have not installed EDExpress 2009-2010 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 2009-2010 EDExpress database to your system. If a database already exists for 2009-2010 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 in to EDExpress 2009-2010 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 2009-2010, 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 on subscribing to FSATECH, go to http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/services/fsatechsubscribe.html.
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.