Posted Date:June 24, 2009
Author: William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid
Subject: Additional COD System Implementation for 2009-2010 Award Year
As explained in a March 2009 Electronic Announcement on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, we implemented Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System functionality to support 2009-2010 Award Year processing. During the period June 26-27, 2009, we plan to implement additional COD System functionality needed to support 2009-2010 Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) changes related to the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA), Public Law 110-315, that was enacted on August 14, 2008, and reauthorizes the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (the HEA). Specifically, we will implement functionality to support:
Year-Round Pell Grant
Maximum Pell for Children of Deceased Members of the Military
Maximum Duration of Eligibility
In this announcement, we provide the following important information related to the implementation:
COD Batch Processing Suspension and Web Site Outage Information
COD System Processing Changes for 2009-2010 Pell Grants
Contact Information
Attachments/Enclosures
Note: This announcement and its attachment provide only operational guidance for the Pell Grant changes listed above. The Department of Education (the Department) will issue policy guidance related to these changes through Dear Colleague Letters and the publication of a forthcoming Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). Please monitor the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site for this guidance.
Note for EDExpress Users: EDExpress for Windows 2009-2010, Release 4.0, scheduled for release the week of July 6, 2009, updates the 2009-2010 Pell Grant module with enhancements related to the HEOA. We will communicate the details through a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the IFAP Web site.
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we complete this important activity.
COD Batch Processing Suspension and Web Site Outage Information
In order to install the system changes-
We will suspend COD batch processing beginning at 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, June 26, 2009. Records submitted after 8:00 P.M. (ET) will be held and processed after 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Saturday, June 27, 2009.
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The COD Web site will be unavailable from 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, June 26, 2009 until 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Saturday, June 27, 2009.
Additionally, for Direct Loan participants-
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The Direct Loan Electronic Master Promissory Note (MPN) Web site will be unavailable from 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, June 26, 2009 until 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Saturday, June 27, 2009.
Individuals starting the process by 7:00 P.M. (ET) on June 26, 2009 will be able to complete their MPNs before the Web site becomes unavailable. Individuals attempting to access the Web site after the cutoff time will see a Web site maintenance message and will not be able to start the process or retrieve an existing MPN.
Additionally, for TEACH Grant participants-
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The TEACH Grant Web site will be unavailable from 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Friday, June 26, 2009 until 8:00 P.M. (ET) on Saturday, June 27, 2009.
Individuals starting the process by 7:00 P.M. (ET) on June 26, 2009 will be able to complete his or her TEACH Grant Initial and Subsequent Counseling or ATS before the Web site becomes unavailable. Individuals attempting to access the Web site after the cutoff time will see a Web site maintenance message and will not be able to start the TEACH Grant Initial and Subsequent Counseling session, complete a new Agreement to Serve (ATS), or retrieve an existing ATS.
Note: The COD System will undergo extended routine maintenance on Sunday, June 28, 2009 from 1:30 A.M. until 11:00 A.M. (ET). During this period, batch processing and Web site availability will again be impacted.
COD System Processing Changes for 2009-2010 Pell Grants
In Volume I, Section 2 of the 2009-2010 COD Technical Reference, we provide an overview of the enhancements and modifications being made to the COD System for the 2009-2010 Award Year.
We provide more detailed information about the changes in the attachment to this announcement titled "COD System Processing Changes for 2009-2010 Pell Grants."
Contact Information
If you have questions about this announcement, 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.