Posted Date: July 8, 2009
Author: William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid
Subject: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2009-2010, Release 4.0
We are pleased to announce the posting of EDExpress for Windows 2009-2010, Release 4.0, on our Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at https://www.fsadownload.ed.gov.
Release 4.0 updates the 2009-2010 Federal Pell Grant (Pell Grant) module to add enhancements related to the Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) of 2008, Pub.L. 110-315, which authorizes schools to disburse up to two Pell Grants in a single award year to Pell-eligible students. We also refer to this provision as allowing up to 200 percent of a student's Pell Grant scheduled award in a single award year or allowing up to two times a student's Pell Grant scheduled award in a single award year.
Note: For additional information regarding HEOA-related impacts to EDExpress 2009-2010, including the provision authorizing schools to award the maximum Pell Grant award to otherwise eligible students with a parent who died as a result of military service in Iraq or Afghanistan after September 11, 2001, see the EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 4.0 Cover Letter, now available on the FSAdownload Web site. More HEOA information and guidance regarding this provision is also available in the June 24, 2009 Electronic Announcement posted to our Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/062409PreRelease8pt1CODSys.html.
Release 4.0 also updates setup and import functionality to accommodate the new Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Exit Counseling Results file generated by the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System.
In addition to the Release 4.0 software and cover letter, an updated version of the EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 2.0 Desk Reference 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.
Release 4.0 HEOA-Related Enhancements
The HEOA authorized schools to disburse up to 200% of the scheduled Pell Grant award in a single award year to eligible students to accelerate completion of their program of study.
To address this HEOA change, we added a new Pell Grant origination record field labeled Additional Eligibility Indicator in Release 4.0 to identify students eligible to receive two scheduled Pell Grant awards in a single award year. Release 4.0 enables you to disburse up to 200% of the scheduled Pell Grant award if the Additional Eligibility Indicator is selected on the origination record.
You can select the Additional Eligibility Indicator checkbox manually on the Pell Origination tab, use Pell Multiple Entry to update the field, or update the field as part of a Pell Grant External Origination Add/Change import file. The new field also appears on the Pell Grant Origination Record and Origination List reports in EDExpress.
We updated the 2009-2010 Pell Grant External Origination Add/Change record layout in the June 2009 version of the 2009-2010 COD Technical Reference, Volume III to include the Additional Eligibility Indicator, enabling you to select the field for records you are adding to EDExpress 2009-2010 or modify the field on records already in your database. We also updated the Award Amount field to allow a maximum value of 200% of the scheduled award.
For more information regarding EDExpress Pell Grant enhancements related to this HEOA provision, see the EDExpress 2009-2010, Release 4.0 Cover Letter.
COD System Updates for HEOA
On June 26-27, 2009, the COD System implemented system updates needed to support Pell Grant processing changes related to the HEOA. For more information, see the Electronic Announcement posted on June 24, 2009 to our IFAP Web site at http://ifap.ed.gov/eannouncements/062409PreRelease8pt1CODSys.html.
Additional Release 4.0 Enhancement
Release 4.0 modifies File Management setup, Security Groups setup, and TEACH import functionality to accommodate the new TEACH Grant Exit Counseling Results file (message class THFFEXOP) generated by the COD System.
EDExpress only prints the contents of the TEACH Grant Exit Counseling Results file upon import; the data is not stored in the database and does not overwrite your existing data in the TEACH Exit Counseling Completed Date field on the Demo tab.
Before You Install Release 4.0
Before upgrading to Release 4.0 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 4.0. You should run Compact and Repair Database first, then Verify Database, and lastly run Compact and Repair Database again.
Release 4.0 Download/Installation Process
Release 4.0 is available on the FSAdownload Web site in two formats. You can download the entire software in one file, called express90r4.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 4.0.
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, Windows XP, or Windows Vista 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 4.0 can be installed as an upgrade to any earlier 2009-2010 version (Release 1.0 through Release 3.0). You must have an earlier version installed to run an upgrade (or "custom") installation of Release 4.0.
To upgrade to Release 4.0, 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 4.0. 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 4.0 will overwrite it and all data previously entered will be lost.
If you receive any prompts during the Release 4.0 installation indicating an existing file was found and asking if you want to overwrite it, click Yes.
After you upgrade to Release 4.0, 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 4.0, 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.