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(EDESuite) Subject: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011, Release 1.0

Posted Date:January 4, 2010

Author: William Leith, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid

Subject: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011, Release 1.0

Federal Student Aid is pleased to announce the posting of EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011, Release 1.0, on the Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at https://www.fsadownload.ed.gov. This release contains Global, Application Processing, and Packaging functionality for the 2010-2011 cycle.

In addition, the following EDExpress 2010-2011 documents are available on the FSAdownload Web site:

  • Installation Guide for EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011
  • EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011, Release 1.0 Cover Letter
  • EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011, Release 1.0 Desk Reference (covers Global, Application Processing, and Packaging functionality) and Addendum (covers changes related to the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 [the HERA], Pub. L. 109-171, such as Academic Competitiveness Grant [ACG] and National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant [National SMART Grant] processing)
  • 2010-2011 Packaging Technical Reference

These documents contain important information regarding EDExpress 2010-2011 installation, functionality, and enhancements that you should review.

Federal Pell Grant Award Limits in Release 1.0 Packaging

At this time, the U.S. Department of Education’s Fiscal Year 2010 Appropriation has been approved, and the 2010-2011 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedule will soon be posted on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site. However, the 2010-2011 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedule used by the Release 1.0 Packaging module is based on the $5,350 maximum Pell Grant award for 2009-2010. We are evaluating the work needed to modify the EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011 software suite to reflect the minimum and maximum Pell Grant amounts for the 2010-2011 Award Year. In a forthcoming Electronic Announcement on the IFAP Web site, we will provide schools with operational implementation information about how we will update EDExpress 2010-2011 to reflect the new amounts.

Note: To ensure the timely release of the EDExpress 2010-2011 documents listed above, we did not update the 2010-2011 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedule status information in these documents. We are communicating the updated status through this communication.

Release 1.0 Download/Installation Process

Release 1.0 is available on the FSAdownload Web site in two formats. You can download the entire software in one file, called express01r1.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 EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011 for further information.

At a minimum, you are required to have Windows 2000 or Windows XP as your PC workstation operating system to run Release 1.0.

Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 Note:In 2008, we tested Microsoft Windows Vista as an operating system for our EDESuite PC products. EDExpress 2010-2011 includes the following enhancements to address specific Vista compatibility issues:

  • Installation Process Modified for Software Databases - We updated the installation process for EDExpress 2010-2011 to load the database to a different location than the software executable and program files. The new default installation location (which you can modify during the installation process) is C:\IAM\DATABASE. This change addresses several Vista issues related to storing the database in the C:\Program Files directory.
  • Updated EDExpress Help System Format - We updated the EDExpress Help system to compiled HTML (CHM) format to address issues of compatibility with the Microsoft Vista operating system.The Help system retains the same content, "look and feel," and basic functionality of the prior format.

For further 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. Note that most of the issues discussed in the September 18, 2008 message are resolved by the 2010-2011 enhancements we are implementing.

At this time, we have not certified the Microsoft Corporation's Windows 7 as a supported operating system for EDExpress or the other EDESuite software products. We will communicate about additional supported operating systems after completion of our certification process.

Important Installation Note: You must be an Administrator on your workstation to install EDExpress 2010-2011 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.

Release 1.0 can be installed in a standalone or LAN environment. In a standalone installation, all program files, including the EDExpress database, are installed and stored on the hard drive of a single PC.

If you want to run EDExpress for Windows in a LAN environment, you must first run a network server installation and designate a location on your LAN for your EDExpress database. After the network server installation is complete, you must run network workstation installations on all PCs that will access the EDExpress database on your LAN, designating the correct LAN drive and folder for your database during each workstation installation.

If you receive any prompts during the Release 1.0 installation indicating an existing file was found and asking if you want to overwrite it, click Yes.

Other system and network requirements are outlined in the Installation Guide for EDExpress for Windows 2010-2011, available now on the FSAdownload Web site, located at https://www.fsadownload.ed.gov.

If You Have Questions

If you have any questions regarding downloading, installing, or using EDExpress 2010-2011, Release 1.0, 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 ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/services/fsatechsubscribe.html.