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(EDESuite) Subject: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2011-2012, Release 3.0

Posted Date:June 20, 2011

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

Subject: Availability of EDExpress for Windows 2011-2012, Release 3.0

We are pleased to announce the posting of EDExpress for Windows 2011-2012, Release 3.0, on the Department's Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site, located at https://www.fsadownload.ed.gov.

Release 3.0 adds enhancements to the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) module to store the new Previous Application ID field sent in PLUS Application Acknowledgment (CRSP12OP) files and require a valid SAR/ISIR transaction number on PLUS and Grad PLUS loan records. Additionally, Release 3.0 updates the 2011-2012 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules used by the Packaging and Pell Grant modules.

In addition to the Release 3.0 software, the following EDExpress 2011-2012 documents are now available on the FSAdownload Web site:

  • The EDExpress for Windows 2011-2012, Release 3.0 Cover Letter (provides information regarding enhancements and other updates in Release 3.0)

  • The EDExpress for Windows 2011-2012, Release 2.0 Desk Reference (revised to describe Release 3.0 enhancements as part of step-by-step guidance regarding Pell Grant and Direct Loan EDExpress functionality)

The Installation Guide for EDExpress for Windows 2011-2012, available on the FSAdownload Web site, also contains important technical information and guidance regarding EDExpress 2011-2012 that you should review.

2011-2012 Federal Pell Grant Payment and Disbursement Schedules

Federal Student Aid announced the 2011-2012 Pell Grant payment and disbursement schedules in Dear Colleague Letter P-11-01, posted on February 1, 2011 to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site. Although the maximum and minimum Pell Grant awards are unchanged from 2010-2011, other award amounts have decreased.

EDExpress 2011-2012, Release 3.0 incorporates the 2011-2012 Pell payment and disbursement schedules in Dear Colleague Letter P-11-01 into Global, Pell Grant, and Packaging functionality, including Pell Grant award calculations. For more information, see the EDExpress 2011-2012, Release 3.0 Cover Letter on the FSAdownload Web site.

Use of Additional Eligibility Indicator in Pell Grant Module

The Department of Defense and Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011 (Public Law 112-10) discontinued the authorization for schools to award up to 200% of a student's scheduled Pell Grant award in a single award year. The Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System was updated in May 2011 to only accept up to 100% of the scheduled award for the 2011-2012 Award Year. The COD System will also no longer accept an Additional Eligibility Indicator field value of "True" (or "selected") on Pell origination records. This field was used to identify students eligible to receive two scheduled Pell Grant awards in a single award year and, when selected, allowed you to disburse up to 200% of the scheduled Pell Grant award.

EDExpress 2011-2012, Release 3.0 continues to include the Additional Eligibility Indicator field in various Pell Grant module functions, such as origination entry and query. However, due to the discontinuation of the "two Pell Grants in one award year" provision and the resulting updates to the COD System, you should not select the Additional Eligibility Indicator checkbox for any 2011-2012 Pell Grant origination records you create in EDExpress 2011-2012 going forward.

For more information on the COD System updates related to this change, see Dear Colleague Letter P-11-02, posted on April 27, 2011 to the IFAP Web site.

If You Have Questions

If you have any questions regarding downloading, installing, or using EDExpress 2011-2012, 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.