Posted Date:June 14, 2012
Author: | Pamela Eliadis, Service Director, System Operations & Aid Delivery Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: REMINDER: SAIG Upgrade - All EDconnect and TDClient Users Must Upgrade to EDconnect 8.1 or TDClient 3.2 by June 24, 2012
As we have explained to the community over the last several months, we are in the process of implementing an upgrade to all components of the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG). New versions of EDconnect and TDClient were posted to the Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site in early March 2012.
Important Reminder! All schools that use EDconnect or any version of the “Client” software to connect to the SAIG are required to download and begin using one of the two upgraded software products – EDconnect 8.1 or TDClient 3.2 – by June 24, 2012. The upgrade should take approximately two hours.
To date, 42 percent of institutions have not yet completed this important upgrade and risk losing access to their SAIG Mailbox(es). If your school has not upgraded, please read this announcement in its entirety to ensure uninterrupted connectivity to the SAIG.
Upgrade Information
After June 24, 2012, schools that have not upgraded will no longer be able to use previous versions of the EDconnect or “Client” software to connect to their SAIG mailboxes for the completion of important electronic activities. These activities include the retrieval of ISIRs, completion of COD batch processing (and, therefore, the draw down of funds), and the receipt of NSLDS reports.
Important Reminder Regarding TFA Tokens: All schools that use EDconnect, whether they have received a Two Factor Authentication (TFA) token or not, must complete the software upgrade by the deadline. A token is not required to access the software despite the “Security Code” field on the login screen. You will be able to log in even if tokens have not yet been distributed to your school. To log in to EDconnect 8.1, enter your TG number on the EDconnect login screen, including the letters “TG” (example: TG12345). If you have received your token, enter the 6-digit code displayed on your TFA token in the Security Code field. If you do not have a TFA token, leave the Security Code field blank.
Notes for EDconnect Users:
All EDconnect users must also be enrolled for the new EDconnect Entitlement service and have an FSA User ID and password to access and use the new software. For information about enrolling for the EDconnect Entitlement service and obtaining an FSA User ID, please see the February 10, 2012 Electronic Announcement on the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site.
As explained in the March 15, 2012 Electronic Announcement, EDconnect 8.0 was replaced by EDconnect 8.1 and should no longer be used. EDconnect 8.1 is not an upgrade to earlier versions of EDconnect. All EDconnect users must perform a local or network installation of EDconnect 8.1.
As noted above, a TFA token is not required to access the software despite the “Security Code” field on the login screen. To log in to EDconnect 8.1, enter your TG number on the EDconnect login screen, including the letters “TG” (example: TG12345). If you have received your token, enter the 6-digit code displayed on your TFA token in the Security Code field. If you do not have a TFA token, leave the Security Code field blank.
Notes for TDClient Users:
Schools that are currently using a previous version of the "Client" software (for example, EAClient), must download and begin using the TDClient 3.2 software by the deadline or risk losing access to the SAIG.
The TDClient 3.2 software is not compatible with AIX 5.3. AIX users must upgrade to AIX 6.1 or higher, in order to use TDClient 3.2. We posted an updated SAIG Host Communication Guide on the FSAdownload Web site to reflect the update to supported platforms.
A TFA token is not required for TDClient 3.2.
Contact Information
We appreciate your school’s assistance in completing this critical upgrade as soon as possible before the June 24, 2012 deadline.
For complete information about the SAIG system enhancements and related requirements that were included in the March 2012 release, refer to the February 23, 2012 Electronic Announcement.
If you have questions about this information, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov. After you have chosen to continue in either English or Spanish, select Option 1 for EDconnect 8.1 assistance, Option 2 for FSA User ID/password and EDconnect password assistance, or Option 3 for TDClient 3.2 assistance. (Note that Option 3 will be identified as covering all other questions.)