Posted Date:August 22, 2014
| Author: | Sue O'Flaherty, Service Director, Program Management, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Direct Loan Processing Information: Workaround to Resolve Issue with COD Reject Edit 205 and Loan Period Adjustments
As described in Dear Colleague Letter GEN 13-13, posted to the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site on May 10, 2013, schools must correctly report Direct Loan academic year and loan period dates to the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System. The guidance and examples provided in GEN-13-13 are critical to the implementation of the 150% Direct Subsidized Loan Limit. Accurate reporting may require schools to adjust a loan period (Financial Award Begin/End Dates) when a borrower does not return for a subsequent term, a borrower withdraws in the middle of a term, or for other legitimate reasons.
We have become aware that COD Reject Edit 205 (Payment Period Start Date is outside the Award Begin and End dates) is preventing schools from making these loan period adjustments. With the COD System implementation scheduled for spring 2015, we will modify COD Reject Edit 205 to allow the Payment Period Start Date to be outside the loan period when the disbursement for that payment period has been reduced to $0. Schools will need to ensure that the Payment Period Start Date is within the loan period when increasing the disbursement amount back above $0.
In the interim, schools must use the workarounds to COD Reject Edit 205 described in the attachments to this announcement, to successfully update the loan period without hitting the edit. The first attachment provides the steps for non-EDExpress users; the second attachment provides instructions for EDExpress 2014-2015, Release 3.0 users.
In the sections below, we provide the following additional information related to COD Reject Edit 205:
EDExpress Direct Loan Processing and COD Reject Edit 205
Third-Party Software Providers and COD Reject Edit 205
Contact Information
Attachments/Enclosures
EDExpress Direct Loan Processing and COD Reject Edit 205
The second attachment to this announcement, titled "EDExpress 2014-2015, Release 3.0 Procedures for Loan Period Adjustments to Avoid COD Reject Edit 205", provides specific procedures for EDExpress for Windows 2014-2015, Release 3.0 users to follow to adjust loan period dates on Direct Loan records.
However, before EDExpress 2014-2015, Release 3.0 Direct Loan users can successfully follow the procedures provided in the second attachment, they must first download and save a program file update for Release 3.0 that is now available on the Department’s Federal Student Aid Download (FSAdownload) Web site. This updated program file, dated August 15, 2014, resolves an issue in Release 3.0 that prevents the export of adjusted values on Direct Loan anticipated disbursements, including the Payment Period Start Date. For additional information and tips on loading this program file, refer to the Electronic Announcement posted to the IFAP Web site on August 18, 2014.
Third-Party Software Providers and COD Reject Edit 205
If a school uses a third-party software provider, it should check with the provider regarding the provider’s ability to process loan period adjustments using the workaround described in the first attachment to this announcement, titled "Workaround for COD Reject Edit 205 and Loan Period Adjustments".
Contact Information
If you have questions about this announcement or its attachments, contact the COD School Relations Center at 800/848-0978 for Direct Loans. You may also e-mail CODSupport@ed.gov.
If your questions are specific to EDExpress, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 800/330-5947 (TDD/TTY 800/511-5806) or by e-mail at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.