We are reminding schools and third-party servicers that contact information in the Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) System must be kept current. Contact information is extremely important for us to be able to reach the correct points of contact at the school, particularly about program-specific issues. The email addresses for the president, financial aid administrator, and Pell Grant and Direct Loan financial aid officers are used to deliver time-sensitive materials and critical COD processing information to the school.
For additional locations to a main campus, current contact information for the Pell Grant and Direct Loan financial aid officers is vital. The information allows us to contact those officers directly rather than needing to contact the main campus, saving time and improving efficiency.
Changes to the Pell Grant and Direct Loan financial aid officers’ contact information are made via the COD website by the COD Security Administrator (School User Level 5). To view and/or update the current contact information for these officers, complete the following steps:
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Log in to the COD website.
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From the School tab, select the “Financial Aid Contact” link (located under the School Information menu). The School Financial Aid Contact Information screen displays the current information for the school.
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Update or add new contact information by clicking on the “Update” or “Add New” button in the heading for the officer to be updated.
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Complete the new information and submit the changes, which will be processed and updated immediately on the COD website.
Changes to other school information cannot be made via the COD website and must be made using the Electronic Application for Approval to Participate in Federal Student Financial Aid Programs (E-APP) within 10 days of the change (see Volume 2, Chapter 5 of the 2024-2025 Federal Student Aid Handbook for a list of changes that must be reported).
This includes changes to the following information:
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School name
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School address (including any branches and locations)
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Names of the president, chief financial officer, and financial aid administrator (or equivalent titles)
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Telephone numbers and email addresses for the above officials
When updating your schools’ information, please keep in mind these formatting rules:
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Do not use ALL CAPS in the name, address block, or copy section at the bottom of the letter (Cc: CFO, FAA, FSA staff).
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Include a comma between city and state (e.g. Anywhere, MD)
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Include leading zeros for OPE ID numbers (e.g. 00371400)
Once the updates to the E-App are processed, the COD website is usually updated within 24 hours.
If you have other questions about this communication in the COD System, contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978. The contact center is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday. You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.
For help completing the E-App, please email CaseTeams@ed.gov.