The FSA Partner and School Relations Center will conduct Campus-Based school testing for schools reporting Federal Work-Study (FWS) wages using the Campus-Based Common Record XML Schema Version 1.0b (Campus-Based schema) later this summer. Testing will run from May 19, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2026.
Campus-Based school testing provides schools, third-party servicers, and software providers an opportunity to test Campus-Based program business processes and system software with the COD System prior to the transmission and processing of actual production data using the Campus-Based schema. It also allows schools, third-party servicers, and software providers the opportunity to make corrections or enhancements to software applications and processes prior to sending data to the “live” production environment.
Complete testing information is available in Volume 4 of the 2026–27 COD Technical Reference posted on the Knowledge Center. In this announcement, we provide high-level information about Campus-Based school testing.
In a forthcoming Electronic Announcement, FSA will provide operational information about the implementation of the Campus-Based schema and reporting calendar year 2025 FWS wages.
Federal Student Aid encourages schools that will report FWS wages using the Campus-Based schema to complete testing with the COD System before sending data into production.
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Federal Student Aid encourages schools to test directly with the COD System if they use a solution developed in-house (e.g., mainframe system, server, software, or other) to send and receive Campus-Based Common Records.
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Software providers and third-party servicers will perform their own product testing on behalf of their customers. Schools should contact their software provider or third-party servicer to discuss testing plans and concerns.
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Federal Student Aid will test the EDExpress software before releasing it to schools.
Campus-Based school testing is self-paced and comprised of two phases; organizations must complete Phase 1 testing before participating in Phase 2 testing. Organizations are not required to test for the full duration of a testing phase, and they often complete a testing phase before the end date of that phase.
The FSA Partner and School Relations Center will supply the test student data that organizations must use during testing.
The purpose of Common Record manual verification is to ensure that an organization's Campus-Based Common Record is well formed and properly structured according to the rules of the Campus-Based schema.
During this testing phase, the Campus-Based School Testing Support Team manually reviews a Common Record document that an organization emails to the FSA Partner and School Relations Center and helps the organization identify potential updates to its Common Record submissions.This testing phase will be available from May 19, 2026, through Sept. 1, 2026.
The purpose of structured application testing is to ensure that an organization can send, receive, and process batches of records using comprehensive input instructions with detailed expected results issued by the FSA Partner and School Relations Center. The organization uses a test Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) file supplied by the FSA Partner and School Relations Center to create a test data set of students to use with the structured test cases.
During this phase, an organization sends Campus-Based Common Record documents to the COD System and receives response documents back from the COD System. The organization must verify it can load and process these files correctly in its system.
This testing phase will be available from July 14, 2026, through Sept. 30, 2026. To participate in Phase 2 testing, an organization must complete Phase 1 testing first. If an organization completes Phase 1 testing before July 14, 2026, it must wait until the Phase 2 testing window opens.
All organizations that wish to participate in Campus-Based school testing must submit the Campus-Based School Testing Sign-Up Document to the FSA Partner and School Relations Center. The sign-up document is posted on the COD website under the “COD Resources” link and in Volume 4 of the COD Technical Reference.
An organization may register to participate in only Phase 1 testing or in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 testing. To ensure enough time to complete all testing before the established testing end dates, organizations must register no later than Aug. 1, 2026.
An organization should submit the completed sign-up document to the FSA Partner and School Relations Center by emailing it to CODSupport@ed.gov with “Campus-Based school testing sign-up” in the subject line or faxing it to 1-877-623-5082 . After the FSA Partner and School Relations Center receives the sign-up document, they will contact the organization via email to get school-specific information and schedule specific test dates.
Upon receipt of the sign-up document, the Campus-Based School Testing Support Team must complete a considerable set-up process to establish the COD test environment before testing can begin. Allow 7–10 business days for the sign-up and set-up processes. An organization should take this timeframe into account before beginning to test and provide enough lead time in its schedule. It is also important that the sign-up document is complete and includes accurate information.
If you have questions about Campus-Based school testing or signing up to test, contact the FSA Partner and School Relations Center at 1-800-848-0978 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Eastern time, Monday through Friday. You may also email CODSupport@ed.gov.