| AwardYear: 1995-1996 ChapterNumber: 2 ChapterTitle: Electronic Resources PageNumbers: 1-5 CHAPTER 2 - ELECTRONIC RESOURCES Essential Questions - What do I need to know to make a decision about using the Departments Direct Loan software? - Should I use a PC-based operation? - Do I need to integrate the Direct Loan software data with my institution's system? - If my school currently uses a manual operation, should we try to obtain and operate the Direct Loan software? - If I use the Direct Loan software, how will I know what to do? - How do I change from a PC-based operation to a mainframe process? - Can I blend the two? General Information By participating electronically in the Department of Educations (ED) Direct Loan Program and in other Title IV student aid programs, schools can process student aid more efficiently. Although electronic participation is a requirement for Direct Stafford/Ford Loans, schools are permitted to send hard copy documents for Federal Direct PLUS Loan processing to the Direct Loan Servicing Center for loan origination and promissory note printing. * ED provides electronic support for all aspects of Direct Loan processing through the Departments Electronic Data Exchang (EDE). The free Direct Loan software, which will be updated annually, is integrated with EDExpress. * The school may use the EDE software or develop its own according to government-provided specifications. * By using EDExpress, you or your students can enter application information - both initial and renewal - and transmit it to the Central Processing System (CPS); send corrections to the CPS for application data; package awards; process Federal Pell Grant Payment documents; and process Direct Loans from origination to reconciliation. The software also supports and functions related to drawing down funds through the Department's Payment Management System (PMS). * The ESAR data are drawn down from the CPS and used to initiate Direct Loan origination records. * Participating schools agree to become EDE destination points or may choose to have a third-party servicer act as an EDE destination point. For additional information on EDE, call National Computer Systems (NCS) at 1(319)339-6642 or contact an EDE Specialist at the Department of Education at 1(202)708-8270. It is critical to identify who will perform each Direct Loan function within your school. This will help you determine what personnel at your school have access to various functions in the Direct Loan software. The software's functions can be broken down into the following levels 1 = provides access to reports only 2 = provides access to all functions except importing and exporting, cash management, and SSCR (other than reporting) 3 = provides access to all Direct Loan functions except cash management and SSCR (other than reporting) 4 = provides access only to drawdown requests and cash management functions (primarily designed for business officer use) 5 = provides access to all SSCR Direct Loan functions only 6 = provides access to all Direct Loan functions Hardware requirements for the Direct Loan software are displayed on the following chart Hardware Requirements Hardware: Processor Minimum: 80386 Recommended: 486DX66 Mhz or better Hardware: DOS Version Minimum: 3.3 Recommended: 5.0 or higher Hardware: Available hard disk space Minimum: 80 MB Recommended: 300MB Hardware: Available conventional memory Minimum: 512K Recommended: 580K or higher Hardware: Expanded memory Minimum: 4MB Recommended: 12MB or higher Hardware: Printer Minimum: Impact or Laser Recommended: HP Laser III or above Hardware: Modem Minimum: Local (non-Lan), Hayes-compatible, 1200 baud transmission rate Recommended: Local (non-Lan), Hayes-compatible, 9600 baud transmission rate Technical reference numbers. For technical assistance with the Direct Loan software and hardware requirements, call - Central Processing System 1(800)866-1808 from 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. CST If you would like a copy of the Department's Direct Loan Technical Reference (a manual for schools that choose to develop their own Direct Loan data system on a mainframe, PC, or other type of system) and test case data, call - 1(301) 572-0200 from 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. EST Implementation Issues and Management Tips TIP - If your financial aid office is automated, how you decide to use the Direct Loan software does not depend on whether your financial aid system is independent or is connected with other automated campus programs. You can decide to use the Direct Loan software in concert with your current system, replace your current system with the Direct Loan software, or modify your current system to include all the software requirements. TIP - You may want to consider the following questions as you develop your implementation plan · Will incorporating Direct Loan software into your main system require support from your main campus computer facility OR can modifications be made solely in your office without relying on main campus support? · If changes can be made within your office, how will you restructure staff to provide the time necessary to develop a new system? Which staff members should be involved? · Are there automation changes or enhancements that could be justified through Direct Loans that could benefit your overall financial aid processing operations? · If changes require outside resources, who will you need to involve? Are there other campus projects taking place at the same time? If so, how does the Direct Loan Program fit with other campus priorities? · What are the possibilities of hiring a temporary technical person to help get you started? · Are there other Direct Loan schools using the same commercial financial aid software? If so, can you work together to integrate that software with the Direct Loan software? · Do you have a way to deal with software maintenance? Will it be easier to maintain your mainframe or your PC? TIP - Use the participant information in the appendices to contact schools with similar characteristics. If you are considering changes, it may be helpful to talk with similar schools that have already developed solutions. |