| AwardYear: 1998-1999 ChapterNumber: 2 ChapterTitle: Electronic Resources for Origination and Reconciliation PageNumbers: 1-4 Essential Questions * What are the advantages of participating through Electronic Data Exchange (EDE)? * What do I need to know when deciding whether to use the Department's Direct Loan software? * What are the hardware and software requirements for my campus? * Do I need to integrate the Direct Loan software data with my school's system? * Where can I get technical assistance? Participation Through Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) Schools participating in the Direct Loan Program are required to participate electronically. As a result, participating schools exchange Direct Loan data with the Department when processing Direct Loans. This exchange of data is referred to as Electronic Data Exchange (EDE) and is a service provided through the Title IV Wide Area Network (TIV WAN). The Department provides electronic support for all aspects of Direct Loan processing through EDE, including software and software requirements. The Direct Loan software is free, updated annually, and distributed as a component of EDExpress. Schools and software vendors have the option of receiving a Technical Reference for use in designing custom software. Software options available to participating schools include: * using the EDExpress software the Department provides; * developing their own software; * using third-party vendor software; * using the EDExpress software in combination with their own; or * using a commercial software package, which contains a Direct Loan component. In addition to processing Direct Loans, schools that use EDExpress can also * enter and transmit initial, renewal, and corrections to FAFSA applications; * draw down Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) data from the Central Processing System (CPS) to be imported and used with other software packages; * execute functions to draw down Direct Loan funds through the Departments Grants Administration and Payment System (GAPS). Implementation Schools may use the EDExpress Direct Loan module to process Direct Loans. Recommended hardware and software requirements for operating the EDExpress software are provided in the chart at the end of this chapter. Schools have several options in implementing an automated Direct Loan system. You may use EDExpress software in concert with your current system, replace your current system with EDExpress, use a third party software with a Direct Loan module, or modify your current system to include all software requirements. You should consider the following as you develop your implementation plan: * It may be helpful to talk with schools that have already implemented the program. * When implementing Direct Loan processing, will you 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 or implement a new system? Which staff members should be involved? * Can Direct Loan software create security groups with various user-access levels? * Can automation changes or enhancements be justified through Direct Loans, thereby benefiting your overall financial aid processing operations? * If changes require outside resources, whom 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? * Should you hire a temporary technical person to help get you started? * Can you work with other Direct Loan schools using the same commercial financial aid software to integrate that software with Direct Loan software? * Do you have a way to deal with software maintenance? Will it be easier to maintain your mainframe or your PC? Technical References and Support For additional information on EDE and for technical assistance with the Direct Loan component software and hardware requirements, call * Central Processing System 1 (800) 330-5947, from 8 A.M. to 7 P.M. CT * You may also contact an EDE Specialist at the Department of Education at 1 (202) 708-8270. For a copy of the Departments Direct Loan Technical Reference (a manual to develop Direct Loan software for your school, using a mainframe, PC, or a combination of the two), or if you would like test case data, call the Title IV WAN Customer Service. Custom School Technical Support can help with questions about the content of the Technical Reference. * Title IV Wan Customer Service * Custom School Technical Support 1 (800) 615-1189 1 (800) 756-4220 from 7 A.M. to 7 P.M., CT 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M., CT [[This file contains the "Minimum Hardware and Software Requirements"on page 4 in Portable Document Format (PDF). It can be viewed with version 3.0 or greater of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.]] |