Bulletin ID
DLB - 99 - 48
| PublicationDate: 7/1/99 BulletinID: DLB - 99 - 48 July 1999 DLB 99-48 Subject: EdExpress Version 5.3 and the New Fee Percentage Dear Partner: Many of you have now received EDExpress version 5.3. This bulletin reiterates the information provided on SFATech last week. First, it describes what must be done to set up the correct fee percentages before originating new loans. Second, it provides details on changing the fee for loans previously originated with a four percent fee. We will issue another bulletin in the near future that will provide additional details for those who reactivated loans in EDExpress 5.2. New fields were added to EDExpress to accommodate the origination fee reduction for Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized Loans that will be first disbursed on or after August 15, 1999. The loan percentages for Stafford and PLUS loans are now processed separately. You can select and change the origination fee percentage at both the default and loan record level. SETTING THE FEE PERCENTAGE AT THE DEFAULT LEVEL After you upgrade EDExpress and before you originate new loans or activate loans previously originated using the four percent fee, you MUST go to Direct Loan Setup and change the fee percentages for both Subsidized/Unsubsidized (Stafford) and PLUS loans in the fee percentage fields illustrated below. If all of the loans you are originating will be disbursed on or after August 15, 1999, you will only have to complete this step one time. (Note: Changing the fee percentage at the default level doesnt change the fee percentage for existing loans.) 1. Go to Direct Loan Setup - At the opening screen, go to the tool bar and click on Tools, then Setup, then Direct Loan, then System. A window titled System will open. (See above.) If the fee percentage field in EDExpress 5.2 contained 4% when you upgraded your software, both the PLUS Fee Percentage field and the Stafford Fee Percentage field will show 4%. 2. In the System window, tab down to the PLUS Fee Percentage field and enter the correct fee percentage for PLUS loans (4%). 3. In the System window, tab down to the Stafford Fee field and enter the correct fee percentage for Subsidized/Unsubsidized loans (3% for loans with a first anticipated disbursement on or after August 15, 1999; 4% for loans with a first anticipated disbursement before August 15, 1999). 4. Click OK. A window will open that says, Record updates saved. 5. Click OK. SETTING THE FEE PERCENTAGE AT THE LOAN LEVEL A new field called Fee Percentage was added to the Loan Tab. This field is populated with the default value found in Direct Loan Setup (discussed above) when loan records are created. You may change the Origination Fee Percentage for an individual loan by changing the percentage in this field when the loan status is N (Not Ready to Send) or when you have adjusted a loan to $0. The new field is shown in the illustration below: ADJUSTMENTS TO EXISTING LOANS Steps to help you with the process of changing existing loans to the new fee percentage are: 1. Print a list of all loans for which you wish to change the origination fee. This list should include the borrowers name, loan ID, loan amount requested and loan amount approved. This information is used later in the process. 2. Reduce the loan amount requested, the loan amount approved and all anticipated disbursements to zero. (Note: You dont have to set the inactive flag.) DONT use an ACCESS 97 program to do this as change records will not be generated and your disbursement records will be rejected by the LOC. 3. If you have already exported these origination records to the LOC, you MUST export the origination change record. The change records adjust the loan to zero at the LOC and enable the next step to be performed. 4. Once you receive the change record acknowledgement, go into Setup and make sure the Stafford Fee Percentage has been changed from 4% to 3%. (You must have EDExpress version 5.3 loaded from this step forward.) 5. The new Fee Percentage field in the Loan Tab MUST also be manually changed from 4% to 3% for all existing Subsidized/Unsubsidized loans that were previously originated using the 4% origination fee percentage and will be disbursed on or after August 15, 1999. This field cant be updated while the loan is active (loan amount requested, loan amount approved and all anticipated disbursements are not at $0). You may have to move to the Disbursement Tab then back to the Loan Tab to refresh the screen and access the Fee Percentage field. 6. You can now enter the loan amount requested and loan amount approved either manually (using information from step 1) or through an import external change record. The software will recalculate the anticipated disbursement fees and net amounts using the new fee percentage. 7. If the first Anticipated Disbursement Dates are before August 15, 1999, change the Anticipated Disbursement Dates to on or after August 15, 1999. This may be done manually or through an import external change. Beginning July 16, 1999, the Anticipated Disbursement Date changes must accompany the changes that reactivate the loans to prevent these change records from being rejected by the LOC. If the first Anticipated Disbursement Dates were already on or after August 15, 1999, there is no need to change the dates. The LOC will check the origination record for the first Anticipated Disbursement Date when processing the change records reactivating the loans. 8. You are now ready to export the origination change record to the LOC for processing. We regret that a simple solution doesnt exist for changing existing loans to the new origination fee percentage. However, we believe that the extra effort it takes to make these adjustments will be offset by the benefit your students will receive from this fee reduction. If You Have Any Questions If you have any questions regarding these procedures, please contact CPS Customer Service at 800/330-5947 or via email at CPS@NCS.COM. Thank you for your continued partnership in the Direct Loan Program. Sincerely, Margaret E. White Chair, Direct Loan Task Force |