Subject: GAPS Shutdown -- September 30, 2002 to October 6, 2002

Dear Partner,

This letter notifies you that September 30, 2002 marks the end the fiscal year for the Department of Education. Some of the Department’s core financial systems, including the Grant Administration and Payment System (GAPS), will be unavailable from September 30, 2002 through October 6, 2002, while the Department finalizes its processing and accounting for Fiscal Year 2002. The GAPS website will not be available on Tuesday, October 1, 2002, but it will be operational during the rest of the shutdown period. As a result, there may be a temporary delay in receiving money.

What does this mean for my school?

ADVANCED FUNDED SCHOOLS

Advanced Funded (Option 2) schools will be able to request drawdowns via the GAPS website as usual, except for October 1, 2002. As a result, you may experience delays in the receipt of funds requested immediately prior to that date. Schools should plan their drawdowns accordingly. However, all cash management rules should still be followed to the extent possible.

PUSHED CASH SCHOOLS

COD will make advance drawdowns to cover expected disbursements for all Pushed Cash (Option 1 and Standard) schools. All actual disbursement records must be received and accepted by COD no later than 8:30 PM ET, Friday, September 27, 2002, in order for them to be included in the advance drawdown prior to the shutdown of GAPS. This should include all actual disbursements that you expect to have through October 4. Records submitted after that time will be funded after GAPS re-opens on October 7, 2002.

Schools that have disbursement dates of October 7, October 8, or October 9 may not receive their money until sometime AFTER that date. This is because COD will not accept disbursements more than 7 days in advance, but GAPS will not be available to process requests after September 27, 2002. As a result, schools should plan accordingly.

SCHOOLS SENDING 2001-2002 RECORDS VIA LOC

The funding for these records will be delayed as well under the same parameters as stated above. However, schools that receive disbursement rosters will get an advance drawdown based on records that are processed at the Loan Origination Center (LOC) by 12:00 PM (Noon) ET, Thursday, September 26, 2002. Please plan accordingly.

We appreciate your patience and understanding during this required shutdown period. If you have any questions, please contact COD School Relations at 800/848-0978 or via email at CODsupport@afsa.com. We thank you for your ongoing partnership in the Direct Loan Program.

Sincerely,

Jane Holman
Acting Director, Title IV Delivery
Schools Channel

Maintained for Historical Purposes

() Summary: GAPS Shutdown – September 30, 2002 to October 6, 2002

Subject: GAPS Shutdown -- September 30, 2002 to October 6, 2002