Maintained for Historical Purposes

This resource is being maintained for historical purposes only and is not currently applicable.

(NSLDS Guaranty Agency (GA) Technical Updates) GA-2002-01 Enhancements to GA Submittal Process

Publication Date: April 29, 2002

Section: GA-2002-01


United States Department of Education
Federal Student Aid
National Student Loan Data System


Enhancements to GA Submittal Process
Technical Update GA-2002-01
April 29, 2002

This information is intended for the person in your organization who is responsible for working with NSLDS. If that is not you, please forward this update to the appropriate person.


NSLDS is pleased to announce the availability of electronic reporting of Submittal files and Load Process Error files. GA electronic reporting via the new Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) is now fully supported; the process has been tested and is in production with a few GAs. Submittals ranging from 400,000 to 1.2 million records have been successfully transmitted and processed.

As part of ED's modernization program, SAIG was implemented in December 2001 to replace the Title IV WAN network. SAIG uses the Internet rather than a private network, and ED provides the software needed by data providers to encrypt the data for transmission to NSLDS. Detailed information regarding SAIG and software downloads is located at www.fsadownload.ed.gov. Using SAIG to transmit your Submittal file eliminates the extra days necessary for tape/cartridge processing. Your file can be sent to SAIG by noon of your submittal schedule date, is processed that night by NSLDS, and your errors are ready for retrieval the following day. If you are not already connected to SAIG, we encourage you to do so.

If your agency is already doing batch transmissions with NSLDS such as receiving SSCR or has an NSLDS online ID, you already have an SAIG TG# (Mailbox Account used to transmit data) that could be used for transmitting your Submittal file. If the above does not apply, you will need to obtain an SAIG TG#. In addition, you will need to install the SAIG software (Edconnect for PC or Easy Access for mainframe/midrange) on your system with connectivity to the Internet. CPS/WAN Technical Support can provide assistance with SAIG enrollment documents or software installation at (800) 330-5947. To begin working towards electronic submittal processing, notify the NSLDS Customer Service Center to express your interest. They will assist you in determining your next steps in establishing an electronic submittal process, including determining potential setup requirements with SAIG, developing a testing schedule, and preparing for a first live batch.

If you are currently running GA DataPrep on a mainframe, but use a mid-range or PC computer for your guarantor system, you may want to consider running DataPrep on a PC. The PC DataPrep has the same functionality as the mainframe version. In addition, the PC DataPrep provides reports and other tools to assist with error file processing. If you have questions about electronic reporting or PC DataPrep, please contact us and we will be glad to answer your questions and help you with the conversion process.

Benefits of Electronic Reporting

  • Reduces the cost of tape creation, handling, and tape purchases.
  • Eliminates lost or faulty tapes, which results in tape re-creation, re-sending, added cost, and lost time.
  • Eliminates shipping time, enabling timelier reporting of data and receipt of error files.
  • Prepares the GA to process other electronic data with ED such as Cohort Default reports and Enrollment data. All new NSLDS applications will be designed to use SAIG.
  • Depending on processing schedule, loads new data into NSLDS within hours of being extracted from your system.
  • Delivers your errors the following day.

If you have any questions, please contact the NSLDS Customer Service Center at
(800) 999-8219 or e-mail them at nsldscoe@raytheon.com.

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