Generic COD Presentation

1
Common Origination Disbursement
Presented By Harriet Downer, SFA Modernization
Partner and Kitty Wooley, SFA/Schools
Channel NASU Conference 2001 Oakland, CA

2
What Is COD?

• A common process for ALL origination and
  disbursement data for all Title IV programs that
  involve cash drawdowns from GAPS
• A new way of PROCESSING, not a new Title IV
  program

3
Why COD?

• To Address Three Concerns

• Cost
• Service
• Reconciliation

4
Objectives

• Simplify at school level
• Common process across programs
• Streamlined process
• Reduced costs
• Facilitate real-time or near real-time sharing of
  data
• Integrated customer service
• Options reporting, delivery, etc
• Minimal required changes to schools internal
  processes

5
Benefits To Students

• Exceptions processed quickly
• Less dependency on emergency loans or their own
  funds
• Future enhancements could include student on-line
  access

6
FFEL Schools

• Common record fully accommodates FFEL loan data
• Offers the inherent processing efficiencies of
  the common record
• Single record layout
• Contributes to ability for FFEL and SFA to
  present a more integrated view of aid to schools
  and students

7
How COD Developed

• Looked at several past initiatives
• Result of several years of analysis
• Focus Groups of Schools (Nov - Dec 1999)
• Conceptual design
• Key components

8
Current Environment
INSTITUTION SOLUTION
- Packaged Solution
- EDExpress
- Homegrown System
STU
Elig/
Pell
FSEOG
FWS
Direct
Perk
FFEL
Demogr.
Aggregates
for FISAP
CPS
RFMS
CBS
LOS
20 B
7.9 B
2.9 B
10.6 B
State Grants
Alternative Loans
Other
9
Current Processes

• Time focused on managing systems, not serving
  students
• Data
• Inadequate access
• Redundancies
• Error Prone (e.g. timing differences)
• Costs us 427 million for entire delivery system,
  50 million for origination and disbursement
  systems

10
Future Environment
INSTITUTION SOLUTION
- Packaged Solution
- EDExpress
- Homegrown System
Origination
Student
and
FFEL
Eligibility/
Disbursement
Demo
PORTAL
Origination and
Disbursement
Student Applicant Data
(Pell, Campus-Based,
Direct Loans)
Financial
Manage-
ment
School Eligibility Data
Loan Servicing
NSLDS Version 2.0
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COD Basics

• Common reporting for Pell and Direct Loans
• Eliminate duplicate data reporting
• Integrated customer service for origination and
  disbursement for Pell and Direct Loans
• Transmissions via batch or real-time update
• New Technology
• Flexible to allow for exceptions
• Migration of 2 systems (RFMS and DLOS) into a
  common technology
• Source system for student disbursement data
  Pell, Direct Loans, Campus-Based

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COD Basics

• Optional reporting for Campus-Based
• Pre-populate portions of FISAP
• Feed view of students aid history
• Process change only, no change to programs
• Deployment of
• Common, student-level data record
• Standard business rules and common edits, where
  applicable, across programs
• Opportunity for use by FFEL, state grants,
  alternative loans, etc.

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Common Record?

• Common because
• it serves many different financial aid programs
  and
• it replaces the separate record layouts for
  origination, disbursement and change records
• Record in the sense that all messages or
  modules combined are a record of the students
  financial aid

14
Changes Highlights
CURRENT
COD
Fixed-Length Record
XML, flexible record
Origination Required
Option for early reporting to run record
through edits, not required
2-Step Exception Resolution Origination Change
and Disbursement Change
One step, common exception resolution via common
record
Only DL Rejects Stored
Consistent storing of rejects (i.e. ALL) with
on-line access for resolution
Changes require resubmission of all data elements
Changes require only data element(s) that have
changed
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Looking at the COD Application
Traditional record (fixed width)
SUESMITH44732292219820921_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Y
XML record
ltIndividualgt
lt
Namegt
lt
FirstName
gtSuelt/
FirstName
gt
lt
MiddleInitial
gt lt/
MiddleInitial
gt
lt
LastName
gtSmithlt/
LastName
gt
lt/
Namegt
ltSSNgt447322922lt/SSNgt
lt
DateOfBirth
gt19820921lt/
DateOfBirth
gt
lt
ContactInfo
gtlt/
ContactInfo
gt
lt
OptOut
gtYeslt/
OptOut
gt
lt/Individualgt
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What is XML?

• XML is an acronym for EXtensible Markup Language
• XML was designed to describe data and to focus on
  what data are
• As a comparison, HTML, another type of Markup
  Language, was designed to display data and focus
  on how data look

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Why XML?

• A powerful addition to HTML
• Easily read by both machines and humans
• Optimized for use on the Internet
• Is precise
• Belongs to everyone

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What can XML be used for?

• Can be used as format to exchange information
• Can be used to store data in files or in databases

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XML Message Blocks

• Person
• Grant
• Loan
• Application
• School certification
• Lender approval
• Guarantee
• Disbursement (federal or other)

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XML Document Type Definition

• ltbusiness_cardgt root element
• ltnamegt element content
• ltgiven_namegtKaylt/given_namegt data content
• ltmiddle_namegtGlt/middle_namegt data content
• ltlast_namegtJackslt/last_namegt data content
• lt/namegt
• lttitlegtgeneral managerlt/titlegt element
  content
• ltcontact_methodsgt element content
• ltphonegt202-708-6040lt/phonegt data content
• lt/contact_methodsgt
• lt/business_cardgt

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Where to go for more information

• XML A Managers Guide
• XML for Dummies
• A wealth of information on the Web
• http//www.w3.org/
• http//www.ebxml.org/
• http//www.oasis-open.org/cover/sgml-xml.html

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Current Process By Program
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As Transmitted To COD
Aid packaged by student
Sent to SFA
Sent to Lenders
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Transition
SCHOOL A
SCHOOL B
Campus-
Pell
Pell
FSEOG
FWS
Direct
Perk
Direct
Based
RFMS Records
LOS Records
FISAP
Common Record
Common Record
Origination and Disbursement
(Pell, Campus-Based, Direct Loans)
FISAP
Processing
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Transition
Feb 2002
June 2002
July 2001
RFMS
PELL
AY 01-02
All Schools
DLOS
DL
School A
Common Record
COD
AY 02-03
SFA Integr- ation Tool
PELL
COD
School B
DL
26
COD Partners

• User Steering Committee
• Conferences, Meetings, etc
• Software Developers and 3rd Party Servicers
• 02-03 Full Participants

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COD Partners and Their Roles
SFA
Modernization Partner (Accenture and KPMG
Consulting)

• Financial aid origination and disbursement
  expertise
• Higher Education industry expertise
• Knowledge of Title IV regulations
• Relationship with Financial Aid Administrators
• Knowledge of existing resource capabilities and
  constraints (Title IV, schools, and industry)

• Understanding of SFA and COD vision
• Program management of large change programs
• Methodology to implement change programs
• Schools and TIV knowledge
• Integration of Alliance Partners (Title IV, SFA,
  and methodology expertise)

• Technology Solution Partner
• (Total System)
• Supply technology solution
• Design/develop technical application/platform for
  COD
• Provide technical/help-desk support
• Provide reporting capability
• (technology, high volume transaction processing,
  customer focus)

• Customer Service Partner (AFSA)
• Develop COD customer support solution
• Provide Higher Education knowledge in development
  efforts
• Support design and development team with
  functional expertise (Title IV, and schools
  processes)

• Operations Partner
• (ACS EDS)
• Transition of RFMS and LOS functions to COD
  solution
• Requirement gathering support
• Expertise in Call Center transition and
  operations
• (knowledge of Title IV and current processes,
  extensive work with SFA)

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Benefits of COD Include

• Common
• Business process and record for submitting
  origination disbursement data
• Edits across programs
• Data definitions across programs, and
  (approaching) a cross-industry standard for data
  definitions
• Potential for shorter transmissions and fewer
  scheduling problems
• Less frustration at having to resend information
  that SFA should already have
• Reduced turnaround time for exception processing,
  due to stream- lined edits fewer rejects
• Expanded on-line capability to make
  corrections/changes, process emergency
  requests, and check batch record status
• Expanded report capabilities that will improve
  the ability to bench- mark against like school
  groups
• In short, COD will be a simplified, more accurate
  process for requesting, reporting, and
  reconciling federal funds.

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And Finally.

• We appreciate your questions and feedback.
• Liaison to 02-03 Full Participants
• Harriet Downer 303-601-8591
• hsd_at_logicalconnections.org
• SFA External Outreach Lead
• Kitty Wooley 202-401-0380
• kitty.wooley_at_ed.gov
• SFA COD Project Manager
• Mary Haldane 202-260-6675
• Mary.Haldane_at_ed.gov