Publication Date: August 28, 2008
Bulletin ID: DLB-08-21
Summary: Implementation of Plan to Add Counseling Type Indicator to the
Entrance Counseling Report/File
Dear Direct Loan Colleague:
As explained in DLB-08-13,
entrance counseling is now required for first-time graduate and professional
student Direct PLUS Loan borrowers. In that bulletin, we provided details
about the online entrance counseling sessions that became available to
graduate and professional student borrowers on July 1, 2008 on the Direct
Loan Servicing Online Web site. In DLB-08-20,
we provided an update on our proposed solution to add an entrance counseling
type indicator to the entrance counseling file/report sent to schools
via the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG). This bulletin explains how
and when we plan to implement the change to the entrance counseling file/report.
What is changing?
We will change the fixed-length (DECFENOP) report format by adding a
counseling type indictor field to the existing file layout. The field
will be a one-byte character field at position 62. The two valid values
in the field will be as follows:
- "S" for Stafford, indicating the borrower completed the
online Stafford entrance counseling
- "P" for PLUS, indicating the borrower completed the online
PLUS entrance counseling
Note: Graduate and professional student borrowers who complete
both online counseling sessions or complete the combined counseling session
will appear twice on the report. There is no separate counseling type
value to indicate that a student completed both sessions or the combined
session.
The current report layout in the COD Technical Reference does not include
this new counseling type indicator. Updates to the technical reference
will be made in the future.
What is not changing?
We are not changing the comma-delimited (DECCENOP) or the pre-formatted
report (DECPENOP) formats. Schools using these formats will not receive
the new counseling type indicator. Schools can change their report format
option on the Direct Loan Servicing
Online for Schools Web site. If a school needs assistance with the
Web site, contact the Direct Loan Servicing Center at 888/877-7658.
This change also will not affect the frequency of the report.
When is the report changing?
We plan to implement the counseling type indicator change on Saturday,
September 20, 2008. The counseling type indicator will begin to appear
on school reports on the following schedule:
- Schools using daily reports: The daily report will reflect
the new indicator starting with the September 21, 2008 report. Student
borrowers who complete the counseling session on September 20, 2008
will appear on this report.
- Schools using weekly reports: The weekly report will
reflect the new indicator starting with the September 21, 2008 report.
Student borrowers who complete the counseling session from September
15, 2008 through September 21, 2008 will appear on this report.
- Schools using monthly reports: The monthly report will
reflect the new indicator starting with the October 1, 2008 report.
Student borrowers who complete the counseling session from September
1, 2008 through September 30, 2008 will appear on this report.
Note: None of the reports will provide data for borrowers
who completed the counseling session from July 1, 2008 through August
31, 2008. Schools that need data for this earlier timeframe or for a date
not included on its first report may use the online reports (described
below).
What does a school need to do?
Schools that receive the fixed-length report format will need to update
computer systems or software for this new counseling type indicator field.
We have informed most software providers, but schools are encouraged to
discuss the change with their software provider or IT Department as applicable.
Note for EDExpress Users: EDExpress will import the new
DECFENOP file and populate the "Loan Entrance Interview Date"
on the Demo Tab as usual. However, at this time, EDExpress will not be
able to read the counseling type indicator field or import it into the
loan record. We will notify EDExpress users when the software is ready
to accept the new indicator type field; until that time, please use the
instructions below to determine the counseling type.
Online Reports
Until a school's software is ready to accept the new counseling type
indicator field, a school can determine the counseling type in two other
ways:
| 1. |
Access online counseling data from the School Reports section
of the Direct Loan Servicing
Online for Schools Web site. The on-demand entrance counseling
reports can be requested by type as follows:
- Stafford Entrance Counseling
by Date
- Stafford Entrance Counseling
by SSN
- PLUS Entrance Counseling
by Date
- PLUS Entrance Counseling
by SSN
To access these reports, log in to the Direct
Loan Servicing Online for Schools Web site. Click on "School
Reports" from the top menu bar, click on "Entrance Counseling",
and select one of the PLUS Entrance Counseling links in red. Next,
enter the appropriate search criteria and click on "Run Report".
Once the report is run, schools can export the file or sort the
data using the toolbar at the top of the report.
|
| 2. |
Open the new DECFENOP file using a text writer such as Notepad,
Textpad, or Microsoft Word to view the counseling type field located
in filler position 62. |
We appreciate your patience and understanding as we finalized this solution.
If you have questions about the information contained in this bulletin,
please contact the School Services Team at the Direct Loan Servicing Center
at 888/877-7658.
Sincerely,
William Leith
Acting General Manager, Application, Operations and Delivery Services
Posted 08/29/08 to www.NASFAA.org. Please submit Web Site questions or comments to Web@NASFAA.org
