Technical Specifications Deadline for Schools

    The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently published a Dear Colleague Letter, GEN-00-20, informing schools of the deadline date for meeting updated minimum technical specifications needed to use designated electronic processes in the administration of the Student Financial Aid (SFA) Programs.  Beginning January 1, 2002, ED’s designated electronic processes will require participating schools to meet specific hardware and software requirements. These requirements are listed in an updated Technical Specifications table provided as an attachment to the DCL.  The DCL also provides a copy of a separate letter, GEN-00-21, which will be sent to each school’s President or Chief Executive Officer concerning the deadline date and the updated minimum technical specifications.  A notice regarding this deadline date and technical specifications will also be published in a Federal Register.

    Questions concerning these technical specifications should be directed to ED’s SFA Customer Service Call Center at (800) 433-7327.  Questions concerning relating to EDExpress software should be directed to ED’s Central Processing System (CPS) Customer Service at (800) 330-5947.  A copy of this DCL is available on ED’s web site at http://ifap.ed.gov.  If you are unable to access ED’s web site and would like a hard copy of the DCL, please contact Stacey Roberts at (801) 321-7211.  Any questions regarding this Bulletin may be directed to the UHEAA Policy and Training Department at (801) 321-7166 or by e-mail at cjudd@utahsbr.edu.