Attachment_A_-_Current_State_Analysis_External_October_2017_v1.5.pdf

U.S. Department of Education Federal Student Aid

Participation Management System Current

State Analysis

Version 1.5 October 2017 ii

Section 1: Introduction

1.1 High Level System Overview

1.2 Purpose of This Document

1.3 Project Organization

1.4 Current State Analysis Approach

1.5 Document Organization

Section 2: Service Enrollment Management

2.1 Introduction

2.1.1 Participation Management (PM) System’s Role in the Services Enrollment Management Process

2.1.2 Destination Points Administrators and Destination Points

2.1.3 PM and Relationship with SAIG

2.1.4 PM System Components

2.2 Enrollment Management Processes

2.2.1 Initial Enrollment

2.2.2 Enrollment Updates

2.2.3 Support Processes for Enrollment Management

2.3 Enrollment Processes on the PM Customer Service Website

2.3.1 Administering User Access to Online Services

2.3.2 FSA External Partners Management

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2.4 MIS Reports

2.5 Enrollment Process Document Samples

2.6 Web and Mainframe Screens

2.7 Emails and Signature Pages

2.8 Signature Page Requirements

Section 3: Customer Support

3.1 CPS/SAIG TECHNICAL SUPPORT HELP DESK

3.1.1 CALL MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

3.1.2 AUTOMATIC CALL RECORDING

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3.1.4 TYPICAL QUESTIONS RECEIVED

3.1.5 EMAIL PROCEDURES

3.1.6 NETWORK MESSAGES

3.1.7 CUSTOMER SERVICE SITE

3.1.8 AIMS HELP DESK TOOL

3.2 CUSTOMER SERVICE SURVEY

3.3 FORMS PROCESSING TEAM

Section 4: Interfaces

4.1 System Interfaces

4.1.1 Connection Architectures and Transmission Methods

4.1.2 Access and Identity Management System (AIMS)

4.1.3 National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)

4.1.4 Common Origination and Disbursement (COD)

4.1.5 Central Processing System (CPS)

4.1.6 Debt Management Collection System (DMCS)

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4.1.7 Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG)

4.1.8 FAA Access

4.1.9 Total and Permanent Disability-Nelnet

4.1.10 Financial Management System (FMS)

Section 5: Change Management

5.1 Change Management Processes

5.1.1 Sources of Change

5.1.2 Objective of Change Management Process

5.1.3 FSA Change Management Structure

5.1.4 Enterprise Change Control Board (ECCB)

5.1.5 Stakeholders

Appendix A 83

Change Management Division Change Request Log

Section 6: Production Operations

6.1 Participation Management Production Operations

6.1.1 Participation Management Production Environment

6.1.2 Production Operations Components

6.1.3 Participation Management Processing Volumes

Section 7: Security Operations

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7.1.2 PM Security Operations ............................................. Error! Bookmark not defined.

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Section 8: Appendices

8.1 Appendix A: Key Terms

8.2 Appendix B: Processing Volumes

Section 1: Introduction

The Participation Management (PM) system is the primary web-based enrollment and user management service of Federal Student Aid (FSA). PM allows eligible FSA partners to enroll for access to FSA services and systems that support the federal financial aid lifecycle. PM authorizes users to access and exchange information with FSA systems while providing a single, unified business model for service enrollment. PM allows users to enroll in “destination points” or mailboxes on the Student Aid Internet Gateway, FSA’s secure store-and-forward transfer service, so that partners can securely communicate with FSA.

1.1 High Level System Overview

The systems that PM provides enrollment in data services for Financial Aid Administrator (FAA) Access, the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), Common Origination and Disbursement (COD), the Financial Management System (FMS), Total and Permanent Disability (TPD servicer), Debt Management and Collection System, Central Processing System, the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG), and the Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate (FISAP). These vital systems support the delivery of financial aid to millions of students on an annual basis. PM also interfaces with other FSA systems to provide user and organization specific information to allow systems to control the specific levels of user access.

Users of PM include schools, Third-Party servicers, Guaranty Agencies (GA), Lenders and Lender Servicers, Federal Loan Servicers, state agencies, research agencies, FAFSA Completion Pilot participants, and FSA External Partners, , ED employees, and ED contractor users.

1.2 Purpose of This Document

In order to assist in your understanding of the PM system, FSA is documenting the current state of PM processes. This document provides current state process models and corresponding narratives as well as administrative responsibilities related to the Operations and Maintenance of an FSA system. The current state process models and narratives will be an input to developing future recommendations for improvement as FSA considers options for the next PM contract.

1.3 Project Organization

This document presents the results of a six-phased approach to organizing the documentation and validation of PM business processes. This subsection provides a high-level overview of the PM Current State project and a detailed overview of the approach used.

The figure below presents approach the project team used to conduct the PM Current State Analysis Documentation effort. These phases were completed concurrently by members of the Current State Analysis team.

Phase 6 Security

Phase 5 Production

Phase 4 Configuration & Change Management

Phase 3 Interfaces

Phase 2 Customer Support and Operations

Phase 1 Enrollment Management Services

1.4 Current State Analysis Approach

This subsection presents the approach used by the project team to develop the current state analysis of PM. The figure below presents the approach and activities taken by the project team to complete the PM current state analysis.

The current state analysis began by developing draft current state PM process maps from existing documentation, specifically:

• PM System Specifications, Design Documents, and Functional Specifications

• PM Status Reports

• PM User Guides and Documentation

• Interface Control Documents and File Layouts

The project team used previous current state process maps and other system documentation (where available) to facilitate interviews with subject matter experts (SMEs) in multiple business areas across FSA Business Operations.

Review PM Documentation

• PM SMEs provided current state documentation.

• Project team Verified an inventory of PM processes and subject areas.

Conduct As-Is Process

Discussions

• Project team conducted one-on-one discussions with PM SMEs to discuss processes and subject areas.

• Project team followed up with key SMEs at the PM contractor to review and correct selected data.

Create As-Is Process Models

• Project team created draft As- Is Process Models and Narratives based on the outcomes of discussions.

Validate Drafts, Publish Final

Versions

• PM SMEs validated draft Process Models and Process Narratives.

• Final Process Narratives and final Process Models were vetted and included in this document.

The project team then updated the current state process drafts based on SME feedback, and authored the corresponding draft process narratives. The project team conducted various validation reviews with SMEs to validate the draft process narratives and updated process maps.

The final validated current state process maps and corresponding narratives are presented in this document with two aims: 1)assisting FSA in its efforts to make improvements to current processes and further align with FSA’s enterprise Target State Vision (TSV), and 2)assisting the vendor community in scoping their efforts for a future PM contract by providing a detailed business process background.

1.5 Document Organization

The remainder of this document contains the following sections:

• Section 2: Current State Participation Management Process presents the narrative descriptions of current state PM business processes, including sections for Enrollment Management, Customer Service, Interfaces, Change Management, Production Operations, and Security.

• Section 3: Appendices

Section 2: Service Enrollment Management

2.1 Introduction

Participation Management (PM) is Federal Student Aid’s (FSA) central system for managing enrollment in and access to FSA’s electronic data exchange services. The primary function of the PM system and its associated operation and maintenance contract is to provide enrollment processing services for organizations seeking access to FSA’s batch and online data exchange services so that they may carry out their administrative work in support of the delivery of financial aid to millions of college students. PM also manages FSA’s enrollment process for the SAIG (Student Aid Internet Gateway) mailboxes which are used to send and receive transmissions for FSA data services. In addition to operating and maintaining the PM system itself, the PM contractor provides customer support services for mailroom receipt, data processing, and (when necessary) scanning of applications and their supporting documents required for the services enrollment process. The contractor also provides customer support for user enrollment problems.

The PM system interfaces closely with the systems that provide FSA’s various data services (COD, NSLDS, CPS, FAA Access) and with the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) in order to provide those systems with information about who is enrolled in each service. An additional interface with FSA’s Access and Identity Management System (AIMS) provides AIMS with necessary enrollment information for user authentication and access processes for all FSA services behind AIMS (e.g. NSLDS Online, COD Online, FAA Access, FISAP, etc..)

2.1.1 Participation Management (PM) System’s Role in the Services Enrollment Management Process

The enrollment management process enables organizations to actively manage which FSA batch, online and electronic services they wish to participate in. This includes service-specific management of whether they wish to receive, submit, view, and update student financial aid data related to that service and how they wish to receive and submit the data (e.g. EDConnect). As mentioned above, depending on their type of organization, users have an array of services to manage. These services are provided by several FSA systems including NSLDS, COD, CPS, FAA Access to CPS Online, FMS, DMCS, DCAS, ECS, FAFSA on the Web, Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) system and eCampus-based (FISAP).

Batch services provided by these systems currently include:

• Direct Loan batch services

• Grant Services Processing

• Delinquency Report, and Borrower services [including Treasury Offset Process Program

(TOP) files, Mandatory Assignment Process files, National Directory of New hires (NDNH) files, IRS Skiptrace files, Conditional Disability Discharge (CDD)/Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) files])

• CPS batch services (Electronic Applications, Corrections, ISIRs, Automatic ISIR Processing services)

• FDR Processing (Must Certify for Corrections)

• Batch Gainful Employment Notification Package

• FMS batch (GAFR and LaRS access services)

• NSLDS batch services (including Transfer Monitoring, Financial Aid History, Enrollment Reporting, Perkins Loan Data, Batch Gainful Employment Reporting, GA/Federal Servicers Loan Data, Loan Processing and Issuance Fee Back-up Detail, Account Maintenance Fee Back-up Detail, Annual Reasonability Back-up Detail, and Exit Counseling Reports services)

• NSLDS eCDR service

• FISAP services

• TPD Loan Holder Notification service

Online services currently include:

• FAFSA on the Web Data Transfer

• NSLDS online services (including NSLDS Enrollment, Enrollment Update, Overpayment

Update, Default Service, GA Loan Update, Teacher Loan Forgiveness, SSN Only Lookup, Aid Overpayment Update Service, and NSLDS View Only access)

• COD Online Service

• DCAS Online

• ECS Online

Electronic services currently include:

• FAA Access to CPS Online

• EDconnect

The Participation Management system maintains business rules ensuring that only users from certain types of organizations may sign up for and work with certain types of FSA services.

These enrollment rules exist for security purposes, and reflect the differing business relationships requiring data exchanges between FSA and our various partner organizations. Organization types supported by PM include post-secondary institutions and their 3rd party servicers, guaranty agencies, lenders/lender servicers, Federal Loan Servicers (including the Title IV Additional Services (TIVAS) and Not-for-Profit servicers), state agencies, research agencies, FSA Internal employees, FSA contractors, FAFSA Completion Pilot participants, and FSA External Partners.

A table illustrating the available batch and online services for each organization type (also known as “org type”) is provided below. (Note: Two additional org types on the chart below - Dept. of ED users, and App Sys Contractors – are maintained by PM in order to track users with permission to perform certain limited, specific functions on FSA systems. These org types do not have access to standard FSA services.)

Table:

PM Matrix.xls

2.1.2 Destination Points Administrators and Destination Points

A key concept behind the services enrollment process is the Destination Point Administrator (DPA), also known as the Primary Destination Point Administrator (Primary DPA). Upon initial enrollment in FSA services, organizations must designate an individual as the Primary Destination Point Administrator (Primary DPA) who is assigned a Primary Destination Point (the organization’s primary SAIG Mailbox which is identified by the primary TG Number). The Primary DPA is the individual at an organization who is responsible for the administration of the organization’s SAIG participation which includes assigning access to the organization’s mailboxes and services and determining the organization’s Electronic Services Users. The Primary DPA (or the backup Secondary DPA) is the only individual within the organization who may enroll other organization staff as Destination Point Administrators (DPAs) with Destination Points (an SAIG Mailbox which is identified by a TG Number) assigned for specific SAIG services. Upon completing the initial enrollment process for their institution, the Primary DPA can add or remove users, edit demographic data about the user, edit information about the organization, or change an organization’s or user’s enrollment (add. modify or remove) in various SAIG services by using the SAIG Enrollment website (fsawebenroll.ed.gov; the public facing part of the PM system).

A given institution may have multiple mailboxes assigned to it, each associated with a different service or group of services that the institution is participating in. In general (with the exception of initial submission of application data to CPS), no more than one mailbox/TG number may be established by the institution for each data type (service) exchanged with FSA systems.

However, organizations may choose to combine services and functions through a single destination point administrator (DPA) with a single destination point (mailbox). The table below illustrates the maximum number of allowable destination points per service, per institution.

Services Number of Destination Points allowed per

Central Processing System (CPS), Submission of Application (FAFSA) Data

Two

CPS, All Other Functions/Types One Grant Services for Pell Grant, Iraq and Afghanistan Service Grant, and the TEACH Grant Processing/Batch Files

One

Direct Loan Program One electronic Campus-Based (eCB) programs systems, FISAP One FFELP and Direct Loan electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) Packages, Batch

One

National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) Batch Files One

Services Number of Destination Points allowed per

NSLDS Online No Limit Financial Management System (FMS), Lender Reporting System (LaRS) and Guaranty Agency Financial Reporting (GAFR)

Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) Online No Limit

Enterprise Complaint System (ECS) No Limit

FAFSA on the Web Data Transfer Service One

Income-Based Repayment (IBR)/Pay As You Earn/Income- Contingent Repayment (ICR) Request

Total and Permanent Disability (TPD) Loan Holder Notification One

If managing a multiple mailbox setup, the Primary DPA (or his/her backup, the Secondary DPA) is the only person within the organization who may enroll other staff in mailboxes assigned for specific SAIG services. Both Primary and Secondary DPAs may provide additional users with access to specific services by linking the desired DPA to a particular mailbox/TG number. Both Primary and Secondary DPAs may add or remove services associated with the mailbox as well.

The Primary DPA is responsible for collecting and storing security agreements for all users.

Additionally, as required for eligibility to access Federal Student Aid Systems, the Primary DPA also must validate the individuals enrolled for SAIG Mailboxes and Electronic Services for their organization on a schedule determined by ED (currently annually). If validation is not completed via the SAIG Enrollment Web site within the prescribed timeframe, all services assigned to the organization and individuals could be permanently deactivated.

2.1.3 PM and Relationship with SAIG

The Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) was established to allow a variety of entities that participate in the Title IV, HEA programs to exchange data electronically with the U.S.

Department of Education (ED, Department). The SAIG is a primary medium (routing system) through which organizations exchange student aid data with FSA systems. In order to participate in the SAIG, each organizational entity must first enroll for access through the Participation Management system (SAIG Enrollment Web site). PM establishes the organization as a destination point on the SAIG and assigns a TG Number to this destination point once an organization completes the initial enrollment process. As an established destination point, the organization is assigned a SAIG electronic mailbox which can be used to send and retrieve information with FSA systems. Similar to external organizations, FSA systems also are assigned electronic SAIG mailboxes to exchange information with the various organizations enrolled in the Participation Management system. The TG Number, which is created by PM, is the identifier for the destination point or electronic SAIG mailbox on the Student Aid Internet Gateway. This mailbox serves as routing address used by the SAIG system when determining where a given data transmission between an organization and FSA system should go. So, whenever PM creates a mailbox number, changes services or user data associated with a mailbox number, or deactivates a mailbox number, PM shares that organization’s latest services enrollment data with

SAIG.

A single organization can have one or several destination points/TG Numbers on the SAIG based on how the organization constructs its business processes for exchanging and processing information with the various FSA systems. The person within the organization who is the owner or manages a destination point is known as the Destination Point Administrator (DPA). The destination point or TG Number created during the SAIG initial enrollment process is known as the Primary Destination Point or Primary TG Number for the enrolled organization and is managed by the organization’s Primary Destination Point Administrator (Primary DPA). All other destination points or TG Numbers within the organization is created under the hierarchy of the Primary DPA who is responsible for managing user access and assigning services to the destination points or TG Numbers within his/her organization.

SAIG mailboxes can be configured to either receive or send data. In some cases, FSA systems require mailboxes to have the ability to both send and receive. When contacting PM to enroll in a service and create a mailbox, systems and institutions must specify how the mailbox will be used. SAIG is then responsible for enforcing these routing rules, ensuring that for each organization only the appropriate inbound or outbound mailboxes are used for data exchanges with the target FSA system. The diagram below depicts a sample relationship between organization, service, mailbox, PM, and SAIG.

2.1.4 PM System Components

The Production Support section of this Current State document will describe PM’s technical ecosystem in more detail, but on a basic level the PM system is comprised of three major subsystems: the SAIG Enrollment website, the Customer Service website, and CICS online.

These three subsystems provide the primary means by which the Enrollment Management Processes below are carried out.

• The SAIG Enrollment Site (fsawebenroll.ed.gov) provides external users the ability to initially enroll in FSA data services and to manage those enrollments. Through the SAIG Enrollment Site, organizations can create/manage/delete destination points, assign and manage destination point administrators and electronic services users, add/remove / update services, and validate service enrollments. Enrollment data updated through the website is stored on the PM system’s DB2 database.

• The Customer Service website is a separate website maintained as part of the PM system. It contains several tools that facilitate FSA and PM contractor staff work in researching/diagnosing problems with user access, administering user access to online systems and services, and performing data entry tasks related to registering certain users (e.g. FSA External Partner organizations) for access to the SAIG Enrollment Site.

Lookup functions on the Customer Service (CS) website call the PM system’s database, and any data entered via the CS website (e.g. FSA External Partner applications, NSLDS, COD Online or ECS Online approvals) is posted to the database.

• CICS online is a menu-driven mainframe system which is used internally by PM contractor employees to facilitate management of enrollment process data. CICS online connects to the PM system’s DB2 database so that authorized personnel are able to browse and update data related to the destination points, institutions, and customers stored by the PM system. CICS online also allows authorized contractor staff to review and update data related to enrollment application signature pages, and to “release” an application for final processing once all signature pages are received. It also allows users to automate back-end batch programs to process those updates and share them with PM partner systems.

2.2 Enrollment Management Processes

In the sections that follow, we will describe these business processes around Enrollment Management. At their highest level, these include:

• Initial Enrollment (including mail room, supporting document, user notification, and system interface processes);

• Enrollment Updates;

• Support Processes; and

• PM Customer Service Website Processes.

Core tasks for Initial Enrollment include everything related to getting an organization signed up as a new entity for access to FSA services. This includes completing the SAIG enrollment application via the fsawebenroll.ed.gov website, printing, signing and sending in the signature pages and the Participation Agreement for State Grant Agencies (only for State Grant Agencies organization types), contractor receipt, imaging, and storage of signature pages and Participation Agreement documentation, application review and approval, establishment of an FSA User ID account, activation of a new mailbox/TG Number, and PM enrollment data sharing with partner systems. Optional processes around Initial Enrollment include completing a user survey about the quality of the organization’s enrollment experience.

Enrollment Update processes include Adding and Deleting Mailboxes/TG Numbers and Services, Modifying Existing Destination Point Services, Changing a Primary DPA, Adding/Removing a DPA or Electronic Services User, Changing Demographic Information, Adding Online User Services, Active Confirmation (Validating mailboxes/TG Numbers and Electronic Services Users) and Managing Electronic Services.

Support processes include Appointing a Designee, Reviewing Mailboxes and Services, and User Surveys.

PM Customer Service Website processes include User Access Administration for NSLDS Online, COD Online, ECS Online enrollments and FSA External Partners Management.

2.2.1 Initial Enrollment

Organizations begin the initial enrollment process by completing either an online or paper application. In most cases, this is currently done online at the “SAIG Enrollment Site” (fsawebenroll.ed.gov), and institutions who contact FSA requesting access are typically directed there to complete their first step in the process. However, a paper enrollment process using either the Student Aid Internet Gateway Enrollment Form For Postsecondary Educational Institutions, Institutional Third-Party Servicers, FFELP Guaranty Agencies and Guaranty Agency Servicers, Federal Loan Servicers, FFELP Lenders and Lender Servicers or the Student Aid Internet Gateway Application For State Grant Agencies (see below) does exist for institutions that choose to enroll via the paper process or that do not currently have access to the online SAIG Enrollment Web site , such as foreign schools. Participation Management receives approximately 31,000 initial enrollment applications annually. About 100-200 of these are via the paper process. In the following sections, a process flow and detailed narrative description of the initial enrollment process are provided.

2.2.1.1 Process Flow

The following page contains a high level process flow for the Initial Enrollment process (both paper and online).

2.2.1.2 Online Initial Enrollment Process (main flow)

To start the initial enrollment process and apply online, the organization launches the SAIG Enrollment website and selects the link on the site’s homepage for “Initial Enrollment for Services”. Through the online application, the user first must enter (Step One) the demographic information about their organization and the new destination point they are seeking to create.

This includes:

• the name and type of organization they are enrolling;

• the name and contact information for the individual who should receive all organizational correspondence;

• the name and contact information for the individual who will serve as the organization’s

Primary Destination Point Administrator (if that person is different from the individual receiving organizational correspondence), as well as the SSN, DOB, and mother’s maiden name (for security purposes) of the Primary DPA.

The person signing up for initial enrollment can also optionally designate a Secondary DPA during Step One, including their name, contact information, SSN, and DOB. Assignment of a secondary DPA can also occur later, however (see “Adding and Removing a Secondary DPA section below for process description). The Secondary DPA will perform as the backup to the Primary DPA for the organization.

To complete Step Two (Select Services) of the SAIG enrollment application, users should have the following information on hand:

• Postsecondary institutions or their Third Party Servicers will need the institution’s OPE- ID number. If the school participates in the Grant Services and/or Direct Loan Program, they will also need the institution’s Federal School Code and/or Direct Loan Program code, respectively..

• Guaranty Agencies will need the Guaranty Agency (GA) code number assigned by ED. A list of active and inactive GA codes is contained in the instructions for the Guaranty Agency Financial Report -- Form 2000 accessible at https://fp.ed.gov.

• Lenders and Lender Servicers will need the Lender ID (LID) or Lender Servicer ID number assigned by ED.

• Federal Loan Servicers will need the Federal Loan Servicer ID assigned by ED.

• FSA External Partners will need the FSA External Partner ID assigned by ED.

• State Agencies will use their State Code

In Step Two, initial enrollers are asked to select which FSA services (see list above under x.1.1.1) or systems they wish to enroll their organization with. Based on the “organization type” selected in Step One, the SAIG Enrollment website presents them a filtered list of services/systems to choose from, will display only those FSA services available to the specified organization type..

After the user clicks “next”, their selections for specific batch or online services will then generate additional questions for each service selected in order to fine tune exactly which services the organization wishes to enroll in, as well as to provide the organization with an opportunity to specify certain preferences for their data exchanges on each service. For example, a selection of “NSLDS Batch service” will generate an additional web screen wherein the user is asked to specify which NSLDS batch services their organization would like to enroll in (e.g.

Financial Aid History/Transfer Student Monitoring, Enrollment reporting, Perkins Loan, etc.).

Similarly, selection of the Central Processing System will generate additional questions to the user, asking him/her to select which award year(s) (from the two most recent) they wish to enroll in CPS-provided services for, as well as which CPS services they want (e.g. initial FAFSA applications, FAFSA corrections, ISIR services). It will also ask the user to specify (an option for CPS only) whether they wish to use a single destination point or two for their CPS set-up.

For services selected in Step Two, the enroller will be asked to enter the identification number of the organization for whom the services are being requested (GA code for GAs, Lender ID for lenders, Federal School Code and OPEID for schools, and Federal Loan Servicer ID for federal loan servicers.) The id number (e.g. OPE ID, DL Code, FSC, Lender ID, etc) is required to connect the specific organization with the destination point that will be created for sending and/or receiving the selected service information to and from FSA systems.

*Note: There are many cases where third party entities may act on behalf of an organization (e.g. a third party servicer for a school, a lender servicer for a lender) to conduct business with FSA. These entities often have multiple schools or lenders as clients. So, it is possible in PM for a third party entity to enroll multiple schools (or lenders) each for the same service(s) under a single destination point (the third party entity’s). Though this cannot technically happen as part of the Initial Enrollment Process, it can occur once Initial Enrollment has been completed.

Once the data is entered, upon clicking the “next” button, the system checks to make sure the organization being enrolled in services isn’t already enrolled. If it isn’t, the system then displays the “End of Enrollment Form” page, then the review page, where the user is given one last opportunity to make changes to the demographic info they’ve entered, or the services they’ve selected. If it is, the system displays a warning to the user, indicating that the organization already is enrolled in the service specified under a different destination point, and letting the user know that if they proceed, the old destination point will be replaced by a new one. If the user decides to proceed anyway, they are again taken to the “End of Enrollment Form” and review pages. Assuming no changes need to be made to the demographic info or services selected, the user may “submit form”.

2.2.1.3 Paper Initial Enrollment Process

In the “paper” process, the appropriate SAIG Enrollment Form may be obtained by an institution by contacting the PM contractor’s customer service group (currently CPS/SAIG Technical Support) and having it mailed or emailed (pdf) or downloading it from the SAIG Enrollment Web site. The two enrollment forms available include 1) the Student Aid Internet Gateway Enrollment Form For Postsecondary Educational Institutions, Institutional Third-Party Servicers, FFELP Guaranty Agencies and Guaranty Agency Servicers, Federal Loan Servicers, FFELP Lenders and Lender Servicers or 2) the Student Aid Internet Gateway Application For State Grant Agencies.

As mentioned earlier, currently these are mainly foreign post-secondary schools, which, when PM was being originally set up, required a paper application process. (Note: Moving foreign schools to an electronic enrollment process is a target state goal.) A copy of the paper enrollment form is included in the “Enrollment Process Document Samples” subsection of this Current State document. The form is designed to collect all of critical data elements around initial enrollment that are currently collected by the online application process. However, as this process creates additional work and adds processing time to the application process, FSA actively promotes the online application for all organizations who are able to use it. FSA does this by having contractor customer support staff channel users to the online application.

Organizations using the form simply fill out the hardcopy application and signature pages, obtain the appropriate signatures, and either mail, e-mail or fax the completed form to the PM contractor’s customer support/processing division (currently CPS/SAIG Technical Support), where staff will receive the paper application in their mailroom. There, the processing team data enters the organization’s responses into the PM system using the system’s CICS mainframe interface (see Web and Mainframe Screens section for screen shots). They then scan the entire application package into the imaging database, and store the paper application along with the organization’s other supporting documents (e.g. signature forms, etc.) in the paper document storage vault. If the processing team has any questions during data entry regarding the institution’s responses to specific questions on the application form, they reach out to the primary contacts listed on the form to resolve and complete their data entry.

2.2.1.4 Supporting Documentation

Signature Pages The U.S. Department of Education is required to collect the signature for each destination point administrator identified in Step One on the “Responsibilities of the Primary and Non-Primary Destination Point Administrators” document. Each destination point administrator must read and sign this statement.

Additionally, the U.S. Department of Education must be provided the signature of the chief officer of the organization (President, CEO or Designee) for each destination point administrator identified in the application on the “Certification of the President/CEO or Designee” document.

For each destination point, the chief officer of the organization must sign this certification statement. If the organization is a third-party servicer acting on a school's behalf, both the school's chief officer and third party servicer organization's chief officer must sign.

These two documents together (the “Responsibilities of the Primary and Non-Primary Destination Point Administrators” and the “Certification of the President/CEO or Designee”) are commonly referred to as an application’s “signature pages”. Except for internal users, all new DPAs must submit these two original signature documents to the PM contractor’s customer support team (currently CPS/SAIG Technical Support) in order to complete an initial enrollment.

Submission of these supporting documents can be done either via email (cpssaig@ed.gov) or by mail (2450 Oakdale Blvd., Coralville, IA 52241). Email is encouraged, and for application processing purposes, a scanned/emailed original document containing the necessary signatures may be considered an “original signature.” Copies of all signature pages must be maintained on record at the applying organization.

State Agency Participation Agreement For state scholarship or grant agencies, a third document known as the State Agency Participation Agreement must also be signed and returned to the PM contractor (by hard copy/mail only).

FSA User of Electronic Services Statement Primary DPAs requesting enrollments for their users in FAA Access or EDconnect services must also print out and obtain each user’s signature on the Federal Student Aid User of Electronic Services Statement page. Though they should not send these signed statements in to PM for processing, the organization should retain the signed statement for their own internal records and be prepared to produce them by request of FSA.

Samples of all supporting documents are provided in the document samples section below.

2.2.1.5 Mailroom and Final Processing

No initial enrollment application is considered complete without this supporting documentation, and FSA’s PM contractor may not complete an application and allow access to FSA services until these signed supporting documents are received. For this reason, once the user submits their enrollment application, PM holds application information on a temporary basis (either on system in the case of an online app, or set aside in a separate processing queue in the case of paper applications) until the organization provides signed versions of the required supporting documents.

Currently, the PM contractor holds an organization’s application for enrollment for up to 90 days after receipt of the initial enrollment application in order to allow time for these documents to arrive. During this time, the PM contractor’s customer support/processing team keeps track of all pending incomplete applications via a tracking log, and reaches out to the organization to remind them of the need for this documentation, and encouraging them not to delay in sending

in. If, after 90 days, the organization still has not provided the needed supporting documents, the application is destroyed. In the case of online applications, this means that the data is purged from the system. In the case of paper applications, the paper application gets removed from the “to be imaged” queue, and gets shredded. Organizations missing this 90 day window will be required to re-apply from scratch.

Once all the necessary supporting documents are received by PM customer support, contractor staff review the completed application against signature pages to ensure signatures have been submitted for all DPAs, and all documents are on hand. Contractor staff also verify that the name of the organization’s President, CEO or Designee (see below) submitted in the supporting documentation matches the name that FSA has on file for that organization. PM gets information about who the proper President or CEO is for post-secondary institutions nightly from PEPS (via a digest sent from the Central Processing System), and uses this information to verify the incoming authorizations from the institution’s President/CEO.

In case of problems with the DPA signature pages, PM customer support will contact the sending organization to resolve. In the event that the name of the organization’s President/CEO/Designee doesn’t match the name on file, the PM customer support team may sometimes reach out to FSA for questions/support in identifying recent/pending changes in an organization’s President/CEO/Designee, and if appropriate, request FSA approval to complete processing of the application pending the official change.

Once all signatures are received and verified as correct, the PM contractor’s processing staff completes any necessary data entry and “releases” the temporary hold placed on the application, which queues the PM system generate a new TG number (mailbox) for the application (see next step below). Once a TG number has been generated (usually via overnight processing jobs), the contractor then scans the complete application package into its imaging system and associates the appropriate TG number with the application documents. There is currently no mandated processing window for releasing an application after all necessary information is in, but this is typically done within a day, and FSA’s expectation for the future is that this 24-48 hour window be continued.

Once the temporary hold has been released for an application, the PM system performs four groups of actions:

1. Generating the mailbox number

2. Sharing enrollment information with FSA service provider systems and SAIG

3. Sending enrollment information to AIMS

4. Assisting users with establishment of a FSA User ID on AIMS

2.2.1.6 Generating and Communicating a Mailbox Number

Once the temporary hold has been released for an application, PM generates a new TG number for the service(s) the organization enrolled in. PM Customer Service reaches out to the authorizing official on file for the organization (President/CEO/Financial Aid Director), and communicates the new TG number to them. The PM system also auto-generates a welcome email to each DPA identified for the new mailbox, informing them that for security/verification purposes, they will need to contact their president/ CEO/ Financial Aid Director in order to obtain their new TG number.

In addition to the TG number/mailbox number itself, the email contains some explanatory material for the DPA about the use of their mailbox, instructions for downloading and using EDConnect or TDClient software with their mailbox to send/receive files, links to additional information about possible services they enrolled in, and contact information for PM’s technical support team (currently CPS/SAIG Technical Support) in the event the enrollee has any questions. It also includes instructions for activating their new SAIG mailbox and to sign up for an FSA User ID. The FSA User ID is required for all of FSA’s web-based services (e.g. NSLDS

Online, COD Online, CPS Online tools, including use of the SAIG Enrollment Website to activate their new mailbox and to manage organizational enrollments going forward.

Examples of the current emails to Primary DPAs and secondary DPAs can be found in the PM Functional Specifications documents (“FS Emails and Signatures”).

2.2.1.7 Sharing Enrollment Information with FSA Service Provider Systems and SAIG Once the temporary hold has been released for an application and a mailbox created, PM generates and sends a “Participant File” to each FSA system involved in providing the data services the organization is enrolling in. PM does this in order to inform the providing system of an impending enrollment so that the providing system will recognize the new trading partner.

PM currently generates and sends Participant Files to FSA service-providing systems (e.g.

NSLDS, COD, CPS, eCampus-based [for FISAP]) on a daily basis, containing all new enrollments and changes from the preceding 24 hours.

In the case of batch enrollments, PM sends a Participant File containing the mailbox number, organization name and contact info, and the service type of the impending enrollment in the case of batch enrollments. In the case of online services enrollments, PM sends a separate Participant file containing mailbox number, organization name and contact info, service type, as well as the DPA’s demographic data (name, SSN, DOB, contact info). It typically takes less than a day after receipt of the PM Participant File for providing systems to process and recognize new organizations, destination points, and online users.

Also, as noted above in the “PM and Relationship With SAIG” section, the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) is the routing system through which all batch data services must flow when batch data is exchanged between FSA and participating financial aid organizations. As a result, PM also provides SAIG with service enrollment information (both initial enrollments and changes to enrollment) on a daily basis so that SAIG can recognize the TG Numbers being used to transmit and receive data, and can ensure that only appropriate (enrolled) data services are allowed to travel through the network. PM provides SAIG both a “Participant File” and a “Profile File” as part of this process.

2.2.1.8 Sending the Participant File To AIMS

AIMS is FSA’s security solution that manages access to the online elements of enterprise systems (e.g. NSLDS Online, COD Online, ECS Online, CPS Online etc.) authorizing users to log in once for access to multiple systems. With AIMS, users are able to log into FSA systems using their FSA User ID and password.

About the same time the PM system is generating the TG number and sharing that information with the enrollee and other FSA systems, it is also sharing that TG number—along with the enrollee’s other demographics and services enrollment data—with FSA’s Access and Identity Management System (AIMS) in order to keep AIMS current on what systems and services individual users should have access to. More specifically, every two hours Monday through Friday (8am-8pm), PM transmits a Participant File to AIMS containing this information for any new online services enrollments as well as any changes to existing online service enrollments.

AIMS stores this information, and for new users, uses a portion of it when the new DPA initiates the final step in their enrollment process: establishing an FSA User ID on AIMS.

2.2.1.9 Establishing a FSA User ID

As noted above under “Generating A Mailbox Number”, when a mailbox is established, the PM system generates a welcome email to the DPA containing (among other things) instructions for the DPA to establish their FSA User ID. Following the link provided in the email (https://fsawebenroll.ed.gov/PMEnroll/PMAccountServlet.jrun), users will perform an initial “login” to AIMS from the SAIG Enrollment site’s FSA User ID Registration page.

Upon submitting the required initial login factors (first/last name, last four of SSN, DOB), PM performs an HTTP POST/GET call AIMS to send AIMS the appropriate PM Unique ID for the user. In response, AIMS authenticates the user’s credentials against the data it’s already received from PM via the Participant File. If AIMS cannot find a match, it informs PM which in turn informs the user (via web screen message) that they should either try again to re-enter their initial login information or contact PM Technical Support for assistance. If it can find a match, AIMS presents the Account Setup page, where the user can follow the prompts from the AIMS system to complete establishment of their FSA User ID. Once AIMS creates the FSA User ID, it performs a web call back to PM to provide it the FSA User ID. PM then stores the FSA User ID for later use in authentication calls requiring PM input. AIMS emails a copy of the FSA User ID to the DPA along with which service entitlement(s) AIMS understands (again, from the Participant File) the user to have.

Once the FSA User ID is established, the DPA may use it to log into the SAIG Enroll Site’s “Activate Your New SAIG Mailbox” function (required for all new mailboxes).

2.2.1.10 Activating A Mailbox

To activate a new mailbox, the Primary DPA must select the Review Services Assigned to Your SAIG Mailboxes (TG Numbers) / Activate Your New SAIG Mailbox (TG Number) option on the SAIG Enrollment Site home page. The Primary DPA then logs in to AIMS using their FSA User ID and password in order to be authenticated and to access the TG Number page on enrollment site. Once the Primary DPA enters his/her TG Number, it is validated and activated..

(Note: For organizations using the paper enrollment process, mailbox activation is actually performed by the contractor as part of the “mailroom and final processing” step.)

https://fsawebenroll.ed.gov/PMEnroll/PMAccountServlet.jrun

Once the “Activate Your New SAIG Mailbox” step is complete, the Initial Enrollment Process for the organization is concluded and the organization’s Primary DPA (and, if added, secondary DPA) may now access PM’s SAIG Enrollment Site to conduct Enrollment Updates and other enrollment management functions (see Enrollment Updates and Other Enrollment Management sections). Also, depending on which FSA services the organization signed up for during initial enrollment, the Primary DPA or secondary DPA for each service should now be able to access those services (sending/receiving batch files; logging on to FSA’s various online services) as soon as the providing system has had an opportunity to process the new enrollment data sent from PM (again, typically about a 1-2 day period from the day PM informs the providing system).

2.2.2 Enrollment Updates

Enrollment updates include any actions involving reviewing mailbox, service, and user information, adding/deleting mailboxes, adding/removing a secondary DPA, modifying mailboxes (including adding/modifying/removing secondary destination point administrators, adding/removing services for a particular mailbox), and changing user demographic information.

Participation Management receives approximately 6,000 enrollment updates annually. Of those, about 1,500-1,800 are done via the “paper” update process.

Several types of enrollment updates -require collection of new or updated signature pages. Just as with Initial Enrollments, those signatures must be sent to the PM contractor’s technical/customer support team before the enrollment update can be processed by the PM contractor. For a listing of the scenarios in which signature pages are generated by the PM system and required to be submitted, please see the Signature Pages section below (also found in Appendix C of the PM system’s “Initial Enrollment” functional specification document.)

Once all signature pages are in, the contractor’s processing team “releases” the hold on the update, and PM moves through the steps of associating the user with a mailbox, generating email to the user, sharing the updated enrollment info with SAIG, AIMS, and FSA service provider systems, (if needed) helping the user to establish an FSA User ID, and (if needed) helping the user to activate a new mailbox.

2.2.2.1 Adding and Deleting Mailboxes and Services

Primary DPAs and secondary DPAs may add or delete SAIG mailboxes and services associated with those mailboxes.

Adding a New Mailbox To add an…