# Presentation: 755588

## <date/time>

## Session 14

***Rapid Reconciliation***
*** ******and***
***Program Year Close Out***

- Session 14 -

## Session 14

***Isiah Dupree - DLOPS***
***Barbara Davis - CAM San Francisco***
***Brad Sirstins - LO***

- Session 14 -

## What is Rapid Reconciliation?

-    The process of identifying and assisting schools in their monthly reconciliation and program year close out (PYCO) efforts through:
- Balance verification
- Site visits
- Training
-    **December 31, 2002.**

**EPJSEARS:**
- Reformat hanging paragraph

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
The Department is transitioning the Direct Loan Program to the Common Origination and Disbursement System during calendar year 2001.  COD will become effective with program year 2002-2003.  To ease the transition to COD, transactions for program year 2001-2002 and all prior program years will be processed by the Loan Origination Center.  The Department has established December 31, 2002 as the target date by which all prior program year activity must be reconciled and all program years to be closed out.  The Rapid Reconciliation effort assists with the accelerated reconciliation for program year 2001-2002.  By working more closely together, the LOC will better help schools to close out much sooner than they have in the past.

## Key Players in this Process

- Loan Origination Center (LOC) Customer Service Representatives (CSRs)
- Reconciliation (Recon) Accountants
- Client Account Managers (CAMs)
- Direct Loan Operations (DLOPS)

**EPJSEARS:**
- Change representations to representatives
- screenbeans are hiding a letter

- Session 14 -

## Contact Telephone Numbers

- Your Customer Service Representative or Reconciliation Accountant at the LOC
- (800) 848-0978 or
- loan_origination@mail.eds.com
- Your regional Client Account Management Staff (see list on following slide)
- Direct Loan Operations  (202) 205-6466

- Session 14 -

## Regional CAM Contact 

_**Region**_**	****	****	**_**States**__**	**_**	****	**_**Number**_
- I-Boston	    CT, MA, ME, NH, RI, VT		(617) 565-6911
- II-New York	    NJ, NY, PR, VI			(212) 637-6412
- III-Philadelphia	    DC, DE, MD, PA, VA, WV		(215) 656-5929
- IV-Atlanta	    AL, FL, GA, KY, MS, NC, SC, TN	(404) 562-6259
- V-Chicago	    IL, IN, OH, MI, WI			(312) 886-8766
- VI-Dallas	    AR, LA, NM, OK, TX			(214) 880-2405
- VII-Kansas City	    IA, KS, MO, NE			(816) 880-4090
- VIII-Denver	    CO, MN, MT, ND, SD, UT, WY	(303) 844-3677
- IX-San Francisco  AZ, CA, HI, NV			(415) 556-4201
- X-Seattle	    AK, ID, OR, WA			(206) 615-2637

- Session 14 -

## Reconciliation Process

**1997/98 & 1998/99**
- Confirmation/Appeal Process
- Status Letters mailed
- Bill Letters mailed
- Final Analysis of Program Year
- Program Year Close Out Letters mailed to schools

**EPJSEARS:**
- Increase font size to be consistent as possible to the rest of presentation/as well as font style/check all slides

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
1997/98 & 1998/99
Status Letters mailed to schools
Bill Letters mailed to schools
Stop receiving and processing batch data at the Loan Origination Center
Final Analysis of Program Year 1997/98
Program Year Close Out Letters mailed to schools
Forward outstanding issues to Case for their review
Establishing Receivables through Case for outstanding positive balances

## Reconciliation Process

**1999/00**
- Balance Verification Process
- LOC mailed letters and processed school responses
- Issues worked by the LOC
- LOC mailed Program Year Closeout Letters to schools
- Program Year Closeout Date (July 31, 2001)
- Confirmation/Appeal Letters
- LOC mailed letters and processed school responses
- Issues worked by the LOC

**EPJSEARS:**
- Consolidate points 2 and 3
- Consolidate points 7&8

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
1997/98 & 1998/99
Status Letters mailed to schools
Bill Letters mailed to schools
Stop receiving and processing batch data at the Loan Origination Center
Final Analysis of Program Year 1997/98
Program Year Close Out Letters mailed to schools
Forward outstanding issues to Case for their review
Establishing Receivables through Case for outstanding positive balances

## Manual Fixes 	

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
We understand that in extreme Cases it may be necessary to process data manually.  These extreme Cases occur when system problems at the school prevent it from processing data electronically. 

## Manual Fixes 	

- The types of data that can be processed manually include
- Origination records
- Disbursements
- Adjustments
- Transactions between program years which need to be processed after GAPS has been closed for prior program years

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
The types of data that can be processed manually include
Origination records
Disbursements
Adjustments
Transactions between program years which need to be processed after GAPS has been closed for prior program years

If a manual transaction becomes necessary, you may send a request on school letterhead to your CSR explaining the required adjustment.

This requirement is to be sure that the adjustment is communicated correctly and understood by the LOC.

## Rapid Reconciliation and Program Year Close Out

**1997/98 & 1998/99**
- Forward outstanding issues to Case Management & Oversight (CMO) for their review
- Establish Receivables through CMO for outstanding positive balances

**EPJSEARS:**
- Do we want to address outstanding negative balances on slide and/or in speaker notes/
- Clarification of “establishing Receivables”
- make slide content more centered

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
1.                               2000-2001  Currently, program year 2000-2001 is in the process of close out.  Following normal close out timelines, this program year will be closed out by July 31, 2002.  To assist schools in performing Reconciliation, the Department has implemented some new enhancements.
         Balance Verification -- The Balance Verification process consists of Schools receiving a letter identifying ending cash balance and requesting a reply concerning agreement or non-agreement with the balance.  This process started with Program Year 1999-2000.  Letters were mailed in May 2001.  Responses were due before the end of the close out period.  A Team at the LOC reviewed the responses and worked with the Recon Accountants and CSRs to complete the issues.  This process proved to be highly successful and will be repeated for program year 2000-2001.
         Site Visits -- Another enhancement to the reconciliation and close out efforts is the plan by the Department for the LOC Reconciliation Accounts to visit various schools as a way to provide assistance in reconciliation and close out efforts.  The goal of these visits is to provide the schools another avenue of assistance with reconciliation and close out issues.  Some visits have already been made and those schools visited have agreed that the visits were very helpful.  Reconciliation Accountants, Client Account Managers, and school personnel, working together will decide if a visit would be helpful in closing out any and all prior program years.
Concurrent Reconciliation -- The Department will continue to work with schools to work on and close out open years concurrently.

## Program Year Close Out

***Rapid Reconciliation and******Program Year Close Out***

**Program Year Close Out**
**for **
**2000/01**
**is**
**July 31, 2002**

- Session 14 -

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

**2000/01**
- Program Year Close Out -  July 31, 2002
- Common Procedures
- Balance Verification
- Site Visits
- Confirmation/Appeal Letters** **

**EPJSEARS:**
- Clarification in notes of what is happening with 2000/01 not 99-00/
- add “Letters” to last word in last bullet
- Switch slides 15 & 16.

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
1.                               2000-2001  Currently, program year 2000-2001 is in the process of close out.  Following normal close out timelines, this program year will be closed out by July 31, 2002.  To assist schools in performing Reconciliation, the Department has implemented some new enhancements.
         Balance Verification -- The Balance Verification process consists of Schools receiving a letter identifying ending cash balance and requesting a reply concerning agreement or non-agreement with the balance.  This process started with Program Year 1999-2000.  Letters were mailed in May 2001.  Responses were due before the end of the close out period.  A Team at the LOC reviewed the responses and worked with the Recon Accountants and CSRs to complete the issues.  This process proved to be highly successful and will be repeated for program year 2000-2001.
         Site Visits -- Another enhancement to the reconciliation and close out efforts is the plan by the Department for the LOC Reconciliation Accounts to visit various schools as a way to provide assistance in reconciliation and close out efforts.  The goal of these visits is to provide the schools another avenue of assistance with reconciliation and close out issues.  Some visits have already been made and those schools visited have agreed that the visits were very helpful.  Reconciliation Accountants, Client Account Managers, and school personnel, working together will decide if a visit would be helpful in closing out any and all prior program years.
Concurrent Reconciliation -- The Department will continue to work with schools to work on and close out open years concurrently.

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

- Inform schools of expectations and  timeline
- Reconciliation Accountants at the LOC play a much larger role in the process
- Participate in site visits
- Conduct balance verification
- Track schools who have finished processing for each year
- Work with schools to resolve outstanding issues

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Proposed 2000/01 Timeline
Mid - January - Mail Balance Verification Letters
Mid - February - Final day to return Balance Verification Letters
End of April - All issues resolved (including manual corrections)
First of May - Account Managers to call or visit unresponsive and/or uncooperative schools.
First of June - “Action” letters urging schools to perform all actions needed to achieve a zero balance.
July 31 - Closeout deadline
August 1- Closeout and billing letters mailed
September 1 - Schools with ending balances will be turned over to Case management

2001/02 Plan Timeline
End of June 2002– Mail 1st batch of balance verification letters
End of July 2002– Deadline for school to respond 
End of September 2002 - All issues resolved (including manual corrections) for the first batch of schools.  Mail 2nd batch of Balance Verification Letters
End of October 2002 - Deadline for school to respond
End of November 2002 - All issues resolved (including manual corrections) for the 2nd batch of schools
End of November 2002- Closeout and billing letters mailed 
December 2002 - Closeout deadline
January 2003 - Schools with ending balances will be turned over to Case management
Beginning end of July 2002 (concurrently with all above actions)- Account Managers and LOC to call or visit unresponsive and/or uncooperative schools.

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

**2000/01 continued...**
- Program Year Closeout Letters mailed to schools as schools confirm zero ending cash balance
- Selectively stop receiving and process batch data at the Loan Origination Center
- Forward outstanding issues to CMO for their review
- Establish Receivables through CMO for outstanding positive balances

**EPJSEARS:**
- Take out 3rd bullet/
- change continues to continued/check all slides for that.

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
1.                               2000-2001  Currently, program year 2000-2001 is in the process of close out.  Following normal close out timelines, this program year will be closed out by July 31, 2002.  To assist schools in performing Reconciliation, the Department has implemented some new enhancements.
         Balance Verification -- Isaih will update this bullet
         Site Visits -- Another enhancement to the reconciliation and close out efforts is the plan by the Department for the LOC Reconciliation Accounts to visit various schools as a way to provide assistance in reconciliation and close out efforts.  The goal of these visits is to provide the schools another avenue of assistance with reconciliation and close out issues.  Some visits have already been made and those schools visited have agreed that the visits were very helpful.  Reconciliation Accountants, Client Account Managers, and school personnel, working together will decide if a visit would be helpful in closing out any and all prior program years.
Concurrent Reconciliation -- The Department will continue to work with schools to work on and close out open years concurrently.

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out 

- Redefine PYCO deadline to fall in line with time schools actually finish disbursing for a Program Year:
- Schools with scheduled academic years with summer as a header
- Schools with scheduled academic years summer as a trailer
- Schools using borrower based academic years

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Redefine Closeout Deadline:  
Closeout date isn’t defined by regulations. 
Redefine closeout deadline to dates that fall in line with the date that the school actually finishes disbursing money for a Program Year.
Schools:
required by regulations to submit all records necessary to book a disbursement within 30 days of the disbursement 
required to reconcile their data with ours on a monthly basis
A few career schools actually have loan periods that extend into the last six months of the Program Year because they use borrower based academic years. For most Program Years, July 31 is a reasonable deadline date. For these schools to closeout 01/02 by December of 2002, we will need to tell them that they can’t originate loans with loan periods that extend past that date or make special arrangements to get their additional data in for the disbursements made during the last six months of the Program Year.

**Program Year Closeout**
**For 2001/2002**
**is December 31, 2002**

- Session 14 -

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

**2001/02**
- Program Year Close Out -
**December 31, 2002**
- Common Procedures
- Balance Verification
- Site Visits
- Confirmation/Appeal Letters

**EPJSEARS:**
- Better align text box to be consistent with the other slides.

- Session 14 -

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

**2001/02 continued...**
- Program Year Closeout Letters mailed to schools as schools confirm zero ending cash balance
- Selectively stop receiving and processing batch data at the Loan Origination Center
- Forward outstanding issues to CMO for their review
- Establishing Receivables through CMO for outstanding positive balances

**EPJSEARS:**
- change continues to continued
- lose third bullet
- Use same wording as in slide 23?

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
1.                               2000-2001  Currently, program year 2000-2001 is in the process of close out.  Following normal close out timelines, this program year will be closed out by July 31, 2002.  To assist schools in performing Reconciliation, the Department has implemented some new enhancements.
         Balance Verification -- The Balance Verification process consists of Schools receiving a letter identifying ending cash balance and requesting a reply concerning agreement or non-agreement with the balance.  This process started with Program Year 1999-2000.  Letters were mailed in May 2001.  Responses were due before the end of the close out period.  A Team at the LOC reviewed the responses and worked with the Recon Accountants and CSRs to complete the issues.  This process proved to be highly successful and will be repeated for program year 2000-2001.
         Site Visits -- Another enhancement to the reconciliation and close out efforts is the plan by the Department for the LOC Reconciliation Accounts to visit various schools as a way to provide assistance in reconciliation and close out efforts.  The goal of these visits is to provide the schools another avenue of assistance with reconciliation and close out issues.  Some visits have already been made and those schools visited have agreed that the visits were very helpful.  Reconciliation Accountants, Client Account Managers, and school personnel, working together will decide if a visit would be helpful in closing out any and all prior program years.
Concurrent Reconciliation -- The Department will continue to work with schools to work on and close out open years concurrently.

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

**Program Year Close Out**
**for**
**2001/2002**
**is**
**December 31, 2002**

**EPJSEARS:**
- change continues to continued
- lose third bullet
- Use same wording as in slide 23?

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
1.                               2000-2001  Currently, program year 2000-2001 is in the process of close out.  Following normal close out timelines, this program year will be closed out by July 31, 2002.  To assist schools in performing Reconciliation, the Department has implemented some new enhancements.
         Balance Verification -- The Balance Verification process consists of Schools receiving a letter identifying ending cash balance and requesting a reply concerning agreement or non-agreement with the balance.  This process started with Program Year 1999-2000.  Letters were mailed in May 2001.  Responses were due before the end of the close out period.  A Team at the LOC reviewed the responses and worked with the Recon Accountants and CSRs to complete the issues.  This process proved to be highly successful and will be repeated for program year 2000-2001.
         Site Visits -- Another enhancement to the reconciliation and close out efforts is the plan by the Department for the LOC Reconciliation Accounts to visit various schools as a way to provide assistance in reconciliation and close out efforts.  The goal of these visits is to provide the schools another avenue of assistance with reconciliation and close out issues.  Some visits have already been made and those schools visited have agreed that the visits were very helpful.  Reconciliation Accountants, Client Account Managers, and school personnel, working together will decide if a visit would be helpful in closing out any and all prior program years.
Concurrent Reconciliation -- The Department will continue to work with schools to work on and close out open years concurrently.

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

**Increased Monitoring**
- Use LO-Online Reports to monitor activity related to Direct Loan processing weekly
- Proactively contact schools in a priority order based on ending cash balance, unbooked loans, loan period end dates
- Use LO-Online with schools to help them resolve issues

**EPJSEARS:**
- change font to be consistent with rest of presentation
- Take off periods from each bullet statement
- Emphasize that all players will be participating in increased monitoring

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Emphasize that all players will be participating in increased monitoring

## Rapid Reconciliation andProgram Year Close Out

**Confirming Close Out**
- Schools can confirm they are finished with Program Year Close Out (PYCO)
- What will happen next?
- Processing at LOC will cease for that year
- GAPS processing will cease for that year
- Close Out letter will be sent

**EPJSEARS:**
- Change font
- change Closed to Close
- Change confirmed to confirm
- Take out “when” in third bullet
- GAPs processing instead of process

- Session 14 -

## Reconciliation Tools

**EPJSEARS:**
- Add a slide that identifies the tools we are going to demo when we show the report screen shots.
- Reports
- lo-online
- dl toolkit software

- Reports
- 30-Day Warning
- New Format!  DLSAS
- 732
- Other Reports
- LO-Online
- Turn Reports On or Off
- Compare Program
- Direct Loan Tools Software

- Session 14 -

## Can choose either DLSAS or 732 Report	

- In 2001/02 you can receive the DLSAS in a
- Text format (current format) - DSAS02OP
- Delimited (new format) - DSAC02OP
- The DLSAS has six sections
- Monthly and YTD Cash Summary
- Monthly and YTD Disbursement Summary by Loan Type
- Cash Detail
- Loan Detail

**EPJSEARS:**
- Fix 2nd point of first bullet
- 2nd bullet
- List (indent) the parts of the DLSAS sections
- Move slide 35 - 47 to appear after slide 27.

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Best to leave them both turned on.  You can choose whether or not you wish to print them instead.  

Text format (current) is ideal for EDExpress schools/same message class
For mainframe schools, you may choose the Comma Delimited format with the new message class and import it into a spreadsheet.

Use the the DLSAS:

Start with the summary, if it matches your done.
Then move to detail portions
Set aside a time each month to work this report/less time in the long run than trying to balance an entire year 18 months after the fact.

## 732 Report - 2001/02

- You can receive the 732 in one of the following options:
- Current 732 Loan Detail Report with new Year-to-Date Disbursement Summary by loan type
- New 732 Disbursement Activity Report
- A separate Cash Summary file is provided with both options (ED1302OP/ED1102OP)

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Highlight the 732 features then,

This can be imported and printed out in DL Tools/you do not have to be an EDExpress school/DL Tools is a standalone software (we’ll talk more about this later) that you can use for the 732 Report and Compare.

## Slide 27

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Just point out what you can access here/how up to date your vendor is by Partner Testing Results/how to sign up, etc.

## LO-Online Website:http://lo-online.ed.gov

- Provides:
- Access to batch and transaction information
- Access to loan information by school ID
- New:
- Batch Reports Option
- Master Promissory Review
- Change Record Processing

**EPJSEARS:**
- switch order of 28 and 29...if you want to

- Session 14 -

## Maintain Batch Reports

- 30-Day Warning Report
- Disable
- Specify format
- DLSAS
- Disable
- Specify format
- Disb Activity Not Yet Booked in Servicing
- Disable
- Specify format
- 732
- Disable (only if program year is closed)
- Specify format

**EPJSEARS:**
- Change first bullet to be about the 30-day warning report
- DID I GET THE INFO FOR 30-DAY WARNING
- CORRECT?

- Session 14 -

## Maintain Batch Reports--Disable

- Session 14 -

## MPN Review

-  Check to see if student has an MPN on file
-  Displays:
-  Loan Year
-  Status
-  Date of MPN
-  Expiration Date
-   Indicator for electronic versus paper

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Explain the use of this feature and demo

## Slide 32

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Point out problem with the dates/but emphasize how to read the information.

## Batch Processing

- Identify rejects
- duplicate batches
- rejected records
- rejected disbursements
- Resolve problems

- Session 14 -

## Slide 34

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## Slide 35

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## Slide 36

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## Slide 37

- Session 14 -

## LO Online Reports Available from your CAM

- ECB including total cash receipts, booked and unbooked loans
- Detailed information on unbooked loans
- Cash receipts by program year
- Excess cash totals

- Session 14 -

## Slide 39

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## Slide 40

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## Slide 41

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## Slide 42

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## Slide 43

## Direct Loan Reconciliation Tools Continued...

- Compare Program
- Direct Loan Tools Software

- Session 14 -

## Compare Program

- 	The Compare Program is a Microsoft Access database that was developed by the Direct Loan Client Account Management Group (DLAMG) to assist you in electronically comparing your school data with the 732-LOS Detail Report.

**EPJSEARS:**
- Insert transition slide before this slide
- Include in notes:
- Compare Program available for which years available

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Include in notes:
Compare Program available for which years available
You can contact your Account Manager to get a copy of the program
There are two versions of the program
EDExpress
Mainframe/Custom schools
There are programs for 
1997/98
1998/99
1999/00
2000/01

be sure to mention availability of Access 97 for 97-98, 98-99, 99-00.  Access 97 or Access 2000 for 00-01 .

## Compare Program

-  The Compare Program will:
- Identify misallocated or missing drawdowns or returns of excess cash*
- Determine loan records that need to be submitted to the LOC
- Identify any outstanding loans that need to be booked
- * Cash entries were optional

**EPJSEARS:**
- Remove periods
- check all slides for this

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Cash entries were optional.  Therefore if you didn’t enter any cash entries the Cash Reports will be empty.

## Compare Program

-  The Compare Program will not:
- Tell you _why_ a cash* or loan record is missing or mismatched
- Resolve internal school issues
- Tell you why a loan is unbooked
- Absolve school of responsibility for bringing a school to a zero ending cash balance
- * Cash entries were optional

**EPJSEARS:**
- Remove periods

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Cash entries were optional.  Therefore if you didn’t enter any cash entries the Cash Reports will be empty.

- Rebuild and Compare
- Cash Management
- 732 Compare

**Direct Loan Tools Software**

- Session 14 -

**Notes:**
Once you have setup the system requirements, user groups, and imported 732 data in DL Tools, you are ready to run the reports.

When setting up you can choose to use 00-01 and/or 01/02.  Non-year specific software will only update periodically not necessarily every Program Year.

Note:  Compare in DL Tools only works for 01/02.
Setup is similar to the EDExpress module

## Rebuild, Cash Management & Compare

- DL Tools provides functionality to:
- Rebuild an EDExpress database
- Track cash receipts (drawdowns) and returns of excess cash
- Compare the 732 report to actual disbursement records
- DL Tools can be used with custom or combination systems as well as EDExpress

**EPJSEARS:**
- Say something that will tell what years DL Tools is for

- Session 14 -

## To Meet Our Goal,

- We Can't Go
- Off In Different Directions.

- Session 14 -

## We Must Work

- Together!

- Session 14 -

## Questions

- Session 14 -