# Presentation: 100753

## Setting Standards for Higher Education

**Setting Standards for Higher Education**

**Chicago, Illinois  ~  December 12, 2001 **

- Session #51

## Mission

**PESC leads the higher education community in**
**leveraging the value of electronic standards for data exchange.**
-  We support the use of existing electronic standards set through official
- 	standards-setting bodies as well as open industry collaboration.
-  We provide guidance to identify these standards.
-  We set new industry standards where there are no national or
- 	international bodies to do so.
-  We aggressively work with schools, higher education associations,
- 	government agencies, and software and service providers to adopt
- 	these standards.
-  We actively encourage the creation and maintenance of an infrastructure
- 	for electronic exchange of education-related data.

**Mission**

##  Betsy Bainbridge, Executive Director
 Keith Riccitelli, Chairman, Sallie Mae
 Jerry Bracken, Treasurer, AACRAO
 Michael Sessa, Membership Chair, NASLA
 Melanie Barton, NCS Pearson
 Judith Flink, University of Illinois, Chicago
 Hal Higginbotham, CollegeBoard.com
 Jackie Kessler, SCT 
 Dallas Martin, NASFAA 

**Board of Directors**

-  Betsy Bainbridge, Executive Director
-  Keith Riccitelli, Chairman, Sallie Mae
-  Jerry Bracken, Treasurer, AACRAO
-  Michael Sessa, Membership Chair, NASLA
-  Melanie Barton, NCS Pearson
-  Judith Flink, University of Illinois, Chicago
-  Hal Higginbotham, CollegeBoard.com
-  Jackie Kessler, SCT
-  Dallas Martin, NASFAA

## What kind of standards?

-  Data definitions
-  Code sets
-  Data formats
-  Implementations
-  Transmission protocols
-  Security protocols

## For what kind of exchanges?

-  School-centric
-  With many trading partners
-  In many formats
-  proprietary
-  ad hoc
-  national/international
-  Frequent rather than rare
-  Administrative data in education arena

## Value of Standards for Student Aid?

-  Process, time, & data efficiencies
-  Streamlined processes
-  Ability to plug-n-play
-  Cost-savings

## PESC 1997-2001

- Diverse membership from across the education enterprise
- Focus
- Representation in standards-setting bodies
- Implementation support
- Promotion of standards
- Information gathering and sharing
- Standards setting for education industry

## PESC Activity 1997-2001

- _Workgroups_
- Student identifiers
- Prospect information
- TRA reporting
- Public Key Infrastructure (PKI)
- Enrollment reporting
- Institutional identifiers
- Extensible Markup Language (XML)

## XML Forum for Education

- Established in August 2000
- Open to PESC membership
- Focus on
- Education
- Data dictionary
- Technical Specification
- Schema development and validation

**Collaborating To Establish ****XML**** Standards ****For The Higher Education Industry**

## XML Forum and theCommon Record

- Collaboration during development
- Technical Specification adhered to
- Common Record data dictionary foundation of XML Forum’s dictionary
- Common Record schema reviewed by the XML Forum
- Common Record schema can be extended to incorporate FFEL data requirements

## XML Forum and the Future

- _XML Forum Steering Committee_
- Ed Hauser, Chairman, SCT
- Steve Hawald, SFA OCIO
- Bob King, Citibank
- Paul Ness, Sallie Mae
- Candy Pfeiffer, NASLA
- Michael Sessa, Ex-Officio

## Goals and objectives to be identified
Continuation of past work
Development of new schemas
Validation of schemas developed outside the Forum
Monitoring of international XML standards arena

- Continuation of past work
- Development of new schemas
- Validation of schemas developed outside the Forum
- Monitoring of international XML standards arena

**XML Forum and the Future**

## Standards Setting and Student Financial Assistance

- Need for a stakeholder forum
- Need for a process for consensus standards
- Need for a fair standards maintenance process
- XML Forum can serve as the trusted third party to promote, develop, and maintain standards for student financial assistance

## How to get involved

- Join PESC and the XML Forum
- (membership info available at _[www.StandardsCouncil.org](http://www.standardscouncil.org/memform.htm)_)
- School membership $500 a year
- Join individually or use an umbrella organization to participate
- Betsy Bainbridge	202-293-7383
- Michael Sessa	202-319-8452
- 		sessa@amsa.com

## Who is NCHELP?

- Founded in 1967
- A Nationwide network of:
- Guarantors
- Secondary markets
- Schools
- Lenders

- Servicers
- Collection Agencies
- Software Vendors

**Notes:**
NCHELP represents a nationwide network of 
	Guarantors
	secondary markets
	Schools
	lenders
	servicers
	collection agencies, and
	software vendors
involved in the administration of the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). 

## Who is NCHELP?

- NCHELP members promote student access and choice for postsecondary education and training
- NCHELP represents its members on public policy and regulatory issues within the legislative and executive branches of the federal government

**Notes:**
NCHELP members promote student access and choice for post-secondary education and training. 

NCHELP represents its members on public policy and regulatory issues with in the legislative and executive branches of the federal government

## The Focus of NCHELP

- Information
- Involvement
- Advocacy
- Education

**Notes:**
Information
NCHELP provides information and analysis on the activities of Congress and the Department of Education relating to policies and programs affecting FFELP. 
NCHELP keeps members informed on key issues through daily emails, subscriptions to education resources, priority mailings, meetings and conferences
Involvement
One of the most valuable membership benefits is participation on one or more of NCHELP's committees. The committees address operational and regulatory issues of interest to the student loan community. By working together, NCHELP members are able to meet the challenges associated with providing financial assistance to millions of students every year. 
Advocacy 
NCHELP works vigorously to keep up with public policy and student loan regulatory issues and strives to improve legislation and regulation. 
Education
NCHELP hosts four major conferences and conventions annually. 
Fall Leadership Conference and Spring Convention focus on new and proposed legislative and regulatory changes, and professional development
Training Conference is designed to enhance the knowledge and skills of those managing the operations of the student loan program
Debt Management Conference offers new insights on how to prevent student loan defaults and increase collections
Summer Institute is designed to offer technical training on the operational side of electronic loan delivery, servicing and support

## NCHELP Committees

- The foundation of NCHELP’s public policy development activities
- Debt Management
- Program Operations
- Program Regulations
- Legal Affairs
- Membership Education and Training
- Electronic Standards

**Notes:**
The foundation of NCHELP’s public policy development activities

## NCHELP and Standards:  The Electronic Standards Committee

- Combined Efforts
- CommonLine
- Common Account Maintenance (CAM)
- Common Claim Initiative (CCI)
- School Advisory Group
- Electronic Standards Steering Committee

**Notes:**
The primary objective of the Electronic Standards Committee is to promote the timely development of electronic communication standards within the FFEL Program (FFELP). 

This committee streamlines the development of new standards as well as the maintenance of existing standards. 

Through the Electronic Standards Committee, NCHELP promos new and existing standards, and facilities their implementation. 

The Electronic Standards Committee has seven advisory teams reporting to the full committee.  All teams are responsible for recommending changes to the files as necessary due to regulatory changes, errors, or enhancements to processing. 
	CommonLine Origination and Disbursement
	Change Transactions
	General Account Maintenance
	Default Aversions and Claims
	Testing and Certification
	Electronic Exchange
	Communications and Training

## NCHELP and Standards:  CommonLine

- Initial Implementation in 1995
- Release 5 scheduled for implementation in April 2002
- XML Version was the basis for the Common Record

## NCHELP and Standards:  Common Account Maintenance

- Development began with AMF
- Published in 1999
- Implementation – NOW!

## NCHELP and Standards:  The Common Claim Initiative

- Finalized standards in 2001
- Implementation – NOW!

## NCHELP and Standards:  The Electronic Standards Committee School Advisory Group

- Membership
- Public and private institutions
- 2 year, 4 year and proprietary programs
- Graduate and undergraduate
- Loan Delivery Systems
- Homegrown
- 3rd Party Developed

**Notes:**
Membership on the committee represents a mixture of individuals from various types of schools. Members are appointed by the NCHELP  Board of Directors. This group serves as a sounding board for the Electronic Standards Committee and its associated Advisory Teams. Membership includes representatives from schools that do their own programming for loan delivery as well as those that utilize third-party software.   

## Getting Involved!

- Visit www.nchelp.org for more information
- Join the ESC
- Join the School Advisory Group
- Contact Tim Cameron at:
- 202-822-2106
- tcameron@nchelp.org

## Setting Standards for Higher Education

- ?

**Setting Standards for Higher Education**