# Presentation: 574517

## Slide 1

## Session #43

***METEOR******    ***

- Russ Judd, Great Lakes
- Adele Marsh, AES
- Tim Cameron, NCHELP
- Electronic Access Conference
- December 3-6, 2002

## What is Meteor?

- Web-based universal access channel for financial aid information
- Aggregated information to assist the FAP with counseling borrowers and with the aid process in general
- Collaborative effort
- A gift to schools and borrowers

## How does Meteor Work?

- Meteor uses the concepts of **Access Providers **and **Data Providers**.
- A Meteor **Access Provider** allows inquirers to obtain information through its web site by hosting a copy of the Meteor software, which generates the request to the Data Providers for the borrower’s information.
**Access providers can be Schools, Guarantors, Lenders, Servicers, or Secondary Markets.**

## How does Meteor Work?

- A Meteor **Data Provider** hosts a copy of the Meteor software that enables them to respond to the Access Provider’s request for information, supplying data from their system.
**Data Providers are typically Lenders, Servicers, Guarantors, and Secondary Markets.**
- In the future, the Dept. of ED, State Grant authorities, Schools, and others could become Data Providers.

## The Meteor Process

***The Meteor Process***

- One

- Two

- Access Providers

- Data Providers

- Financial Aid Professional/Student

- Three

- Index Providers

## Meteor Implementation Phases

- Current Phase
- Multiple data providers
- Multiple access providers
- Loan Summary & Detail Information
- Financial aid professional (school) access

## Meteor Implementation Phases

- Next phase
- Financial aid professional **and student/borrower access**

## The Current State of Meteor Affairs

- Current phase public code released  August 30, 2002
- Early adopter implementation begins at public release through the end of 2002
- Threat Analysis

## Early Adopters

- AES
- Connecticut Student Loan Foundation - GA
- Connecticut Student Loan Foundation - Lender
- EAC – South Dakota
- Florida Dept. of Education, OSFA
- Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation
- Great Lakes Higher Education Corporation
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission

- KHEAA
- NELA
- National Student Loan Program
- New Hampshire Higher Education
- Sallie Mae
- Student Loans of North Dakota
- Student Loan Guarantee Foundation of Arkansas
- Texas Guaranteed
- USAFunds

## Meteor’s Foundation Principles

- Open Source
- Open Collaboration
- Freely Available
- Controlled Participation Network

## Meteor Standards

- Business messaging using XML
- Collaboration with the PESC XML Forum for Education
- Based on IFX Standards
- Consistent with the Department of Education’s Common Record and the current NCHELP CommonLine re-engineering XML initiative

## Standards and their implementation

- Meteor

- SFA

- Announced
- Expected

- UML
- XML
- Java
- SOAP
- UDDI
- SAML

****
****
****
****
- Planned
****

- [Feb 2000]

## Authentication

- No central authentication process
- Utilizes transitive trust model
- Each Access Provider uses their existing authentication model (single sign-on)
- Level of trust assigned at registration
- Level 0 (Unique ID)
- Level 1 (Unique ID & 1 piece of public data)
- Level 2 (Unique ID & 2 pieces of public data)
- Level 3 (Unique/User ID & shared secret)

## Meteor is Leading Edge

- In the world of web services applications, Meteor is leading the way

## Meteor is Leading Edge

- Meteor’s open-source web service architecture can be the example for student aid services, as well as other education applications, and even growing into broader IT considerations
*“ **Using common industry standards based on XML, our goal is to enable seamless sharing of information across many platforms and programming languages and over the Internet with XML web services.”*
*	**Microsoft 2002 Annual Report*

## Meteor Architecture

- Meteor employs a “web services” architecture
- No central data repository
- Peer-to-peer communications
- Seamless aggregation of information for users

## Meteor Architecture

***Meteor Architecture***

**HTTPS**

**Access **
**Provider**

- Authenticate

- XML Request

- XML Response

- XML Request

- XML Response

**Data**
**Provider**

**Legacy**
**Data**

- Portal or
- Web Site
- Request

**XSLT**

- XML
- Response

**Index**
**Provider**

- Custom
- Code

- Authenticate

- Authenticate

- Lightweight Directory
-  Access Protocol (LDAP)

- Generic
- Rules
- Engine

- Meteor System

## Architectural Benefits

- Foundation for continued growth in collaborative student aid services
- Flexibility in implementation and deployment
- Low/no cost options for establishing this foundation

## Opportunity Knocks

- Meteor implementation should be viewed as an opportunity to enhance customer service
- Customers are demanding more real-time access to information

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## Coming Soon... “Super Screen”

- We need your help...
- Data from all sources
- Would it help?
- What should be there?
- How would you use it?

## Summary

- The past year has been spent in making cutting-edge technology address student loan business objectives
- The Meteor architecture is advanced technology—not only in FFELP, but in all of IT
- This advanced technology provides collateral opportunities to enhance customer service.

## Recommendations to the community

- Invest in the these technologies
- XML as used for e-commerce
- Java technologies
- Focus on customer behavior and preferences
- Students and parents (Student Channel)
- Faculty and Staff (Professional Channel)
- Keep an eye on the industry leaders
- NCHELP - standards, industry directories
- JA-SIG - Portal technology, Java and XML

## Meteor Ongoing Status

- For current status and updates:
**Meteor Project Info:**                   **http://www.nchelp.org/Meteor.htm**

## Meteor Sponsors

- American Education Services
- American Student Assistance
- Bank One
- Chase Manhattan
- College Foundation,  Inc. [NC]
- College Board/College Credit Education Loan Program
- Connecticut Student Loan Foundation
- Educational Credit Management Corporation
- Education Assistance Corporation
- Education Funding Association
- Florida Department of Education, OSFA

## Meteor Sponsors

- Georgia Higher Education Assistance Corporation
- Great Lakes Higher Education Guaranty Corporation
- GuaranTec, LLP
- Higher Education Student Assistance Authority
- Illinois Student Assistance Commission
- Iowa Student Loan Liquidity Corporation
- Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority
- Key Education Resources
- LoanStar Systems, Inc.
- Michigan Higher Education Assistance Authority
- MOSTARS
- Montana Guaranteed Student Loan Program

## Meteor Sponsors

- National Student Loan Program, Inc.
- New Hampshire Higher Education Assistance Foundation
- New Mexico Educational Assistance Foundation
- New York State Higher Education Services Corporation
- NCS Pearson
- North Carolina State Education Assistance Authority
- Northwest Education Loan Association (NELA)
- Oklahoma Guaranteed Student Loan Program
- Oregon Student Assistance Commission
- Panhandle-Plains Student Loan Center
- Rhode Island Higher Education Assistance Authority

## Meteor Sponsors

- Sallie Mae, Inc.
- Southwest Student Services Corporation
- Student Loan Finance Association
- Student Loan Guarantee Foundation of Arkansas
- Student Loans of North Dakota
- Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation
- United Student Aid Funds
- Vermont Student Assistance Corporation

## Questions

- If you have additional questions. Please e-mail:

- tcameron@nchelp.org
- rjudd@glhec.org
- amarsh@aessuccess.org