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Diana OglesbyNSLP

Nancy MastenGreat Lakes

2006 NCHELP FALL TRAINING CONFERENCE

Agenda•Introductions•Common Manual Facts •e-Collection Overview•Common Manual Website **NEW**•ICM•Tips and Tricks•Going Paperless•Exercising New Skills

The Common Manual•Collaborative effort of every FFELP guarantor

•Policies come from federal rules or may be designed to protect the federal fiscal interest

•Policies developed with community participation

Stats•Since 1996:

Over 900 policy issues presented to the community for comment

More than 280 policy issues “considered” and not developed

Common Manual“Versions”

•Paper

•Electronic Common Manual

(ECM)CD-ROM

•Integrated Common Manual

(ICM)Download Monthly

‘06 Paper Version•710 Pages

including Summary of Changes

•Reminder - Appendix HComprehensive History with Topical IndexNew Section H.4 for statutory/regulatory waivers

e-Collection in Brief•Produced/Distributed by FFELP Guarantors

•CD Format

•Read-only

•Searchable

e-CollectionSystem Requirements

•Can be installed or used right from CD•Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 4.0, 2000 or XP•Adobe Acrobat or Acrobat Reader (version 4.0 or higher)•32 MB RAM•210 MB of available hard-disk space•CD-ROM drive

e-Collection — Contents

•The Electronic Common Manual (ECM)

•Higher Education Act (HEA)

•Federal Regulations

•Dear Colleague/Partner

Letters

ECM•Housed and distributed on CM e-Collection

•Available on CM Web site **NEW**

•Static

•Intrinsic “Magic”HyperlinksSearch Capability

Quick ECM Access

•Click on + to expand menu items

•Click on – to compress menu items

e-Collection Magic

•Brings you to related text instantly•Find::

Chapter titles (A)Chapter titles (A)Index (B)Index (B)Any green text (C)Any green text (C)Blue text will take you to glossary Blue text will take you to glossary definitions (D)definitions (D)

A

B CD

e-Collection Icons(Adobe 4.0 & 5.0)

•Goes to the next or previous page

•Adjusts for the view of the current page

e-Collection Icons(Adobe 4.0 & 5.0)

•Use to find a specific termUse to find a specific termClick on icon Click on icon Type wordType wordClick searchClick searchSearch will begin on page you are viewing in Search will begin on page you are viewing in documentdocument

e-Collection Icons(Adobe 6.0)

• Goes to next or previous page• Adjusts view of current page

e-Collection Icons(Adobe 6.0)

• Use to find a specific termUse to find a specific termClick on icon Click on icon Type wordType wordClick searchClick searchSearch will begin on page you are Search will begin on page you are

viewing in documentviewing in document

Reference Links

•CM references linked to source documents on the Web

•NOT linked on the e-Collection CD to documents on the CD

Cursor over citation indicates hyperlink. Click to activate

“Integrated Resources”

•Integrated Regulations

•Integrated HEA

•Shows amendments to text in underline/strike-out format

ICM

•Housed on Guarantor Web sites•Housed on CM Web site **NEW**•Also in NCHELP e-Library

•Updated monthly with policy change and text enhancements•Same intrinsic “Magic” as ECM

Hyperlinks within text to source documentsSearch capability

ICM Download

•Access/use directly from Web sitesLarge fileSearches are very slow

•More efficient to download monthlySpeeds accessMove “old” file to recycle bin

ICM Download – PC Users

•Right click on the “Integrated Common Manual” or “PDF”•Choose “Save Target As”•Choose “Desktop” and click on “Save”•Complete when the message “Download Complete” appears

ICM Download – Mac Users

•Simultaneously hold the Control key and click on Integrated Common Manual PDF•Click on “Download to Disk”•Save the document to your desktop

Click to link to revised text

Changes denoted by underlining and strike-outs

Tips and TricksCM organized in “Life of the Loan” chronology

Tips and Tricks• Highlighted terms link to Glossary definitions

ClickTo get this!

Tips and Tricks

•Contents of Appendix HDocuments the history of FFELP in date orderDetails substantive changes in policyNotes publication of statutes, regulations and lettersRecords statutory/regulatory waivers

Tips and Tricks:Using the History

•Topical index leads to general topics

•Program changes sorted 1st by year

•Topics in each year sorted alphabetically

Tips and Tricks:History Example

•Question: When were the “delayed delivery” rules first implemented?

•First, what “topic?”

Tips and Tricks:

History Example•Search either e-version for “delivering loan funds”

start at the beginning of appendix Hfirst “hit” for delayed delivery – 12/19/89 delaying delivery of SLS loans

Tips and Tricks:History Example

Second – 1/1/91 delaying delivery of Stafford loan funds

Next – 10/1/98, exemptions for low-default schools

Exercising our New Skills

Disbursement Rules: How todefine “days?”

• Question from a Listserve:We do EFT disbursements with many

schools and we know that monies can’t be disbursed more than 10 days before the beginning of the semester. But, is that 10 working days [business days] or calendar days?

Disbursement Rules: How todefine “days?”

• Where do we start to find the answer?• Look to Common Manual first! Why?

Written in simple EnglishOrganized “in order” of the loan processHas statutory/regulatory/other cites and

references

Disbursement Rules: How todefine “days?”

• Let’s try it . . .!• Open the Common Manual (ECM

or ICM)• Where to start?

Q. What are we doing?A. Delivering loan funds

How to define “days?”

• Q. Where does “delivering loan funds” fall in the life-of-loan time line?

• A. Looking at the table of contents, the answer is most likely in Chapter 8 – Loan Delivery

How to count “days?”

• Subsection 8.7.A clarifies that once an EFT is received, the Initial, Conditional and Return periods are all based on business days.

Your Policy Questions??

• Let’s find the answer….

THANK YOU!Please be sure to complete your

conference evaluation forms after the conference!

Diana OglesbySenior Policy Analyst

NSLP

Nancy MastenSenior Policy Analyst

Great Lakes