FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rates Distributed

On September 23, 2019, the Department of Education (the Department) distributed the FY 2016 official cohort default rate (CDR) notification packages to all eligible domestic and foreign schools only. The rates were publicly released on September 25, 2019.

Distribution of FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rates

For both eligible domestic and foreign schools enrolled in the Electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) process, we sent FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rate and accompanying documentation via the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG).  This information was sent to the SAIG mailbox to the destination point administrator designated by the school. Each eCDR package contained the following information:

        *       Cover Letter (message class SHDRLROP)
        *       Reader-Friendly Loan Record Detail Report (message class SHCDRROP)
        *       Extract-Type Loan Record Detail Report (message class SHCDREOP)
        *       Comma Delimited-Type Loan Record Detail Report (message class CDRCSVOP)

We did not send eCDR notification packages to any school not enrolled in eCDR. These schools may download their cohort default rate and accompanying Loan Record Detail Reports from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) via the NSLDS Professional Access website.

National Default Rate Briefings for FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rates

National Default Rate Briefing for FY 2016 official cohort default rates.

The briefing is provided in Microsoft Power Point (PPT) format and Portable Document Format (PDF). The PDF file requires 4.0 or greater of the free Adobe Acrobat Reader software.

Briefing on FY 2016 Official National Default Rates in PPT Format, 118KB, 2 Pages

Briefing on FY 2016 Official National Default Rates in PDF Format, 119KB, 2 Pages

Note: Some schools have a small number of borrowers entering repayment. At other schools, only a small portion of the student body takes out student loans. In such cases, the cohort default rate should be interpreted with caution.

If you have questions about the briefing, contact the Department by emailing fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov or by calling the Operations Performance Division Hotline at 202-377-4259.

Begin Dates for Appealing FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rates

The time period for appealing the FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rates under 34 C.F.R Part 668, Subpart N begins on Tuesday, October 1, 2019 for all schools.

If a technical problem caused by the Department results in an inability to access the data, schools have five business days from the receipt of the eCDR notification package to notify Operations Performance Division at the email address given below.

For additional information regarding the school cohort default rate calculation or the adjustment/appeal processes, refer to the Cohort Default Rate Guide at https://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/finalcdrg.html .

You may also contact us by emailing fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov or by calling the Operations Performance Division Hotline at 202-377-4259.

How to Use EDconnect to Download eCDR Files

The following information should help you download and view or print the eCDR files that the Department will send to many electronic mailboxes via the SAIG.

How to download the files:

1. Log into EDconnect.
2. Leave the Transmission Queue empty and select Now from the Transmission menu.
3. When you receive the “Transmission successful” message, close the Transmission screen by going to the File menu and selecting Close.
4. Select New from the File menu and choose Mailbox Query from the list of views. Click OK.
5. The Mailbox Query screen will display a list of the files that are currently in your mailbox. In the Message Class column on the left, you can identify the three eCDR files by their SAIG message classes:
                   SHDRLROP – the cover letter
                   SHCDRROP – the loan record detail information in a pre-formatted report
                   SHCDREOP – the loan record detail information in an unformatted extract
6. Place a check mark in the Move to TQ column to the left of the message class of the file or files you wish to download. Select Now from the Transmission menu. EDconnect will download the file or files.
7. When you receive the “Transmission successful” message, close the Transmission screen by going to the File menu and selecting Close.
8. Open the Activity Log by selecting New from the File menu and choosing Activity Log from the list of views. Click OK.
9. Find the eCDR file or files you have just downloaded. The most recently downloaded files appear at the bottom of the Activity Log.
10. Scroll to the right until you see the File Name column. Make a note of the names of the files and the folder to which they have been downloaded.
11. Open the files by following the instructions below.

For additional questions about the SAIG mailbox or downloading files, contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 1-800-330-5947.

How to Open and Read or Print the eCDR Files

Once you have downloaded the three eCDR files, use the following steps to review the files:

The SHDRLROP file is the cover letter, which contains basic information for your school regarding draft cohort default rates, including deadline information for the challenge process. You should be able to open it in most word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or with a basic text reader like Windows Notepad. 

Start your word processing software. Select Open from the File menu. At the bottom of the Open dialog, choose “All files (*.*)” from the “Files of type” drop-down list. Browse to the folder you noted in Step 10 above. Select the SHDRLROP file and open it.

The SHCDRROP file is the loan record detail information in a pre-formatted report. You should be able to open it in most word processing programs, such as Microsoft Word, WordPerfect, or with a basic text reader like Windows Notepad.
Start your word processing software. Select Open from the File menu. At the bottom of the Open dialog, choose “All files (*.*)” from the “Files of type” drop-down list. Browse to the folder you noted in Step 10 above. Select the SHCDRROP file and open it.

To format the document for viewing or printing in Microsoft Word 2010/2013/2016, follow the instructions below:

1.  Start Microsoft Word and open the SHCDRROP file.
2. In the Editing section on the right side of the Home tab, choose Select, then Select All.
3. In the Font section on the left side of the Home tab, change the font size to 8 and the font style to Courier New.
4. Select the Layout tab.
5. In the Page Setup section on the left side of the Layout tab, select Orientation, then Landscape.
6. In the Page Setup section on the left side of the Layout tab, choose Margins, then Moderate (choose Narrow if Moderate does not format the document correctly).
7. View or print the file.

The SHCDREOP file is the loan record detail information in an unformatted extract.
Chapter 2.3 of the Cohort Default Rate Guide available at https://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/guide/CDRGuidePart2.html  should be used to interpret the information contained in this report.

Working with the extract version of the loan record detail information requires technical skill and familiarity with file import specifications. Refer to the import specifications in Chapter 2 of the Cohort Default Rate Guide available at https://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/guide/CDRGuidePart2.html.

The entire Cohort Default Rate Guide is available at Operations Performance Division’s website at https://ifap.ed.gov/DefaultManagement/CDRGuideMaster.html.

For questions about the eCDR cover letter that you have downloaded, the loan record detail report files that you have downloaded, or about the cohort default rate challenge, adjustment, or appeal processes, contact the Operations Performance Division at fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov  or at 202-377-4259.

Sources:

• FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rates Distributed September 23, 2019
• National Default Rate Briefings for FY 2016 Official Cohort Default Rates