FY 2018 Draft Cohort Default Rates Distributed

Posted: February 22, 2021
Author: Federal Student Aid
Subject: FY 2018 Draft Cohort Default Rates Distributed Feb. 22, 2021 (EA ID: LOANS-21-03)

On Feb. 22, 2021, the Department of Education (the Department) distributed the FY 2018 draft cohort default rate (CDR) notification packages to all eligible domestic and foreign schools only.

In this announcement, the Department provides information about the distribution of the draft rates, and the begin dates for appealing the draft rates.

Distribution of FY 2018 Draft Cohort Default Rates

For both eligible domestic and foreign schools enrolled in the Electronic Cohort Default Rate (eCDR) notification process, the Department sent FY 2018 draft cohort default rate and accompanying documentation via the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG). This information was sent to the SAIG mailbox for 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)

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

Schools may request the Cohort Default Rate History Report (DRC035) which mimics the electronically transmitted eCDR Loan Record Detail Report (LRDR) in a comma-delimited, comma-separated values (CSV) format, as well as the current fixed-width format. The CSV format allows schools to import the report into an Excel spreadsheet. The report, which may be requested on the “Reports” tab, is delivered in message class CDRCSVOP to the SAIG mailbox associated with the NSLDS User ID that requested it.

Schools that are not signed up to receive the eCDR package via the SAIG Enrollment website or schools that want a replacement copy of their CDR Cover Letter can now request it from the “Reports” tab on the NSLDS Professional Access website. The new CDR Notification Letter Report (DRCNL1) allows school users to request their school’s CDR Notification Letter by entering in the Cohort Year and selecting the Rate Type. The report is sent to the SAIG mailbox associated with the NSLDS User ID that made the request under the message class SHDRLROP.

Note: Any school that did not have a borrower in repayment, during the current or any of the past cohort default rate periods, will not receive a FY 2018 draft cohort default rate notification package. These schools are considered to have no cohort default rate data and no cohort default rate.

Guaranty agency FY 2018 draft cohort default rates will be provided electronically, and lender rates are available for download from the NSLDS website.

Begin Dates for Appealing FY 2018 Draft Cohort Default Rates

The time for appealing the FY 2018 draft cohort default rates under 34 C.F.R Part 668, Subpart N begins on Tuesday, March 2, 2021 for all schools.

All Incorrect Data Challenges (IDC) must be made through the eCDR Appeals application. Participation Rate Index Challenges (PRI) will continue to be submitted via hard copy. As a reminder, eCDR Appeals is a web-based application that allows schools to electronically submit certain challenge and adjustment requests during the specified timeframes. The application also allows data managers (guaranty agency or federal loan servicer) and Federal Student Aid personnel to electronically view and respond to these challenge/adjustment requests. The application tracks the entire life cycle of each request from the time the case is submitted until the time a decision is made and the case is closed.

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 provided below.

To further facilitate the review of cohort default rates schools may choose to utilize the LRDR Import Tool. The LRDR Import Tool can be used to easily load data generated from the LRDR into the Microsoft Excel spreadsheet application and is designed to assist schools with reviewing and analyzing their LRDR extract files.

To complete an adjustment or appeal, you may need a data manager’s contact information. The Data Manager Information can be found at the Default Management website.

If the Department revises a school’s cohort default rate based on its adjustment or appeal submission, the revised cohort default rate will be available on the Default Management website.

Contact Information

For specific information regarding eCDR Appeals, visit the eCDR Appeals website, where you will find user guides for each of the challenge and adjustment processes, as well as a user guide for the registration process. Additionally, you will find links to recordings of eCDR Appeals demonstration sessions to assist first-time users.

For additional information regarding the school cohort default rate calculation or the challenge processes, refer to the Cohort Default Rate Guide.

You may also contact us by emailing fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov or by calling the Cohort Default Rates Group 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 four 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
   • CDRCSVOP – the loan record detail information in a comma-delimited format
6. Place a checkmark 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 four 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.
You may refer to Chapter 2.3 of the Cohort Default Rate Guide 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.

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 Cohort Default Rates Group at fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov or at 202-377-4259.

Sources:
IFAP Announcement: FY 2018 Draft Cohort Default Rates Distributed Feb. 22, 2021 (EA ID: LOANS-21-03)
FSATech Listserv: RE: FY 2018 Draft Cohort Default Rates Distributed on Feb. 22, 2021