How to Import a Federal Financial Aid Data File

Scope: This article describes the proper process to follow for uploading the federal Financial Aid Data File.

Purpose: This article provides the detail process for importing a Federal Financial Aid Data File.

Detailed Information

Importing a Federal Data File

Concept

Federal data files containing ISIR and NSLDS data are received by the Institution. When these are received they are usually stored on a personal computer or server in the FA office. Once received, the files must be made available to the central FA system for processing.

In this procedure, a file residing on the user's personal computer is uploaded to a staging area.

Procedure

Importing ISIRs is a two-step process. The first step is to copy the file received from CPS onto the central server The second step is to import the new file into the staging table. From the staging tables, the ISIRs will be loaded (refer to the documentation on Loading ISIRs and Suspense Management).

In this procedure, a file residing on the user's personal computer is copied to a receiving area on the system server.

A process is then run to import the file data into the ISIR staging tables, so the ISIRs are ready for loading.

1. Navigate: Financial Aid > File Management > Import Federal Data Files.
2. To run the file import process, you need a Run Control ID. The first time you run the process, you may wish to create a new Run Control ID specifically for this process.
   1. Use the Add a New Value tab to create the new ID.
   2. Once you have a Run Control ID created, the next time you run the process you can search for the Run Control ID using this page and the Find an Existing Value tab.
3. To create a new Run Control ID for this process, click the Add a New Value tab.
4. Type in a name for the new Run Control ID. Choose a name that reflects the process it will be used for. No blanks are allowed in the name.
5. Click the Add button.
6. Enter the parameters for this process. There are two parameter fields: ISIR TG Number and Directory.
7. Enter the TG5 number of your Institution into the ISIR TG Number field. Omit the letters "TG".
8. The Directory corresponds to your Institution. To select the Directory, click the Look up button next to the Directory field.
9. Select your Institution from the list.
10. There are three buttons to the right of the Directory field: the Add Attachment (paperclip) button, the Delete (trashcan) button, and the View Attachment button.
    1. Use the Add Attachment button to select a file on your PC to copy to the server.
    2. Once the file is copied, use the View button to examine its contents to make sure you uploaded the correct file.
    3. Finally, if you made a mistake and uploaded the wrong file, use the Delete button to remove the file from the server.
11. To select the file to upload click the Add Attachment button.
12. Click the Browse... button to search your computer for the desired file.
13. Browse the files on your hard drive until you find the file you want to upload. Click the filename to highlight it and click the Open button.
14. Click the Upload button.
15. You can look at the file using the View Attachment button, and you can delete the file from the server (not from your computer), using the Delete (trashcan) button.
    1. To view the file, click the View Attachment button. The file is displayed in a new window (not shown here for privacy reasons).
16. To complete the upload by moving the data into the ISIR staging table, click the Run button.
17. Click OK.
18. Click the Process Monitor link.
19. Click the Refresh button from time to time until the Run Status is Success and the Distribution Status is Posted.
    1. Note that the process is the first one in the Process List.
20. Once the process output has been posted, you can look at it to see if all went well. Click Details.
21. Click the View Log/Trace link.
22. Click Redirected Terminal Output. This will show you any error messages or other messages about your upload.
23. A new window opens showing you the output. Close the window when you have reviewed the messages.
24. You may now view the ISIRs you have imported to the staging table. Use the Suspense Management component for this purpose.
    1. In order to use suspense management conveniently, you need the "EC Queue Instance" number of the batch of ISIRs you uploaded. There is a tool you can use to obtain this number.
25. Navigate: University of Maine Systems > Financial Aid > Review CPS/NSLDS Transaction
26. Fill in the TG Number for your Institution. If you don't know it, click the look up button.
27. Select your Institution in the list.
28. Click Search.
29. Select the Inbound choice in the list.
30. The display shows all the sets of ISIRs that have been uploaded. Each set has a unique EC Queue Instance number which is used to refer to that set of ISIRs in the suspense table. You can use the date and time in the last column to identify the desired EC Queue Instance number.
31. Armed with the EC Queue Instance number, you can look at the ISIRs you've just imported. Navigate: Financial Aid > File Management > ISIR Import > 20xx-20yy Suspense Management.
32. Enter the EC Queue Instance number.
33. Enter or look up the TG Number for your Institution.
34. Click Search.
35. The Search Results lists the ISIRs uploaded in this EC Queue Instance. Notice that the Load Status is "Unproc," which means that the data has been imported to the staging (suspense) table but no attempt has been made to load the ISIR data to the permanent tables.
36. To view the information on a student's ISIR, click on a student in the list.
37. For more on managing ISIRs, refer to the documentation on Loading ISIRs and Suspense Management.

Applies To

• System-Wide
• Anyone uploading Federal Financial Aid Files