Federal Student Aid - IFAP

   

Publication Date: November 2000

DCL ID: GEN-00-21

Summary: Electronic participation in the SFA Programs

Dear President:

In order to continue our partnership to provide the most efficient and effective delivery of the Student Financial Assistance (SFA) Programs, I am asking you to support your staff in their efforts to comply with the Federal requirement relating to electronic participation in the SFA Programs. The requirement provides that schools must participate in designated electronic processes for the administration of the SFA Programs. This participation in designated electronic processes requires that a school must meet certain minimum technical specifications. In 1997, we provided your school with a set of minimum technical specifications to participate in our programs. With advances in technology it is now necessary to update those specifications.

We have sent your school's financial aid administrator a separate letter (Dear Partner letter GEN-00-20) that specifies the updated minimum technical specifications that a school must meet in order to use the designated electronic processes for participation in the SFA Programs. That letter indicates that schools must meet these updated specifications by January 1, 2002. I have enclosed with this letter a copy of the table from the Dear Partner letter that identifies the updated minimum technical specifications that schools will need to meet.

Let me thank you in advance for your cooperation and support as, together, we continue our improvement of the delivery of the SFA Programs.

Sincerely,



Greg Woods
Chief Operating Officer
Student Financial Assistance

Enclosure

cc: Financial Aid Administrator

 

Enclosure A

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

 

 

Current Minimum Configuration

(Depending Upon Volume and Usage)

Minimum Configuration Required by

January 1, 2002

 

 

Equipment

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

IBM or fully IBM-compatible PC

IBM or fully IBM-compatible PC

200MHz Pentium Processor or comparable

800MHz Pentium Processor or comparable

64MB RAM

128 MB RAM or more

4.0 GB SCSI Hard Drive

20 GB hard drive or more

56K Analog Modem

56K modem (that meets or is upgradable to V.90 standard)

3.5"/1.44 MB Diskette Drive

3.5"/1.44 MB Diskette Drive

SVGA Monitor

Monitor and video card capable of Super Video Graphics Adapter (SVGA) (800x600) resolution (small fonts only) or higher*

Windows 95 Keyboard

Windows 95 Keyboard with Microsoft compatible mouse

Laser printer capable of printing on standard paper (8½" x 11")

Laser printer capable of printing on standard paper (8½" x 11")

12x CD-ROM Drive with sound board

24x CD-ROM Drive or higher with sound board

 

Software

32 bit operating system (Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.x)

32 bit operating system (Microsoft Windows 98, Microsoft Windows NT 4.0, or Microsoft Windows 2000)

Internet Service Provider (ISP)

Internet Service Provider (ISP) that supports 56K modem connection or higher

Netscape Navigator 3.0 or 3.01 (domestic) or web browser

Browser Requirements

    • Internet Explorer v4.01 Service Pack 2 or

higher

    • Netscape Navigator v4.73 or higher

 

 

Supported Networks: Windows NT or Novell Netware

Phone Line

Dedicated phone line

Dedicated phone line

Diskettes

3.5" high-density double-sided diskettes

3.5" high-density double-sided diskettes