Mandatory Software Upgrade – Deadline Extension to June 5, 2021 to Maintain Access to the SAIG (EA ID: GENERAL-21-08)

Author
Federal Student Aid
Subject
Mandatory Software Upgrade – Deadline Extension to June 5, 2021 to Maintain Access to the SAIG (EA ID: GENERAL-21-08)

As we first described in an Oct. 31, 2020 Electronic Announcement, we are upgrading the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) to comply with federal mandate Binding Operational Directive (BOD) 18-01 to improve email and web security. BOD-18-01 includes a requirement that all publicly accessible federal websites and web services support Transport Layer Security (TLS) version 1.2 or higher. TLS is an Internet protocol that ensures privacy between applications and users.

To comply with this federal mandate, a new version of SAIG software—TDClient or EDconnect—that supports TLS 1.2 must be installed by all users. To allow users additional time to complete this required software upgrade, we are extending the deadline to upgrade from April 17, 2021 to June 5, 2021. After June 5, older versions of TDClient and EDconnect will no longer connect to the SAIG and cannot be used to send/receive transmissions.

To avoid losing access to the SAIG, all users must complete their upgrades by June 5 to TDClient 3.3.1 or higher, or to EDconnect 8.5:

  • The updated TDClient software is available now on the Software and Other Tools page of the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website (https://ifap.ed.gov/software-and-other-tools), along with updated user documentation.

  • EDconnect 8.5 will be available for download by late April 2021. In prior communications we indicated EDconnect 8.5 would be available by late February; however, we have recently needed to modify the software delivery schedule. Monitor the IFAP website for an announcement of the software’s availability.

Note for EDconnect Users: As a reminder, the updated EDconnect 8.5 software will not run on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Vista, Windows Server 2003, or Windows 2008. These operating systems will no longer be supported by SAIG applications. EDconnect 8.5 must be used with the Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012 operating systems or higher. EDconnect users must confirm now that their local system will support EDconnect 8.5 when it is available. If a Windows 10 or Windows Server 2012 operating system or higher is not yet being used by the school, immediate attention is needed to upgrade to an operating system that will support the updated software.

We appreciate the attention of SAIG users to this important federal mandate and software upgrade.

Contact Information

If you have questions about the TDClient or EDconnect software, please contact CPS/SAIG Technical Support at 1-800-330-5947 or by email at CPSSAIG@ed.gov.