6 th Annual Conference on Technology & Standards Copyright © PESC. All rights reserved. Michael D. Sessa Executive Director, PESC

 NIST, ANSI and Value of Standards  National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995  OMB Circular A – 119  Section 143 of the HEA  PESC, FSA & Related Activities Agenda

 NIST – National Institute of Standards and Technology  From Founded in 1901, NIST is a non-regulatory federal agency within the U.S. Department of Commerce. NIST's mission is to promote U.S. innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and Technology in ways that enhance economic security and improve our quality of life.U.S. Department of Commerce NIST, ANSI & History of Processing

 ANSI – American National Standards Institute  From Founded in 1918 by five engineering societies and three government agencies, the Institute remains a private, nonprofit membership organization supported by a diverse constituency of private and public sector organizations. Throughout its history, ANSI has maintained as its primary goal the enhancement of global competitiveness of U.S. business and the American quality of life by promoting and facilitating voluntary consensus standards and conformity assessment systems and promoting their integrity. The Institute represents the interests of its nearly 1,000 company, organization, government agency, institutional and international members through its office in New York City, and its headquarters in Washington, D.C.. NIST, ANSI & History of Processing

MARYSTIMH MARYSMIHT MARYSMIHT MAYRSTIMH MARY SMIHT smithmary 00SMI0HT00RAMY WILL THE REAL MARY SMITH PLEASE STAND UP? Data standardization involves more than the spacing of data elements (but you get the big picture, right?) Data Structure & Processing

Without data standardization, expect:  increased cost of systems staff due to serial, redundant and customized programming for the same data elements  slower response to customer needs  increased data mapping which jeopardizes data quality and integrity  more difficult access to data  repetitive programming if rules, regulations, or business needs change Data Structure & Processing

Higher education is far behind other industries in implementation and use of technical standards. Think of the value of:  the ATM network  credit card networks (VISA, Mastercard, AmEx, etc.)  direct deposit  EZ Pass state toll booths ** While higher education builds its technical standards and while PK12 builds its technical standards, both are trying to simultaneously bridge the gap between the two. Data Structure & Processing

Federal Participation Requirements:  National Technology Transfer & Advancement Act of 1995 “...all Federal agencies and departments shall use technical standards that are developed or adopted by voluntary consensus standards bodies, using such technical standards as a means to carry out policy objectives or activities determined by the agencies and departments.” “...Federal agencies and departments shall consult with voluntary, private sector, consensus standards bodies and shall...participate with such bodies in the development of technical standards.” Section 12 (d) (1-2) Value of Standards

Federal Participation Requirements:  Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circular No. A-119 – Revised February 10, 1998 What are the goals of the government in using voluntary consensus standards?  Eliminate the cost to the Government of developing its own standards and decrease the costs of goods procured and the burden of complying with agency regulation.  Provide incentives and opportunities to establish standards that serve national needs.  Encourage long-term growth for U.S. enterprises and promote efficiency and economic competition through harmonization of standards.  Further the policy of reliance upon the private sector to supply Government needs for goods and services. Value of Standards

Federal Participation Requirements:  Section 143 of the Higher Education Act of 1965 “In order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the student aid delivery system, the Secretary and the COO shall encourage and participate in the establishment of voluntary consensus standards and requirements for the electronic transmission of information necessary for the administration of programs under title IV.”  The COO shall participate in the activities of standards setting organizations...  The COO shall encourage higher education groups seeking to develop common forms, standards, and procedures...to conduct these activities within a standard setting organization.  The COO may pay necessary dues and fees associated with participation... Value of Standards

Delphi Study: June 2003 Standards = Liquidity Benefits of approved standards for developers and consumers:  increases the value of existing and future investments in IT  allows the portability of data  decreases the long-term cost of ownership for applicable software vendor alternatives  expands choices for software vendor alternatives

Value of Standards Delphi Study: June 2003 Factors driving participation in a standards body:  vendor neutral  access to a developer community and best practices  membership comprised of both end users and commercial software vendors  international presence and focus  industry-wide or horizontal orientation  open or “democratic” committee process  opportunity to direct standard specification from moment of conception

How standards are set:  Government regulation or legislation  Informally when a single product gains wide market use  Formally through cooperation, study, and approval by a designated group Value of Standards

 Mission Established in 1997 and located in Washington, D.C., the Postsecondary Electronic Standards Council (PESC) is a non- profit, 501(c)(3) community-based, umbrella association of colleges and universities; professional and commercial organizations; data, software and service providers; non-profit organizations and associations; and state and federal government agencies. Through open and transparent community development, PESC leads the alignment of data across disparate stakeholder systems to ensure simplified and cost-effective student progression along the higher education lifecycle. PESC Mission & Governance

PESC Goals & Strategies 1. Lead the establishment & facilitate the adoption & implementation of data exchange standards 2.Highlight & support best practices for data access & data exchange 3.Maintain collaborative relationships with all public, private, governmental & international stakeholders 4.Serve as a standards-setting body 5.Advocate for operational efficiencies & improved performance in student data exchange from initial access of the student from high school into the college environment through successful completion of the education experience 6.Promote cost effectiveness of data alignment across disparate systems & across sectors that help mitigate costs for institutions struggling to keep up with the demands of technology & real- time data exchange while maintaining competitive tuition rates 7.Continue building a core competency in XML architecture & data modeling

 Organizational Overview  85 Members and Affiliates and 7 major partners  Significant national/international adoption and implementation of PESC standards  Seal of Approval Program – Optional service to ensure uniformity of implementation  Formal policies/procedures for development/architecture – Guides development  XML Registry & Repository for the Education Community – Administered by the US Department of Education & governed by PESC – accessibility of standards is open & free  6 Standards Approved – High School Transcript, College Transcript, Common Origination & Disbursement (COD), Common Record: CommonLine (CRC), Data Transport Standard (DTS), Online Loan Counseling  7 Standards in Development – Academic Progress, Admission Application, Course Inventory, Education Test Score Report, IPEDS, PDF Transcript  1 User Group – Education Record User Group for all transcript processing  1 Task Force – E-Authentication/E-Authorization Task Force – EA2 PESC Mission & Governance

 Hierarchy Technical Advisory Board Change Control Board Education Test Score Report PDF TranscriptStudent Aid Inquiry Course Inventory Workgroups Board of Directors IPEDS Academic Progress Online Loan Counseling Admission Application EA2 TaskforceSeal of Approval Staff Education Record User Group Steering Committee PESC Mission & Governance

AcademyOne, Inc. Accenture ACT, Inc.* AACRAO – American Association of Collegiate Registrars & Admissions Officers* ACE – American Council on Education AAMC – Association of American Medical Colleges Avow Systems California Community College System California School Information Services Central Connecticut State University Clayton State University College Board* College Source, Inc. Community College of the Air Force ConnectEdu, Inc. CBA – Consumer Bankers Association Dartmouth College – Institute for Security Technology Studies Datatel, Inc. Decision Academic Docufide echo360 EFC – Education Finance Council* Educause* ELM Resources Florida International University Florida State University Georgetown University/Sun Center for Excellence in Scholarly Information Architecture George Washington University Georgia Board of Regents SmartCatalog Stanford University SunGard Higher Education* Texas A & M University TG University of Alaska System University of California at Berkeley University of Denver University of Idaho University of Illinois – Chicago University of Illinois – Student Financial Services University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign University of Lethbridge University of Minnesota University of Mississippi University of North Carolina University of Northern Iowa University of Oklahoma University of Oregon University of Phoenix University of South Florida University of Texas at Austin University of Virginia USA Funds* US Department of Education* US GSA – General Services Administration Washington State University Xap Corporation *Founder IDAPP – Illinois Designated Account Purchase Program IMS Global Learning Consortium, Inc. Indiana State University Iowa State University Jenzabar Key Bank LSAC – Law School Admission Council* Mapping Your Future NASFAA – National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators* NASLA – National Association of Student Loan Administrators NCHELP – National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs* National Student Clearinghouse National Transcript Center NELA – Northwest Education Loan Association Nelnet Neumann College Northern Illinois University Ohio Board of Regents OCAS – Ontario College Application Services Oracle Corporation Oregon State University Pennsylvania College of Technology Prairie View A & M University Purdue University redLantern Regent Education San Francisco State University SIFA – Schools Interoperability Framework Association  PESC Membership PESC Mission & Governance

 Founded August 4, 2000 by the PESC Board in response to a white paper produced by a PESC workgroup that analyzed the emergence of XML and recommended PESC involvement  Serves as the standards development body of PESC  “Candidates” for standards are proposed, developed, and processed by the Standards Forum  Governed by a Steering Committee  Follows established policies and procedures for development and approval  Includes multiple Boards and Workgroups Standards Forum for Education

 eX tensible Markup Language: designed to improve the functionality of the web by providing flexibility and adaptability: –customized and dynamic –ideal for real-time transactions and messaging – Electronic Initiatives  Flat files: –fixed lengths, always with extra or redundant data –mostly used for batch processing – SESSAMICHAEL

Standards Forum for Education XML  Identifying, defining, formatting, and transmitting data from point A to point B  XML 1.0 approved by W3C 2/98  Emerged as the technology for real-time, web- based transactions  Lacked “common” or industry standards

 Standards Development  Define and standardize “simple” data elements (also called “core components”) and “complex” core components (several simple core components grouped together)  Group core components together into business transactions  Develop implementation guides for reference and support  Issue candidates for public comment and approval/voting process  Populate “Core Main” data dictionary with all simple and complex core components  Store all core components in the XML Registry & Repository for the Education Community Standards Forum for Education

 Policies and Procedures  Released March 2005  Focus is on collaboration, submission, approval, & maintenance  Includes:  Process  PESC Guidelines for XML Architecture and Data Modeling  Users Guide for XML Registry and Repository for the Education Community  Adopted by FSA Standards Forum for Education

 XML Registry and Repository for the Education Community  Developed, owned, and administered by FSA  Governed by PESC  Stores PESC approved standards  Sorted alphabetically by core component, by classification/taxonomy, by sector and by message specification  Free and open to the public w/o barriers or user name and password Standards Forum for Education

Data Exchanges in Student Aid FAFSA - ISIR Certification MPN Disbursement Guarantee Changes Graduation Repayment Payoff Deferment Consolidation Forbearance Sales Delinquency Cure - Claim NSLDS Subrogation IPEDS Life of the Loan

CommonLine 4 CommonLine 5 PELL Common Record COD - Direct Lending Campus-Based ? ? Servicing/CAM FAFSA/ISIR Required Phases out pre CL 4 Phased out Optional 2006 Early Adopters IPEDS Optional Student Aid Standards History

EDI XML EDI XML High School – XML Initiatives – Registrar/Admissions College – XML Transcripts Admission Application Test Score EDI XML Course Inventory

58% increase in 2008 over 2005 via Internet Server at the University of Texas at Austin Statistics

133% increase in 2008 over 2005 via Internet Server at the University of Texas at Austin Statistics

76% increase in 2008 over 2005 via Internet Server at the University of Texas at Austin Statistics

80.5% in 2005 to 96% in 2008 via Electronic FAFSA processing Statistics ( Statistics All FAFSA’s (electronic and paper)

Activating Interoperability in Higher Education Contact Information  Michael Sessa, Executive Director  Jennifer Kim, Membership Services Manager  1250 Connecticut Avenue, NW Suite 200 Washington, D.C