ERIC Number: ED410811
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1997-Jul
Pages: 32
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Student Financial Aid Information. Systems Architecture Needed To Improve Programs' Efficiency. Report To Congressional Requesters.
General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Accounting and Information Management Div.
This is a report evaluating the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which is designed to track federal student financial aid (Title IV) programs and provide research and support functions such as prescreening of aid applicants for eligibility and enrollment status. The report finds that the Department of Education has made only limited progress in integrating NSLDS with other student financial aid databases, and notes several reasons why the department has been unable to create a seamless information exchange environment that would allow for full integration. These include: (1) neither the NSLDS nor other systems were designed for efficient access; (2) many of the systems are incompatible, lacking common data standards and identifiers; and (3) the Department has not developed appropriate systems architecture. In its conclusion the report recommends that the department develop system architecture that addresses system integration, common identifiers, and deficiencies in data standards. Appended to the report is a statement of objectives, scope, and methodology for the review, and the Department of Education's comments on the findings. (CH)
Descriptors: Data Analysis, Data Collection, Database Design, Databases, Educational Finance, Eligibility, Federal Programs, Financial Aid Applicants, Higher Education, Management Information Systems, Paying for College, Public Policy, Research Tools, Student Costs, Student Financial Aid, Student Loan Programs, Systems Analysis, Systems Development
U.S. General Accounting Office, P.O. Box 6015, Gaithersburg, MD 20884-6015; phone: 202-512-6000; fax: 301-258-4066 (first copy free; additional copies $2 each; bulk prices available. Orders should be accompanied by check or money order made out to Superintendent of Documents).
Publication Type: Legal/Legislative/Regulatory Materials; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: General Accounting Office, Washington, DC. Accounting and Information Management Div.
Identifiers - Laws, Policies, & Programs: Family Education Loan Program; Higher Education Act Title IV
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A