Q: Does eCDR Appeals process all cohort default rate challenge, adjustment and appeal types?
A: No, eCDR Appeals supports the electronic processing of Incorrect Data Challenges (IDC) during the draft cycle, and Uncorrected Data Adjustments (UDA), New Data Adjustments (NDA) and Loan Servicing Appeals (LSA) during the official cycle. Other cohort default rate challenges and appeals must be submitted through the paper process.

Q: Can I use eCDR Appeals during the official cycle, if I did not submit an IDC at all during the draft cycle?
A: Yes, you can use eCDR Appeals to submit an NDA or an LSA during the official cycle.

Q: What advantages can I expect from using the system?
A: eCDR Appeals offers a consistent interface:

• eCDR Appeals offers an easy to use interface to prepare and submit your IDC, UDA, NDA or LSA.
• eCDR Appeals protects the information it stores. Using the system avoids transmitting sensitive borrower data through the mail.
• eCDR Appeals includes email notifications to facilitate communication between the school, the data managers (guarantee agencies/direct loan servicers) and FSA while processing a case.

Q: What advantages can I expect in preparing and submitting the IDC electronically?
A: Filing the IDC electronically is required, and OPD no longer accepts paper IDCs. There are several important advantages to filing electronically:

• eCDR Appeals is designed to automatically package the school's adjustment requests by data manager based on Loan Record Detail Report (LRDR) data regarding the holder of each loan.
  • The system will notify all data managers involved that the school has submitted its IDC case and that they must review their respective adjustment requests and respond.
  • Furthermore, if the loan is not assigned to the correct data manager, the school or the data manager can easily make the change online. The system reroutes the adjustment to the correct data manager.

Q: What advantages can I expect in submitting the UDA electronically?
A: Filing the UDA electronically is required, and OPD no longer accepts paper UDAs. A significant advantage of electronic UDA filing is that eCDR Appeals automates comparison between draft and official cycle data, facilitating the work of the school.

• Schools that submitted their IDC electronically determine whether there are records eligible to be submitted as part of a UDA by simply logging in to eCDR Appeals and initiating the UDA.
  • The eCDR Appeals application will compare the draft LRDR data, the approved IDC changes and the official LRDR data, and identify any and all loans eligible for inclusion in a UDA submission.
  • If uncorrected records exist based on the automated comparison, the application will populate the details of the case for the school.
  • The eCDR Appeals application also allows the school to manually add adjustment requests to the UDA.
  • The school will also have an opportunity to add comments prior to submitting the UDA.
  • UDA submission is not automatic, but the automated comparison greatly facilitates the school's work.

Q: What advantages can I expect in submitting the NDA electronically?
A: Filing the NDA electronically is required, and OPD no longer accepts paper NDAs. A significant advantage of electronic NDA filing is that eCDR Appeals automates comparison between draft and official cycle data, facilitating the work of the school.

• When preparing its NDA case and the school enters a borrower's SSN to create an allegation, the eCDR Appeals application will validate that there is new data for this borrower (other than changes related to a successful IDC) and will present those loans eligible to be included in the NDA for the selected borrower. This will facilitate the school's work in ensuring their NDA submission only contains valid allegations of new LRDR data.
• eCDR Appeals is designed to automatically package the school's adjustment requests by data manager (guarantee agency/direct loan servicer) based on Loan Record Detail Report (LRDR) data about the holder of each loan.
  • The system will notify all data managers involved that the school has submitted its NDA case and that they must review their respective adjustment requests and respond.
  • Furthermore, if the loan is not assigned to the correct data manager, the change can easily be made online by either the school or the data manager. The system reroutes the adjustment to the correct data manager.

Q: What advantages can I expect in submitting the LSA electronically?
A: There are several important advantages to filing electronically:

• eCDR Appeals enables all participants to protect sensitive personally identifiable borrower records they must transmit to each other, and the electronic process is expected to be significantly faster than the paper-based process.
• For the school, the eCDR Appeals system is designed to automatically identify all data managers (guarantee agency/direct loan servicer) that hold defaulted loans based on data in the school’s Loan Record Detail Report (LRDR). The system presents the data managers’ code to the school as a list to pick from. This facilitates the work of the school in determining which data manager(s) to request servicing records from.
  • The system will notify all data managers selected by the school that servicing records are requested.
  • Once the request for servicing records is submitted, the system enables the school to view and export a listing of all borrowers requested (borrowers in the representative sample when applicable).
• eCDR Appeals enables data managers to readily identify the borrowers for whom they must provide servicing records. Furthermore:
  • The system supports generating a random sample when required.
  • The system enables the data manager to export a listing of all borrowers requested.
  • If some loans are not assigned to the correct data manager, the data manager can easily make the change online. The system reroutes the request for servicing records to the correct data manager.
• eCDR Appeals automates clarification requests and responses, as well as fee requests that may occur (although when a fee is requested, it is paid outside the system).

Q: Will the system keep track of submission timeframes for challenges/adjustments/appeals?
A: Yes. The system enforces the various timeframe constraints as indicated by regulation applicable to schools as well as to data managers.

• The system maintains information throughout the case's life cycle about key dates and actions taken by the school and the data managers.
• E-mail notifications are an important component of the workflow. It is therefore essential for schools and data managers to update contact information and maintain current contact information in the system while a case is ongoing.
• The status of each established case, servicing records request and adjustment request can also be viewed online by logging into the system at any time, and the system offers online reports that can be used as "work queues". For example, the school can view a report of instances where a data manager requires a fee to provide servicing records in an LSA; the report includes the due date for payment of the fee and provides a direct link to the request. System users are encouraged to log-in regularly once a case is started. Unsuccessful delivery of an e-mail notification will not be a valid justification for missing deadlines.
• The system issues notification e-mails when processes within the workflow are completed by one individual/organization and the next stage of the process may proceed. For example, once the school has submitted its IDC, NDA or LSA, the data managers involved are automatically notified via e-mail that a case is awaiting their review. If a data manager has questions while conducting its review of an IDC or NDA and needs more information from the school, the data manager's work in eCDR Appeals triggers an e-mail notification to the school indicating that the school must log-in to the eCDR Appeals system to review and respond to the data manager's questions (generally a request for additional support documentation). Conversely, if the school needs clarification about servicing records provided by a data manager for an LSA case, the school's work in eCDR Appeals triggers an e-mail notification to the data manager indicating that the data manager must login to the eCDR Appeals system to review and respond to the school's questions. When all reviews are completed and cases are perfected, Federal Student Aid personnel are automatically notified via e-mail as well.

Q: Will I still receive the Loan Record Detail Report (LRDR) through the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG)? Will I still be able to order LRDR reports and extracts from the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS)?
A: Yes. Use of the LRDR for eCDR Appeals is a separate activity. eCDR Appeals does not change the notification process of receiving LRDR through SAIG or NSLDS. During the CDR cycle the LRDR is issued to you as it has been in the past through your SAIG mailbox. You can also continue to receive LRDR reports and extracts from NSLDS.

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Q: How do I get help in registering for and using the eCDR Appeals system?
A: Please refer to the user guides for all pertinent details.

• User guides are located at the eCDR Appeals homepage at https://ecdrappeals.ed.gov
• It is the responsibility of the school/data manager organization to determine which individuals within their organization should get an account, and determine the type of access. The Destination Point Administrator enforces the internal decisions through the account approval process. Federal Student Aid reserves the right to cancel access for any individual we determine should not be granted access to the eCDR Appeals system.
  • "Case Preparers" are able to carry out most functions but must submit their work to the "Case Managers" for review before the case can move forward through the next step in the workflow.
  • "Case Managers" can perform all functions a preparer can perform. Additionally, "Case Managers" may submit the case across organizations through the workflow (e.g., certify a case, submit a response to a request for additional information).

Q: Do returning users and/or returning schools have special responsibilities?
A: Yes.

• Returning users should validate that their demographic information and school profile as previously entered in eCDR Appeals are correct, and must update this information as needed.
• eCDR Appeals Destination Point Administrators for returning schools and data managers are responsible for ensuring that users are provisioned and de-provisioned appropriately. They should therefore periodically validate that all users listed for the application are still permitted to act on behalf of the organization and have the correct permissions.
• All eCDR Appeals users are responsible for appropriately protecting sensitive borrower data. The system protects data stored and in transit. Individual users, however, are responsible for protecting data they maintain outside the system. Users must also continuously adhere to Rules of Behavior they are required to review and sign when obtaining an eCDR Appeals account and when logging into eCDR Appeals. Please refer to the eCDR Appeals Registration and User Account Guide for further details.

Q: Who do I contact if I have questions regarding eCDR Appeals?
A: Contact the Default Management hotline at (202) 377-4259, or via email at fsa.schools.default.management@ed.gov.

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Q: Do I need any particular software to access eCDR Appeals?
A: A web browser is all that is required to access eCDR Appeals. Note that you may need additional software to open attached documents.

Q: What should I do if the supporting documentation is in Office 2007 format and I don't have Office 2007?
A: There is a compatibility pack from Microsoft that you can install to allow earlier versions of Microsoft Office to open Office 2007 files.

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Q: Do I need to attach a CEO certification letter for each data manager involved in the case?
A: No, you can submit just one CEO certification. Each data manager will have access to the CEO certification. Since the CEO certification is being submitted electronically, the address field can be left blank. Please refer to the appropriate chapter under Part IV of the CDR Guide for sample CEO certification letter language.

Q: What type of reports are available from eCDR Appeals for a school user?
A: eCDR Appeals offers reports that serve a “work queue” functions (i.e., they identify items that need the school’s immediate attention), and informational reports. Reports are accessed by selecting the Reports menu. Please refer to the User Guides for more information. The school has the following reports available to them:

• Current Status reports provide a listing of cases that need the school’s attention. Under the Current Status submenu, the school has two reports:
  • The “Requests for additional information” report supports processing IDC and NDA case types. This report identifies adjustments for which a data manager has requested clarification from the school.
  • The “Loan Servicing Appeal (LSA) records request that requires fees” report identifies instances in a LSA case where the data manager requires the school to pay a fee before providing servicing records.
• Under the CDR Changes submenu, the school also has a “CDR Change Report” which totals all the adjustments accepted by data managers during the draft cycle and shows how much the numerator and denominator of the cohort default rate may change based on the IDC.

Q: I am the DPA for a school. I recently had a name-change. Do I need to re-register for eCDR Appeals?
A: Yes. However, the first thing you need to do is update your participation management information via the fsawebenroll website at https://fsawebenroll.ed.gov/PMEnroll/index.jsp. Once you have updated your information, you must self-register in eCDR Appeals using the exact same information (first name, last name, etc...) that you entered into the fsawebenroll website.

Q: I am the DPA for a school or schools. How do I add additional schools to my account?
A: You will need to update the participation management information via the fsawebenroll website at https://fsawebenroll.ed.gov/PMEnroll/index.jsp to add additional schools to your account. Any changes made via fsawebenroll will automatically update your information for eCDR Appeals.

Q: How do I remove disagrees before submitting the NDA case to OPD?
A: You will need to scroll down to the Case Actions section on the case details page and click on the Remove Disagrees button. Please refer to the eCDR Appeals NDA User's Guide for further information.

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Q: How should we respond to and IDC or NDA if we hold the consolidated loan (CL) but the school's allegation is regarding the underlying loans?
A: If the allegation is regarding the date entered repayment (DER) of the underlying loans, you should respond with a "Disagree" and note in the comment field that the holder of the underlying loans will respond. However, if the CL has defaulted within the same cohort period that the underlying loans entered repayment, and the allegation is regarding the default status of the CL, you should respond to the allegation as your records indicate.

Q: How do I generate a representative sample of borrowers for purpose of providing servicing records to a school in an LSA case (the number of defaulted borrowers exceeds one hundred (100))?
A: The eCDR Appeals is designed to produce the necessary random sample consistent with approved methods (June 1994 guidance).

• You will be prompted by the system to select one of the two approved methods: Systematic Sequential Sampling, or Simple Random Sampling. Once you make your selection, the system will produce the representative sample for you. Consult the LSA User Guide for additional details.
• You may not generate the required sample independent of the automated eCDR Appeals solution.

Q: What type of reports are available from eCDR Appeals for a Data Manager?
A: eCDR Appeals offers reports that serve a “work queue” functions (i.e., they identify items that need the data manager’s immediate attention), and informational reports. Reports are accessed by selecting the Reports menu. Please refer to the User Guides for more information. The data manager has the following reports available to them:

• Current Status reports provide a listing of cases that need the data manager’s attention. Under the Current Status submenu, the data manager has several reports that support IDC, NDA or LSA processing:
  • DM Adjustments That Require Response within 7 Days (applies to IDC and NDA)
  • DM Adjustments That Require Response (applies to IDC and NDA)
  • Clarification Request for DM Adjustments (applies to IDC and NDA)
  • Additional Data Request for DM Adjustments from FSA (applies to NDA)
  • LSA Servicing Records Requests (applies to LSA)
  • LSA Clarification and Additional Data Requests (applies to LSA)
  • LSA Records Request with Fees Past Due (applies to LSA)
• Under the Draft Cycle and Official Cycle submenus, the data managers also have a draft cycle and an official cycle report which lists all the loans that they have agreed to change.

Last updated/reviewed April 25, 2022