The Pros and Cons of EdExpress for Financial Aid Software
As the cost of higher education continues to rise, federal financial aid plays a crucial role in supporting millions of students in financing their education. However, the administration of federal aid is a complex process that necessitates the use of financial aid management software by colleges, universities, and trade schools.
Higher Education instituions have a range of financial aid tools available to them. Some opt for an integrated student information system (SIS) with a built-in financial aid module, while others utilize free government-provided software system known as EdExpress in conjunction with EdConnect.
Given that EdExpress is a free option, one might wonder why not all institutions choose to adopt it. In this article, we will outline the advantages and disadvantages of opting for EdExpress versus using an integrated SIS with financial aid management.
In this post, we will cover:
- What are the government financial aid software systems?
- What schools use EdExpress?
- What are the downsides of EdExpress?
- What are the benefits of Campus Cafe Software?
The bottom line: An integrated SIS improves financial aid management
What are the free government financial aid software systems?
To assist managing the financial aid process, the Department of Education provides Title IV-eligible schools two free software systems: EdConnect and EdExpress. These programs can be used independently or together by schools to handle their students’ financial aid.
EdConnect is PC software that assists schools with sending, receiving, and managing their federal student aid information.
EDExpress is PC software that processes, packages, and manages Title IV student federal financial aid records.
To put it simply, EdConnect is a data transfer system, and EdExpress is a tool to help processes the information.
Typically, schools use EdConnect to communicate information to the Department of Education and then employ either EdExpress or a student information system (SIS) with integrated financial aid management software to administer and manage funding.
Why do schools use EdExpress?
Because EdExpress is a free system, it is a cost-effective option. It is often used by smaller schools with limited budgets for financial aid software and fewer staff members compared to larger institutions.
Schools may also opt to use EdExpress if they have a smaller student body and they can handle manually entering the required student data. However, for schoolsl withmore than a few hundred students, manual data entry becomes burdensome.
If a school uses an SIS that lacks an integrated financial aid module, their financial aid office may resort to using EdExpress to transmit data from the SIS. However, this can lead to glitches and unreliability, as discussed further below.
What are the downsides of EdExpress?
When it comes to financial aid software, the old saying, the saying “You get what you pay for” holds true.. While EdExpress saves money when compared to an integrated SIS with a financial aid module, it also limits a school’s options and requires more man-hours for data entry and troubleshooting.
When you compare the free system to an integrated SIS with a financial aid module, EdExpress’s shortcomings include the following:
- Tedious and time-consuming data entry that requires dedicated staff.
- Potential mismanagement of student disbursements and lack of integration between EdExpress and the school’s SIS, resulting in inconsistent and unreliable data. This might result is government fines and put the institutions Title IV standing at risk.
- Difficulty transmitting individual student program data from the SIS to EdExpress.
- Absence of customer relationship management (CRM) functionality, such as sending emails or notifications to students or collecting documents electronically.
How Campus Cafe improves financial aid processing
Campus Cafe’s offers an all-in-one, integrated SIS with financial aid software designed to streamline the financial aid process, making it easier, faster, and more reliable. It simplifies financial aid management, improves reporting, saves time and resources and ultimately produces more accurate and reliable information.
Campus Cafe integrates with EdConnect to send and receive accurate information from the Department of Education. By upgrading from the free EdExpress software to Campus Cafe’s subscription-based SIS with financial management options, schools can enjoy several significant advantages:
- Real-time data transfer: Full system integration ensures that student ledgers, records, and program data remain synchronized with the Department of Ed’s Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system, supporting origination, disbursement, and reporting for federal loans and grants.
- CRM functionality: The built-in CRM automatically notifies students of verification, rejection, packaging, and other financial aid statuses.
- Student portal integration: Both school staff and students can submit and manage documents through the student portal, reducing the reliance on email and phone communications and improving the flow of accurate, timely documentation.
- Robust system security: Campus Cafe’s cloud-based system offers state-of-the-art security measures to safeguard sensitive records, including students’ personal and financial information.
- Training and support: The Campus Cafe team assists schools in configuring their financial aid management software during implementation and provides ongoing support for troubleshooting system problems and addressing individual situations, from packaging to disbursement.
The Bottom Line: An integrated SIS improves financial aid management
You don’t have to be a financial aid guru or IT whiz to use Campus Cafe’s financial aid tools. The integrated SIS and financial aid module uses intuitive dashboards that are easy to navigate. Campus Cafe provides training for your team and offers responsive, timely support as needed.
The system automatically packages aid based on an individual student program or cohort, providing comprehensive organization and disbursement processing. Additionally, it reduces your team’s workload, allowing them to focus on other important tasks while ensuring accurate and timely delivery of financial aid to students.
Most importantly, Campus Cafe is continuously updating its financial aid management software to accommodate new government regulations. The organization’s responsive monthly software updates are designed to respond to it’s client changing needs and serve them better.
Ready to see how Campus Cafe can improve your school’s financial aid management? Contact us for a demo today.
