NSLDS Transfer Monitoring (TSM)

Owned by Katie Macpherson (Deactivated)
Last updated: Jan 29, 2022 by Heather Smith

Introduction

The use of transfer monitoring is required for all mid-year transfer students to your institution. If transfer monitoring is initiated for a student, disbursement of federal funds will be blocked for seven days from the start of the monitoring period. Once monitoring is initiated, NSLDS will check for any changes in the student's financial aid history that may be relevant to the student's eligibility for aid. If there is a relevant change (i.e., new or canceled loan, new or revised disbursement), NSLDS will provide an 'Alert' file to the school. The school must then review the change(s) to determine if they affects the student's eligibility for Title IV aid. NSLDS will keep the reported students on transfer monitoring for 90 days and an alert file could be received anytime during that period. NSLDS will not "alert" a school if there are no relevant changes to the student's financial aid history.

The same 'Inform' file data record layout used for TSM requests is used for requesting Financial Aid History (FAH) from NSLDS. The same response file format received for TSM is used for FAH, clearly marked as a FAH file, not a TSM Alert. The National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS) combines the Transfer Student Monitoring (TSM) and Financial Aid History (FAH) batch processes into one input format file and one output format file. Requests will need to be in the correct file formats and submitted as an input file through the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) message class, TRNINFIN. After NSLDS verifies that the data requests are in the proper file formats, an output processed file will be sent back to the end user. Depending on the data type requested, the output file will be returned through the SAIG in the TRLTRPOP, TRALRTOP, FAHREPOP, or FAHEXTOP message classes. 

Batch File Process

NSLDS combines the batch TSM and FAH processes. The result is one common input file and one common output file. Schools use one input file to tell NSLDS if they are:

  • requesting a student Financial Aid History, (Schools use FAH for reasons such as student eligibility, research, trend analysis, and default management.)
  • adding the student to the Transfer Student Monitoring list, 
  • or both (For example, the school would like NSLDS to provide a FAH and add the student to the Transfer Student Monitoring list for a possible Alert if relevant data changes).  

Under the Transfer Student Monitoring Process, a school "informs" NSLDS of its mid-year transfer students (transfer from one school to another during the same award year), NSLDS "monitors" changes in the financial aid history of those students and "alerts" the school of any relevant changes. After a school informs NSLDS about a mid-year transfer student, NSLDS monitors changes to the student's financial aid history information from the date the latest Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) for the student was generated and sent to the school. NSLDS checks to see if there have been any changes in the student's financial aid history that may be relevant to the student's eligibility for aid at the new school. Such changes might include a new or canceled loan or a new or revised disbursement of a loan or grant. NSLDS continues to monitor changes in the student's financial aid history since the last Alert it sent to the school. If there is a relevant change to the student's financial aid history, NSLDS will "alert" the school. The school must then review the change to determine if they affect the student's eligibility for Title IV aid. NSLDS will not "alert" a school if there are no relevant changes to the student's financial aid history.

The Transfer Student Monitoring Process is recommended to be run weekly. After a school informs NSLDS, it must wait 7 days before it can make a disbursement of Title IV aid to an otherwise eligible student. The school does not have to wait, however, if it receives an Alert from NSLDS during the 7-day period or it obtains the student's financial aid history information directly by accessing the NSLDS Financial Aid Professionals Access Web site, or by receiving and reviewing the results from a batch Financial Aid History from NSLDS. In cases where the school makes a disbursement to an eligible student but later receives an Alert from NSLDS, the school must access and review the student's financial aid history to determine whether an action needs to be taken regarding that disbursement or any subsequent disbursements. Please note that information about defaulted loans and overpayments will continue to be provided to schools under the NSLDS Postscreening process. Schools can inform NSLDS of students to be monitored using the Transfer Student Monitoring at https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_FAP/secure/logon.jsp or by sending an 'Inform' batch file to NSLDS. 

Note:  A student does not have to be exported from Regent Award on an Inform file in order to import a TSM or FAH file into Regent Award for that student. For example, a school could make a TSM or FAH request for a student via the NSLDS website, and Regent Award will consume any TSM or FAH file received as a result of that request.

Matching NSLDS Records to Students in Regent Award

The same Import logic is used to match all 5 types of NSLDS records to existing students in Regent Award.

  1. When an NSLDS file is loaded containing one or more records, Regent Award will attempt to match those records to existing students in Regent Award.
    1. Look up and match on distinct SSN (nslds.currentSSN = student.socialSecurityNumber)
    2. If no matching students for the SSN were found, look up and match on distinct DOB, First and Last Name (nslds.currentDateOfBirth, currentFirstName, currentLastName = student.dateOfBirth, firstName, lastName)
    3. Match NSLDS.schoolCode (#66-73) to the OPEID of the student's current site in Regent Award. The student's site may or may not have its own OPEID set, depending on the configuration. The site may inherit its OPEID from the Campus, which in turn, may inherit it from the Institution. Regent Award matches the NSLDS.schoolCode field as follows:
      1. First, match to Site.OPEID.
      2. If no match, match to Campus.OPEID,
      3. If no match, match to Institution.OPEID.
  2. If no match was found, the NSLDS record will not be loaded. Records that are not loaded are not processed. The record will count as an "unprocessed" record in the NSLDS TSM/FAH report.
  3. If there is a match, Regent Award will load the record and import it into Regent Award.

Batch Files Used

The batch files consist of the following:

• TSM/FAH Batch Inform File—Schools use this file to submit a list of students for NSLDS to return a FAH or to monitor. If requested, NSLDS monitors the students submitted on this batch file and through the NSLDS Financial Aid Professionals Access website and Alerts the informing school of any changes affecting student eligibility not covered by the current postscreening process. 

• TSM/FAH Error/Acknowledgment File—NSLDS returns this file to the schools as a receipt of the Batch Inform file. This file will list any errors or warnings that result from the submission of the Batch Inform file. If there are no errors and no warnings, the Error/Acknowledgment file contains only a Header and Trailer record. There may be more than one error for any given detail record, so the number of records in the Error/Acknowledgment file may be greater than the number of detail records sent in the Batch Inform file. Any error or warning in the Batch Inform file will be identified by the Field Number and an Error/Warning Code. 

• Financial Aid History File—This file contains the student's full NSLDS Financial Aid History. This file can be received in either extract or report format. The file contains separate records for Aggregates/Perkins/Flags Record; Name History Record(s); Overpayment Record(s); Grant Payment Record(s); and Loan Detail Record(s). 

• TSM Alert File—This is sent to schools only when a relevant financial aid change has been identified in the record of a student on the school's Monitoring List. These changes include new or canceled loans or grants, new or changed disbursements, and changes to balances of loans. The changes prompting an Alert file do not include newly reported defaulted loans or overpayments. That information will continue to be sent to schools on ISIRs using the existing Postscreening process. The TSM Alert file contains the student's full NSLDS Financial Aid History with flags designating changes to the student's grant, loan, or aggregate information. This file can be received in either extract or report format. The file contains separate records for Aggregates/Perkins/Flags Record; Name History Record(s); Overpayment Record(s); Grant Payment Record(s); and Loan Detail Record(s). 

All batch files contain one header record, a set of detail records for each student, and one trailer record as indicated below: 

  • Header Record 
  • Detail Record(s) for Student 1 
  • Detail Record(s) for Student 2 
  • Detail Record(s) for Student N 
  • Trailer Record

Message Classes

There will be multiple message classes for the TSM/FAH batch files: one each for the Inform, the Error/Acknowledgment, the report format TSM Alert, the extract format TSM Alert, the report format FAH, and the extract format FAH. The message class names used to send/receive these files are listed in the following chart:

Message Class

Process flow

SAIG Mailbox

(send/receive)

Description

TRNINFIN

From school/servicer to processor (NSLDS)

School/servicer sends to TG53163

School Batch Inform/FAH request file (used for both FAH requests and/or TSM batch informs—See record layout to indicate request type(s) and format).

TRNINFOP

From processor (NSLDS) to school/servicer

School/servicer receives from TG53162

Error/Acknowledgement file (used by both FAH requests and TSM batch informs.) Each properly formatted TRNINFIN file will generate an error/acknowledgement file).

FAHEXTOP

From processor (NSLDS) to school/servicer

School/servicer receives from TG50012

FAH processed output file in extract format. The message class length remains 500 bytes long

FAHREPOP

From processor (NSLDS) to school/servicer

School/servicer receives from TG50012

FAH processed output file in report format.

TRLTRPOP

From processor (NSLDS) to school/servicer

School/servicer receives from TG53162

Transfer Student Monitoring Alert output file in report format.

TRALRTOP

From processor (NSLDS) to school/servicer

School/servicer receives from TG53162

Transfer Student Monitoring Alert output file in extract format.


Prior to submitting any student records to NSLDS for the Transfer Student Monitoring process, schools must access and complete their School Alert Profile on the NSLD Financial Aid Professionals Access Web site at https://www.nslds.ed.gov/nslds_FAP/secure/logon.jsp. 

Export NSLDS File Process Options

Field NameDescriptionRequired/ OptionalTypeValid ValuesBusiness Rule
Enterprise
RequiredDropdownPopulates with all of the Enterprise names within the Regent Award environment.
Institution
RequiredDropdownPopulates with all of the Institutions within the selected Enterprise.
8-digit OPEID
RequiredTextPopulates with all of the unique 8 digit OPEIDs within all Institutions, including configurations at the Institutions, Campus, or Site levels.
Export File Type

If the Export File Type selected is Transfer Monitoring (TSM) and the student was previously exported for transfer monitoring, he/she will not be re-exported again until the 90 day monitoring period from the initial exported has expired.

If the Export File Type selected Financial Aid History (FAH), there are no restrictions on how often the student can be sent in the export file.

RequiredDropdown
  • TSM
  • FAH

Student Population

When identifying the population of "first-time" students, Regent Award will be looking at the student's first payment period (PP) on their Regent Award academic plan. If the begin monitoring date is less than or equal to the end date of the student's first PP that is not auto-withdrawn in Regent Award, the student will be exported to NSLDS for TSM. Once a "first-time" student has been exported to NSLDS for TSM monitoring, he/she will not be re-exported during their first PP that is not auto-withdrawn in Regent Award. If the first PP that is not auto-withdrawn has an end date is in the past, the student will no longer be considered in the "grouping" of "first-time" students but can be re-exported for TSM using the "Days before AY" and "Days before Scheduled Disbursement" options.

RequiredDropdown
  • All Students
  • First Time Students
  • All Students With Awards
  • First Time Students with Awards

Every student must have an Academic Plan and AYs due to a check for either AY Start OR Disbursement Start. This check applies to all "Student Population" options.

First time students:

  • Begin monitor date is less than or equal to the end date of the student's first PP in Regent Award that is not auto-withdrawn.
  • Once a “first-time” student has been exported to NSLDS for TSM monitoring, he/she will not be re-exported during their first PP that is not auto-withdrawn in Regent Award based on the following 'First Time Student' logic:
    • Uses the most recent begin monitor date. If (most recent begin monitor date + 90 days) equals a date that falls within the start and end dates of the student’s first PP that is not auto-withdrawn in Regent Award (first PP that is not autowithdrawn with or without registered units depending on the option chosen on the NSLDS export process screen), the student will not be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM.
    • If (most recent begin monitor date + 90 days) equals a date that is LESS THAN the start date of the student’s first PP that is not auto-withdrawn in Regent Award, the student will be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM.
Students with Registered Units

If the student has any registered units or remedial units within the period of the begin monitor date plus 90 days.

RequiredDropdown
  • Yes
  • No
  • Both (default)

Days before Academic Year Start

Students who are considered "First time" students will not be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM using the options entered in this field. If the student's Academic Year start date is between the begin monitoring date, and the number of calendar days from that date, that are entered in this field, the student will be exported to NSLDS for TSM. For example, the begin monitoring date is 11/20/16, and 10 days are entered here, include the student if the student's academic year start date is between 11/20/16 and 11/30/16.

Optional

Text

Numeric

Positive numbers only

  • If the student falls into the “First Time Student” logic outlined above, the student will not be re-exported using these options.
  • If today’s date falls WITHIN the range between the most recent begin monitor date and  the most recent begin monitor date + 90 days, the student will not be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM.
  • If today’s date is greater than the most recent begin monitor date + 90 days, the student will be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM.
  • If the student’s Academic Year start date is between the Begin Monitoring Date, and the number of calendar days from that date that are entered here, the student will be exported to NSLDS for TSM.
Days before Scheduled Disbursement

Students who are considered "First Time" students will not be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM using the options entered in this field. If student's scheduled disbursement date is between the begin monitoring date, and the number of calendar days from that date, that are entered in this field, the student will be exported to NSLDS for TSM. For example, monitoring date is 11/20/16 and 5 days are entered here, include the student if the student's scheduled disbursement date is between 11/20/16 and 11/25/16.


OptionalText

Numeric

Positive numbers only

  • If the student falls into the “First Time Student” logic outlined above, do not re-export the student using these options.
  • If today’s date falls WITHIN the range between the most recent begin monitor date and the most recent begin monitor date + 90 days, the student will not be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM.
  • If today’s date is greater than the most recent begin monitor date + 90 days, the student will be re-exported to NSLDS for TSM.
  • If the student’s scheduled disbursement date is between the Begin Monitoring Date, and the number of calendar days from that date that are entered here, the student will be exported to NSLDS for TSM.
Begin Monitoring Date

This value is exported in both the Begin Monitoring Date and the Enrollment Begin Date field.

RequiredDate Picker

MM/DD/YYYY


  • Can never be a date in the past.
  • Can not be more than 18 months greater than the current date.


Regent Award History Tab

Transfer Monitoring data is available in Regent Award via the History Tab.