In 1999, the Office of Federal Student Assistance (Later to be Federal Student Aid), began a modernization of its information technology systems. The first Modernization Blueprint was released in 1999 and was updated in 2000. The Blueprint described the task as
“… transforming the hairball of our existing systems or retiring them, using new portals and commercial application. Middleware is being selected to integrate the data. The Internet is simplifying communication.”
It added…
“To get rid of the [integration] hairball and deliver improvements like these, we have to add a solid database foundation, and technology in two key areas—integration software (middleware) and Web-based communication.”
im+m’s Jim Farmer participated in Anderson Consulting team authoring the July 2000 Modernization Blueprint update. For the following several years he served as advisor to the CIO, Steve Hawald, on the Modernization Program.
The Modernization Program used leading edge technology. XML became used for data from students, schools, and other agencies. The system also had to process legacy file formats for schools unable to convert to XML. IBM’s MQ series was used both as an enterprise service bus and to convert incoming legacy files to the XML format. Real-time data was later to be exchanged via SOAP-based messages. The designed used portal technology to provide security and flexibility. uPortal and IBM’s WebSphere portal were evaluated. IBM provided processing support and, because of their familiarity implemented Websphere portal.
In November 2002 Hawald hosted a Technology Conference for software suppliers and schools to report progress. Sigma Systems’ Cliff Clevenger gave a progress report of the pilot schools. Twenty two colleges and universities had participated, most using Sigma Systems software. Clevenger said: “At the time we represented 175,400 students just in the pilot program. For the go live, it was all of our clients and we represented 80% of their initial production volume.”
In 2002 the Government Accountability Office reported:
“Our objective was to assess FSA’s progress in implementing the COD (Common Origination and Delivery) process. In doing this work, we reviewed applicable FSA and Accenture (the prime contractor) documentation, including FSA’s modernization blueprint, the COD business case, the COD system’s requirements, the COD and Enterprise Application Integration implementation timelines, Accenture project status briefings, and test guides and results. In addition, we reviewed reports by an independent verification and validation contractor. We also interviewed applicable officials from FSA IT and program offices and Accenture.
FSA has made progress in implementing the COD process. 8 Specifically, it has implemented (1) a new IT infrastructure that uses middleware to enable data exchange between disparate systems, (2) the initial version of the basic COD system, (3) middleware into existing systems to support the COD process, and (4) a common record based on a common record based on XML that schools can use to submit student financial data for the Pell Grant and Direct Loan programs.”
And in 2005:
“FSA has taken further actions toward integrating its many disparate information systems. FSA has developed an integration strategy that focuses on achieving a seamless information exchange environment whereby users—students, educational institutions, and lenders—would benefit from simplified access to the agency’s financial aid processes and more consistent and accurate data across its programs. FSA also has made progress toward establishing an enterprise architecture for guiding its systems integration efforts and has begun three efforts for reengineering its information-processing environment, which would consolidate and integrate most of its systems.”