Topic
EDExpress (New Finance Software)
Environment
Instructions
EDExpress is a software used exclusively by financial aid. It is a complicated software that needs to be installed on the account of the person who will be using it as it is account specific.
The first step is to make the user who needs this software an admin temporarily so that it can be installed on their account. To do this, sign in as administrator, and type "edit local users and groups" into the start menu and open it. You will see two folders in the middle section of the window: Users and Groups. Double click Groups and then Administrators, then hit add. In the box "Enter the object names to select", type the last name of the person you wish to add and then hit enter. This will bring up a window with a list of people with that name, select the correct one and hit ok. You should now be able to see that person's account in the list of members. Hit apply, and then restart the computer. You must remove them from the administrators group as soon as you are done with this computer.
Next you will want to have the user sign into their computer. Then, using a web browser, lookup "EDExpress Knowledge Center" and find the correct website. From there, click the newest version of EDExpress.
This will bring you to another page, where you can select the latest version of the software.
Hit Download Full, you get a warning, continue past it.
Before running, go to File Explorer nefs > Finaid > IAM. Create a new folder and name it: EDExpress – 'the user’s first initial. Last name', for example: “EDExpress - L. Lapointe". Copy the path.
Now, go to the downloads and run the program as an admin. It will bring up a window asking for a setup type, for this first round, select network server for the setup type. When it asks for a path, enter the path to the folder you just created, however it must be fully qualified: nefs.cecilcc.edu\Finaid\IAM\ new folder. You will encounter an error when you hit continue, just ignore it and keep hitting next. A database will be installed in the new folder, check to make sure it is there.
After that, you will need to run the downloaded software a second time, this time choose "workstation full" as the setup type. This time you will need to enter two install paths. The first one will be for the actual program, and it will be whatever the computer sets it to as default. The second one will need to point to the path of the new folder again.
You can then run the newly installed program.
The login will be SYSADMIN, and the default password is $y$tem Adm1n. You will be asked to set a new password which will be F@Cecil2024!
Then go to tools in the top left corner, then setup > security users. Ask the user to enter their Cecil username. Set the group name to: DIRECT LOAN COMPARE AND RECONCILIATION ADMIN. Then let the user set a new password which must be 12 character long with one uppercase letter, a number, and one special character. Hit save and then close EDExpress and reopen. Have the user sign in with their new password and see if they can test something to make sure everything is working properly. If all went well, you have just installed and set up EDExpress.
Problems
If you have trouble getting the program to run, try checking the ODBC connection. Do this by typing ODBC into the windows start menu and then hitting drivers. Check to see if the driver "Microsoft ODBC for Oracle” is present. If it is, open a web browser and lookup "Microsoft access database engine 2016" and install. Then go to command prompt and type accessdatabaseengine.exe /q.
Check to make sure the previous driver is no longer there. Then try to open the program again.
here is the link to the online manual
2023: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2022-09/EDExpress2324InstallationGuide.pdf
2024: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/2023-12/EDExpress2425PackagingTechRef.pdf
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