Overview
...
Field Name | Description | Sample Data |
|---|---|---|
ECAF | Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form, More commonly known as Fee-Help Form or HECS-HELP form | |
FEE-HELP | Fee-Help is a loan Scheme that assists eligible students to pay all or part of their tuition fees. This loan is subject to 25% Government loading | For more information on Fee-Help click here |
HECS-HELP | HECS-HELP is a loan scheme to help Commonwealth Supported students to pay their student contribution amounts through and loan or upfront discounts. This loan has no Government loading | |
API | Application Programming Interface. Part of a server that receives and requests and sends responses. Here it is a programmed link between Paradigm and the HEIMS / Government E-CAF System | Login details received from the Government to link Paradigm to the E-CAF portal |
HEIMS Census date | The date after which a student incurs a debt for the unit(s) of study in which they have been enrolled This date can not be set less than 20% of the duration of the teaching period as outlined in the HESA and AIP | |
HITS provider code | Each provider is given a Unique 4 digit identifying code that is used in HEPCAT / HITS, this data is stored in the provider tab in Paradigm. | |
Element Numbers | Unique identifiers of required data / questions asked by the Government in order to provide accurate data on Students, Courses, units and providers. These are used with in Paradigm and HEPCAT to help in ensuring data integrity across all providers. A full list can be viewed | A full list of these can be viewed here. Each Element number refers to a data field within Paradigm. However not every field has an elements. These fields contain non-reportable data. |
HEIMS Course code | E307 - The code assigned by the provider to uniquely identify a course of Study. This code is used in HEPCAT reporting | |
CHESSN Number | A commonwealth Higher Education student number (CHESSN) is a 10 digit number provided by the Australian Government to all students who are in receipt of either HECS-HELP or FEE-HELP. It is a unique number that remains with the student regardless of if they change institutions. This means that HELP debts can be tracked to ensure that the student does not exceed their allocation. |
...
If the student has completed the form a green bar will appear with an eCAF Remote ID number
Further reading
This section of the KB contains links to any further related information that would be helpful for the purpose understanding this topic.
...
Enabling the Paradigm eCAF integration
Paradigm has the capability of submitting an electronic eCAF on behalf of a student. This functionality requires a specific type of access to the eCAF website called "API System Access". Providers wishing to implement a direct integration between Paradigm and the government eCAF site must complete the following form:
https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/government-ecaf-api-system-access-request-form
| Note |
|---|
Note that the completed form should be emailed to HEenquiries@education.gov.au |
...
Please forward a copy of the login details to the Silverband support team via email (support@silverbandsupport@silverband.com.au) or by raising a ticket directly in our Helpdesk site. Our support team will confirm when the account details have been added to your site and will ensure that your instance of Paradigm is directed to use the test eCAF system. Once you receive this advice, you should then proceed through the remaining steps to demonstrate that your site is in a compliant configuration state.
After successfully completing all of the steps you will receive a final set of access credentials from the government. These should be forwarded to the Silverband support team as per the instructions above. We will then ensure your site is directed to use the live eCAF system and ready to be used in a production capacity.
Resetting an eCAF API password
In the event that you forget the eCAF API password then you must request assistance from the HEIMS Helpdesk (https://heimshelp.education.gov.au/support/contact). The password you receive from the HEIMS Helpdesk is temporary and must be changed before it can be used within Paradigm. Please visit https://ecaf.education.gov.au/provider and enter the API username and the temporary password. The eCAF site will then request you to enter a new password. This new password must then be confirmed with the Silverband support team to ensure that the Paradigm to government eCAF integration is fully operational.
Further reading
This section of the KB contains links to any further related information that would be helpful for the purpose understanding this topic.
- eCAF student portal: https://ecaf.education.gov.au/home
- eCAF provider portal: https://ecaf.education.gov.au/provider
- Government eCAF fact sheet: https://docs.education.gov.au/documents/ecaf-fact-sheet