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Searching the FINAID-L Archives

FINAID-L archives are retained for approximately one year.  You can browse the postings on a weekly basis and perform other web-based functions from the following location.

http://lists.psu.edu/archives/finaid-l.html

Please note that you must be a subscriber to FINAID-L in order to perform these activities.

If you are interested in searching for specific postings, ie. postings which contain a certain subject or were posted by a specific subscriber, then one of the following methods is recommended.

Incidentally, there is a good tutorial available at the following location if you would like to learn, in general terms, about searching list archives:

http://www.brainyday.com/jared/search.htm

 

Archive Search Using the Web Interface

Archives are easily searchable using the following web form:

http://lists.psu.edu/cgi-bin/wa?S1=finaid-l&X=-

You will need to supply a userid (your email address) and a password.  You are permitted to create one at the prompt if you haven't already done so.

Supply the form with your search criteria as appropriate.  Click the "Start the Search" button. If there are any messages which meet your criteria, they will be presented in a list format.  A list resembling the following will be returned.  The "Item #" will be a hyperlink which you can click to view the actual message.

Item # Date Time Recs Subject
------ ---- ---- ---- -------
000002 00/09/07 16:28 52 verification stumper
000010 00/09/08 12:19 44 FAFSA Colors/Pantone #
000011 00/09/08 10:55 41 FAFSA Colors/Pantone #
000012 00/09/08 13:29 42 answer to Pantone Question
000021 00/09/08 17:14 35 Graduate student without bachelor's
000027 00/09/11 12:25 39 United Nations Income
000043 00/09/12 10:35 25 2001-02 FAFSA availability
000044 00/09/12 11:02 46 Discrepancies question
000046 00/09/12 14:28 194 Tuition Waiver Responses
000047 00/09/12 14:34 197 Tuition Waiver as EFC - Responses

The search form is fairly flexible, allowing you to enter various combinations of subject, author, and straight text searches.

 

Archive Search Using an E-mail Client

FINAID-L archives are also searchable from your email client with the addition of one extra step to request the individual postings.  You do not need to establish a password to conduct this type of search, but you still must be a subscriber to FINAID-L. 

Follow these steps:

(1) Create a new email message.  Direct the message to listserv@lists.psu.edu

(2) No email subject is required.  Also, remove any extraneous text from the body of your email such as reply text, and especially your automatic signature.

(3) In the body of the email, specify the search criteria.  It can be as simple or complex as you desire.  Some examples follow.  The "S" is the shortened command "Search"

To select all FINAID-L messages with a reference to IFAP in the body of the posting:

S IFAP in FINAID-L

To select a date sensitive set of messages, mimic one of the following commands:

S IFAP in FINAID-L since today

S IFAP in FINAID-L since yesterday

S IFAP in FINAID-L since today-7

S IFAP in FINAID-L since July

S IFAP in FINAID-L from 2001/07/15 to 2001/07/31

To select ALL messages with other sets of search criteria, substitute an asterisk for the search phrase:

S * in FINAID-L since today

To incorporate other selection criteria, mimic the following examples:

S * in FINAID-L where sender contains ED.GOV

S * in FINAID-L where subject contains 'just add water'

S * in FINAID-L where subject contains virus and sender contains req1

The exact syntax of the Search command is as follows:

SEArch FINAID-L  word1 <word2 <...>>          Search list archives


or word1 <word2 <...>> IN FINAID-L
FROM date1                                                 -> From this date
TODAY                                                        -> From today
TODAY-7                                                     -> In the last 7 days
TO date2                                                     -> To this date
WHERE
SUBJECT CONTAINS xxxx                               -> Only this subject
AND/OR
SENDER CONTAINS xxxx                                -> Only this author
                                                                     Complex boolean
                                                                     operations are
                                                                     supported, see database
                                                                     guide

(4) The output from LISTSERV to the above commands will be a list of messages which meet your criteria (presuming there are any).  The list will look like this:

> s IFAP in FINAID-L since August
-> 13 matches.

Item # Date Time Recs Subject
------ ---- ---- ---- -------
004326 01/08/13 10:31 35 FISAP instructions
004381 01/08/15 17:23 81 Second Administrative Cost Allowance Payment for 2000-2001
004404 01/08/17 11:30 21 CLOSED SCHOOLS
004417 01/08/20 09:45 31 fisap and web interface
004419 01/08/20 10:47 28 FISAP Blank Form and Instructions
004453 01/08/21 16:35 80 Final Administrative Cost Allowance Payment for 1999-2000
004500 01/08/23 16:22 49 Postscreening Prisoner Match
004517 01/08/24 12:40 35 2nd Quarter Report on SFA's FY 2001 Performance Plan
004518 01/08/24 12:40 34 1st Quarter Report on SFA's FY 2001 Performance Plan
004575 01/08/30 13:20 48 Fwd: FISAP Blank Form and Instructions
004582 01/08/30 14:34 87 Federal Pell Grant Recipient Financial Management System (RFMS)....
004623 01/09/04 15:02 74 Temporary Change For Displaying The Obligation Or Obligation.....
004772 01/09/13 09:16 48 Federal Student Aid Operations Continue

The list will be followed by instructions for retrieving the individual mail messages using the GETPOST command:

To order a copy of these postings, send the following command:

GETPOST FINAID-L 4326 4381 4404 4417 4419 4453 4500 4517-4518 4575 4582 4623
4772

The GETPOST instructions are followed by a sample of the messages meeting your search criteria:

>>> Item #4326 (13 Aug 2001 10:31) - FISAP instructions
I'm sorry if this has been covered before, but where are the FISAP
instructions for 2002-2003 FISAP? When I link to the IFAP site from the
                                                                      ^^^^
software download site, the most recent instructions were posted 7/19/2000

>>> Item #4381 (15 Aug 2001 17:23) - Second Administrative Cost Allowance Payment for 2000-2001

The notice of the following Electronic Announcement was posted to the IFAP
                                                                                                ^^^^
web page (<http://ifap.ed.gov>) today. It is being cross-posted to
                        ^^^^
FINAID-L, FINNET-L, MEDAID-L and BURSAR-L for your information.

The "extra step" mentioned above is the issuance of the GETPOST command to retrieve the postings you want to review.  The GETPOST command is sent to listserv@lists.psu.edu, and simply requests the postings by number, designating the ones you'd like to view:

GETPOST FINAID-L 4326 4517-4518 4772

The LISTSERV output from the GETPOST command will be the full text of the messages themselves, concatenated into a single email message, and delivered to your email account.

 

 

 

 

 

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Last modified: September 13, 2001