Three types are changes will be accomplished via release 1534:

- "the addition of new Separation Reason Codes (EDB0141) to track
   layoffs with severance and layoffs with reduced severance and
   rehire/rehire rights."  The list is rather lengthy, so rather than including
   it here, I'll refer you to the Service Request 80661 document on the
   web.  Two separation codes (RB, for Retirement - voluntary, and
   RC, for Retirement - faculty early) are removed.

- the addition of two new Visa Code values:

     B2 - Temporary visitor for pleasure
     L1 - Specialized knowledge

- a new fundamental editing mechanism for PPS.  The system has
   always had what are called "value/range edits", which validate
   entered single data element values against lists of legal values
   stored in the data element table (DET).  It turns out that the request
   to add new Visa Code values could not be satisfied in the normal
   way, by adding those values to the DET, because there is insufficient
   room to hold them, and that's what prompted this change.  The
   DET has 93 positions reserved to hold legal values, but when the
   list is long and/or the code values are more than one character
   in length, we can run out of room.

   One alternative that's been used in the past is to develop an entirely
   new control table, such as the FCT (Foreign Country Table).  There's
   a good bit of overhead associated with establishing, maintaining, and
   using such tables, and they could really proliferate, so a new mechanism
   has been devised and implemented in r1534 whereby validation can
   occur against the CTT (Code Translation Table).  In many cases, the
   codes (and descriptions for them) must be entered in the CTT anyway,
   for reporting purposes, so we've already got them.  The initial use of
   the new mechanism will be for Visa Code values, but it has general
   applicability.

   One new aspect of CTT use is that in r1534, a new field is being added
   to the table to signify that the entry is obsolete.  The field is also added
   to the transaction layout (form UPAY814).

TABLE UPDATES
   Transactions are provided with which to update:
- the data element table
- message table
- code translation table

IMPLEMENTATION
   We've completed our testing for all sites and are ready to install
with your approval.  The release letter recommends installation by
mid-December.

   bvb