USER GUIDE: Instructions for Reporting of NMLS Approved ... · USER GUIDE: Instructions for Reporting of NMLS Approved Course Completions (Credit Banking) ... Credit banking is not

NMLS User Guide: Credit Banking Vers 3.0 March 7, 2011 Page 1

USER GUIDE:

Instructions for Reporting of NMLS Approved Course Completions (Credit Banking)

Alert! Users of the Upload Process, please see page 12 for important changes that have been made to upload file format.

Version 3.0 March 14, 2011

Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System State Regulatory Registry, LLC 1155 Connecticut Ave. NW Fifth Floor Washington, D.C. 20036-4307


Special Notice Regarding NMLS ID Numbers

The ONLY way individuals can be deemed compliant with pre-licensure (PE) or continuing education (CE) requirements is to have their course completions recorded on their Course Completion Record through NMLS. All MLOs must have a unique NMLS ID number in order to have their course completions recorded in NMLS. There are no exceptions to this rule, and the only way to record a course completion is through credit banking. It is very likely you will encounter students who will be confused about the need to have an NMLS ID number, and many students will claim they don’t have one or will not know what it is. If you have a student who does not know what their NMLS ID number is you can ask them to take the following steps to retrieve it: Login into NMLS Click on the Composite View tab. Click View Individual on the sub-header row. The number that appears in parentheses after his/her name on the sandbar

is his/her NMLS ID number. Note: if you ask an individual to login to NMLS to register for a NMLS ID

number, the new number will not be valid until after 6AM EST the following day. This is because the synch process for the NMLS and the PULSE System only occurs once a day. OR

If the MLO does not have an NMLS ID number, the can create one using the

instructions available in the NMLS Resource Center at: http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/licensees/resources/LicenseeResources/Create-an-Individual-Account-Quick-Guide.pdf

ALERT! As a course provider you do not have access to NMLS or have a database to verify or match NMLS ID numbers with names. (Consumer Access may be used to verify existing licensees; new applicants will not appear in Consumer Access since they are not yet licensed). You are totally dependent on your students to provide you with their correct NMLS ID number. We highly recommend you ask students for their ID number at the start of the course in case the individual needs the remainder of the course time to either retrieve or get a new number.

http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/licensees/resources/LicenseeResources/Create-an-Individual-Account-Quick-Guide.pdf�

http://mortgage.nationwidelicensingsystem.org/licensees/resources/LicenseeResources/Create-an-Individual-Account-Quick-Guide.pdf�


NMLS Credit Banking Overview

We hope you’re reading this document because students have been taking your courses and now you need to report the course completions. If this is the case, congratulations! You have done your part to assist in implementing the SAFE Act. This guide is intended to assist you through the entire process of reporting course completions (also known as credit banking). There are two ways you can report course completions: submit individual completions by completing online forms, or upload a roster via a comma delimited (.csv) file. This guide explains the difference between the two processes and provides step-by-step directions for how to go through the credit banking process. As with all of the other processes discussed in previous User Guides, the online system has some unique characteristics. We’ve attempted to make note of these and, as always, this guide will alert you when you have to pay close attention to detail during the credit banking process. If for any reason you encounter a problem during the credit banking process, technical support is available at 1-877-234-6090. There are two ways in which you can perform credit banking:

Option 1: Submit Course Completion – this a manual process by which you can type in NMLS IDs for up to 30 students. This is probably the easiest option if you have a small number of course completions to report. Alert! Also use this process for submitting instructor credits.

Option 2: Upload Course Completions – this process requires importing information into an Excel spreadsheet in a specific format, saving the file as a .csv file, and then uploading the file into the PULSE system. While this process requires some initial set-up time, it may be the most efficient way to report a large number of course completions. Alert! Do not use this process for submitting instructor credit.

You will need to have the following information in order to perform credit banking:

Item 1: Provider and Course Details. For the manual Submit functionality, you’re going to need your PULSE User Name and Password to log in. Once logged in, you will need your Provider ID, Course ID number, and the course completion date/time in order to perform the credit banking.

AND Item 2: MLO Last Name and NMLS ID Number. You will also need your student’s last name and NMLS ID number. ALERT! There is no way you can submit or upload a course completion for an individual in NMLS unless the student has an NMLS ID number. Any MLO can generate an NMLS ID number by creating a base record in NMLS (there no cost involved and they don’t need to completing a filing). AND


Item 3: Credit card. There is a transaction fee of $1.50 per credit hour per student associated with credit banking.

PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING “RULES” FOR CREDIT BANKING

You must use the PULSE Portal (http://www.pulseportal.com)

Use only the Internet Explorer browser. Disable your pop-up blocker. Do NOT use the back button on your browser or you will lose previously inputted information and the upload process will fail. Know whether you’re going to perform the Submit or Upload process (see above). You must have every student’s NMLS ID number and last name. The course ID number and course completion date. Credit Banking is to be completed within 7 calendar days of the Course Completion date.

Note: if you ask an individual to login to NMLS to register for a NMLS ID number, the new number will not be valid until after 6AM EST the following day. This is because the synch process for the NMLS and the PULSE System only occurs once a day.

http://www.pulseportal.com/�


The Submit Course Submission Process This process is for submitting course completions for small groups of students (up to 30 students at a time), and for reporting instructor credit.

1. From the PULSE Portal Services Menu chose NMLS from the Choose a Program drop- down menu and then click Submit Course Completions under the Credit Banking sub-menu.

2. Enter your User Name and Password and click Login. Your User Name and Password are the same ones you created when you registered for an account as part of the course approval process.


3. The system should default to display your organization’s EIN, but if it does not enter the EIN as well your Provider ID, the Course ID and the Completion Date of the specific offering for which you are reporting course completions. Alert! Remember, all PE courses, including Online Instructor-Led courses, have course start and end dates. If you are reporting the completion of an online self-paced CE course, the completion date will be the date the student completed the course. Late CE courses have a course completion date of 12/31/10.

4. Choose the course offering for which you would like to submit course completions by clicking on the Offering ID number shown on the left in blue. Note: Click Revise Inquiry to return to the previous page.


5. On the Course Completions page, enter the unique NMLS ID number and the last name of each student who has completed the course. IF the instructor has an NMLS ID number and is also getting CE credit for teaching the course, enter their NMLS ID number as well. Alert! Click Select a Different Course to return to the previous page. Do not click the back button your browser or you will lose all previously entered information. Click Cancel to return to the PULSE Portal main menu.

Alert! A note about Instructor Credit: Per the SAFE Act, instructor credit may only be awarded 2 CE credit hours for every 1 hour of CE credit taught. Instructor credit may not be awarded for any number hours of PE credit. Additionally, Instructor credit can only be awarded using the Submit Credit Banking Process.


6. If the NMLS ID and Last Name do not match, an error message will appear. Correct the information, or delete the incorrect entry; then click Continue to finish the transaction.

7. Enter your credit card payment information. Highlighted blue fields denote required information. Once you have entered the required information, click Continue. Note: clicking Cancel will take you to the PULSE main menu and all previously entered information will be lost.


8. Alert! Note that this screen is a “Validate Information is Correct” screen. To complete credit banking you must verify all of the information that you have entered is correct (double check NMLS ID numbers) then click Continue.

ALERT! If you need to revise any student or instructor information, click

Revise Students/Instructors to return to the Course Completion Page. To print this page for your records, click the Print button. To cancel this transaction, click Cancel to return to the PULSE Portal main

menu. Credit banking is not complete until after you have clicked the submit

button.


9. Next the Confirmation screen appears. Be sure to print this page for your records by

clicking on the Print button at the bottom of the screen. Please note the Confirmation ID at the lower left of the page. Click Close to return to the PULSE Portal main menu. You will also receive an e-mail receipt listing the MLOs which have been credit banked.

IMPORTANT NOTICE REGARDING REPORTING OF INCORRECT NUMBERS

ALERT! What to do if you give credit to a student for the wrong course, report the wrong NMLS ID number, or report a student who should not have received credit: If you give credit to the wrong student or report a student who should not have received credit for a course, you need to contact NMLS as soon as possible by sending an e-mail to Alan Ridenour ([email protected]). In the e-mail provide as many details as possible to include the student’s name(s), the NMLS ID number(s), what course they incorrectly received credit for, which course they should be receiving credit for, and any other details. Note: Do not attempt to re-bank credits for any students unless you are directed to do so by NMLS. Performing credit banking again will only compound a problem. Please note that NMLS does not issue refunds for improperly banked credits.


The Upload Course Submission Process

The Upload Course Submission Process is recommended for the reporting of a large number of course completions. While this process is convenient, it does require a close attention to detail and you have to create an Excel spreadsheet and submit the file in a specific form. Alert! This feature is only to be used to report student course completions – do not use this process for submitting instructor credits. In order to give instructor credit, please use the Submit process.

RULES TO REMEMBER WHEN USING THE UPLOAD PROCESS

The maximum number of students you can upload at any one time is 100. Do not attempt to upload more than 100 students as the process will fail. The system performs a validation check to match NMLS ID numbers with last

names, accordingly: o The system will upload those students with an NMLS ID number and last

name match. o The system will only charge for those uploads that are completed i.e. 98 of

100 students matched so 98 students were credit banked and you were charged accordingly; there is no charge for the two that did not credit bank.

o Alert! The system will display on your screen those names that did not credit bank. The screen display is your only indication that somebody did not get credit banked – there is no e-mail or other receipt to alert you to a failure.

o Alert! Ensure you have enough of an open balance on your credit card. 100 students with a credit banking of $30 each for a 20hr course is $3000.


1. To use this process, you must first prepare an Excel spreadsheet of your course data

and then save it as .csv (comma-delimited file). The data for the Excel spreadsheet needs to be entered in columns under the following categories:

Alert! Effective March 7, 2011, column fields H, I, and K have changed. These columns are to remain empty. Column A: CS (ALERT! Use CS which has been set up in the system for

NMLS) Colum B: Provider ID Column C: Course ID Column D: Course Offering End Date (MM/DD/YYYY) Column E: Course Offering Begin Date (MM/DD/YYYY) Column F: Course Offering Begin Time (HH:MM AM/PM) Column G: Postal Code of Course Offering Column H:Leave EMPTY Column I: Leave EMPTY Column J: NMLS ID. ALERT! Double-check numbers. Column K: Leave EMPTY Column L: Last Name

ALERT! If data does not apply to a particular element (like begin time for CE courses) leave the column EMPTY.

Then save the Excel file as a .csv file.


2. From the PULSE Portal services menu, select NMLS from the drop-down box, and

the click on Upload Course Completions.

3. Enter your User Name and Password and click Login. Your User Name and Password are the same as you used for submitting courses for approval.


Upload the .csv file and click Submit.

Note: The Please wait button will appear during the upload. Do NOT click this button.


4. The Upload Course completion page appears.

a. Review the columns to be sure that the information in your .csv file is

correct. ALERT! If you did not upload a .csv file with the correct number of columns, an error message will display. If this happens, you will need to create a new .csv file with the correct number of columns.

b. Click Submit to send the loaded rows to PULSE for processing. Note: Click Cancel to cancel the transaction and return to the PULSE main menu.

5. Next is the credit card processing screen. Enter your credit card information. Fields highlighted in blue are required. After you have entered in all the necessary information, click Continue.


6. After submitting your credit card information, you will have an opportunity to review the information. If the information listed is correct, simply click the “submit credit card info” button.

Note: During the submission, a Please wait button will appear. Do NOT click the button.

7. The Confirmation Page appears. Print this page for your records. ALERT! Please note any invalid user name messages on the final page. MLOs on the course rosters whose credits were NOT processed will be called out. Your account will not be charged for invalid NMLS numbers. If you receive an error message, please check with the student to confirm the NMLS number and then try to bank the credits again. NOTE: Each uploaded student has an individual confirmation ID number, this is different than the submit process which has a group confirmation number.


8. Click Done to return to the PULSE Portal main menu.

http://stateregulatoryregistry.org/NMLS/Template.cfm?Section=Course_Providers web search: NMLS Page 18

OK, I uploaded or submitted my course completions, now what? After you have completed the credit banking process, you will receive an e-mail confirming the transaction; this will serve as your payment receipt. Please retain this confirmation for your records.

Once Again, A Special Notice Regarding NMLS ID Numbers

All MLO’s need to have a unique NMLS ID number in order to have their course completions recorded in NMLS. The ONLY way individuals can be deemed compliant with pre-licensure or continuing education requirements is to have their course completions recorded on their Course Completion Record through NMLS. There are no exceptions to this rule, and the only way to record a course completion is through credit banking. It is very likely you will encounter students who will be confused about the need to have an NMLS ID number, and many students will claim they don’t have one or will not know what it is. If you have a student who does not know what their NMLS ID number is you can ask them to take the following steps to retrieve it: Login into NMLS Click on the Composite View tab. Click View Individual on the sub-header row. The number that appears in parentheses after his/her name on the sandbar

is his/her NMLS ID number.

ALERT! As a course provider you do not have access to NMLS or have a database to verify or match NMLS ID numbers with names. (Consumer Access may be used to verify existing licensees; new applicants will not appear in Consumer Access since they are not yet licensed). You are totally dependent on your students to provide you with their correct NMLS ID number. We highly recommend you ask students for their ID number at the start of the course in case the individual needs the remainder of the course time to either retrieve or get a new number.

http://stateregulatoryregistry.org/NMLS/Template.cfm?Section=Course_Providers�

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USER GUIDE: Instructions for Reporting of NMLS Approved ... · USER GUIDE: Instructions for Reporting of NMLS Approved Course Completions (Credit Banking) ... Credit banking is not