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Release date: 03-27-2015
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Release Date
Friday, March 27, 2015
Release Scope
| Application | Scope | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| CCCApply Standard | New Data Fields Bug Fixes Hover Help Text Changes Residency & Validation Logic Education Page Steering Change Requests | |
| BOG | BOG Application | |
| International | International Application |
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| Systems Infrastructure | Systems Infrastructure | |
| Accessibility | Accessibility | |
| Support Services | Support Services | |
| Change Requests | Steering Committee Change Requests |
Release Summary
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Anchor new-fields new-fields
New Data Fields
| new-fields | |
| new-fields |
The CCCApply Steering Committee approved three new data fields to the Standard, BOG, and International applications. All of them are optional and none of them will appear on screen to the applicant. Colleges can add these fields to their Format Definitions XML files and start downloading them right away. To learn more about adding download fields and updating the Download Client transfer-client.jar file in the Downloads section of the Online User GuideGuides.
IP Address Capture FieldAnchor capture-ip capture-ip
In an effort to protect our colleges against the threat of student financial aid fraud, Steering has approved a request by the Office of Inspector General (OIG) of the U.S. Department of Education to capture the IP address of each submitted application through an updated web service and store the data in the submitted_applications tables. A disclosure has been added to the OpenCCCApply Privacy Policy stating that the CCC Technology Center will be collecting this data when the student gives consent at the time of submission. The new data element, ip_address, will be stored in the following db tables:
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Enrollment Campaign Tracking FieldFields Anchor campaign-fields campaign-fields
Correction: Enhancements were made to all three applications to allow colleges to track enrollment track enrollment campaigns. Up to three unique URL key/value pairs can be integrated integrated into each application using: campaign1user1=x, campaign2user2=y, and campaign3user3=z (where x, y, and z z are set to the name of your specific campaign). For example, when you provide an application URL link that includes the campaign value such as this one: https://www.opencccapply.net/cccapply-welcome?cccMisCode=231&user1=x&user2=y&user3=z, the "x,y,z" values are stored in the submitted_applications database and downloaded through your job and format XML files. The data dictionaries and the Download Client have been updated to include the new <campaign1>, <campaign2>, and <campaign3> (hidden) fields.
| Info | |||||||
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| Anchor | URL-redirect | URL-redirect | Re-Direct URL
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Adding the new data fields to your download file requires: 1) updating your Format XML file, 2) configuring your SIS system to import the new fields; and 3) updating the transfer client jar file, which does not effect your existing download process. Colleges determine which fields they want to download when configuring their format XML; they can choose which fields to include and which fields they don't want to include. For information on adding new fields to your download file, please see the User Guides for details. |
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Anchor Bugs Bugs
Bugs & Fixes
| Bugs | |
| Bugs |
Session Timeout & Screen Readers
Session Timeout Pop-Up: The session timeout message that displays after a certain period of inactivity during OpenCCC Account Creation, or during the Standard, BOG, or International application process has been refactored to work correctly with the following screen reader/OS:web browser combinations:
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| Info | ||
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If you identify a bug in the OpenCCC Account system, in the BOG Fee Waiver, or the CCCApply admissions application, we now have a designated support email address and Issue Tracking System to capture and respond to college or staff issues. In an effort to manage support issues more effectively, we are moving away from using the CCCApply Users Listserv for reporting bugs and issues. For fastest response, please contact College Support via cccapply@openccc.zendesk.com post a problem, issue or idea on www.ccctechnology.info during business hours, Monday - Friday, 8:00am - 4:00pm PST. |
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Anchor hover-help hover-help
Hover Help Text Changes
| hover-help | |
| hover-help |
The following changes addressed missing or incorrect hover help in the Standard application.
- Added the correct hover help language to the 'Financial Assistance' field on the Needs & Interests Page
- Added Spanish hover help text to the Military Discharge Type field
- Updated the English hover help text throughout the Foster Youth Status fields
- Added missing English and Spanish hover help to each of the questions in the Special Residencies Categories section
- Added missing English and Spanish hover help to the Military Discharge Type field
- Updated the Spanish hover help to the College Enrollment Status field
- Added missing English and Spanish hover help to the Social Security Number / Taxpayer Identification Number, SSN Type, and the 'No SSN' fields
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Fix Error Validation for 'Date Stay Began in California' FieldAnchor stay-began stay-began
Colleges are reporting that the question/field for "When did your stay begin in California" has error checking that is preventing students from applying for late-starting courses on their campus. The solution was to fix the third validation on the field <residency:ca_stay_began)> to check the date entered against the current date instead of the <RDD>. Example: Student A arrived in California after the start of the Term <RDD> but is here now. She is applying to "College" for a late-starting course. By changing the validation to check against the current date, she will be able to apply without being refused or forced to use false dates.
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Fix Validation for Visa Type "Other" in Visa Types Table - Logic Fix
The eligibility status for the Visa type "Other" was changed from No to Yes in the Visa Types (Table F), which will set Class A2 and flag 51 in Step 6 of the Area A residency logic. Flag 51 will alert Admissions that the applicant's Visa Type may or may not establish residency and that futher proof, beyond self-reported data, is required.
From Visa Types Table (Table F)
| Db Value | Visa Type | Residency? | Description |
OTHR | Other | No
| May or may not be allowed to establish residency. Requires documentation |
From Area A Residency Logic: Step 6
| Step | Evaluation Statement | Area A Logic | "If Yes" | "If No" |
6 | Does the student have a visa that | visa_type has YES in 'Residency?’ | Class A2 | Class A0 |
Issues Fixed in Residency Area B Logic - Out of State Indicators & Foster Youth Anchor foster foster
Fixed bug in Step 1 of the logic. New logic: If answer is "If No", then set B0 and continue to Step 2.
Fixed bug in Step 4 of the logic. New logic: If answer is "If No", then set B0 and end logic. The status for that area would be B0. If answer is "If Yes",
then set Class B2 and go to step 5.
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| Step | Evaluation Statement | Area B Logic | "If Yes" | "If No" |
1 | Do out-of-state indicators support intent? | ca_outside_tax = 0 AND | Go to step 2 | Class B0 |
2 | Has the applicant lived in California for two | ca_res_2_years = 1 | Go to step 5 | Go to step 3 |
3 | Has the applicant been resident in CA for | ca_date_current ≠ null AND | Class B2 | Go to step 4 |
4 | Is the applicant a current or former Foster | ca_foster_youth = Yes | Class B2 | Class B0 |
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Restrict Enrollment Option for Applicants 22 Years or Older (SB11)Anchor concurrent concurrent
Per MIS SB11, students age 22 or older are prohibited from enrolling in high school or lower grades in California. Therefore, we've removed the response option, "1 = Will be enrolled in high school (or lower grade) and college at the same time" from the response options displayed in the College Enrollment Status <enroll_status> and High School Ed Level <hs_ed_level> fields. (Steering approved change request 2014-06B.)
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Enforce Validation to Responses for Special Admits (SB15)Anchor validation2 validation2
If an applicant selects the option, "Y = Enrolling in high school (or lower grade) and college at the same time" in the College Enrollment Status field, the system will default to display the equivalent response option in the High School Ed Level field, "1 = Will be enrolled in high school (or lower grade) and college at the same time". The error validation will remain consistent; ensuring both fields match for Special Admits. (Steering approved change request 2014-06C.)
Fix Validation Errors for High School Completion Date Field #1Anchor HS-completion HS-completion
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Solution: Ensure the High School Completion Date field appears ONLY when one of the options above are chosen, and ensure that if they don’t enter the High School Completion Date, they receive the following message: “You must specify your High School Completion Date. If unsure of the exact day, please estimate.”
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Session Timeout Pop-Up for Screen ReadersAnchor session-timeout-screenreaders session-timeout-screenreaders
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Fix Error Message for the Under Age 13 Restriction in OpenCCC Account CreationAnchor Under-13 Under-13
Per federal privacy laws (COPPA) it is unlawful for persons under the age of 13 to create an online account and submit/ provide personal information online. The OpenCCC Account creation is set up to prevent applicants under the age of 13 from creating an account, but the existing error message is we were using was ambiguous, and according to one college "opens the door for dishonesty by the applicant to get past the question and continue on....the language of the error message should be revised for clarity and should cite federal privacy legislation." No change was made to the validation itself was made, however the error message itself text was revised to the followingread as follows: "We found some problems with the information you submitted: Federal privacy laws restrict applicants age 13 years and younger from creating an online account and applying to college using an online application. Please contact the college Admissions & Records office for assistance."
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OpenCCC Account Security Question Fix: "What was your childhood phone number?"
A bug was fixed fix was made to one of the security questions in the OpenCCC Account creation process for the security question: "What was your childhood phone number including area code?" The issue has been addressed and students can now enter a phone number with punctuation without error.
| Info | ||||||
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In an effort to To support the CCC Help Desk with OpenCCC account recovery, development is underway to implement a system auto-generated confirmation email will be sent out for each new OpenCCC account created. The email will be sent to the email address provided during account creation and confirms the contain the student's CCCID (California Community College Identification Numbernumber) and provides links to the CCC Help Desk for account recoverycontact information for the OpenCCC Help Desk Account Recovery system. This new feature Is ready to pass code review and will be implemented after it passes a final accessibility review. *Note: This email confirmation is designed to confirm for OpenCCC Account creation Creation only, and will is not intended to confirm any submitted applications. |
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The following bug fixes corrections were made to the BOG Fee Waiver applicationApplication:
Fixed Display of Social Security Number from Edit Account/Mailing Information Page
Social security numbers now display correctly display on the Account/Mailing Information tab when you edit your OpenCCCApply Account to include a social security number.
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The International Application Development of the CCCApply International admissions application has been on development hiatus since August 2014; however any changes made in this Release release that apply to all applications were also made to the International application.
| Info | ||
|---|---|---|
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International Application Development Resumes Development work on the International Application has resumed will resume in April and colleges are invited to participate in defining the remaining business requirements needed to release the first iteration in the late-April / May time frameiterationsome time in May. The remaining requirements and subsequent testing will follow the Agile development process, which means that progress happens through an ongoing series of 3 week development "sprints". During each sprint the development team works on specific tasks and requirements and at the end of the sprint, the team presents their results for feedback to the pilot colleges. This means that ongoing smaller changes and resets can be made to refine the application so that it meets the requirements and accessibility standards by the end of the process. The testing process will also follow the Agile methodology ofmethod-: development sprint, test changes, undo or revise changes, and preview to colleges. Testing will require assistance from the pilot colleges. For more information about the pilothow you can participate, please contact Patty Donohue, Project Manager, donohuepa@cccnext.net. |
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| Info | ||
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New Get Satisfaction Site - 24/7 Online Support Community for California Community Colleges Similar to the student support community, CCCHelp.info, a new online self-help community is being developed for CCC colleges and staff. The site will be pre-populated with approved technical FAQs designed to answer commonly asked questions as well as provide a venue for colleges to receive systems maintenance alerts, submit bugs and change requests, and obtain work-arounds for known issues relative to the OpenCCC Account system and the CCCApply online admissions applications. . Stay tuned for an update on CCCTechnology.info - coming soon! |
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The CCC Report Center has been upgraded from JasperReports Server 4.7 to 5.6.1, bringing improved functionality to the existing user interface (UI) and new reports to the Public Reports folders. With no change to the look & feel, the upgrade will appear seamless to the end-user. New features include:
District-level User Accounts
Authorized district-level users can now run reports on multiple colleges data within the same district.
Schedule recurring reports based on a relative date filter
Recurring reports can be scheduled to include data based on a relative date range.
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| Info | ||
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Upgrade to a District-level User
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CCCApply is currently undergoing a routine 508 Compliance Audit by the State of California. Early results have allowed us to expedite a series of fixes to several key issues identified when using specific browser + screen reader combinations. To address these issues, we have defined browser/operating systems + screen reader combinations that we support and recommend for the best user experience.
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| title | Supported Browsers & Screen Readers |
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| Operation System | Browser + Screen Reader Combination |
|---|---|
| Windows | Fire Fox / JAWS |
| OSX | Safari + VoiceOver |
| Windows | Chrome + NVDA (Open-source) |
508 Accessibility Issues Fixed - February 2015 Release
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The logic around the Session Time-Out functionality has been enhanced to ensure that students using a screen reader for the OpenCCC Account creation and the CCCApply applications have a clear understanding of when the Session Time-Out has begun and can very easily continue in their session or opt to sign out.
Ease of Use in the School Finder Tool with Screen Readers
New development was implemented to enhance the use of the High School and College School Finder tool to ensure the student has a seamless experience if using a screen reader.
Navigation Tab Indicators (Green Check Marks) in the Standard, BOG and International applications are now consistently picked up and read by screen readers.
New Hover Help Implemented to Help with Easability for Accessibility Purposes
We implemented the following hover help changes for students using screen readers:
- Revised hover help messages were added to the College/University and High School/Homeschool School Finder tools to provide clarity and ease-of-use.
- Hover help messages were added in the “Needs & Interest Page"
- The Financial Assistance hover help was enhanced to ensure instructions are clear and easily understood to users utilizing a screen reader.
New logic was introduced for Error Validation Pop-Up Readability with Screen Readers
Screen readers now read all error validations and help pop-ups that appear during the application.
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- Additional servers have been added to our Rackspace infrastructure to manage increased usage and maintain high level of performance and stability during peak periods;
- Regular performance testing scans are being conducted across all applications to identify areas that can be improved;
| Info | ||
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New QA Environment A new testing environment is being developed to replace our existing QA environment. This site will mirror the production site to ensure continuity for testing and college implementations. We hope to have this new site operational in conjunction with the International application roll-out in late April or early May. |
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Accessibility
CCCApply is currently undergoing a routine 508 Compliance Audit by the State of California. Early results have allowed us to expedite a series of fixes to several key issues identified when using specific browser + screen reader combinations. To address these issues, we have defined browser/operating systems + screen reader combinations that will be supported and recommended for the best user experience.
| Info | ||||||||||||||
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508 Accessibility Issues Fixed - February 2015 Release
| Anchor | ||||
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The logic around the Session Time-Out functionality has been enhanced to ensure that students using a screen reader to create or edit an OpenCCC Account, or to apply to a CCC using the CCCApply admissions applications, have a clear understanding of when the Session Time-Out has begun and can very easily continue in their session or opt to sign out.
New logic was introduced for Error Validation Pop-Up Readability with Screen Readers
Screen readers now read all error validations and help pop-ups that appear during the application.
Ease of Use in the School Finder Tool with Screen Readers
New development was implemented to enhance the use of the High School and College School Finder tool to ensure the student has a seamless experience if using a screen reader.
Navigation Tab Indicators (Green Check Marks) in the CCCApply admissions applications and the BOG Fee Waiver application are now consistently picked up and read by screen readers.
New Hover Help Implemented to Help with Easability for Accessibility Purposes
We implemented the following hover help changes for students using screen readers:
- Revised hover help messages were added to the College/University and High School School Finder tools to provide clarity and ease-of-use.
- Hover help messages were added in the “Needs & Interests Page"
- The Financial Assistance hover help was enhanced to ensure instructions are clear and easily understood to users utilizing a screen reader.
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Over the past six months, the number of colleges Live on the new CCCApply has doubled, meaning twice as many users are now accessing the servers and submitting applications. To manage this increase efficiently and prepare for the remaining colleges to come on board, we've made some upgrades to our system infrastructure to balance the higher traffic and ensure that our system is always stable and accessible throughout the year.
Ways we've improved our Infrastructure and addressed accessibility standards:
- Additional servers have been added to our Rackspace infrastructure to manage increased usage and maintain high level of performance and stability during peak periods;
- Regular performance testing scans are being conducted across all applications to identify areas that can be improved;
| Info | ||
|---|---|---|
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New QA Environment A new testing environment is being developed to replace our existing QA environment. This site will mirror the production site to ensure continuity for testing and college implementations. We hope to have this new site operational in conjunction with the International application roll-out in late April or early May. |
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To better support the technical needs of Colleges Live or migrating to the new CCCApply applications, a new college support technician and designated support email address are now available to track and respond to staff issues and provide a second tier of IT support to the OpenCCC Help Desk. Colleges should submit bugs, report outages, and request IT-support directly to the new College Support email, Monday through Friday, 8:00am - 4:00pm PST.
| Info | ||
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New Get Satisfaction Site - 24/7 Online Support Community for California Community Colleges Similar to the student support community CCCHelp.info, a new instance of Get Satisfaction exclusively for California Community Colleges staff and faculty is under development to provide 24/7 online self-help community is being developed for CCC colleges and staff. The site will be populated with official FAQs designed to answer frequently asked questions as well as provide a venue for colleges to receive systems maintenance alerts, submit bugs and change requests, and get work-arounds for known issues relative to the OpenCCC Account system and the CCCApply online admissions applications. . Stay tuned for an update on CCCTechnology.info - coming soon! |
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Anchor change-requests change-requests
Steering Committee Change Requests
| change-requests | |
| change-requests |
The following list of change requests represents only the requests that have been approved or deferred in 2014-2015.
| CR Status | DESCRIPTION | RELEASE DATE | TYPE |
| Approved | 2014-06: Restrict Concurrent Enrollment Status for Applicants Over Age 22 | MARCH 2015 | Error Validation |
| Approved | 2014-06: Remove HS Completion Date Fields for Concurrent HS/College Enrollment & HS Ed Levels | MARCH 2015 | Error Validation |
| Approved | 2014-40: OpenCCC Message to Student About UnSubmitted In-progress Application | Under-development | System-generated |
| Deferred* | 2014-48 Residency Issue with DACA Worker Status - Xap | Work-around | Supplemental Question |
| Approved | 2014-52: Enrollment Campaign Tracking | MARCH | New Data Field |
| Deferred - uPortal | 2014-53: Auto-population for Standard App / uPortal | Under-development | |
| Approved | 2014-56: Capture IP Address on Submitted Applications | MARCH | New Data Field |
| Approved | 2014-60: Revise Error Message Language: Under 13 Age Restriction | MARCH | Text / Language |
| Approved | 2014-62: Add CapTel Field for Hearing Impaired - Disability Compliance | Under-development | New Data Field |
| Approved | 2014-64: Create New App-Look Up Report for DOB | 12/5/2014 | |
| Approved | 2014-65: Revise Error Checking in Date Stay Begin in CA | MARCH | Error Validation |
| Deferred - uPortal | 2014-67: Add Social Media Connections to OpenCCC Account Creation | ||
| Approved | 2014-71: Foster Youth Error in Area B Logic Not Ending | MARCH | Logic |
| Deferred - uPortal | 2014-74: Add Link Between OpenCCC and My Applications | ||
| Approved | 2014-75: CCCID On The My Applications Page (Header Upper Right Next to Student Name) | Under-development | |
| Approved | 2014-77: Spanish Hover Help Missing from OpenCCC Account Creation | MARCH | Text / Language |
| Approved | 2014-78: Add Currency Formatter to BOG App Download Format | Under-development | Downloads |
| Approved | 2014-79: Add validation for High School Completion Date field | MARCH | Error Validation |
| Approved | 2015-01: OpenCCC Account Creation Confirmation Email | Under-development | System-generated |
| Deferred | 2015-02: Create a Compliant Paper Application | May 2015 | Text / Language |
| Approved | 2015-03: Submitted Application Confirmation Email | Under-development | System-generated |
| Approved | 2015-04: Add System Requirements & Support Browsers Info to Accessibility Page | Under-development | Text / Language |
| NEW | 2015-05: Add AS-T and AA-T to the Award Types Field | ||
| NEW | 2015-06: Revise Foster Youth Language in Apply per MIS/Legislature | ||
| NEW | 2014-76: Add Alternate (Preferred) Name Field to OpenCCC Account for Transgender | ||
| NEW | 2014-80: Add Transgender to Gender Field | ||
| NEW | 2014-81: Develop Generic Financial Aid Online Application | ||
| Approved | Custom Re-direct URL After Submission | ||
| NEW | Add "No First Name" field available in the Rules section of the Administrator | ||
| NEW | Add language to the Alien Reg field to include USCIS as interchangeable | ||
| NEW | Ask Steering - How are single-name students (Cher, Madonna) handled relative to MIS reporting? |
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Anchor release-info release-info
Release Information
| release-info | |
| release-info |
Why do we schedule releases on Friday evenings?
The reason we schedule releases and other maintenance windows on Friday evenings is to give us the entire weekend to resolve an issue if it arises. Friday evening is a low point in the weekly demand cycle.
As you can see below, normal daily activity drops in the evening. While not the lowest point in the day, combine this with Friday being a significant low activity day heading into the weekend, and add in the benefit of being able to mitigate risk by working on a problem over the weekend, if it arises, and you can see why Friday evening makes sense.
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