Financial Aid Processing in Banner

Overview of Financial Aid processing in Banner at Messiah College.

Transcript

1. FINANCIAL AID PROCESSING IN BANNER
2. Background  Aid Year  Aid Periods  Periods  Terms  Parts of Terms
3. Aid Year  Base unit of processing in Banner  For now; Banner is moving toward Period based processing  Corresponds to the entire Academic Year  Some flexibility with regards to summer  Processing a single Aid Year spans 18 months  Need Calculation applies to Aid Year
4. Aid Periods  Indicator of student’s enrollment within an Aid Year as a grouping of Periods  Defaults to standard academic year (Fall/Spring)  Default award schedules are defined for an Aid Period  Changing a student’s Aid Period will affect the Need Calculation (by changing the EFC duration)
5. Periods  Basic Unit of Enrollment in Banner Financial Aid  May be one or more Periods in an Aid Period  Default Aid Period (Fall/Spring) contains the Fall Period and the Spring Period  May contain one or more Terms  Terms can be grouped into Periods for determining enrollment  We have a one-to-one correspondence between Periods and Terms
6. Terms  Basic Unit of Enrollment in Banner Student  3 Terms in each Academic Year  Fall  Spring  Summer  Each Term corresponds to a Period in Financial Aid
7. Parts of Term  Subset of a Term for the purpose of scheduling courses  Parts of Term enrollment is always calculated as aggregated for the Term  For undergraduates, the spring Term contains 3 Parts of Term: J-Term, Spring Term, and May Term  For graduates, all Terms contain 2 Parts of Terms: G1 and G2.  Summer also contains a G3 Part of Term
8. Diagram 2012-2013 2011-2012 Fall 201210 Summer 201230 Spring 201220 Summer 201130 Spring 201120 Fall 201110 FALSPR Aid Year Period / Term Aid Period J-Term Part of Term Spring Term May Term
9. Create New Aid Year  Created in October or November (ROPROLL)  Automatically rolls the following:  Group Rules, Fund, Budget, Tracking, Packaging, Common, Employment, Athletic, and ROBINST Data  Manually Create:  Aid Period Schedule  Default Award Schedules  Loan Periods  Miscellaneous Updates
10. Financial Aid Record  Underlying Record necessary for processing Financial Aid  First Step in processing aid for the aid year  Record on the RORSTAT table; visible on ROASTAT form  Preemptively create records to ensure that we process all students  Rely on groups to segregate students who should not be processed
11. Financial Aid Record Creation  Current Students  Created in early December  Assigned a Tracking Group (RORGRPS)  All Students with a RORSTAT record in previous year and not in one of the following tracking groups:  NOAPST, NOADMT, GRADUA, CANCEL, WTHDRW, REVIEW  Also excludes students scheduled to graduated in upcoming Aid Year
12. Financial Aid Record Creation  New Students  Initial Batch created in early December  Run every day starting in early January  Batch Post a satisfied ADMIT Requirement; Assigned a Tracking Group (RORGRPS)  Only Accepted or Deposit Paid students  Admissions Applications with a decision code of ‘A%’ or ‘R%’
13. Application Packet  Instructions for filing FAFSA and additional steps  Sent about December 15th  New Students: All Accepted or Deposit Paid students  Current Students: All students eligible to register for classes, except those scheduled to graduate  Email Sent (ROREMAL) to student’s Campus and Primary addresses and to parents’ address.
14. Daily ISIR Data Load  Students may file the FAFSA starting January 1st  FAFSA data is received as an ISIR  Begin importing ISIRs as soon as the Banner Winter Release is installed in early to mid January  Daily Processing includes: Loading ISIRs Tracking Group Assignment Quality Assurance Batch Posting
15. Loading ISIRs  Most records auto match to Student in Banner on:  SSN, Last Name, First Name, and Birth Date  Records unable to match are suspended.  Manually matched weekly via RCRSUSP  Reasons for Suspense:  Missing or Incorrect Data  Multiple records for same student in the batch  No Student record in Banner  Two Need Analysis Record created in Banner per ISIR:  ISIR – Read Only copy of ISIR  EDE – Live Editable Need Analysis Record
16. Tracking Group Assignment  All students with Financial Aid Records Grouped Daily (RORGRPS)  18 Tracking Groups (RTVTGRP)  Student’s Tracking Group will change groups as student data changes  Tracking Group is vital to further processing; relied on in numerous population selections
17. Quality Assurance Batch Posting  Posts Requirements to Students and Adjusts Record based on data.  Run in Several Cycles: Preliminary Cycle First Cycle Second Cycle Third Cycle
18. QA: Preliminary Cycle  Handles overall processing changes for students  Removing Package Date after a FAFSA is received  Canceling FAFSA Requirement for International Students  Waiving FAFSA Requirement for Students not intending to file
19. QA: First Cycle  Handles posting requirements primarily based on FAFSA results  Following Groups of students are processed:  Newly Updated ISIRs  ISIRs with C-Flags  ISIRs with Rejects  Miscellaneous situations such as Household Size equal to College Students, Year in College null, Independent, Homeless, Emancipation, and Nursing Loan Application Received but not Selected for Verification
20. QA: Second Cycle  Handles waiving or adjusting requirements posted in first cycle based on additional data  Following situations are reviewed:  Waive Selective Service for Females  Waive Selective Service for Minors  Waive Bachelor’s Degree verification for Graduate Students  Satisfy Tax Requirements if Student/Parent used IRS Data Retrieval Tool  Post W2 Requirement if Student/Parent intends not to file taxes  Post Food Stamps Documentation Requirement
21. QA: Third Cycle  Handles adding Review requirement to students with outstanding requirements who are not selected for verification
22. EDE Corrections Background  Every ISIR Transaction has 3 EFCs in Banner:  SAR EFC: EFC as calculated by CPS never changes when ISIR data is changed in Banner  PELL EFC: 9 month EFC; Initially the same as the SAR EFC. Can be changed by Banner if ISIR data is changed. Used by the Pell Process for awarding Pell  System EFC: Primary EFC used in need calculation by Banner. Can be changed by Banner if ISIR data is changed. Duration can also be adjusted.
23. EDE Corrections  ISIR is corrected by FA Administrator  PELL EFC and System EFC are updated  SAR EFC remains unchanged; showing initial EFC of transaction  A mismatch between System EFC and SAR EFC occurs  Federal Funds will not disburse while during this mismatch  Awarding and Memoing continue using the updated System EFC  ISIR changes are extracted, sent to CPS, a response is received, and a new ISIR transaction will be loaded  SAR and System EFCs will be updated and match.
24. Tracking Letters  Tracking Letters notify students of requirements to complete  Directs students to login to MCSquare and proceed to Self-Service for requirements and instructions  Letters are processed at least every other day  3 Types of Tracking Letter
25. Tracking Letters  FA_TRACK_1ST_L  First Tracking Letter of the Aid Year  New Students: Email Sent to Campus, Primary and Parents’ addresses  Current Students: Email Sent to Campus address
26. Tracking Letters  FA_TRACK_ADD_L  Tracking Letter sent when additional requirements are added  New Students: Email sent to Campus address  Current Students: Email sent to Campus address
27. Tracking Letters  FA_TRACK_FUP_L  Tracking Letter sent to students with unsatisfied requirements who have not received a tracking letter in 2 weeks  New Students: Email sent to Campus address  Current Students: Email sent to Campus address
28. Application Packet Follow-up  A reminder to file the FAFSA and complete other steps  Sent about January 15th  Sent to any student who has received the Application Packet  Email sent to Campus address
29. Budget Group Assignment  All students with Financial Aid records grouped daily (RORGRPS)  38 Budget Groups (RTVBGRP)  Student’s Budget Group will change groups as student’s data changes  Budget Group determines student’s Cost of Attendance  Algorithmic Budgeting will be in place for 2013- 2014 and change budgeting significantly
30. February Reports and Letters  FAFSA Reminder Letter  Sent to Current Students who filed a FAFSA in the previous year, but have not filed this year  Email sent to Campus address about February 15th
31. Packaging Group Assignment  All students with Financial Aid records grouped daily (RORGRPS)  167 Packaging Groups (RTVPGRP)  Student’s Packaging Group will change as student’s data changes  For New Students, three high level groups (First Year in State, First Year out of State, and Transfer) are further grouped by one of six need level and one of five academic levels
32. >= 174 161-174 145-160 128-144 <=127 0 FYIS21 FYIS22 FYIS23 FYIS24 FYIS25 1 - 9,201 FYIS26 FYIS27 FYIS28 FYIS29 FYIS30 9,202 - 18,847 FYIS31 FYIS32 FYIS33 FYIS34 FYIS35 18,848 - 25,389 FYIS36 FYIS37 FYIS38 FYIS39 FYIS40 25,390 - 31,043 FYIS41 FYIS42 FYIS43 FYIS44 FYIS45 31,044 - 35,509 FYIS46 FYIS47 FYIS48 FYIS49 FYIS50 >35,510 FYIS51 FYIS52 FYIS53 FYIS54 FYIS55 Packaging Groups First Year in State Packaging Group Matrix  Columns indicate Noel-Levitz Academic Index  Rows indicate Gross Need
33. New Student Packaging  Begins in Early March and run at least weekly throughout the spring and into the summer  Actual awards sent to those ready  Estimated awards sent in mid to late March  Batch Process uses Algorithmic Packaging  Each Fund awarded with a combination of rules:  Algorithmic Rule determines amount to award.  Award Rule determines if student meets criteria for award.
34. New Student Packaging 1. Some funds awarded before Auto Packaging:  President’s Scholarship (PRES)  Trustee’s Scholarship (TRUS)  Vollmer’s Scholarship (VOAM, VOAR, VOAT)  Dean’s Scholarship (DNSM, DNSA, DNST) 2. Pell Grant (PELL) – Banner Process (RPEPELL) 3. SEOG – Flat Amount 4. PHEAA Grant (PHEA) – Algorithmic Rule (Estimate) 5. Provost Scholarship (PROV)– Algorithmic Rule
35. New Student Packaging 6. Messiah College Scholarship (MCSP) – Algorithmic Rule 7. Messiah College Grant (FACI) – Algorithmic Rule 8. Perkins Loan (PERK) – Calculated Amount 9. Sub. Stafford Loan (FDSL) – Calculated Amount 10. Fed. Work Study (FWS) – Calculated Amount 11. Unsub. Stafford Loan (FDUL) – Calculated Amount
36. New Student Award Letters  FA_AWRD_1ST_L  Directs students to login to MCSquare to access online award letter  New Students receive Email at Campus, Primary, Parents addresses; paper copy at home  Processing includes following adjustments:  Enable Information Access (online award letter)  Batch Post Award Terms and Conditions Requirement  Lock Current EDE Record
37. March Letters and Reports  New Student Revised Award Letters  Sent as necessary  FAFSA Reminder Letter  Sent to Current Student about the 15th of March  Report to Admissions on New Student Packaging  Sent to Admissions after each Packaging run  Used by the Counselors to follow up with their recruits after they have received their package
38. Satisfactory Academic Progress  Process determines whether students are meeting the SAP requirements for the purpose of Financial Aid eligibility  Run after each semester to determine the student’s SAP status for the next semester  Students with a non final SAP status are reprocessed every tow weeks until all have been completed
39. SAP Definitions  Pace  All Students: Maintain a completion rate of 67% of credit hours attempted  Qualitative Measure  Undergraduates: Maintain a cumulative GPA of 1.8 before 57 credit hours have been completed and a GPA of 2.0 after 57 credit hours have been completed  Graduates: Maintain a cumulative GPA of 3.0
40. SAP Diagram Diagram showing process flow of Satisfactory Academic Progress processing New Students NOTREV SAP Successful SAP Successful Warning Failed Both Requirements Failed GPA Requirement Failed Credits Requirement Previous SAP Code SAP Failed Warning or Failed Not Reviewed or Successful Appeal Denied Probation Granted Process SAP again at End of Term Academic Plan
41. SAP Notification Letter  Sent to students with SAP statuses that require attention from the student or affect their Financial Aid eligibility  Warning statuses  Failed statuses  Specific Circumstance statuses  Email is sent to Campus address  Directs students to login to MCSquare and access Self-Service for information
42. April/May Letters and Reports  Need Down Report  Identify students whose need has decreased since the previous year  Send a letter warning of a possible decrease in Financial Aid  Loan Totals for Current Aid Year Report  Breakdown of debt level for the graduating class  FAFSA Reminder  Final reminder to current students
43. Current Student Packaging  Begins in Late May for Undergraduates and is run at least weekly throughout the summer  Graduate Students are manually packaged as needed  Actual packages sent to those ready  Estimates not sent to Current Students  Batch Process uses Algorithmic Packaging  Each Fund awarded with a combination of rules:  Algorithmic Rule determines amount to award.  Award Rule determines if student meets criteria for award.
44. Current Student Packaging 1. Enter any scholarships lost mid-year to ensure they do not roll. 2. Manually enter some funds prior to auto packaging 3. Apply necessary hold codes to prevent packaging of students needing individual attention 4. Run the batch auto packaging
45. Current Student Auto Packaging 1. Pell Grant (PELL) – Banner Process 2. SEOG – Prior Year Algorithm 3. Merit Aid – Prior Year Algorithm 4. Need Based Aid – Prior Year Algorithm 5. Perkins Loan (PERK) – Calculated Amount 6. Sub. Stafford Loan (FDSL) – Calculated Amount 7. Unsub. Stafford Loan (FDUL) – Calculated Amount
46. Current Student Packaging Review  Self-Service Web Snapshot used to compare new package with previous year and evaluate discrepancies  Packaged Fund Exception Report used to review students who were not awarded one or more of their prior year funds  Overaward and Award Greater Than COA reports used to review improperly awarded students  Students with Holds processed manually in groups
47. Current Student Award Letter  FA_AWRD_1ST_L  Directs students to login to MCSquare to access online award letter  New Students receive Email at Campus address  Processing includes following adjustments:  Enable Information Access (online award letter)  Batch Post Award Terms and Conditions Requirement  Lock Current EDE Record
48. June/July Reports and Letters  Current Student Revised Award Letters  Sent as necessary  Lost Scholarship Letters  Sent to those who did not meet the criteria for maintaining Merit Scholarship  Reinstate Scholarships  Sent to student who were reinstated previously lost Scholarship  Budget Report
49. Direct Loan Origination  Begins early to mid July for students who have accepted their loans and are at least deposit paid  Loans of Accepted Students are not originated  Origination happens daily throughout the Summer and into the Fall  Students may received additional Tracking Letters if unsatisfied loan requirements exists
50. Pell Grant Origination  Begins early to mid August for student who are at least Deposit Paid  Pell Grants of Accepted Students are not originated  Origination happens weekly throughout the Fall
51. Teach Grant Origination  Teach Grants are award manually to students who request them and who meet the requirements  Origination begins in late July to mid August and continues throughout the Fall
52. August/Fall Reports and Letters  TEACH Right to Cancel  Nursing MPN  Loan Disbursement Notification  Sent anytime a loan is disbursed  Communication Policy  Terms and Conditions Reminder  Loan Exit Counseling  Sent to those who applied for Fall graduation
53. Disbursing Aid  Begin running disbursement (RPEDISB) in early July  Bill will then reflect anticipated Financial Aid  Run multiple times a day;  Disbursement Edits reflect issues preventing disbursement of aid  Aid Errors Report (in Self-Service) to review errors.
54. Types of Disbursed Aid  Memoed Aid – Aid is awarded however the student has outstanding disbursement edits that need resolved before they are eligible  Memos expire about a month into the term  Authorized Aid – Aid has been awarded and all disbursement edits are resolved, however, the disbursement date has not arrived  Paid Aid – Aid has credited the student’s account
55. Aid Year Calendar Overview November December January February March April May June July August September October November December January February March April May June July ISIR Dataload, Tracking Groups, QA Batch Posting Setup Budget Groups New Student Packaging Current Student Packaging Disbursement Revised Packages and Spring Only Packaging SAP SAP SAP Reconciliation / Cleanup Create FA Records
56. PROCESSING CHANGES FOR 2013-2014
57. Anticipated Projects  Algorithmic and Period Budgeting  RN to MSN Program  Shopping Sheet  Fund Setup Audit  Scheduling / Chaining Jobs  Resources  PHEAA Load
58. Algorithmic and Period Budgeting  Algorithmic Budgets will allow us to calculate any component based on other data  Will be able to calculate the tuition component based on number of credits for graduate students  Period Budgets will allow us to define separate budgets for each period that a student enrolls for the Aid Year  Will be able to create budgets for students who are part time in one Period and full time in another
59. Algorithmic and Period Budgeting  This is a completely new module in Banner Financial Aid  Won’t affect out current budget setup (in case of issues)  Implementation will likely mean a completely new set of budget groups  Will likely be a significant simplification compared to the current budget group setup  Not entirely sure of the complete ramifications yet  Setup will be complete before February
60. RN to MSN Program  New hybrid undergraduate/graduate program  Poses unique issues for processing these students  Will likely be a number of grouping changes related to this program  What we know:  New Student Type Code will identify  Will be undergraduate until reaching 120 credits
61. Shopping Sheet  Ellucian will be supporting the Shopping Sheet in Banner  Support planned for the Winter Regulatory Release in early January  Don’t know much yet  Any planned changes to Award Letter should wait until more details available
62. Fund Setup Audit  Review fund setup for all funds to ensure that setup of funds is consistent with processing intentions  A number of funds have options set that do not affect processing; need to be consistent  Implement suitable Print Order so that funds are displayed in correct order in Online Award and Reports  Add useful Categories to funds to ease grouping funds when writing rules or reports
63. Scheduling/Chaining Jobs  First Step: Chain numerous processing jobs into one discrete chain  This has been done previously, but there are limitations that need to be resolved  Second Step: Schedule the chains to execute automatically  A number of missing features prevent this from happening adequately at the moment; these need to be resolved
64. Resources  Would like to shift Non-Institutional Scholarships to Resources  Evaluating the effects on processing and the Accounts Receivable and Finance side  Resources would be a significant time saving in the Financial Aid module  Very little Financial Aid processing needs to occur for resources
65. PHEAA Load  New Students have PHEAA estimated as part of Auto Packaging  Final Amount entered manually  Current Students have PHEAA entered manually prior to auto packaging  Would like to be able to automate the import of PHEAA Grants  Should be a significant time savings