Automatically Package Financial Aid

You can use the Awards tab on the Awarding page to automatically add the awards based on the packaging method you select. The packaging methods are configured by your institution and contain the guidelines for your programs (such as the grade levels to which they apply and the minimum and maximum amounts that can be awarded for the fund sources). If you meet the prerequisites for awards, you can also add additional awards and change awards that were automatically added.

Prerequisites

You must have:

  • Common - Student - View authorization

  • Financial Aid - Student Award - New authorization

If your institution has configured permissions for fund sources, you must also be in a staff group that has permissions to add the fund sources for awards. If you do not have permissions, only the fund sources where you have permissions are added.

You, the student, and your institution must meet all the prerequisites required to add the specific awards. For example, if the packaging method includes a Pell grant, you must meet all the prerequisites for adding a Pell grant.

The student must not be in a financial aid hold group.

Note: When required fields on the student's Academic Years form are missing and auto packaging is executed via the Auto Package button on the Awards form, Financial Aid Automation 8.2.0 and later creates an exception to inform the staff group and/or staff member that the academic year could not be associated with a COA budget. The exception is displayed in a pop-up. The exception details specify the academic year that could not be associated with a budget. The exception is automatically resolved when all required fields on the Academic Years form are updated.

Access Method

Awards tab (Select the Students tile > select the name in the Students list > expand Financial Aid > select the Awarding tile > Awards tab.)

Procedure to Package Financial Aid

Verify that the program version is correct. If not, select the specific program version in the Program Version drop-down list.

  1. On the Awards tab, select the Academic YearClosed The academic year configured by your institution.

  2. Select the Packaging MethodClosed The packaging methods used for your financial aid programs. They contain the guidelines for your programs (such as the grade levels to which they apply and the minimum and maximum amounts that can be awarded for the fund sources). The list contains the packaging methods configured for the campus, grade level, award year, and dependency model for the student. Students that are configured with the Unsupported Dependent check box enabled are packaged with Unsubsidized Stafford loans only, despite the value displayed in the Packaging Method field.

  3. Click Auto Package on the grid toolbar.

    Note: When no awards are present for the selected student, Auto Package appears in the toolbar. When awards are present for that student, Repackage appears in the toolbar.

    Anthology Student displays a message asking if you want to use the recalculated EFC to package the awards if both of these conditions are met.

    • Your institution has configured the campus to award students with recalculated estimated family contribution

    • The ISIR ID is the same as the ISIR ID with the corrections made to it

    Anthology Student also:

    • Performs the same validations that it does when you manually add an award. For example, for Pell grants, Anthology Student validates the amount so that it does not exceed the maximum allowed for the award or maximums configured by your institution (such as limiting awards to the student cost of attendance).

    • Compares the packaged amount with the loan limit set up for the fund source. If the amount is greater than the loan limit, Anthology Student uses the loan limit.

    • Uses the loan limits and bank fees from the COD Technical Reference. Anthology Student checks loan limits and adds the preparatory professional coursework indicator from the program version.

    • Adds the awards to the list.

    • Makes the appropriate changes in the Financial Aid General Ledger.

    • Checks if the 'Status Represents a Title IV WithdrawalClosed At some institutions, students that are no longer attending classes are left in an Active/Attending status so that they can still log into the Student Portal. In this scenario, the “Status Represents a Title IV Withdrawal” check box can be selected to indicate that the status represents a withdrawal for Title IV purposes. If this attribute is selected, the Status Change process will treat a status change from an Active status to the new Active status with the Title IV withdrawal attribute as if the status change was from Active to Drop for purposes of determining the NSLDS Withdrawal Date, Date of Determination, and other downstream impacts to Financial Aid, Student Accounts, and other reporting (such as enrollment reporting and Clearinghouse). This check box is displayed only when Attending is selected for System Status and Withdrawn is selected for NSLDS Status. field is enabled for a current Active status category (see Settings > System > Status Changes). Financial Aid Auto Awarding will not auto package or auto repackage the funds and budget for a student in an 'Active but Withdrawn' status when the ''Status Represents a Title IV Withdrawal' option is enabled.

    If you are using Student Financial Aid Automated Awarding (SFAAA) and you selected a packaging method for SFAAA and: 

    • Any errors that occur during SFAAA processing and any actions you can take to resolve the errors are displayed in a dialog with the title Automated Processing Messages and Exceptions.

    • SFAAA is configured for test mode, Anthology Student displays a message asking you if you want to continue. If you continue, Anthology Student does not package the awards but creates a file that you can display in any browser to view the results.

    If the award year is 2017-2018 or later and the student has a Pell grant and is eligible for a year-round Pell grant, you must: 

    • Select the Additional Eligibility Indicator check box for the Pell grant

    • Calculate the additional disbursement amount and add it (You can also use the Recalculate Pell Eligibility button.) 

    If the student has received full eligibility on a prior enrollment, you must add a new award for the additional eligibility on the new enrollment.

    When you use disbursement schedules, Anthology Student assigns the disbursement schedule for the academic year that is being packaged.

    No amount will be packaged against a fund source if the fund source is configured to use a disbursement schedule

    • AND there is no disbursement schedule found associated with the current academic year sequence

    • OR the disbursement schedule is not associated with any academic year sequence (academic year sequence is NULL).

    The system will look for disbursement schedules that fit the academic year start date range and apply the configured disbursement dates and terms when the Auto Package button is selected.

    Note: If the packaging method is not producing a package, review the start date on the academic year sequence to ensure that it is correct. Then review the disbursement schedules to ensure that the start date falls within a range of your desired disbursement schedules.

    When you package loans, a message is displayed if:

    • The awards include a Direct Parent PLUS (DIRPLUS) or Parent PLUS (PLUS) loan,

    • The student does not have a FAFSA or ISIR on file, and

    • The value for the Dependency Status field is Undetermined.

    When you change the status to Dependent, the loans can be packaged. If you do not specify Dependent, Anthology Student does not package the loans.

    After the loan has been awarded, Anthology Student compares the status to the FAFSA or ISIR when it is received. Anthology Student displays an alert if the values do not match so that you can cancel or refund the loan. COD export will also export the updated status for the loan.