Automated Awarding Fund Source Rules

Fund Source Rules Tab

Use the Fund Source Rules tab to specify the campus selection criteria and configure Awarding Rules, Eligibility Rules, and Award Limits per fund source.

1. Select one or more campuses in the Campuses field.

   Fund sources for the default campus are loaded automatically based on the campus you are logged in from.

2. Select the Apply Filters button. The grid is populated with the fund source records for the selected campus(es).

   Select Clear Filters to reset the selection criteria.

3. Review the data in the grid. The fund sources are sorted by Awarding Priority in ascending order starting with priority 1. Fund sources with priority 0 are listed at the bottom of the grid.

   Auto Approve Select to ensure the record is set to "Approved" status during the auto-packaging process. Auto Repackage Select the check box to enable the Auto Repackage functionality or clear the check box to disable it. Award ISIR Students Only If you select this check box and there is no valid ISIR on file, the fund source will not be awarded. If there is no valid ISIR on file and the check box is cleared, the fund source (except for Pell and SEOG) will be awarded. Note: This functionality supersedes the configuration in the Campus Information form for Award Students for ISIRs Only. Award Limit Rules This option informs the user if the fund source has at least one rule configured. Award Sort Letter Specify a number to sort the award letters. Awarding Eligibility Rules Informs the user if the specific fund source has at least one rule configured. Awarding Priority The number representing the awarding order for the fund source. Campus The campus or campuses to which a person or item is assigned. It is filtered to display the campuses to which you have access. In some cases, it is also used to filter a list to only those items for the campus. In some lists, you can select more than one campus or select All. In lists that display columns, if the column contains more than one campus, you cannot sort or filter on that column. Crossover Payment Period by Award Year 2 If you select this check box, the Pell/SEOG/TEACH fund source that will be awarded within the payment period that crosses over both the Award Year 1 and Award Year 2 time frame will be awarded with the Award Year 2 value. If this configuration is selected but no Award Year 2 value is present on the student’s academic year form, an exception is displayed. Crossover Payment Period Most Beneficial Year-Round Pell If you select this check box, the Pell fund source that will be awarded within the payment period that crosses over both Award Year 1 and Award Year 2 will be awarded in the award year with the highest disbursement value. If both award years have the same disbursement value, the Crossover Payment Period by Award Year 2 configuration will be awarded. If the Crossover Payment Period Most Beneficial Year Round Pell check box is not selected, the Crossover Payment Period by Award Year 2 configuration will be awarded. Date Modified The date of any change made to an item listed within the grid or made to that specific fund source (within either the Awarding Eligibility Rules tab, the Disbursement Eligibility Rules tab, or the Award Limit tab). Disbursement Eligibility Rules This informs the user if that specific fund source has at least one rule configured.

   Fund Source The source of this fund. If your institution is using fund source security, you must have permission to work with the fund source. Fund Source Code Abbreviation/code for the Fund Source. Fund Source Type Specific classification for the fund source. Lock Fund from Re-Awarding Selecting ensures the financial aid will not be evaluated for re-awarding after the initial auto package process and will be considered locked. Modified By The specific process you wish to create the STAR mailbox for (COD, Commonline, or Application Processing). Non Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation You can use this field to configure Non-Standard Term enrollment ranges based on credit hours with an assigned percentage or dollar range to adjust paid or scheduled disbursements during Auto Repackaging. Repackage Action Choose which action you wish to occur upon the execution of Auto Repackaging for the fund source. Repackage Method Choose the repackaging method: Default or Simulation. Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation You can use this field to configure Standard Term enrollment ranges based on credit hours with an assigned percentage or dollar range to adjust paid or scheduled disbursements during Auto Repackaging. Rounding Disbursements to Whole Dollars If you select this check box, the FSEOG fund source disbursements will be rounded to a whole dollar amount when awarded. So, a $500 award would break down into three disbursements of $167, $167, and $166.  Rounding Disbursements to Whole Dollars If you select this check box, the fund source disbursements will be rounded to a whole dollar amount when awarded. For example, a $500 award would break down into three disbursements of $167, $166, and $167. This option is available for all fund source types.  Read Note. Note: For fund source types like Grants Other than Pell, Other Outside Resources, and Scholarships, which don't give the user the ability to round the funds to whole dollars at the fund source level, the Automated Awarding Fund Source Rules grid provides the "Round Disbursement to Whole Dollars" option. Staff members can select or clear this option to specify the desired rounding for these fund source types. Auto Packaging will award disbursements for Payment Periods, Disbursement Schedules, and Alternative Disbursement Schedules with the logic to round the first disbursement up and the next disbursement down (repeating). The last disbursement will be rounded so as to not exceed the full fund source award amount. This rounding applies against the Award Level and Disbursement Level to be in whole dollars.

   Best Practice for Rounding Configuration:

   The system does allow administrators to configure disbursement amounts in exact pennies using the following features:

   • Alternative Disbursement Schedule (refer to Award Limit Rule Tab > Alternative Disbursement Schedule Sub-Tab)

   • Auto Repackaging using the Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation You can use this field to configure Standard Term enrollment ranges based on credit hours with an assigned percentage or dollar range to adjust paid or scheduled disbursements during Auto Repackaging. option (refer to Configure Fund Source Repackaging Enrollment Range Allocation)

   However, in both cases, when Rounding Disbursements to Whole Dollars If you select this check box, the fund source disbursements will be rounded to a whole dollar amount when awarded. For example, a $500 award would break down into three disbursements of $167, $166, and $167. This option is available for all fund source types. is selected in the Automated Awarding Fund Source Rule grid, standard rounding will be applied to the decimal value. Therefore, it is best practice to configure only whole-dollar disbursements if the institution wants whole-dollar disbursement amounts.

   The system updates only the newly awarded funds and funds in Estimated status to be Approved when the "Auto Approve" column is enabled for that fund source. The system will never change the fund source status from Approved to Estimated when the "Auto Approve" column is disabled for the fund source.

   The items displayed on the page depend on whether the following advanced feature is enabled (refer to Advanced Features):

   • Enable Advanced Auto Packaging Read details.

     When you select Enable Advanced Auto Packaging Enable Advanced Auto Packaging if you want to allow configurations related to Auto Repackaging only in the standard interface of Anthology Student. Advanced Auto Packaging allows the Auto Repackaging column to be displayed under Automate by Campus on the Automated Process Activation form. When Advanced Auto Packaging is enabled, the Population form can be configured only in the Student Web App, and the Population form is deprecated in the legacy interface.

     • The following columns appear in the Student Web App only for campuses with Auto Repackaging enabled on the Automated Process Activation page:

       • “Auto Repackage”
       • “Repackage Method”
       • “Repackage Action”
       • “Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation”
       • “Non-Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation”

     • There is no change to the form in the legacy interface.

   For more details, refer to General Auto Repackaging Rules

4. To create or edit automated awarding rules, select the link in the Fund Source column. The workspace for creating fund source rules is displayed. Continue with the Rules Workspace topic.

5. To configure specific enrollment ranges for a Standard Term or a Non-Standard Term based on credit hours (utilizing an assigned percentage or dollar range) that adjusts paid or scheduled disbursements during the Auto Repackaging process, select the link displayed in the Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation or Non Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation column (refer to Fund Source Repackaging Enrollment Range Allocation).

   A Program Versions field is available for both allocations. The default for this field is "All Program Versions". Configuring this field enables you to select a specific program version and set it against an enrollment allocation for that fund source.

   The allocation for a fund source can be configured up to two decimals. The lowest range is 0.01 while the highest range is 9999.99 and the system includes ranges to the exact decimal.

   The enrollment allocation will only be awarded for the fund sources Other Need-based Loan and Other Non-need-based Loan by the low/high credit configuration when awarding the fund for the first time.

   Continue with Fund Source Repackaging Enrollment Range Allocation.

   When Auto Repackage is enabled and the Repackage Method is Simulation, the Term/Non Term Payment Period Enrollment Allocation can be configured for all fund sources except:

   • Pell grant
   • TEACH grant
   • Direct loans (Direct Subsidized Loan, Direct Unsubsidized Loan, Direct Parent PLUS Loan, Direct Graduate PLUS Loan, HEAL)
   • Federal Stafford Loan (Subsidized, Unsubsidized, PLUS)

Conditional Templates Tab

Use the Conditional Templates tab to create and edit conditions that can be re-used when building auto-awarding rules for different fund sources. Saved templates are added to the Conditional Templates section below Condition Builders in the left pane of the rules workspace. Conditional templates contain only rules (no amounts).

1. Review the list of existing Conditional Templates in the grid.

   Date Added The date when the item was created. Date Modified The date when the item was changed. On some pages, it also includes the timestamp for the time.

   Name Name of the conditional auto awarding rule template. Modified By The name of the person who changed the item.

2. To create a template, select New in the grid toolbar. The New Conditional Template workspace is displayed.

   The workspace allows you to build rules by dragging and dropping Database Fields, Calculated Fields, and Condition Builders into the canvas. For more details, refer to Rules Workspace.

3. To view the details of an existing template, select the link in the Name column. The Edit Conditional Template workspace is displayed.

   Example

   

4. Select Cancel to close the New/Edit Conditional Template form.

5. To delete a conditional template (or multiple templates), select the record(s) in the grid and select Delete in the grid toolbar.

6. To Import conditional templates, ensure there are no templates currently selected within the grid. Select Import in the grid toolbar to open the Import Conditional Templates pop-up.

   Select Browse, select the desired template file(s) (only XML files are presented), and select Import.

   If you import a conditional template with the same name as an existing conditional template, a message is displayed prompting you to rename the file ("Conditional Template currently exists with the file name selected. Please rename the imported file and try again." .)

7. To Export a configured conditional template(s) as an XML file to your browser's default download location, select the record(s) from the grid and select Export in the grid toolbar. If the local default folder contains a file with the same name, you will be prompted to rename the new files.

8. If you want to save and: 

• Continue making changes, select the Save button

• Close, select the Save & Close button

Calculated Fields Tab

When you need to create a rule that cannot be built using the available Database Fields, you can create calculated fields. To do so, you must be familiar with VB.NET coding.

Calculated fields enable you to extend the rules engine and simplify fund source rules by re-using calculated values for dollar amounts or other conditions. Calculated fields are mostly used for state or institution-specific awarding rules.

1. Review the list of existing calculated fields in the grid.

   Date Added The date when the item was created. Date Modified The date when the item was changed. On some pages, it also includes the timestamp for the time.

   Name Name of the conditional auto awarding rule template. Modified By The name of the person who changed the item.

2. To create a calculated field, select New in the grid toolbar. The New Calculated Field workspace is displayed.

   1. Specify a Name for the field.

   2. Select the Return Type. The options are:

      • Int32
      • String
      • Boolean
      • DateTime
      • Decimal
      • Double
      • Single

   3. Select the View Generated Source Code check box to view or copy and paste the generated code for your calculated field definition.

   4. Build the code for your calculated field as needed, e.g., define variables, specify calculations using Database Fields, create IF/ELSE statements, etc.

3. To view the details of an existing calculated field, select the link in the Name column. Edit Calculated Fields workspace is displayed.

   Example 1: The calculated field returns a Boolean value (True) the student has a specific GPA and score in the ACT Composite test or German SAT.

   

   Example 2: The calculated field returns a decimal value (8,000.00) if Student.Citizenship = "US Citizen". In this example, the View Generated Source Code option is selected.

   

4. To close the New/Edit Calculated Field form, select Cancel.

5. To delete a calculated field, select the record in the grid and select Delete in the grid toolbar.

6. If you want to save and: 

• Continue making changes, select the Save button

• Close, select the Save & Close button

The system adds the saved calculated field to the Calculated Fields grid and the Calculated Fields section in the left pane of the rules workspace.

You can now insert the calculated field into any awarding rules as needed.