Mass Packaging #1 - Prorate WCG Based on FA Load
General Overview of Mass Packaging
Through Mass Packaging, colleges can award financial aid for several students. Based on specific selection criteria, a population of students is selected for packaging. Multiple packaging plans can be associated with the selected population. Colleges may evaluate the selected population and the packaging plan associated with each student before the actual Mass Packaging (awarding) takes place. The system selects the optimum packaging plan (how to award) for each student based on the combination of packaging equations and the processing order of the packaging plan. The packaging plan is then assigned to those selected students, awarding each student based on the defined packaging plan rules.
When Mass Packaging is Used the Processing Order is Below:
- Select students to be included for Mass Packaging evaluation.
- Assign packaging plans to students.
- Review the student's eligibility, the program rules, and other eligibility criteria.
- Award.
User Acceptance Testing for Mass Packaging
UAT Kick-Off Session Date/Time: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 2pm-3pm (limited to test participants)
WebEx Link: Financial Aid Demo: Prorate WCG based on FA Load
- Meeting number (access code): 2598 852 4232
- Meeting password: PKsxRqq6T42
UAT Testing Period: Tuesday, April 11, 2023 through Friday, April 14, 2023
UAT Sign-Off Survey: The link to the survey will be distributed at the appropriate time to the test participants.
(ONE survey response per college please.)
WebEx UAT Session Recording: Prorate WCG based on FA Load Recording
Slide Deck Presentation:
Questions? Trouble Logging in?
Send an email to both Debbie at [email protected] and Stephanie Casino at [email protected].
Issue Overview: Washington College Grant (WCG) Enrollment-Based Packaging
Change Request: Per the Financial Aid Maintenance List on Mass Packaging change requests, a solution is needed to package Washington College Grant (WCG) based on enrollment level instead of disregarding Financial Aid (FA) Load and packaging full-time amounts.
Reported Problem: Washington College Grant (WCG) is being inaccurately packaged for some students due to the system packaging full-time WCG award amounts for all eligible terms regardless of whether the student’s enrollment level for the term is not full-time. As a result, staff must manually adjust the WCG award amounts down to the pro-rated amounts to resolve the over-award.
The visual below shows a student who was enrolled part-time for Summer term so the user expects the system to consider FA Load for Summer 2022 was ‘T’ and package the pro-rated WCG amount for that term similar to packaging behavior of Pell.
Figure 6: Financial Aid > Financial Aid Term > Maintain Student FA Term
The system packages Pell (item-type 911000000000) for Summer 2022 at the pro-rated Pell amount. For the other three terms, the college packages aid assuming full-time as a best practice so they award on FA Load of ‘F’ or override FA Load to ‘F’ then package. Therefore, FA Loads for the aid year are: T, F, F and F. To match the FA Loads, the system awards: $1362, $1815, $1815 and $1815 (awarded with Additional Pell item-type 911000000010).
Figure 7 - 8: Financial Aid > Awards > Award Processing > Assign Awards to a Student
Contrary to Pell, the system packages full-time WCG (item-type 912000000000) for all four terms since it does not look at the FA Load for each term. The system determines the WCG annual amount at full-time for four terms then distributes it evenly to each term in the packaging plan. The correct WCG amounts for FA Loads T, F, F and F are: $1116, $1489, $1489 and $1489.
Figure 9: Financial Aid > Awards > Award Processing > Assign Awards to a Student
Flow Diagram of FA Load NOT Being Considered When Packaging WCG
Background Information:
Regulatory Language for Awarding WCG based on enrollment from Washington Student Achievement Council (WSAC)
Adjusting Maximum Award Amounts:
The maximum WCG and CBS awards for full-time students appearing in the charts in the previous pages must be reduced under the following two conditions:
Part-Time Students
Both CBS and WCG awards must be reduced for part-time students based on their enrollment status:
- Students at ¾ time are eligible for 75 percent of the maximum award
- Students at ½ time are eligible for 50 percent of the maximum award
- Students at ¼ time are eligible for 25 percent of the maximum
Note: WA Bridge Grants are not prorated based on enrollment.
Attendance Less Than 3 Quarters or the Equivalent:
CBS and WCG students attending for fewer than three quarters or the equivalent will receive a pro-rated share of the total annual award. Example: A full-time student attending one of three quarters will receive one-third of the maximum award amounts shown in the charts.
Reference: https://wsac.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-23_WCGandCBS_ProgramManual-Rev1-23.pdf
Solution Design
To address the issues raised by colleges a complete redesign of WCG in packaging plans with the creation of new equation engines and leveraging disbursement split codes in a different manner was required.
With the redesigning of WCG in packaging plans, there will be the following additional benefits:
- CBS packaging will become enrollment-based (the existing CBS equation engines will not work with the new WCG enrollment-based equation engines so the CBS equations have also been modified to pro-rate CBS based on enrollment level)
- The WCG waitlist item-type can be removed from packaging plans
- There will no longer be a need for dollar adjustments in WCG Setup/CBS Setup tables for award amounts that are not divisible by three
- Students who have WCG/CBS eligible terms of less than the number of terms available in the packaging plan will be packaged accordingly if there are no breaks in enrollment within the aid year
Solution Design Document
Local Configuration & Processing Logic Guides
Online Materials for Mass Packaging Local Configuration :
- Quick Reference Guide(s): CS: Local Configuration Guide - Financial Aid
- Direct Link(s) to Relevant Section: Packaging Plan
Links to Steps in the Test Process
- Mass Packaging Related Quick Reference Guide Materials and Test Steps
Test Scope
In Scope for Testing Mass Packaging:
- WCG amounts for each term automatically pro-rates depending on the FA Load for the term.
- CBS amounts for each term automatically pro-rates depending on the FA Load for the term.
- WCG/CBS correctly packages for students who have WCG/CBS eligible terms of less than the number of terms available in the packaging plan and DO NOT have a break in enrollment within the aid year.
Out of Scope for Testing Mass Packaging:
While the change greatly improves the Mass Packaging functionality for the aforementioned programs, it does not fully address unique cases such as the case outlined below and therefore students in this data condition are not in scope for testing.
- WCG/College Bound Scholarship (CBS) correctly packaging students who have limited WCG/CBS terms of eligibility and breaks in enrollment within the aid year.
- CBS packaging correct amount for BAS students, as this is a separate change request not yet addressed.
Expected Behavior for Student Scenario Deemed Out of Scope:
Student has only two terms of WCG eligibility remaining and attends Fall term, skips Winter term and attend Spring term.
- Packaging behavior in Fa-Wi-Sp packaging plan:
- Fall student will be selected and packaged
- Winter student will be selected but not packaged because of FA Load = N
- Spring student will not be selected for packaging due to not having at least three terms of eligibility
Packaging behavior in Fa-Wi-Sp-Su packaging plan:
- Fall- student will be selected and packaged
- Winter student will be selected but not packaged because of FA Load = N
- Spring student will not be selected for packaging due to not having at least three terms of eligibility
- Summer student will not be selected for packaging due to not having at least four terms of eligibility
Student Populations for Testing
For each college, we have created a list of 10 students to fit the Recommended Test Scenarios below.
The PQA environment has been updated with the solution so you simply have to select ‘Retrieve’ on these students to test the solution. You’re welcome to select more students on your own.
PQA Access:
https://pt-pqa.peoplesoft-nonprod-aws.ctclink.sbctc.edu/psp/ptpqa/?cmd=login&languageCd=ENG&
- Password: UATt3sting!
To download the list of students for your college:
- Navigate to PeopleTools > CTC Custom > Extensions > Upload/Download Files
- Select the ExternalAwards2023 folder
- Select the Download Files tab
- Enter WCG_TEST_STUDENTS.txt in the File Name field
- Select Download File
Example FA Load for Each Term: Financial Aid > Awards > Award Processing > Assign Awards to a Student > Term Summary (tab)
Recommended Test Scenarios:
Select ‘Retrieve’ on the following scenario of students to confirm the behavior of the WCG/CBS enrollment-based equation engines and updated packaging plans:
-
Scenario 1: Student is not eligible for WCG
- Expected outcome: WCG is not packaged
-
Scenario 2: Student is not eligible for CBS
- Expected outcome: CBS is not packaged
-
Scenario 3: Student is full-time for three or four terms and does not have limited WCG eligibility remaining
- Expected outcome: WCG packages and annual amount does not exceed the $2 allowance given by WSAC
-
Scenario 4: Student is part-time for at least one term
- Expected outcome: WCG and CBS (if eligible) should package that term with the pro-rated amount
-
Scenario 5: Student is CBS ‘Okay to Pay’ status and has CBS eligible MFI
- Expected outcome: CBS is packaged in Offered/Accepted status
-
Scenario 6: Student is CBS ‘Okay to Award’ status but not ‘Okay to Pay’ and has CBS eligible MFI
- Expected outcome: CBS is packaged in Offered status
How to Verify Your Test Outcomes
Navigation: NavBar > Navigator > Financial Aid > Awards > Award Processing > Assign Awards to a Student
Confirm that for each term in the packaging plan the term award amount matches the students FA Load for the term. Also confirm that for each term in the packaging plan, a distinct split code is seen prior to posting the award.
If a student is not eligible for WCG and/or CBS for a particular term because their FA Load is a value of N, an award should not be seen for that term when selecting ‘Retrieve’. Similarly, in situations where the student is not eligible for WCG and/or CBS based on their eligibility page(s), the award should not be made when selecting ‘Retrieve’.
See screenshot below for an example of the fields to pay close attention to:
Security Matrix Mapping Information
The information below provides those completing the Security Matrix Mapping templates with the Menus, Pages and Role names needed to execute the User Acceptance Testing relevant to this guide.
Mass Packaging:
MENU: NavBar > Navigator > Financial Aid > Awards > Award Processing > Assign Awards to a Student
ROLENAME: ZZ FA Award Processor and ZZ FA Mass Packaging
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