Setting Up Auto Packaging and Mass Packaging

This chapter provides an overview of Auto Packaging and Mass Packaging and discusses how to:

• Use Equation Engine in packaging.

• View and edit equations.

• Review equations.

• Review equation examples.

• Create equity item type groups.

• Create related item type groups.

• Define packaging plans.

Understanding Auto Packaging and Mass Packaging

The items covered in this chapter are required only for Auto Packaging or Mass Packaging. You must also perform the basic setup tasks outlined in the general awarding setup chapter.

This section lists prerequisites and provides an overview of packaging plans.

See Also

Setting Up Packaging Basics

Prerequisites

Before setting up your packaging plans, perform the following steps to define your institution's needs:

1. Define the populations of students who may have unique needs and for what awards they are eligible.

   Your student populations might include undergraduate students, graduate students, and medical students. Within your graduate population you might have students in a teacher credential program, masters level students, and Ph.D. level students. Within your undergraduate and graduate populations you might group students by their academic program or plan, such as sociology or physical education. Medical students might be grouped by their year in the program, for example first year or fourth year. For reasons of equity, especially if your institution cannot meet all students' financial need, you may want to group students by their financial need, as determined by subtracting Expected Family Contribution (EFC) from cost of attendance (COA). In that case, you may have a population defined as undergraduate students with need greater than 10,000.00 USD and another group defined as undergraduates with a need less than 10,000.00 USD.

2. Determine which awards students in each group are eligible for or which awards you want to give certain students, and in which order these awards should be offered.

   Each financial aid award that your institution offers may apply to all students or to only a specific group of students. For example, only undergraduates are eligible for Pell Grants and only students from California are eligible for Cal Grants, but you might have a University Grant for which all students are eligible regardless of their career or residency. You are now ready to start grouping awards together into a packaging plan.

Understanding Packaging Plans

Using Financial Aid, you can create packaging plans that give the system instructions on how to award or package a student with various financial aid awards. You should create your packaging plans to meet the needs of your various groups of students. Packaging plans are used when groups of students are packaged in a background process (Mass Packaging) or when the system automatically packages an individual student online (Auto Packaging). A packaging plan groups together financial aid awards and enables you to set specific rules for how that group of awards should be given to students. You can also specify other important parameters in a packaging plan, such as how much federal need the packaging plan meets and how the aid is disbursed to students. The packaging plan can incorporate nearly all decisions that a financial aid counselor makes when creating a financial aid package with specific financial aid awards. Because a packaging plan is set up to make decisions that a financial aid counselor would, the packaging plans must reflect your institution's financial aid awarding philosophy so that the automated process works most effectively for you.

If you have a group of similar awards, such as endowed restricted funds, which have very specific target populations, you might want to group these awards together into a related item type group. You can define the group and include it in a packaging plan as an individual award, instead of adding individual restricted aid financial aid item types to packaging plans.

Individual financial aid item types can be part of as many packaging plans as you prefer. Some financial aid item types can be in every packaging plan, such as an unsubsidized Stafford loan.

Not all financial aid item types in a packaging plan are issued to all students who are selected for that packaging plan. The packaging plan assigns financial aid item types to students based on selection criteria defined for each financial aid item type and the overall packaging rules set up as part of the packaging plan. For example, a packaging plan includes ten different financial aid item types, but a student receives only five of the ten financial aid item types because of eligibility requirements or because the student's financial need is met. Although you are not packaging students in this section, it is important to know how packaging plans are used to set them up effectively.

After you group your individual financial aid item types in your various packaging plans, decide in what order you want the various awards to be made. This decision depends heavily on your institution's financial aid packaging policies. The automated Packaging routines process individual financial aid item types in a designated order within each packaging plan. The automated Packaging routine continues awarding up to a dollar limit or a percentage of need defined in the packaging plan, or up to the cost of attendance, depending on the type of awards that are included in the packaging plan. Because awards are packaged in a specific order up to the defined limit, you may want to sequence entitlement awards near the top of the packaging plan to ensure that they are awarded. You might want to put less desirable awards, such as unsubsidized loans, lower in the order.

In addition to selecting and sequencing awards in the packaging plan, you must set up several other parameters. Define packaging targets, award limits, equity limits, loan award limits, work award limits, and the disbursement schedule for each award. For award-related limits and disbursements, you can use the default value for the award—as defined in your financial aid item type setup—or you can define values to be used for the award when it is included in a packaging plan.

Throughout the setup of your packaging plans you can use equations to identify a population of students or to perform calculations. Use the Equation Engine to create these equations.

Using Equation Engine in Packaging

Equation Engine can read any table for which you have security access and can perform various arithmetic operations and external call subroutines.

Note. If you plan to use equations, you must set them up before you set up packaging plans. Similarly, if you plan to use Mass Packaging, set up equations to be used as part of that process.

You must be familiar with the fields that you can use in equations to understand what student data is available for selection or calculation. Equations are written in statements similar to spoken phrases. For example, if you want to write an equation that calculates different award amounts based on a student's grade level, using the Global A_AMOUNT option, you would first write:

If the student's grade level is freshman, then I want to award 8,000.00 USD; if the student's grade level is sophomore, then I want to award 8,500.00 USD; if the student's grade level is junior, then I want to award 9,000.00 USD, and if the student's grade level is a senior or higher, then I want to award 9,500.00 USD.

This sentence can be written as an equation:

FAPDGRADELVL

In the example, NSLDS_LOAN_YEAR is the field name for academic level. The first section of the equation assigns the global variables needed by the equation engine to identify the proper NSLDS_LOAN_YEAR. The second section tells the system which table, field, and field values are to be evaluated by the equation (NSLDS_LOAN_YEAR value = freshman, sophomore, junior, and so on). Based on the table/field value, the 'Assign Global A_AMOUNT' statement instructs the system to award the student a particular dollar value (if the student is a sophomore, award the student 8,500.00). When using the Equation Engine, you are guided in the writing of your equation by the various field prompts and their values.

As another example, if you are creating a packaging plan for your graduate career and you need to select all students with a graduate career, you would write an equation using A_SELECT: I want to select all of my students whose career equals graduate.

This sentence can be written as an equation:

FAPDGRADS

In the example, ACAD_CAREER is the field name for career. The first section of the equation assigns the global variables needed by the equation engine to identify the proper Career. The second section tells the system which table, field, and field values are to be evaluated by the equation (ACAD_CAREER = GRAD). Based on the table/field value, the 'Assign Global A_SELECT' statement instructs the system to select the student, in this example, for the particular packaging plan (if the student's career equals GRAD, assign the student to 'Graduate' packaging plan).

See Also

Working with Equation Engine

Viewing and Editing Equations

This section provides an overview of the Equation Engine and discusses how to:

• Review field names for equations.

• Use packaging data source and equation engine.

• Round in packaging using equations.

Understanding the Equation Engine

The Equation Engine is a very powerful tool that enables you to develop a variety of formulas. The equations are used to select a specific population of students for packaging as well as to calculate award amounts and other numeric values. The Equation Engine uses algebraic equations and Boolean formulas, and it enables you to link equations. Equations are used when defining a packaging plan, setting award maximums and limits, and assigning groups of students to a financial aid item type, equity group, or related item type group.

Before you write an equation, define the information that you want the equation to provide. If you want the equation to provide a listing for a group of students, decide exactly what the process for selecting those students is and then create an equation using the global statement 'ASSIGN GLOBAL A_SELECT' = T' structure. You need to assign this kind of equation as 'Fin Aid Packaging Select Eqtns' for its application prompt. By doing this, you are presented with only Selection Type Equations in Packaging Setup. If you want the equation to provide a calculated value such as an award maximum, decide where the value is derived from and how it is calculated and then create an equation using the Global statement 'ASSIGN GLOBAL A_AMOUNT Number ####.##' structure. You need to assign this kind of equation as 'Fin Aid Packaging Amount Eqtns' for its application prompt. By doing this, you are presented with only Calculation Type Equations in Packaging Setup.

Page Used to View and Edit Equations

Reviewing Field Names for Equations

Any field in the database can be accessed and used in developing equations if you have defined the table or view in Equation Data Tables (Set Up SACR, Common Definitions, Equation Engine, Equation Data Tables) and the relevant Equation Tree Security has been granted to the table or view (Set Up SACR, Security, Equation Tree Security, Tables and Views).

Some delivered packaging equations are system-specific and some are demonstration-specific. System-specific packaging equations contain the prefix FAPK* while demonstration-specific packaging equations contain the prefix FAPD*.

FAPK = Packaging System Equations. Do not modify any equation with the FAPK* prefix as these equations are used as part of the internal Equation processing of Dual Sourced fields (ISIR vs. IM fields) for Financial Aid Auto and Mass Packaging.

FAPD = Packaging Data Equations are a sample set equations provided as part of the demo database. These equations serve as examples of creating various types of packaging equations supported by the Equation Engine routine.

See Also

Equation Engine Programmer's Guide

Using Packaging Data Source and Equation Engine

The Equation Engine is equipped to handle dual-sourced fields for packaging purposes—same or similar fields that are sourced from the ISIR or an institutional application (PROFILE, or institutional application) that packaging uses. The Equation Engine determines which source data to use.

Equations with the prefix FAPK* are system equations that handle the dual-sourced nature of these ISIR or institutional fields. To use these equations, you must create a new equation and invoke a CALL statement to the applicable FAPK system equations and then assign a global variable in your newly created equation. The system uses the Packaging Data Source together with these FAPK system equations fields to return the corresponding value from the appropriate Packaging Data Source. Review the delivered FAPD* equations to see how the corresponding FAPK equations are implemented.

Note. To ensure that the dual-sourced equations behave correctly, do not modify them.

Access the Equation Editor page (Set Up SACR, Common Definitions, Equation Engine, Equation Editor).

The Equation Table group box displays the equation description and creation information. Use the Equation Detail group box to view and edit an approximate algebraic representation of the equation. Use the scroll bar to view the entire equation.

Equations use dual source fields. Refer to the following table for more details.

Packaging equations with dual source fields:

Packaging Data Source Control Equations

The following equations are key equations that the Equation Engine uses as internal triggers in its routine when determining what table to call to obtain correct data:

Warning! Do not modify or remove these equations.

Rounding in Packaging Using Equations

The Packaging routine does not round up to whole dollar amounts when your equation yields a decimal result for a packaging limit. If the result contains decimals, the Packaging routine produces the following error message: Message # 9146 Cannot disburse in whole dollars; award contains cents.

For equations that need to yield a whole dollar result, you must use a rounding equation. Use one of two options:

• Option 1:

  1. Create your A_AMOUNT equation, and at the bottom of the equation, insert a Call statement to the delivered sample equation FAPDROUNDAWD.

  2. Review the FAPDROUNDAWD equation to determine the number of places beyond the decimal point that you want (0=integers or whole numbers, 1, 2, and so on).

  3. Ensure that the Packaging System Equation EQROUND is called as part of FAPDROUNDAWD.

• Option 2:

  1. Create your A_AMOUNT equation, and at the bottom of the equation, append the contents of the delivered sample equation FAPDROUNDAWD to your newly created equation—making sure that you Assign ROUND_IN, ROUND_PLACES (including the number of places beyond the decimal point that you want A_AMOUNT to contain), and ROUND_RESULT.

  2. Ensure that the Packaging System Equation EQROUND is called as part of your newly created equation.

Note. For this rounding logic to work properly, it is imperative that all elements of FAPDROUNDAWD are employed and that EQROUND is called as part of that routine—these components should not be modified by you or anyone on your staff.

Here is an example of the Equation Editor page, showing the FAPDROUNDAWD equation:

See Also

Working with Equation Engine

Reviewing Equations

This section discusses how to view equations as algebraic expressions.

Page Used to Review Equations

Viewing Equations as Algebraic Expressions

Access the Review Equations page (Set Up SACR, Common Definitions, Equation Engine, Review Equations).

This page displays the equation name and an approximate algebraic representation of the equation. You cannot edit the equation on this page. Use the scroll bar to view the entire equation.

Note. This summary is a representation of the equation that you created on the Equation Editor page. The Equation Editor page determines how your equation functions.

Reviewing Equation Examples

This section contains examples of equations. It details three equations that are used to create loan validation edits for financial aid. These equations are delivered with the system as part of the Loan Validation process. This section discusses these equations:

• Packaging selection.

• Packaging calculation

• Verifying student is enrolled.

Packaging Selection Equation

Sample Packaging Selection Equation resulting in a ASSIGN GLOBAL A_SELECT = True or False result. This equation provides an answer to the question Is a student an undergraduate? (FAPDUGRADS, Verify Student is an Undergrad):

Packaging Calculation Equation

Sample Packaging Calculation Equation resulting in a ASSIGN GLOBAL A_AMOUNT = numeric value result. This equation provides an amount Set the award amount for an early admission student (FAPDEARLYADM, Set early admission amount):

Verifying Student Is Enrolled Equation

This equation provides an answer to the question Is a student enrolled (U_FA_LOAD, Verify Student is Enrolled):

Creating Equity Item Type Groups

To set up equity item type groups, use the Packaging Equity Item Type component (PKG_EQUITY_GROUP).

This section provides an overview of equity item type groups and discusses how to define equity item type groups.

Understanding Equity Item Type Groups

Equity funds are "free money" for students, such as grants and scholarships, and can include parent and student contributions. Equity limits are established as part of the packaging plan and equity offsets reduce the amount of equity funds available to a student. Financial aid item types that are defined as equity awards are applied toward the equity limit when they are awarded.

Equity item type groups enable you to group together financial aid item types, regardless of their defined equity attribute, for consideration as equity offsets within a packaging plan. You can designate a financial aid item type not defined as an equity award as an equity item type by including it in an equity item type group. Using equity item type groups, a group of financial aid item types can be treated as equity awards in one packaging plan but not in another. You do not need to include financial aid item types defined as equity awards in equity item type groups, but nothing prevents you from doing so.

See Also

Defining Awarding and Rounding Rules

Page Used to Create Equity Item Type Groups

Defining Equity Item Type Groups

Access the Equity Item Group page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Equity Item Types, Equity Item Group).

Item Type

Select a financial aid item type to include in this equity item type group. All financial aid item types, whether they have been defined as an equity award or not, are available for selection. Insert a new row to add additional financial aid item types to the equity item type group.

Creating Related Item Type Groups

This section provides an overview of related item type groups and discusses how to define related item type groups.

Understanding Related Item Type Groups

To set up related item type groups, use the Related Item Type Group component (PKG_REL_ITEM_GROUP).

Related item type groups are used to award a group of similar funds, such as institutional or endowed restricted funds, in a specific order until the group maximum is met. For example, an institution may have more than 200 endowed or restricted funds from which to award a student. By implementing a related item type group, you can group these funds together in discrete categories for quick evaluation through packaging plans. If the related item type is used in a packaging plan, the packaging plan maximum may also affect the amount awarded from the related item type group. When a related item type is used in a packaging plan, only the financial aid item types for which a student qualifies are actually awarded.

Page Used to Create Related Item Type Groups

Defining Related Item Type Groups

Access the Related Item Type Group page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Related Item Type Group, Related Item Type Group).

Group Maximum and Maximum Number of Awards	Enter the maximum dollar amount and the maximum number of awards that can be awarded to one student from this related item group.
Selection Criteria	Select an equation that defines the group of students to select for this related item type group from a list of the equations that you created using the Equation Engine. This field is optional; you can use it to refine the group of students who are considered for these awards.
Equation Detail	This link appears only if you enter an equation in the Selection Criteria field. Click to access the Review Equations page and view the selected equation written as an algebraic expression.
Item Type	Select a financial aid item type to include in this related item type group. Insert rows to add additional financial aid item types to the related item type group.
Processing Order	Enter the order in which you want the system to evaluate the associated financial aid item types, with the lowest number evaluated first.

Defining Packaging Plans

This section provides an overview of packaging plans setup and discusses how to:

• Define packaging plan IDs.

• Set up FM packaging target.

• Set up IM packaging target.

• Define packaging equity limits and offsets.

• Define loan and work packaging limits.

• Define packaging rules: item type selection, sequence, and limits.

• Set packaging rule award limits.

• Define packaging rules: award status, disbursement plan, and split code.

Understanding Packaging Plan Setup

To set up packaging plans, use the Packaging Plan component (PACKAGE_PLAN_TABLE).

You can set up as many packaging plans as you want. Each plan can have a different set of awards, with different award limits, targeted for different populations of students. Your philosophy about financial aid awarding informs the setting up and adding of packaging plans. Packaging plans are aid year-specific but can be copied from year to year and modified to reflect any changes for the new aid year. Packaging plans are also career-specific.

Before you define your packaging plans, identify your various student populations and their eligibility for various types of financial aid. Creating a flow chart and ranking the various awards available for each group of students may help you to define what each packaging plan should include and what rules it should incorporate.

Pages Used to Define Packaging Plans

Defining Packaging Plan IDs

Access the Packaging Plan page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Plan, Packaging Plan).

Processing Order	When the Mass Packaging process has to evaluate many packaging plans during a run, the processing order determines the sequence in which the selected packaging plans are reviewed. The Mass Packaging routine processes the packaging plan with the lowest processing order number first.
Award Period	Select the award period to which the packaging plan applies. The packaging plan's award period is particularly important during multiple award period processing. Academic: The packaging rules in this packaging plan apply to the academic award period. If existing awards have disbursement plan/split code combinations that indicate they belong to the academic award period, the existing awards are reevaluated and may be changed or canceled. If the disbursement plan/split code combinations indicate the existing awards belong to the non-standard award period, the existing awards are not reevaluated. If the disbursement plan/split code combinations indicate the existing awards belong to the both award periods, only the portion of the existing awards that belong to the academic award period are reevaluated. Both: The packaging rules in this packaging plan apply to the both award periods. All existing awards are reevaluated and may be changed or canceled. Non Std (non-standard): The packaging rules in this packaging plan apply to the non-standard award period. If existing awards have disbursement plan/split code combinations that indicate they belong to the non-standard award period, the existing awards are reevaluated and may be changed or canceled. If the disbursement plan/split code combinations indicate the existing awards belong to the academic award period, the existing awards are not reevaluated. If the disbursement plan/split code combinations indicate the existing awards belong to the both award periods, only the portion of the existing awards that belong to the non-standard award period are reevaluated.
Description	For reference, you can include the career that uses this packaging plan in the description for easy identification.
Selection Criteria	Select an equation that determines which students are selected for evaluation with this packaging plan during a Mass Packaging run. You set up these equations with the Equation Engine.
Equation Detail	This link appears only if you enter an equation in the Selection Criteria field. Click to access the Review Equations page and view the selected equation written as an algebraic expression.
Copy	Click this button to access the Copy Package Plan Data page and copy packaging plan ID information from one combination of institution, aid year, academic career, packaging plan, effective date, and processing order to another.

See Also

Understanding Multiple Award Period Processing

Setting Up FM Packaging Target

Access the FM Target page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Plan, FM Target).

The packaging target is defined either as a percentage of the student's financial need or a specific dollar amount or both. For example, the target could be to award students up to 75 percent of their FM need or up to 12,000.00 USD, or to award 75 percent of their FM need up to 12,000.00 USD. When you populate this page, the packaging plan evaluates the student's FM need. The packaging plan then attempts to award students up to the target amount. You can also establish award amount limits for this packaging plan that are more restrictive than those defined at the financial aid item type level.

FM Packaging Target

Note. FFELP or Direct Subsidized and Unsubsidized loans are treated differently by the packaging targets and limits. These awards are not limited by the packaging target because the eligibility for these awards allows them to be given up to the aggregate level maximum without regard to an artificial limit.

FM Packaging Target Limit

Note. The cost of attendance is always the maximum limit for awarding with a packaging plan except when awarding No Effect awards.

See Also

Defining Awarding and Rounding Rules

Setting Up IM Packaging Target

Access the IM Target page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Plan, IM Target).

The packaging target is defined either as a percentage of the student's financial need or a specific dollar amount or both. For example, the target could be to award students up to 80 percent of their IM need or up to 8,000.00 USD, or to award 80 percent of their IM need up to 8,000.00 USD. When you populate this page, the packaging plan evaluates the student's IM need. The packaging plan then attempts to award students up to the target amount. You can also establish award amount limits for this packaging plan that are more restrictive than those defined at the financial aid item type level.

The fields on this page match those on the FM Target page.

See Also

Setting Up FM Packaging Target

Defining Packaging Equity Limits and Offsets

Access the Equity Rule page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Plan, Equity Rule).

Equity packaging enables you to ensure that similar populations of students—all graduates, all teacher credential candidates, all first-time freshmen, all students whose EFC equals zero, and so on—are packaged equally with "free" money from federal, state, institutional, or private sources. The equity target amount—referred to in our system as the equity limit—can be reduced or offset by parent contribution, student contribution, Social Security benefits, equity item type groups, or any combination of these resources. The Packaging routine prevents the student from being awarded an equity award amount (from the equity aid financial aid item types included as packaging rules) that exceeds the equity target amount.

Equity Limit

Offset

Reduce the equity amount awarded by the packaging plan by selecting one or more of the offset check boxes. If you select any FM offsets, the IM offsets are not available, and vice versa.

Defining Loan and Work Packaging Limits

Access the Packaging Limits page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Plan, Packaging Limits).

Loan Limits

Enter a maximum amount awarded by this packaging plan for federal loans and institutional loans.

Work Limits

Enter a maximum amount awarded by this packaging plan for federal work-study and institutional work-study.

Defining Packaging Rules: Item Type Selection, Sequence and Limits

Access the Packaging Rules 1 page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Plan, Packaging Rules 1).

You should complete the Packaging Rules 1 page in conjunction with the Packaging Rules 2 page.

Item Types

If you are setting up a Pell-only repackaging plan, you can only enter Pell Grant financial aid item types as a packaging rule and you must use the Item Type option.

Limited By

Set additional maximum and minimum limits for this financial aid item type in this specific packaging plan. When Auto Packaging and Mass Packaging determine award amounts and when you run the Validation process, all eligibility rules, aggregate limits, minimum and maximum award limits, fiscal fund availability, and financial aid item type rules are checked. When determining the maximum award limit, the lowest maximum award limit from the maximum limits set at the item type, financial aid item type, aggregate aid, fiscal item type, and packaging plan levels is used. The minimum award limit used is the lowest minimum award limit from the minimum limits set at the item type, financial aid item type, and packaging plan levels.

Limiting Factor

Choose to further limit the award amount after the system determines the annual award amount. You must select one of the three options in this group box.

Setting Packaging Rule Award Limits

Access the Packaging Rule Award Limits page (click the Spending Limit Preferences link on the Packaging Rules 1 page).

Select one of the four options for limiting the total amount awarded for this financial aid item type. The spending limit that you set up here affects this financial aid item type only when it is used in this packaging plan.

See Also

Budgeting Fiscal Limits

Defining Packaging Rules: Award Status, Disbursement Plan and Split Code

Access the Packaging Rules 2 page (Set Up SACR, Product Related, Financial Aid, Awards, Packaging Plan, Packaging Rules 2).

You should complete the Packaging Rules 2 page in conjunction with the Packaging Rules 1 page.

Item Type Defaults

The system identifies the sequence number of the proposed award and whether the packaging rule is for a financial aid item type, related item type group, or gap item type.

Disbursement Plan

Split Code

In this group box, you can decide whether to use the default disbursement split for this financial aid item type or select a specific disbursement split to use for this financial aid item type in this packaging plan.

Note. The selected split code is used unless the student's enrollment pattern varies from the pattern defined by the chosen split code. In that case, the system returns a custom split code and disbursement plan that match the student's actual enrollment. For example, if the split code divides the award evenly between three quarters of the academic year, but the student is only attending two of the three quarters, the system splits the disbursement between two terms instead of three.

See Also

Defining Default Disbursement Plans and Split Codes

Defining Financial Aid Item Types