Using Financial Aid Self Service

This chapter provides an overview of the self-service application and discusses how to:

• Accept, decline, and reduce awards.

• Report external awards.

• Print the FE FAN letter.

• Select a lender.

• Complete a loan counseling requirement.

• Use entry points into the Perkins eMPN process.

• Sign a Perkins eMPN.

• Request a paper MPN.

• View and sign a paper Perkins MPN.

• Use administrative requests.

• View student self-service pages by aid year.

• View student self-service pages by award period.

Understanding Financial Aid Self-Service

Students can view their financial aid data by aid year or award period, and accept, decline, and reduce awards. If your institution enters Aid Year in the View Summary By field on the Self Service Options page, the system displays data based on the aid year; if your institution enters Award Period, the system displays the data by award period.

To accept and decline awards, students can navigate to Self Service, Campus Finances, Accept/Decline Awards or Self Service, Student Center and click the Accept/Decline Awards link in the Finances group box on the Student Center page.

See Also

Setting Up Self-Service Inquiry Options

Accepting, Declining, and Reducing Awards

This section discusses how students:

• Select an aid year.

• Accept, decline, and reduce awards using self-service.

Pages Used to Accept, Decline, and Reduce Awards

Selecting an Aid Year

Access the Financial Aid - Select Aid Year to View page.

The student selects the aid year for which he wants to accept, reduce, or decline awards on the Financial Aid - Select Aid Year to View page. The system displays all aid year and institution combinations for which the student is in attendance. If the student is in attendance at more than one institution, you cannot restrict the view to a single institution or aid year.

If you selected the Print Letter Option to Print in setup, the system displays all noncanceled awards for the student for the selected aid year. If total aid is greater than zero and the Print option does not equal Print, the link for that year is disabled, and the system displays Award access not available. instead of the aid year description. If the Allow Access check box is cleared on the Self Service Options page, the system displays No self service access for this aid year. If the Award Access check box is cleared on the Packaging Status Summary page for this student, the system displays Award not available.

If a student declines all awards and subsequently attempts to access self service award acknowledgment, the system does not activate the aid year for which the student declined all awards.

Accepting, Declining, and Reducing Awards Using Self-Service

Access the Financial Aid - Award Package page.

The first time the student accesses the Financial Aid - Award Package page, the system displays the package status as New Package. For students who have submitted an award acknowledgment prior to this entry, the system displays an active Previous Transactions link.

The system displays the most current award package and a corresponding status. The date/time field displays the last time the award package was updated. When action is taken against the award data or the award data is accessed, the system initiates a date and time stamp.

The system applies the following rules:

• An award with a disbursed balance greater than zero cannot be adjusted during self-service activity. However, a student can modify awards with an authorized balance greater than zero.

• If the FA Item Type self-service action setup is specified as a reduction, the student can reduce awards in self-service and reduce awards with the following attributes: Professional Judgment, Need Override, Override, or Lock Flag based on FA Item Type self-service action setup.

• If the loan award allows for reductions based on the FA Item Type self-service action setup, the system ensures that the Offered amount and the Accepted amount are the same after the award is processed.

Note. Oracle recommends that you use the user-defined text delivered with this product to define awarding rules and instructions for your students. For example, if a student cannot reduce an award in self-service, a clarification as to why the student cannot modify the award will be useful. Examples of user-defined text are Award is disbursed and Loan is in transit.

Example of No Link on a Declined Award

When a student declines one or more awards while other awards are either in Offered or Accepted status, the system does not display a link for the declined award because no scheduled disbursements exist for that award. In the following example, the student declined the FASS: Work and FASS: Loan awards. These awards do not have a link to the Financial Aid - Award Detail page.

The system does not require a student to make changes to the page. If the student clicks Submit without making changes to the package, the system displays the status as Successful in real-time processing and Pending Update in batch processing.

Unlike administrative packaging, in which the packaging routine performs extensive edits to ensure the validity of an award, in self-service, the system processes awards in passive mode and does not perform any federal edits or evaluate the student for eligibility or need criteria. The system performs a subset of edits on any award that is being reduced. Also, the system adjusts an award that has been reduced below minimum amounts established for the system.

Reporting External Awards

This section provides an overview of reporting external awards and lists the pages used to report external awards.

Understanding Reporting External Awards

The Reporting External Award component enables students to provide information regarding any external awards not already reflected on their award package. Self-service options control whether the component is accessible from the Accept/Decline and View Financial Aid pages and the Packaging Status Summary page. External awards reported by students are considered a data source to External Award staging tables. All student-reported awards are posted directly to External Award staging tables and automatically set with a processing status of Reported and data source of Self Serve. The system-set process status of Reported on external award transactions reported by the student require administrator review before any potential posting to the student award package.

Administrators use a Comment field to enter the status of self-service reported external awards. They also indicate whether comments should be viewable to a student. These comments are displayed on the Award Detail page, from awards listed on the Aid from Other Aid-Report History page.

Pages Used to Report External Awards

Printing the FE FAN Letter

When students click the View Award Notification link from the Financial Aid - Award Summary page or the Financial Aid - Award Package page, a pop-up window displays the Award Notification letter in PDF format.

Selecting a Lender

This section provides an overview of lender selection and discusses how to view lenders selected by the students.

Understanding Lender Selection

Lender Selection enables students to select an FFELP lender or to change a previously assigned lender:

• If the student has not been awarded, the system provides a Student Finances link to indicate a lender to be picked up by Loan Origination.

• If a student has been awarded an FFELP loan, the system displays the lender and provides a link that enables the student to change the lender if the loan is not originated or transmitted to the guarantor.

• If a student changes the lender after borrowing from another lender, a message is optionally displayed to warn them against doing so for repayment reasons.

• If the loan has been originated or transmitted, the lender is displayed but the student cannot change it. A message tells the student to contact the financial aid office if they need to change the lender.

Pages Used to Select and View a Lender

Viewing a Student's Lender Selection Record

Access the Selected Lenders page ( Financial Aid, Loans, View Lender Selection).

The Lender Information tab displays the lender that was selected by the student through Campus Self Service.

Select the Guarantor Information tab.

The Guarantor Information tab displays the guarantor that was associated to the lender selected by the student. The guarantor is associated to the lender based on values defined on the Identify Self Service Lenders page.

Note. The Lender and Guarantor values on this page are used to determine the correct loan destination during loan origination. If the Guarantor values are missing, it is possible that the loan could be originated with no loan destination found.

Completing a Loan Counseling Requirement

This section provides an overview of a loan counseling requirement and lists the page used to complete a loan counseling requirement.

Understanding a Loan Counseling Requirement

After the student accepts an award and the loan is originated, the system displays a link to entrance interview information for each award. This URL is specified on the Loan Counseling page and associated display parameters are set on the Loan Options page.

The student clicks the link to access the loan information. After the student demonstrates familiarity with the information, the administrator can change the Loan Entrance Interview Status field value on the Packaging Status Summary page from Inst Req to Completed.

Similarly, if an exit interview is required, the link is displayed in the program completion timeframe set on the Loan Counseling page. The student accesses the information and after demonstrating familiarity with the information, the administrator changes the Exit Interview field value on the Packaging Status Summary page from Inst Req to Completed.

Page Used to Complete a Loan Counseling Requirement

Using Entry Points into the Perkins eMPN Process

This section provides an overview of Perkins eMPN functionality and discusses how to:

• View Perkins loan award details.

• View Perkins loan award summary.

Understanding Perkins eMPN Functionality

The Perkins eMPN process supports the requirement that schools use the Perkins Master Promissory Note (MPN) and provide the option for students to complete and sign their Perkins MPN electronically. To comply with regulatory disclosure and notification requirements for the federal Perkins loan, the system includes specific disclosure items. In addition, most self-service pages allow for site-defined text so that institutions can include specific wording that satisfies their requirement as a holder of the Perkins loan.

Students can access the eMPN process to view their promissory note information using the Accept/Decline Awards, View Financial Aid, Sign Perkins Promissory Note, or View Perkins Promissory Note menu paths. Contained within the process are pages that acknowledge borrower rights and responsibilities, disclosures, terms and conditions, and important notices to complete the eMPN process. The system presents information to the student using both static data and user-defined text.

The Perkins eMPN pages have cancel buttons so that students can exit the Perkins eMPN process at any point. If a student cancels, the system discards any data that the student entered. When students access the electronic signature process, they are instructed to enter an identity authentication element: NID, DOB, or user-defined PIN. The institution determines the identity authentication prompt during setup. Students must select a check box to indicate consent to proceed with the Perkins eMPN process. The system authenticates the information and captures the date and time of the consent. To continue and complete the process, students must verify that their personal information is correct, provide loan references, review loan indebtedness and repayment schedule, review and accept their rights and responsibilities, and review and electronically sign their federal Perkins Master Promissory Note. The system provides pages for students to review current and history information regarding their Perkins MPN.

Oracle recommends that you use the user-defined text to define instructions and information for your student population. The text on Perkins eMPN pages can be easily modified to best meet your institutional requirements. These user-defined text messages are contained within Message Set Number 14409. Message Set Number 14409, 500 number series, are user-definable messages for Financial Aid Self Service pages.

The system is designed to dynamically provide various entry points within the Campus Finances menu for the student to begin the eMPN process: Sign Perkins Promissory Note, Accept/Decline Awards, and View Financial Aid. The system evaluates whether a valid Perkins MPN is present. At a minimum, the student must accept a Perkins loan before being allowed to access the Perkins eMPN process.

Note. If a valid Perkins MPN is present, the system dynamically provides links at entry points for the student to view Perkins Promissory Note history pages.

Pages Used as Entry Points into the Perkins eMPN Process

Viewing Perkins Loan Award Details

If the award has the MPN Required option, the system provides a link to the Perkins Loan Promissory note on the Financial Aid - Award Detail page.

If the award has a completed and valid MPN record, the Perkins Loan Promissory Note link takes the student to the Perkins Promissory note history page. If the award does not have a valid MPN record and the award is accepted, the link takes the student to the introductory page for the Perkins eMPN process.

Viewing Perkins Loan Award Summary

If the item type has the MPN Required option, the award is accepted, and the system determines that a valid MPN has not yet been completed, then the system displays a Sign Perkins MPN link on the Financial Aid - Award Summary page. The student can click the link to access the introductory page for the eMPN process.

The system displays the View Promissory Note link if a valid MPN has been completed for the award. The link directs the student to the View Promissory Note page.

See Also

Viewing a Detailed Summary of Financial Aid by Aid Year

Signing an Electronic Perkins eMPN

This section discusses how to:

• Review Perkins eMPN introductory information.

• Enter an ID authentication and provide consent.

• Verify personal information.

• Provide loan references.

• Review loan indebtedness.

• Accept borrower rights and responsibilities.

Pages Used to Sign an Electronic Perkins MPN

Reviewing Perkins eMPN Introductory Information

Access the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Introductory Information) page (click theAid Year link on the Financial Aid - Select Aid Year to View page).

The Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Introductory Information) page represents the first page in the Perkins eMPN process. This page introduces a student to the Perkins eMPN process and provides a listing of items that should be readily available before continuing. The page provides the means to define key elements within the eMPN process. To assist the student, a listing of information is available prior to continuing the eMPN process. Item 1 is a controlled item and automatically adjusts based on the authentication method option selected on the self-service awarding option for the Perkins MPN.

The student selects the REQUEST PAPER MPN (request paper master promissory note) button to request a paper MPN. The system displays a PDF version of the Perkins MPN in a new window.

See Also

Pages Used to Request and Sign a Promissory Note

Entering an ID Authentication and Providing Consent

Access the Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (ID and Consent) page (click the Continue button on the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (PreliminaryInformation) page.

If your institution set the Authentication Method option on the Awarding Options page to No authentication, the system does not display text that requests students to enter an identity authentication on the Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (ID and Consent) page.

Oracle recommends that you use the user-defined text message delivered with this product to define instructions for your students. For example, your institution might require additional consent items to satisfy disclosure requirements. The Perkins eMPN user-defined text messages are contained within the Message Set Number 14409.

Verifying Personal Information

Access the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Verify Personal Information) page (click the Continue button on the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (ID and Consent) page).

Regulations require a permanent address to be captured on the Perkins MPN. The Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Verify Personal Information) page displays the most current permanent address and home telephone number for the student. Students can use the available links on the page to access the Self Service Campus Personal Information address and home components. If students click either the address or phone update link, they are removed from the eMPN process and must begin the eMPN process from the start.

Note. The system does not allow a student to proceed without a current permanent address.

Providing Loan References

Access the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Provide Loan References) page (click the Confirm button on the Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Verify Personal Information) page).

The Perkins eMPN process requires that the student provide at least two loan references. Institutions can require up to three additional loan references. If additional references are required, the system adds an extra step on the Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Provide Loan References) page. The third step requests that the student provide additional references beyond the two.

Reviewing Loan Indebtedness

Access the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Review Loan Indebtedness) page (click the Next button on the Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Provide Loan References) page).

On the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Review Loan Indebtedness) page, the Federal Perkins Loan Amount to Date field indicates the amount based on awards associated with the Perkins aggregate.

The award amount represents any financial aid item type for which the aggregate area is tied to Perkins, even if the item type is not flagged as MPN-required. The system keys loan history amounts by school code. Therefore, the system consolidates and displays only loan amounts that are associated with valid school codes for the institution.

Accepting Borrower Rights and Responsibilities

Access the Financial Aid – Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Accept Rights and Responsibilities) page (click the Next button on the Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Review Loan Indebtedness) page).

The Financial Aid - Federal Perkins Master Promissory Note (Accept Borrower's Rights and Responsibilities) page provides the student (borrower) the necessary disclosures regarding rights and responsibilities. The entire text displayed is user-defined text. Oracle recommends that schools adjust the text to satisfy necessary disclosure requirements.

Requesting and Signing a Paper Perkins MPN

This section provides an overview of paper MPN requests and lists the pages used to request and sign a paper Perkins MPN.

Understanding Paper Perkins MPN Requests

Regulations require that a student (borrower) be given the opportunity to exit the Perkins eMPN process, and instead, request a paper Perkins MPN. When the student requests a paper Perkins MPN, the system generates a PDF version of the Perkins MPN with both Sections A and B completed. The system instructs the student to print, complete, and return the Perkins MPN to the financial aid office.

When the system generates a paper Perkins MPN, it creates a Perkins MPN record with the MPN format equal to paper. The system considers this Perkins MPN invalid until a signature date is entered.

Note. If the paper Perkins MPN remains invalid, the student can return and attempt the Perkins eMPN process again. If the student completes and electronically signs the Perkins MPN, the system cancels the previous paper Perkins MPN and creates a subsequent Perkins MPN indicating a completed electronic Perkins MPN.

Pages Used to Request and Sign a Paper Perkins MPN

Viewing a Perkins MPN

This section lists the pages used to view Perkins promissory notes.

Pages Used to View a Perkins Promissory Note

Using Administrative Requests

This section provides an overview of administrative requests, known to the student as Request Counselor Action, and lists the page used to initiate and update administrative requests.

Understanding Administrative Requests

Administrative requests refer to any comment or request for action by students regarding their financial aid package. A request can be to increase the total aid package, replace loan awards with scholarships and grants, or cancel the financial aid application. A student can file a request for counselor action without taking any action toward accepting, reducing, or declining all or part of the financial aid package.

The Request Counselor Action link on the Financial Aid – Award Package page takes the student to the data entry page for the administrative request. The system displays the highest sequenced record. If there are no existing requests, or if the highest sequenced request exists with a status of Closed, the system creates a new request for the student. The Request Type defaults to Change Request with a status of Open. The student cannot change the status but can cancel or close the current request. The status remains open until either a counselor or the student closes the request. If a counselor closes the request, the counselor can enter the action taken. If a student closes the request, the system sets the action to None.

If there is an outstanding request with a status of Open or Pending, the system displays the current request to the student. The student can add comments or close the current request. The student can also view prior requests if there is more than one existing request.

Page Used for Administrative Requests

Viewing Student Self-Service Pages by Aid Year

This section provides an overview and lists the pages used to view student self service pages by aid year:

Understanding Viewing Self-Service Inquiry Pages by Aid Year

In the financial aid self-service inquiry pages, students can view their financial aid data by aid year or award period. If your institution enters Aid Year in the View Data By field on the Inquiry Options page, the system displays data based on the aid year.

The system displays all aid years for which the student has been aid-year activated on the Financial Aid - Select Aid Year to View page. If the estimated financial aid budget, expected family contribution, and total aid amounts for an aid year are all zero, the link for that year is disabled, and the system displays No financial aid data available instead of the aid year description. If the self service options for an aid year have not been set up, the link for that year is disabled, and the system displays Aid Year not set up for self service.

If the Allow Access check box is clear on the Self Service Options page, the system displays No self service access for this aid year. If the Inquiry Access check box is clear on the Packaging Status Summary page for this student, the system displays Inquiry access denied.

Students select the aid year to view. If a student has aid for more than one career in the aid year or award period, this link accesses the Financial Aid - Select Career to View page. If not, it accesses the Financial Aid - Award Summary page.

Note. If a student does not have awards or if the Award Detail check box on the Self Service Options page is clear, the system displays the Financial Aid - Self Service Links page.

See Also

Understanding Campus Self Service for Financial Aid

Defining Self-Service Options

Pages Used to View Student Self-Service Pages by Aid Year

Viewing Student Self-Service Pages by Award Period

This section lists the pages used to view student self-service pages by award period. Most pages are the same for both aid year and award period options.

If your institution enters Award Period in the View Data By field on the Inquiry Options page, the system displays the data by award period.

Pages Used to View Student Self-Service Pages by Award Period