Maintaining HERA Academic Level Values
Two methods exist for calculating a student's HERA academic level. The method that you use is determined by the aid year for which you assessing a student's eligibility for an ACG or SMART grant.
For aid years 2008 and 2010 onwards, you must monitor students' academic progress using grade levels determined by total completed units and the load level rule assigned in the HERA Academic Level Rule Setup page.
This method is called the HERA Level/Load Rule method in PeopleSoft documentation.
For aid year 2009, you must monitor students' academic progress based on the school's federal academic year (completed units and weeks of instructions).
This method is called the Federal Academic Year method in PeopleSoft documentation.
Note: You may see unexpected HERA level calculations as a result of the calculation methods changing from one aid year to the next. The Financial Aid Term process continues to determine HERA levels using the appropriate calculation method for the term's aid year.
This section provides an overview of HERA academic level calculations and describes how to:
View HERA academic level information.
View the HERA academic level on FA term.
View changes in a student's FA term information
Override Weeks of Instruction and Method values.
Examples in this section illustrate how the HERA academic level is affected as the calculation method changes from the HERA Level/Load Rule method to the Federal Academic Year method. You should already be familiar with both methods and requirements and have reviewed the Setting Up Financial Aid Term for HERA Level Calculations section in the Setting Up ACG and SMART.
Examples in this overview compare results based on the parameters selected on the HERA Academic Level page for the following calculation methods:
HERA Level/Load Rule method.
Federal Academic Year: Terms Attended method.
Federal Academic Year: Grade Level method.
Federal Academic Year: Credits Earned method.
The parameters listed in the example tables represent the fields on the HERA Academic Level page, which is described later in this section.
HERA Level/Load Rule Method Example
In a 24-unit, 30-week, semester (2 payment periods) institution, a second year student's HERA level information would look like this:
|
Fields |
Fall 2007 |
Spring 2008 |
Fall 2008 |
Spring 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HERA Academic Level |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
1st Year |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
|
End of Term |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
|
New Calculation message displays? |
No |
No |
No |
No |
|
Weeks of Instruction |
||||
|
Method |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Term Weeks |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Transfer Weeks |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Cumulative Weeks |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
End of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Cumulative Units |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
End of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
N/A |
|
Units Enrolled |
12 |
12 |
16 |
0 |
|
Units Transferred |
0 |
0 |
8 |
0 |
Federal Academic Year: Terms Attended Method for 2009 Example
For the same student, the results change when using the Terms Attended method. In this example, the Fall 2008 term is in progress.
|
Fields |
Fall 2007 |
Spring 2008 |
Fall 2008 |
Spring 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HERA Academic Level |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
1st Year |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
|
End of Term |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
|
New Calculation message displays? |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Weeks of Instruction |
||||
|
Method |
Term |
Term |
Term |
Term |
|
Term Weeks |
15 |
15 |
15 |
15 |
|
Transfer Weeks |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
|
Cumulative Weeks |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
40 |
40 |
|
End of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
55 |
55 |
|
Cumulative Units |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
0 |
12 |
32 |
32 |
|
End of Term |
12 |
24 |
48 |
44 |
Note that for the Terms Attended method:
Weeks of instruction information is calculated for all terms, but is not used to recalculate the HERA levels in terms in which the new calculation message does not display.
Cumulative weeks are hidden for terms in which the new calculation message does not display.
Only transfer work counted in the Include in FA WI Stats fields is used to calculate transfer weeks. All accepted transfer units are counted in cumulative units.
Beginning with the Fall 2008 term, weeks of instruction was used to calculate HERA levels.
Spring 2009 is based on projected enrollment.
Federal Academic Year: Grade Level Method for 2009 Example
For the same student, the results change again when the Grade Level method is used.
|
Fields |
Fall 2007 |
Spring 2008 |
Fall 2008 |
Spring 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HERA Academic Level |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
1st Year |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
|
End of Term |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
3rd Year |
2nd Year |
|
New Calculation message displays? |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Weeks of Instruction |
||||
|
Method |
Grade Level |
Grade Level |
Grade Level |
Grade Level |
|
Term Weeks |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Transfer Weeks |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
|
Cumulative Weeks |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
0 |
0 |
|
End of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
0 |
0 |
|
Cumulative Units |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
0 |
12 |
32 |
32 |
|
End of Term |
12 |
24 |
48 |
44 |
Note that for the Grade Level method:
The weeks of instruction fields are display only since the information is not used.
Only transfer work counted in the Include in FA WI Stats fields is included in the cumulative units.
Federal Academic Year: Credits Earned Method for 2009 Example
For the same student, the results change again when the Credits Earned method is used.
|
Fields |
Fall 2007 |
Spring 2008 |
Fall 2008 |
Spring 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
HERA Academic Level |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
1st Year |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
2nd Year |
|
End of Term |
1st Year |
2nd Year |
3rd Year |
2nd Year |
|
New Calculation message displays? |
No |
No |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Weeks of Instruction |
||||
|
Method |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
Credit |
|
Term Weeks |
15 |
15 |
20 |
15 |
|
Transfer Weeks |
0 |
0 |
10 |
0 |
|
Cumulative Weeks |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
40 |
40 |
|
End of Term |
N/A |
N/A |
60 |
55 |
|
Cumulative Units |
||||
|
Beginning of Term |
0 |
12 |
32 |
32 |
|
End of Term |
12 |
24 |
48 |
44 |
Note that for the Credits Earned method:
Weeks of instruction information is calculated for all terms, but is not used to recalculate the HERA levels in terms where the new calculation message does not display.
Cumulative weeks are hidden for terms in which the new calculation message does not display.
Only transfer work counted in the Include in FA WI Stats fields is used to calculate Transfer Weeks. All accepted transfer units are counted in Cumulative Units.
Beginning with the Fall 2008 term, weeks of instruction was used to calculate HERA levels
Spring 2009 is based on projected enrollment.
|
Page Name |
Definition Name |
Navigation |
Usage |
|---|---|---|---|
|
HERA Academic Level |
STDNT_FA_ASGAL_SEC |
Then click the View HERA Academic Level link. |
Displays the HERA academic levels calculated by FA Term. |
|
HERA Academic Level on FA Term |
SFA_ASG_ELIGAL_SEC |
Click the HERA Level link on the ACG/SMART Grant Eligibility page. |
View the HERA level information for the term. |
Access the HERA Academic Level page ( and click the View HERA Academic Level link).
Image: HERA Academic Level page (2010 aid year onwards)
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the HERA Academic Level page (2010 aid year onwards).
Image: HERA Academic Level page (2009 aid year)
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the HERA Academic Level page (2009 aid year).
Use this page to view the results of the FA Term HERA level calculations for both the academic level and weeks of instructions. The HERA academic level is calculated for any non-graduate, non-professional student, based on the NSLDS loan year value in FA Term.
When the HERA academic levels are calculated using the Federal Academic Year (2009) method, the New Level Method Used message appears in the HERA Academic Level group box and the HERA Weeks of Instruction group box appears on the page. The message does not appear when the HERA academic levels are calculated using the HERA Level/Load Rule method.
Note: For terms prior to the 2009 aid year (HERA Level/Load Rule method), the HERA Weeks of Instruction group box still appears on the page.
From the 2010 aid year onwards (HERA Level/Load Rule method), the HERA Weeks of Instruction group box no longer appears on the page.
Use the calculated values to determine whether or not to override any values or parameters. Fields that have been overridden by the user can be expired using the Override Expiration Date functionality.
The HERA Academic Level on FA Term page (click the HERA Level link on the ACG/SMART Grant Eligibility page) behaves in the same way as the HERA Academic Level page.
Note: For the 2010 aid year: After you set the End Weeks of Instruction Calc Term value (on the HERA Weeks of Instruction Setup page) to the first term of the 2010 aid year, when the FA Term build occurs, it determines HERA levels based on the school's HERA Academic Level settings for all 2010 and future terms (the HERA Level/Load Rule method). For all terms prior to the 2010 aid year, HERA levels are determined by the relevant calculation methods (HERA Level/Load Rule method for 2008 and Federal Academic Year method for 2009).
See Setting Up Financial Aid Term for HERA Academic Level Calculations.
HERA Academic Level Discrepancies
In some cases, the HERA levels calculated in 2009 terms do not progress the same as in 2010. For example, the Spring 2009 term might calculate an end of term HERA level of 2nd year, but in the Fall 2009 term, the beginning of term level is 3rd year. This might be caused by the student having enough cumulative units to be 3rd year for the Spring, but not enough cumulative weeks of instruction. The following term, in which the level no longer considers weeks of instruction, the student can be made 3rd year level.
HERA Academic Level
|
Field or Control |
Definition |
|---|---|
| Beginning of Term |
Select the student's level based on all completed work and weeks of instruction prior to the current enrolled term. You can base the value on projected information and override it. This is the primary value used for establishing eligibility, awarding, disbursing, and reporting to COD for ACG and SMART grants. Values are: 1st Yr Nvr (first year, never attended college) 1st Year Prev (first year, previous college enrollment) 2nd Year 3rd Year 4th Year 5th Year |
|
Field or Control |
Definition |
|---|---|
| End of Term |
Select the student's level based on the student's completed work and weeks of instruction, including the current enrolled term. You can base the value on projected information and override it. |
| Calculated Values/Override |
Select the Override check box to change the HERA level value. The calculated values always display what FA Term has calculated as the student's HERA level. The override check boxes are automatically selected if the current level does not match the calculated value. |
HERA Weeks of Instruction
This group box displays the weeks of instruction information to be used in determining HERA levels.
Note: The Weeks of Instruction group box does not appear on the HERA Academic Level page from the 2010 aid year onwards.
Weeks of instruction information can exist for terms in which the Federal Academic Year method was not used for HERA academic level calculation. For example, an ACG or SMART grant candidate was enrolled for terms in the 2008 aid year. Terms in this aid year use the HERA Level/Load Rule method to determine HERA levels. The WI information calculated for those terms is used by the Federal Academic Year method (used for the 2009 aid year only) to determine HERA levels for the 2009 aid year terms.
Note: You can override the Method, Term Weeks, and Transfer Weeks fields. However, unlike the other fields in FA Term that can be overridden, an override of these fields is permanent and cannot be reset by using the Override Expiration Date functionality. An override of the method carries forward when new, future terms are created.
For more information on how to perform overrides,
See Overriding Weeks of Instruction and Method Values.
|
Field or Control |
Definition |
|---|---|
| Method |
Select the method by which weeks of instruction was calculated. Values are: Credit Based Exact Accounting Grade Level Based Term based For terms prior to 2009, the field can be populated, but the information is not used to determine the HERA academic levels for the updated term. If overridden, the FA Calc check box is set for the term, and the weeks of instruction fields are recalculated using the new method during the next batch or online FA Term run. |
| Term Weeks |
Select the number of weeks of instruction calculated for the term. The value depends on the WI method used. For terms prior to the 2009 aid year, the field can be populated. This information is only used to calculate HERA levels for 2009, where the Federal Academic Year method is used. |
| Transfer Weeks |
Select the number of transfer weeks of instruction calculated for the term. The value depends on the WI method used. For terms prior to 2009, the field can be populated, but the information is not used to determine the HERA academic levels for the updated term. |
| Cumulative Weeks – Beginning of Term |
Displays the sum of all term weeks and transfer weeks from prior terms. The value for the current term transfer weeks is included. This field does not appear for terms using the HERA Level/Load Rule method calculation method. |
| Cumulative Weeks – End of Term |
Displays the beginning of term value plus the value for the current term weeks. This field does not appear for terms using the HERA Level/Load Rule method calculation method. |
The fields that display in the Calculated Values column show the system-calculated values for the adjacent field. Use this column to view what FA Term has calculated for an overridden field. The Term Weeks value is calculated based on the active method, not the calculated method.
HERA Cumulative Units
|
Field or Control |
Definition |
|---|---|
| Units Beginning of Term |
Displays the number of completed units not including the current term. Articulated transfer work for the current term is included. Financial Aid progress units in excess of the units earned towards the student's degree are not included. If the Grade Level method is used to calculate the HERA level for the term, any transfer work not marked to be included in the HERA level calculation is excluded. |
|
Field or Control |
Definition |
|---|---|
| Units End of Term |
Displays the beginning of term value plus the current enrolled units. This value adjusts at the end of the term based on whether the enrolled courses have been graded. This value can be projected. |
Access the HERA Academic Level on FA Term page (click the HERA Level link on the ACG/SMART Grant Eligibility page).
Image: HERA Academic Level on FA Term page
This example illustrates the fields and controls on the HERA Academic Level on FA Term page.
Use this page to quickly view the HERA level information for the term without opening the FA Term component.
Changes to an audited field cause a new FA Term row to be created for the term on the FA Term Field Audits page then click Field Audits).
There are 42 fields audited by FA Term:
|
Fields Audited by the FA Term Process |
||
|---|---|---|
|
ACAD_CAREER ACAD_LEVEL_BOT ACAD_LEVEL_EOT ACAD_LEVEL_PROJ ACAD_PLAN ACAD_PLAN_TYPE ACAD_PROG_PRIMARY ACAD_SUB_PLAN ACADEMIC_LOAD ADMIT_TERM CAMPUS COURSE_LD_PCT CUM_GPA CUM_RESIDENT_TERMS |
CUR_RESIDENT_TERMS EXP_GRAD_TERM FA_LOAD FA_LOAD_CURRENT FA_NUMBER_OF_WEEKS FA_REBUILD_DT FA_UNIT_ANTIC FA_UNIT_COMPLETED FA_UNIT_CURRENT FA_UNIT_IN_PROG FORM_OF_STUDY LS_GPA SFA_ASG_AC_LVL_BOT SFA_ASG_AC_LVL_EOT |
SFA_ASG_WI_CUM_BOT SFA_ASG_WI_CUM_EOT SFA_ASG_UNITS_BOT SFA_ASG_UNITS_EOT SFA_ASG_WI_TCR SFA_ASG_WI_TRM STUDY_AGREMENT TERM_SRC TOT_PASSD_FA TOT_TAKEN_FA UNT_PASSD_FA UNT_TAKEN_FA WEEKS_OF_INSTRUCT WITHDRAW_CODE |
You can override the weeks of instruction values for a specific term and have the override values used in the HERA level calculations. You can also override the weeks of instruction method and recalculate the HERA level based on the current method.
Unlike other fields in FA Term that can be overridden, an override of WI fields is permanent and cannot be reset by using the Override Expiration Date functionality. The HERA Academic Level Beginning of Term and End of Term fields continue to adhere to the override expiration date. An overridden term weeks or transfer weeks has impact beyond the current term. This is because the cumulative weeks value is calculated by adding the term week and transfer week values from all previous terms. Therefore, HERA level calculations for any subsequent terms are impacted by any overrides of these fields.
Before overriding any HERA level calculation fields, consider the effect on:
Terms prior to 2009 that were calculated under the HERA Level/Load Rule method.
The HERA academic levels for these terms are not affected by any override of the calculation method or the term weeks value or transfer weeks value. HERA levels calculated under the HERA Level/Load Rule method do not display the New Level Method Used message on the page.
Beginning of term HERA level is calculated using the current term transfer weeks value.
That is consistent with how transfer work is treated in FA Term. If the transfer weeks value is overridden, make sure to check the impact on the beginning of term level after rebuilding the term.
Beginning of term HERA level is not calculated based on the current term weeks value.
Term weeks is considered in the end of term cumulative weeks and end of term HERA level calculations.
New, future term records created after an override of the method in the most recent term are assigned the override method.
This does not occur for terms already created.
For the following override cases, follow the procedures to ensure correct calculation of the student's HERA levels.
|
Override Case |
Required Procedure |
|---|---|
|
Student requests an exact accounting of their weeks of instruction. |
When this occurs, this calculation method becomes a permanent change for the student. This assumes that the current calculation method is not the Exact Accounting method. Step 1: For each active FA Term, override the method to Exact. This sets the FA Calc check box. Step 2: If the HERA level should not be recalculated using the new method for any past terms, lock the HERA level by checking the override check box for the HERA levels. Note: This does not apply to terms calculated using the HERA Level/Load Rule calculation method. The levels for these terms are unaffected by the changing of the method. Step 3: Run FA Term build. This rebuilds all the terms, recalculates the term weeks using the Exact Accounting method, and recalculates the HERA levels. When future terms are created, the override method is assigned. |
|
Delivered setup does not allow for the correct assignment of the calculation method. |
An institution may have a specific population of students that must have a different method used instead of the one assigned based on the Weeks of Instruction setup. Step 1: Identify the affected students. Step 2: For each active FA Term, override the method to the appropriate value. This sets the FA Calc check box. Step 3: Rebuild FA Term to recalculate all HERA level information. When future terms are created, the override method is assigned. |
|
Student changes major, which causes a different WI method to be used. |
The cumulative weeks of instruction must be adjusted so that they are correct in the first term of the new major. Do this by updating the weeks of instruction for all prior terms. Care must be taken to ensure that the HERA levels from the prior terms are not affected. This procedure is similar to an exact accounting request. Step 1: Lock the HERA levels for all prior terms. Note: You do not need to lock levels for terms that use the current HERA level calculation method. Step 2: Override the Method for all prior terms so that they match the method used for the new major. Step 3: Rebuild FA Term so that the weeks of instruction are recalculated. |
|
Institution does not use transfer credit module, but needs to document and apply the transfer weeks of instruction to their HERA level calculations. |
Institutions must perform a manual calculation of their transfer weeks of instruction, but once entered, the HERA levels calculate correctly in the future. Step 1: Establish a procedure for identifying students with transfer work that require review. For example, an equation could be created that identifies such students when the grant evaluation process is run, if there is a data attribute that defines this population. This could also be a report generated from an external system. Step 2: Calculate the transfer weeks of instruction manually. Step 3: Determine the articulation term for the transfer work. Note the current calculation method assigned to the term. Step 4: If the method is Exact, Term, or Credit, enter in the transfer weeks into field and set the override check box. If the method is (Grade) Level, do not enter any transfer weeks. Step 5: Make sure transfer units have been entered in Student Records. Note: This assumes that institutions who do not use the transfer credit module already have a method in place for adding the transfer work into Student Records which is then accessible by FA Term. Step 6: Rebuild FA Term. |
|
Transfer work was articulated for a term where no FA Term record is created. |
If only the student's FA Term record needs to be created, create the FA Term record and the transfer weeks are calculated. If the FA term record is not created, such as when the student was never enrolled at the institution, a manual adjustment is required. Step 1: Establish a procedure for identifying students with articulated transfer work for a term that has no corresponding FA term record. This could be accomplished by creating an equation edit used in the grant eligibility process. Step 2: Calculate the transfer weeks of instruction manually for the articulated term of the transfer credit. Step 3: Find the first active FA Term record that occurs after the articulated term. Step 4: If the method is Exact, Term, or Credit, add the calculated transfer weeks of instruction to the existing transfer weeks value. This results in a permanent override of the transfer weeks for the term. No adjustment is necessary if the (Grade) Level method is used. Step 5. Rebuild FA Term for the current aid year to recalculate the HERA levels. |