Defining Federal and Institutional Methodologies

Data Source

Select the Data Source that you want the EFC Calculation process to use to retrieve student information. Select:

Both Federal & Institutional (both federal and institutional) to use both sets of data to calculate EFCs for either Profile or ISIR records.

Federal Data to use only federal data to calculate a FM EFC for ISIR records only.

Institutional to use only institutional data to calculate an IM EFC for PROFILE records only.

Calc Type (calculation type)

Select the calculation type:

Federal Methodology to calculate a FM EFC for ISIR records only.

Both FM & IM (both federal methodology and institutional methodology) to calculate EFCs for either PROFILE or ISIR records.

Institutional Methodology to calculate an IM EFC for PROFILE records only.

Calculate Student Federal Tax

Select to calculate student federal tax as defined by the federal tax bracket and rate for the applicable tax year.

Calculate Parent Federal Tax

Select to calculate parent federal tax as defined by the federal tax bracket and rate for the applicable tax year.

Calculate PC for Independent (calculate parent contribution for independent students)

Select to calculate a parental contribution for independent students if parental data is available. The parental contribution is calculated, but not added to the EFC.

FM Budget Durations

Click this link to access the FM Budget Durations page, which shows academic and non-standard durations for both dependent and independent students.

EFC Prorations Options

Click this link to access the EFC Proration Options page.

Use Which EFC

Select a value to determine the institutional EFC displayed on the Need Summary page and used in the Award Entry component. Values are:

Estimated Federal (estimated federal methodology): Select to display and use the EFM-EFC.

Greatest: Select to compare base, IM with options, and estimated federal EFC, and then use the greatest EFC value of the three.

Institutional W/Opt: Select to use the IM-EFC as a result of the calculation of IM with options.

Institutional: Select to use the IM-EFC as a result of the base IM calculations.

Application Source

Select an application source. Values are:

FT Canada Student Loan (full-time Canada Student Loan): Used in Canadian Need Analysis.

Institutional Application.

PT Canada Student Loan (part-time Canada Student Loan): Used in Canadian Need Analysis.

Profile.

State

Select the state in which your institution is located. INAS uses this field to determine a student's budget requirements.

IM Budget Durations

Click this link to access the IM Budget Durations page, which shows academic and non-standard durations for both dependent and independent students.

Data Source

Select the Data Source that you want the FM SAI/IM EFC Calculation process to use to retrieve student information. Select:

Both Federal & Institutional (both Federal and institutional) to use both sets of data to calculate FM SAIs/IM EFCs for either ISIR or Profile records.

Federal Data to use only federal data to calculate a FM SAI for ISIR records only.

Institutional to use only institutional data to calculate an IM EFC for Profile records only.

Calc Type (calculation type)

Select the calculation type:

Federal Methodology to calculate a FM SAI for ISIR records only.

Both FM & IM (both federal methodology and institutional methodology) to calculate FA SAIs/IM EFCs for either ISIR or Profile records.

Institutional Methodology to calculate an IM EFC for Profile records only.

Calculate Student Federal Tax

Select to calculate student federal tax as defined by the federal tax bracket and rate for the applicable tax year.

Calculate Parent Federal Tax

Select to calculate parent federal tax as defined by the federal tax bracket and rate for the applicable tax year.

Calculate PC for Independent (calculate parent contribution for independent students)

Select to calculate a parental contribution for independent students if parental data is available. The parental contribution is calculated, but not added to the EFC.

Application Source

The Application Source is Profile.

Option Set ID

Enter the token ID provided by the College Board for each Global Option that is created within the College Board’s Need Analysis Options (NAO) website. You are required to setup an Option Rule Set for each Global Option created in the NAO website.

College Code

Enter the College Code provided by the College Board for your institution.

Use Which EFC

Select a value to determine the institutional EFC displayed on the Need Summary page and used in the Award Entry component. Values are:

Estimated Federal (estimated federal methodology): Select to display and use the EFM-EFC.

Greatest: Select to compare base, IM with options, and estimated federal EFC, and then use the greatest EFC value of the three.

Institutional W/Opt: Select to use the IM-EFC as a result of the calculation of IM with options.

Institutional: Select to use the IM-EFC as a result of the base IM calculations.

State

Select the state in which your institution is located. INAS uses this field to determine a student's budget requirements.

IM Budget Durations

Click this link to access the IM Budget Durations page, which shows academic and non-standard durations for both dependent and independent students.

Academic

Enter the number of months for the academic term to be considered during need analysis for dependent students.

Non-Standard

Enter the number of months for the nonstandard term to be considered during need analysis for dependent students.

Academic

Enter the number of months for the academic term to be considered during need analysis for independent students.

Non-Standard

Enter the number of months for the nonstandard term to be considered during need analysis for independent students.

Academic

Enter the number of months for the academic term to be considered during need analysis for dependent students.

Non-Standard

Enter the number of months for the nonstandard term to be considered during need analysis for dependent students.

Academic

Enter the number of months for the academic term to be considered during need analysis for independent students.

Non-Standard

Enter the number of months for the nonstandard term to be considered during need analysis for independent students.

ASG Total Income Percentage (annual savings goal total income percentage)

Select a value to determine an appropriate ASG total income percentage. This percentage is used as an allowance against income.

Values are:

• Use Private School rate. This is the default option.

• Use Public School rate.

• Use Public/Private School rate.

Use Which Available Income Table

Select a value to determine which Available Income Assessment Rate table to use. Values are:

• Use Expanded AI (available income) table. This is the default value.

• Use Legacy AI (available income) table.

Studnt Assets as Family Assets (student assets as family assets)

Select All Student Assets to have all of the student's assets count as parent assets. Student assets are summed in the parent column. These calculation adjustments occur:

1. Family Total Net Worth (FTNW) FTNW = Parents' Total Net Worth (NW) + Student's Total NW.

2. Family Discretionary Net Worth (FDNW) FDNW = FTNW - Asset Protection Allowances.

3. The Asset Conversion rate is then applied to the FDNW to produce the family contribution from assets (FCA) where PC (parental contribution) = PCI (parent contribution from income) + FCA, and TFC (total family contribution) = PC + SCI (student contribution from income).

4. In the student column, student assets equal zero and student contribution (SC) = SCI, because all student assets have been moved to the parent column.

Select All but Trusts to have all of the student's assets except for the value of trust funds count as parent assets. The only student assets summed in the student column are trust funds. These calculation adjustments occur:

1. Family Total Net Worth (FTNW) FTNW = Parents' Total Net Worth (NW) + (Student's Total NW - Student's Value of Trusts).

2. Student Contribution From Assets (SCA) SCA = Student's Value of Trusts * Asset Conversion rate.

3. Family Discretionary Net Worth (FDNW) FDNW = FTNW - Asset Protection Allowances.

4. The Asset Conversion rate is then applied to the FDNW to produce the family contribution from assets (FCA) where: PC (parental contribution) = PCI (parent contribution from income) + FCA, SC (student contribution) = SCI (student contribution from income) + SCA, and TFC (total family contribution) = PC + SC.

Select Keep separate to use the default calculation. Parent assets are summed in the parent column and student assets are summed in the student column. If you leave this field blank, the system automatically enters Separate and uses the default calculation.

Select Stu Assets 5% and Trusts 25% to have the EFC calculation process assess student assets at 5 percent and the student's trust funds at 25 percent when calculating the student contribution portion of the EFC.

Use Which Student AGI (use which student adjusted gross income)

Select how the student adjusted gross income is represented:

• Use Anticipated Year Income

• Use Base Year Income

Rstrct # Household - Max Age (restrict number in household - maximum age)

Enter the value. You can restrict the family size used in the calculation by establishing an age threshold for siblings or dependents. For example, the calculation would not include an allowance for a member in the household over the maximum age set by the institution.

Rstrct # in College - Max Age (restrict number in college - maximum age)

Enter the value. You can restrict the number in college used in the calculation by establishing an age threshold for family members in college. For example, the calculation would not include an allowance for a member of the household in college over the maximum age set by the institution.

MMA-Married Student (monthly maintenance allowance for married student)

Enter a value to override the default MMA rate for a married student.

MMA-Single Student (monthly maintenance allowance for single student)

Enter a value to override the default MMA rate for a single independent student.

MMA Child of Indep Student (monthly maintenance allowance for child of an independent student)

Enter a value to override the default MMA rate for a child of an independent student.

Use 70% Income Assmnt for Ind (use 70 percent income assessment for independent)

This field refers to the available income assessment rate for independent students. Select from these values:

• Yes: Uses 70 percent for income assessment. This is the default.

• No: Select if you elect not to use the 70 percent income assessment; the Alt Income Assessment Rate field appears on the page.

Alt Income Assessment Rate (alternate income assessment rate)

When you select No for the Use 70% Income Assmnt for Ind option, enter the Alt Income Assessment Rate.

Available options:

Blank = No alternate rate provided; INAS will use the standard income assessment rate for independent students

nnn = User defined number value; activate an alternate user-defined rate between 0% and 100%. For example, to specify 50%, enter "050"’. Entering "000" sets the rate to 0%.

Income Assmnt Rate for Dep (income assessment rate for dependent)

Enter an income assessment rate for dependent students. The default is 50 percent.

Student Apply COLA Factor (student apply cost of living adjustment factor)

Select from these values:

• Do not apply COLA factor

• Apply COLA factor

Parent Apply COLA Factor (student apply cost of living adjustment factor)

Select from these values:

• Do not apply COLA factor

• Apply COLA factor

Use Which IM Income (use which institutional methodology income)

Select which student income field to use:

• Use IM Income Fields

• Use IM Reported Income

Use Which IM Income (use which institutional methodology income)

Select which parent income field to use:

• Use IM Income Fields

• Use IM Reported Income

Calc PC For Independent (calculate parental contribution for independent)

Select to use the parents' information in the calculation for an independent student.

Use FM Tx (use federal methodology tax)

Select to use the FM state and local income tax computation table in the calculation. When this check box is selected in conjunction with the Ind Use Par St Tax Alwnc check box, Use FM Tx takes priority for independent students.

Add Non Cust PC to PC (add noncustodial parent contribution to parent contribution)

Select to combine the non-custodial parent's contribution to the parent contribution.

Ind Use Par St Tax Alwnc (independent use parent state tax allowance)

Select if the student is independent with dependents but you want to use the parent's state tax allowance table in the calculation. When this check box is selected in conjunction with the Use FM Tx check box, Use FM Tx takes priority for independent students.

Add Hope/LTL (add Hope/Lifetime Learning Credit)

Select to let the system determine whether to add this value to taxes, based on federal tax allowance against income and tax filing status, as shown in the following table. The column headings represent the value of the Fed Tax Allwnc Against Income field from the IM Tax/Assess Parameters page.

Completed Return

Add Hope to taxes.

Not add Hope to calculate taxes.

Add Hope to taxes.

Will File Return

Not add Hope to calculate taxes.

Not add Hope to calculate taxes.

Add Hope to taxes.

Completed Return

Add Hope to taxes.

Add Hope to taxes only if reported is lower than calculated.

Add Hope to taxes.

Will File Return

Add Hope to taxes only if reported is lower than calculated.

Add Hope to taxes only if reported is lower than calculated.

Add Hope to taxes.

Alt Min SCI (alternate minimum student contribution from income)

Clear to indicate No (default); select to indicate Yes for this Yes/No option. If the check box is not selected, the application performs the Alternate Minimum Student Contribution from Income calculation using the following calculations

1. Multiply the Student's Available Income by the Available Income Assessment Rate (Parent's Marginal Rate from Income Band). For example, 10, 000 USD x .22 = 2,200 USD.

2. Compare the result (2,200 USD) to the Student Standard Contribution from Income. For example, 2,150 (Non-First Year Dependent Students) and take the higher of the two amounts. In this case, 2,200.

3. To obtain the Student Contribution Cap multiply the Total Parent Contribution by .50. For example, 6,000 USD x .50 = 3,000 USD.

4. The Minimum Student Contribution from Income is the lesser of the value in Step 2 (2,200 USD) or the Student Contribution Cap (3,000). In this case it is 2,200 USD.

Calculate Intl Student Contrib (calculate international student contribution)

Select to calculate an international student contribution if there is enough information available.

IM < FM (institutional methodology is less than federal methodology)

Select to allow the calculated IM EFC to be below the calculated FM.

Use Parent Reported PC (use reported parent contribution)

Select to enforce the amount that the parents volunteered to contribute, if that amount is higher than the amount calculated by the system.

Use FM Tx (use federal methodology tax)

Select to use the FM state and local income tax computation table in the calculation.

Allow Parent Other Loss

Select to allow losses taken on a parent's income tax. This results in a lower EFC.

Allow Parent Bus/Farm Loss

Select to allow losses taken on a parent's income tax, such as depreciation in a business. This results in a lower EFC.

Add Hope/LTL (add Hope/Lifetime Learning Credit)

Select to have the system determine whether to add this value to taxes based on federal tax allowance against income and tax filing status, as shown in the previous table. The column headings in the table represent the value of the Fed Tax Allwnc Against Income field from the IM Tax/Assess Parameters page.

Exclude Low Income Asset Alwnc (exclude low income asset allowance)

Select to calculate without using the low income asset allowance.

Exclude FSA for Health Care

Select to exclude Flexible Spending Account for Health Care funds from total untaxed income. Default is selected.

Exclude FSA for Dependent Care

Select to exclude Flexible Spending Account for Dependent Care funds from total untaxed income. Default is selected.

Exclude HSA for Pre-Tax Contrib

Select to exclude Health Saving Account funds from total untaxed income.

If not selected, Health Saving Account funds are excluded from total untaxed income.

Limit International IPA/MMA (limit international student’s parental income protection allowance)

Select to limit an international student's Parental Income Protection Allowance (IPA) to an amount greater than or equal to 25% of the parental income.

• Selected

  Limit non-US Parental IPA/MMA to an amount not less than 25% of parent total income and not greater than an equivalent domestic IPA value - only for parent country coefficient less than 0.1.

• Unselected

  Do not limit student's IPA/MMA amount; normal processing.

IM < FM

Select to allow the calculated IM EFC to be less than the calculated FM.

Use Default Minimum Student Contribution Amounts

Select from these values:

Yes: Use the defaults.

No: Make manual changes to the minimum student contribution amounts.

Asset Options

Select asset options. Values are:

Do not project assets: INAS does not impute a value for assets, reported amounts are used.

Project assets: INAS uses the Yield % field to project assets.

Yield %

Enter the asset yield percentage. Values are 1% to 9%. Blank is treated as 0%.

Tolerance

Set up the appropriate and tolerance to compare the reported value to the imputed value.

Home Option

Select the home option for parents and independent students. Values are:

Use Highest of Projctd/Reptd: INAS compares the calculated and reported home value. The system uses the higher value to determine equity.

Use Reported: INAS uses the value of the home reported on the application, to calculate equity. This is the default value.

Use Projected: If the home projected value is outside of the Home Tolerance setting, the system calculates the value of the home based on the purchase price of the home and the date on which it was purchased, using the Federal Housing Multiplier table.

Home Tolerance

Enter a home tolerance value. INAS uses the reported value of the home, unless it exceeds the tolerance when the difference is compared to the calculated home value. If it exceeds the tolerance, the value is adjusted accordingly.

Home Cap

Enter a multiplier if you do not want the reported value or the computed value to exceed a certain multiple of the family's income. The system multiplies this value with total income to adjust the value of the home.

Home Equity Cap

Enter a cap factor from 0.0 to 9.9. Home equity is then capped using the factor times the computed income.

Asset % Dep (asset percentage dependent)

Enter a value to use as an allowance against assets.

Asset % Ind No Dep-Married (asset percentage independent no dependents married)

Enter a value to use as an allowance against assets.

Asset % Ind No Dep-Single (asset percentage independent no dependents single)

Enter a value to use as an allowance against assets.

Asset % Parent (asset percentage parent)

Enter a value to use as an allowance against assets. Leave this field and the Asset % Ind W/Dep field blank to invoke standard IM rules.

Asset % Ind W/Dep (asset percentage independent with dependents)

Enter a value to use as an allowance against assets.

% of Total Budget for 1/2 time (percentage of total budget for half-time)

Enter a percentage of the total budget that you want to use for a student attending an institution half-time.

Limit PC (limit parental contribution)

Select a parental contribution limit. Values are:

No: Select for no parental contribution limit.

Yes; % Total Budget (yes; percentage of total budget): Select to have the parental contribution limited to the student’s cost of attendance budget divided by the total of the cost of attendance budgets of all children in the family attending college.

Yes; Highest PC from Sum and % (yes; highest parental contribution from sum and percentage) Select to compare the parental contribution limits set by Yes; % Total Budget (yes; percentage of total budget) and Yes; Sum of Budget: and set the limit to the higher value.

Yes; Sum of Budget: Limit the parental contribution to the sum of the cost of attendance budgets for all other children in the family; not including the student.

Enter the values that your institution set for each type of institution.