Enrollment Information

Overview

When a student enrolls in a new Academic Program, a new Enrollment is created that takes into account any existing Enrollments, as they impact how the new Enrollment is created. Then, financial aid awards are packaged depending on whether the Academic Program is Term-based or Non-Term-based.

Enrollments are created and updated via the Student Academic Financial Information (SAFI) integration message. Subsequent messages, such as Fund Acceptance, also impact specific Enrollments. The system processes data pertaining to the student at either a student or enrollment level. Data that’s stored at the Student level, for example, an ISIR, is used across all of a student’s Enrollments.

This table shows at what level different types of data and processes are managed.

Financial Aid System (FAS) Area	Student Level	Enrollment Level
ISIR	Yes	No
NSLDS	Yes	No
Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) (Includes CRPN, CRCS, CRSP, CRIB message classes)	Yes	No
Documents	Yes	No
Letters & Notifications	Yes	No
Leaves of Absence (LOA)	Yes	Yes Note: For Non-Term Academic Programs, the same Program Code can be used across Enrollments and can apply at the Program Code level.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)	No	Yes Note: For Non-Term Academic Programs, the same Program Code can be used across Enrollments and can apply at the Program Code level.
Packaging (including Awarding and Fund Acceptance)	No	Yes
Disbursing	No	Yes
Credit Balances	No	Yes
Return to Title IV Aid Calculations (R2T4)	No	Yes

New student Enrollments are assigned a unique Enrollment ID that is used to communicate information to other systems and display information by each Enrollment. The user interface displays a student’s current Enrollment by default, but you can switch the view to prior or future Enrollments.

All Enrollments have an Enrollment Status which comes from the Student Information System and is used in Financial Aid processing. For descriptions of Enrollment Statuses, see Status Definitions.

Term-based Enrollments

For Term-based Academic Programs, a new Enrollment and Financial Aid Package are created each time a new Academic Program Code is received for a student.

Financial Aid award packaging and processing is allowed for a student’s future Enrollment while another Enrollment is still active, as long the student is not attending both Enrollments at the same time with overlapping Academic Years. When additional information is received for a student (for example, SAFI, Fund Acceptance, and so on), the system updates the correct Enrollment even when there is more than one active Enrollment associated to the student.

Financial Aid award packaging logic considers the Financial Aid awards from the prior Enrollment to determine what the student is eligible for. If more than one Enrollment is active, Packaging is done for the student’s initial Enrollment and limits the Financial Aid Awards Package for subsequent Enrollments to prevent the student from being over-awarded.

Non-Term-based Enrollments

When a new Program Code for a Non-Term program is received, the system automatically determines whether and how a new Enrollment should be created.

Enrollment Types are used when processing Financial for Non-Term-based Academic Programs and denote the nature of a new Enrollment in relation to existing Enrollments at the school, if any. The Enrollment Type determined by the system when a student first enrolls at a school and when they transfer from one Academic Program to another internally. In addition to setting the Enrollment Type, the start and end dates of the first Academic Year are adjusted as needed when a student enters the institution as an external transfer, changes programs, or advances degrees. Enrollment Types are used in determining eligibility for Financial Aid and reporting to the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

This table explains Enrollment Types for Non-Term-based students.

Enrollment Type	Description
Original Enrollment	The Enrollment Type is being set for the first time and student is not an External Transfer or Student does have a prior enrollment, but the Enrollment Type is not any of the following: Advancing Degree Re-Entry within 180 Days Re-Entry after 180 Days Change of Program - Same Payment Period Change of Program - New Academic Year
External Transfer	Student does not have any prior enrollment within the system and student has an overlapping loan period from a different school.
Change of Program - Same Payment Period	Student changed Academic Programs and met all conditions required to remain in the same payment period.
Change of Program - New Academic Year	Student changed Academic Programs, did not meet all conditions required to remain in the same payment period, and is not re-entering the same Academic Program within 180 days.
Advancing Degree	Student has a prior enrollment (internally) that overlaps their current enrollment and the Enrollment Status of the prior Enrollment is Graduated.
Re-Entry within 180 days	Student is not an External Transfer and is re-entering into the same program equal to or less than 180 days from the latest Official Last Date of Attendance (OLDA).
Re-Entry after 180 days	Student is not an External Transfer and is re-entering into the same program greater than 180 days from the latest Official Last Date of Attendance (OLDA).

External Transfers

Students whose student loan period dates from another institution overlap with their Academic Year Program Start Date are considered External Transfers. When the NSLDS Financial Aid History is received, the latest Academic Year End Date from the prior institution is compared to the student's new Academic Program Start Date. If the Academic Year End Date of the prior institution is equal to or greater than their new Academic Program Start Date, the Academic Years overlap, and the student is considered an External Transfer.

The NSLDS record includes the COD Academic Year Start Date of the prior enrollment. The system reports the Start Date of the student's first course that begins on or after their Program Start Date as the new Academic Year Start Date to COD. To determine the Academic Year End Date, the prior institution's Academic Year End Date is compared to Course End Dates in the new Academic Program. If a Course in the new Program ends after the prior institution's Academic Year End Date, the first academic year of their new program is extended to the end of the overlapping course. The end date of the last course in the new Program is reported to COD as the Academic Year End Date.

The number of credits required to be completed in the first academic year is based on the courses mapped to the first academic year. The student is required to complete these credits before advancing to the next Academic Year.

You can have an optional configuration for External Transfers. When an External Transfer student has received loans at a prior institution, you can configure Student Financial Planning to identify the enrollment as an External Transfer, but map a full academic year (for example, 24 credits/30 weeks) instead of reducing the first Academic Year. However, the system reduces the student's loan eligibility by the amount they received during their prior Enrollment/Academic Program. This configuration also allows the school to set an effective date. Once an effective date is set, Student Financial Planning only uses the optional logic if the student's Program Start Date or Packaging Start Date is greater than the set effective date.

Changes of Program

Students in Non-Term-based Academic Programs who withdraw from an Academic Program and enroll in a new Academic Program have a Change of Program Enrollment Type. These students are evaluated to see if they meet ED standards to remain in the Same Payment Period or if they must begin a New Academic Year, and their Enrollment Type is updated appropriately.

There are two exceptions to students who have an Academic Program change but are not evaluated for an Academic Program change for Federal payment periods:

Students who do not withdraw but switch to a similar Academic Program with the same Start Date. Since these students do not withdraw from their prior Programs, there is no new Enrollment or update to the Enrollment Type. These students are simply repackaged using updated SAFI data.
Students who change Academic Programs prior to the Start Date. If the institution sends an active SAFI for a new Program without first sending a withdrawn SAFI for the prior Program, it is assumed the student has not completed an Academic Related Activity (ARA), and they have changed Programs prior to the student's official Start Date. If the student does not withdraw from the prior Program, the student is simply repackaged with the updated SAFI data. The Change of Program logic isn’t run, no new enrollment is created, and the Enrollment Type is not updated.

Evaluating Changes of Program for Federal Payment Periods

Students who have a Change of Program require evaluation to determine if they can remain in the Same Payment Period or start a New Academic Year Payment Period.

A student must meet six conditions to remain in the Same Payment Period; otherwise, they must begin a New Academic Year Payment Period with reset Financial Aid eligibility. The evaluation of the conditions begins automatically when any Change of Program information is received from the receipt of a SAFI or other message.

The first condition, evaluating Leaves of Absence, must be met before considering the remaining five conditions which are based on ED guidelines. Of the remaining five, there are three conditions are also automatically considered. If the student meets those three conditions, then Evaluate Student Change of Program tasks are automatically created to consider the final two conditions. These final two conditions must evaluated manually.

These are the conditions to remain in the Same Payment Period:

First, the system automatically evaluates for this condition:

Is the student’s Leave of Absence End Date the same as the Start Date of the first Course of the new Academic Program? If YES, they cannot remain in the Same Payment Period and must begin a New Academic Year Payment Period based on the new Academic Program.

SAFI data is used to evaluate this condition; there is no configuration.

Note: If YES, the System does not evaluate for any additional conditions.
For more information, see Student was not on LOA During Program Change.

Then, system automatically evaluates for these three conditions based on Federal guidelines:

Was the student continuously enrolled in the Payment Period that the Change of Program occurs in?
- In addition to SAFI data, this condition uses the configured "Change of Program Continuous Enrollment Max Days" in the School Configuration Workbook to determine whether the student has been out of attendance longer than the maximum allowed period to be considered continuous enrolled.
- The school can configure the maximum number of days a student can be Out of Attendance (for example, 14 days) and still be considered continuously enrolled.
- Student Financial Planning calculates the total number of days between the student's Official Last Date of Attendance (OLDA) in the prior Academic Program and the start date of the first Course in the new Academic Program and then subtracts any approved LOA days.
- For more information, see Student is Continuously Enrolled.
Is the coursework in the Payment Period that the student is transferring out of substantially similar to the coursework in the student’s new Academic Program?
- The first course in the new Academic Program was a Scheduled course in the prior Academic Program and in the Payment Period the student withdrew or transferred out of.
- SAFI data is used to evaluate this condition; there is no configuration.
- Course equivalencies are determined by comparing the Comments sections of the Courses in the SAFI. This is not visible in the UI.
  - If equivalent Courses are found for the first Course in the new Academic Program, they are checked against the prior Academic Program to see if any of them are in the Payment Period the student withdrew or transferred out of.
  - The SAFI message lists the equivalent courses (for example, Course A, Course B, Course C).
  - The new Academic Program’s courses are compared to the prior Academic Program (for example, Course A, Course B, Course C).
- For more information, see Coursework Substantially Similar.
Are the credits from the Payment Period the student is transferring out of accepted toward the new Academic Program? SAFI data is used to evaluate this condition; there is no configuration.

For more information, see Credits from prior are accepted in new program.

If the answer to any of these three conditions is NO, the student cannot remain in the Same Payment Period and must begin a New Academic Year Payment Period based on the new Academic Program.

Note: If NO is the answer to any one of these three conditions, the System does not evaluate for any additional conditions. No Evaluate Student Change of Program tasks are created.

If the student has met all previous conditions, then two Evaluate Student Change of Program tasks are automatically created to evaluate the final two conditions based on Federal guidelines. These must be cleared manually:

Are the payment periods are substantially equal in length in weeks of instructional time and credit hours or clock hours, as applicable?
Are there are little or no changes in school charges associated with the payment period?

If the Evaluate Student Change of Program tasks are not manually completed 28 days from the Date of Determination (DOD), it is assumed the student did not meet all of the conditions to remain in the same payment period and requests the Return to Title IV Funds (R2T4) SAFI. On the 30th day from the DOD, R2T4 calculation is completed.

If the student meets all conditions for remaining in the Same Payment Period, the student's Enrollment Type is set to Change of Program - New Academic Year, and the Change of Program Start Date from the SAFI message is displayed on the student’s Program Information page.

Note: When a student changes Academic Program, processing of the student’s financial is paused until the Change of Program is completed and it has been determined if the student has met all conditions to remain in the Same Payment Period or if the student will be enrolled in a New Academic Year.

For more information about Changes of Program, see Evaluate Student Change of Program.

Adjusting the First Academic Year Dates for Students That Change Programs

For students with an Enrollment Type of Changing Programs - Same Payment Period, all courses that were completed in the last Borrower-Based Academic Year (BBAY) of the prior Academic Program are counted towards the First Academic Year.

All credits and weeks that were completed for these courses count toward completing the First Academic Year.

For example, for a student who has completed two courses (6 credits and 10 weeks) in the last Academic Year for their prior enrollment, these courses transfer into the new program. If the program's academic year definition is 24 credits and 30 weeks, the student only need 18 credits and 20 weeks more to complete the First Academic Year. The First Academic Year length remains 24 credits and 30 weeks.
If the student is Changing Programs in the second Payment Period, the system ensures that all courses from the prior program are included in the first Payment Period. If there are any courses that are not applicable to the program in the first Payment Period, Student Financial Planning does not count the associated credits toward the Total Program Credits Needed.

Students with an Enrollment Type of Changing Programs - New Award Year, are packaged based on the student's Official Last Day of Attendance (OLDA) in the prior Academic Program.

Closing Out Prior Enrollment for a Change of Program within the Same Payment Period

Students with an Enrollment Type of Changing Programs - Same Payment Period are automatically checked for pending Return to Title IV (R2T4) calculations and cancels them. Pending disbursements associated with the prior Academic Program and re-instates them in the new Academic Program.

Advancing Degrees

Students who are graduated and enrolling in a new program have an Enrollment Type of Advancing Degree.

Determining Whether an Overlapping Academic Year Exists for Student that Are Advancing Degrees

The prior Enrollment's Academic Year End Date is calculated based on the school's Academic Year definition. This is compared to Start Date of the new Enrollment to determine if there is an overlapping Academic Year. If the calculated Academic Year End Date of the prior Enrollment is greater than the new Enrollment's Academic Program Start Date, there is an overlapping Academic Year. When this occurs, the system shortens the first Academic Year of the new Academic Program.

Adjusting the First Academic Year for Advancing Degrees

The Academic Year Start Date of the student's prior Enrollment received in the NSLDS from COD is updated to use the Start Date of the first course of the student's new Enrollment. This date is reported to COD as the new Enrollment Academic Year Start Date.

The first Academic Year of the student's new Academic Program Enrollment is adjusted by taking the prior Enrollment's Academic Year definition and subtracting the number of credits and weeks the student completed. For example, the prior Enrollment Academic Year Definition (24 credits and 30 weeks) minus the Prior Enrollment Completed Credits and Weeks (8 credits and 10 weeks) equals the number of Credits Required in First Academic Year (16 credits and 20 weeks).

Optional Configuration

When a student advances Degrees and has received loans in their prior program, you can configure Student Financial Planning to identify the Enrollment as Advancing Degree, but map a full academic year (for example, 24 credit hours/30 weeks) instead of reducing the first academic year. However, the system reduces the student's loan eligibility by the amount they received during their prior enrollment/program. This configuration also allows the school to set an Effective Date. Once an Effective Date is set, Student Financial Planning only uses the optional logic if the student's Program Start Date or Packaging Start Date is greater than the set effective date.

Triggering NSLDS Requests for Change of Program or Advancing Degree

A request for the latest Financial Aid History (FAH) from NSLDS is triggered when a student is changing programs or advancing degrees and they are not staying within the Same Payment Period. To ensure new Academic Programs are packaged correctly, the student is not packaged based on their new enrollment until the FAH record is received after the new Academic Program's Start Date. This ensures that the previous Academic Program is closed out and the information is reflected on NSLDS when the new Academic Program is packaged.

Re-Entry to an Academic Program

Students who withdraw and are returning to the same Academic Program have one of two Enrollment Types;

Re-Entry within 180 days.
Re-Entry after 180 days.

Students who have withdrawn and are returning to the same Academic Program are evaluated to determine which Re-Entry Enrollment Type is appropriate. Students re-entering the same Academic Program within 180 days can return to the same Payment Period and all pending Return to Title IV calculations can be cancelled according to ED guidelines.

For more information, see Re-Entry Packaging.

Overriding Enrollment Information

You can override Enrollment Information in the FAS User Interface. You can select:

Which Enrollment is the active Enrollment for a student. Only one Enrollment Record can be Default.
Whether an Enrollment is hidden or displayed. At least one Enrollment record must be displayed, and you cannot hide a Default Enrollment. Before selecting or deselecting an Enrollment for Display, ensure that the Enrollment is closed out; including updating funds in the package and fully canceling and returning disbursements.
The current status for each Enrollment record. When you update the current status for an Enrollment record, the system will use the updated status for the Enrollment record when processing future Student Academic and Financial Information (SAFI) messages.

Required Role Permissions

The user must have a role with the following General Permission(s) through Roles Management in order to complete the manual processing steps listed below.

Enrollment Overrides

See Set General Permissions Matrix for additional information.

Manual Processing Steps to View or Override Enrollment Information

Log into the FAS User Interface (UI).

Enter the student's external student ID number in the search field located in the upper right-hand corner.
Navigate to Student Record > Enrollment Information
Select the Enrollment link in the student header for the Enrollment record you want to view.
If desired, override Enrollment information:
1. Update the Current Status for any Enrollment Record.
2. Select at least one of the Enrollment Records to be the Default Enrollment.
3. Uncheck the box under Display to hide an Enrollment Record.
  Note: You cannot hide a Default Enrollment.

Sending an Enrollment Web Service Request

When a web service request is received, the system returns all available Enrollment IDs and associated Academic Programs for student record including the following attributes:

Enrollment ID.
Enrollment Start and End Dates.
External Program ID.
Program Code.
Program Description.