Transcript File Review - Washington Community and Technical Colleges

Auto File Review
Why
should we use it?
What
How
is it?
can I get started?
1
Why AFR? Why Now?

WVC started using AFR for base file review in 2004. Prior to converting
to FAM, we had a two day “ISIR load to check mailed” process on
many students.

Since converting to FAM, every aspect of our work has slowed down –
EXCEPT for the AFR basic file review. After a short period of
readjustments, AFR was back on the job and working for us.

Having AFR helps eliminate needless review of screens, ISIRs, or
paper files we would otherwise have to look at.

A great deal of our pre-package work is done through reports. We
don’t “pull files” for initial review. There are students who don’t even
have a paper file. For many students, we can look at a report, pull up
the student in FAM, and insert a package code.
2
Currently, we let AFR tell us about:

Awards in BM1628 - the Sponsorship module

SMS data:










Is a student in SMS – SM2001?
Is a student in SMS for the CURRENT year- SM5017?
Invalid student intent in one or more of the sessions being reviewed
Invalid program enrolled in SMS
Non-citizen or not an eligible alien in SMS
Non-resident Fee pay status in SMS
Student indicated receipt of veteran's benefits in SMS
Student transferred in credits from another college in the transfer database-SD3005
Student indicated they attended a prior college in SMS – SM2001
ISIR Data and/or other tracking sessions:





Bachelor’s degree in NEED
Default on a student loan in NEED and/or other tracking sessions
Repayments owed as noted by a track code somewhere in the track history
Student is on financial aid termination (or has other issues in session 0000)
Student wants work-study (will also show wants loans, we don’t use that edit)
3
AFR can also tell us about:

We don’t use all the edits, for various reasons…

SMS data:

Student indicated they attended a prior college in admissions – SD3051 (don’t use
the screen, which is basically a duplicate of SM2001)
 Bachelor’s degree in SM (this process worked, but our school puts different data in that
SM2001 field. We discovered this and stopped using the edit)
 Eligibility Code (we don’t use these at our school, so don’t edit for them)

ISIR Data and/or other tracking sessions:







Bachelor’s degree in NEED (ISIR comments do this for us)
Non-citizenship showing in NEED (ISIR comments do this for us)
High School/GED not indicated on ISIR (FAM has option to post track items for this)
Student indicated on ISIR wants loans (we have a separate process for loans)
Estimated Income for Parent (we only verify what we must ;-)
Estimated Income for Student (we only verify what we must ;-)
Student has Probation track codes not received (this edit has a hard coded RQ status. It
held up packaging, so we quit using it. Recently thought to use it for other purposes, so plan to
implement that.
4
Background… WVC’s approach

We review all files of students with ISIR records. I would like to test AFR to see
if we could include students without FAF records, but have not had time.

We no longer use Data Sheets, so many students have no documents to turn
in. Only students who turn in documents will get a folder (unless a previous
year folder is already present.

We do not usually print ISIRs. All staff, including work-study, have the ability to
look up and print an ISIR from EDE, if needed.

We make heavy use of Track Codes. 

Almost all letters generated from our office are automated, using track codes to
generate appropriate comments.

All students who have file review completed are assigned a package code and
are packaged, even if it appears they won’t be eligible for anything.
5
Background… WVC’s approach

Students who are “packaged” and found to be only loan eligible are sent a
letter to that fact. They don’t get an “AW” letter, instead, we must manually
put the track code “AX” (loan only letter) on.

Besides AP, we have codes AN and AO - for packaged students with no
need, or with need but no eligibility for our various limited pots of money.
These are mostly auto-generated (some types won’t post automatically, so
we manually add the code). I think this may be fixed, or a fix in on way

To reduce errors, we auto-package initial awards for every student packaged,
and many revisions. Downward adjustments to awards are manually done, as
are loan awards.

One person in our office reviews the reports at this time. In the beginning, we
had more, but over time, it evolved to one person. She does the majority of
initial packaging. This will be different in every office of course.

WVC “prints” all AFR reports to electronic file for archiving, whether we review
them daily or not. If your school does not have the electronic option, there are
some file review reports you will probably not want to print once initial testing
is done each year.
6
Special Tip: AFR “completes” a file too quickly?

We use the runtime parameter to have AFR “complete” a “Staff
Reviewable” file when all RQs are received. To prevent accidental
awarding, we use a “DO” (docs okay) code with an RQ status when
simply receiving a document might make it appear all is complete.
This code is either auto-tracked or manually entered on Screen –
depending on circumstances.

When students turn in documents, instead of going into a folder, they are
directed to the appropriate place/person:


Citizenship, Name/SSN issues, anything needing a “documents
approved” resolution is directed to the appropriate person’s mailbox.
After document is approved, the approver receives the “DO” (docs
okay) RQ track and the document is moved to file room, where it will
be filed in student’s folder by work-study staff.
Verification items go into a verification drawer for review. Same with
Revisions . After verification is complete, they are filed in student file.
Nothing is printed from EDE or held onto while waiting for new ISIR.
Track codes are used to indicate new ISIR is coming.
7
Understanding the Jobs
Understanding
Auto File Review (SM9294J)
&
Staff File Review (SM9142J)
8
What IS Auto File Review?

Who is responsible?


Auto File Review is a SBCTC product designed years ago (most of the
guilty parties have long since vacated the system). The product design
was based on specific criteria given to CIS by the Financial Aid Council.
REGENT does not support AFR, nor does it have a comparable product.
When it was originally designed, this was new ground. There is a
secondary program, Assign Package Codes. CIS designed the AFR to be
used alone or as a pre-curser to the Assign Package Codes program.
WVC does not use the Assign Package Codes program.
Why can’t Auto Tracking do the same job?

Auto Tracking is a Regent product and does not have the ability to look in
SMS or FMS. There are couple of edits that can be done both with AFR
and Auto Tracking (such as “BA in NEED), but AFR goes way beyond
those edits.
9
What IS Auto File Review?

Why are there so many “workarounds”?


After AFR was developed, various colleges attempted to use it but only
used it for the purposes they envisioned. Some schools decided not to
use it at all. To my knowledge, few schools use it in it’s entirety (all edits,
all reports). Use in the “real world” brought to light some functionality
issues, but there have been few staff resources available for more than
really urgent fixes. The more people who use it, the more likely we are to
get changes for a better product.
Why doesn’t it look at ALL the data we need?

When it was written, some of the elements we now wish for were not
considered. Since few schools have used the full program,
enhancements to the program have been rare over the years. Because of
Rehosting and FAM, rewriting and enhancing AFR is not a priority. I’m
hopeful that as we move forward, we might be able to change that.
10
What Auto File Review WILL Do…

Eliminates the need to manually look at EVERY screen for EVERY
student prior to packaging.

Looks at specific data in FAM, NEED, SMS or FMS which might
make a student ineligible for aid.

Generates tracking codes to alert staff of possible inconsistencies
between the various data screens.

Customizable? Yes and No... We have discovered ways to make
AFR work for us that were probably never envisioned. At the same
time, there is much more we could wish for…. ;-)

Sample of this: We set the “termination” edit to look for various codes on
the 0000 session, not just termination codes. We then trained our staff to
know that seeing that edit meant to look at 0000 for important information.
11
What Auto File Review WILL Do…

For the edits that the job performs, we do not have to worry about
“forgetting” to look at that one edit – we only check if there is a “flag”
(tracking code). Just as (by making use of the comment codes) we
do not worry about checking the SAR for a student’s B.A. degree or
citizenship, we also eliminate researching many additional screens confident that we only need to check those screens for students who
get a particular edit flag.

Continues to look for inconsistencies after packaging and flags them
with track codes that will show on subsequent reports. For each
school, how well this works will depend on how you customize each
code and how you deal with them once resolved.
12
What Auto File Review Will NOT Do….

Eliminate the need to look at all screens for all students prior to
packaging – it simply means reviewing LESS screens for MORE
students.

Eliminate the need to revisit students from time to time as new
issues arise.

It does not contain coding to add up credits taken and match them
against program requirements, or perform any SAP processes.

There ARE bugs and there ARE things that could be done to make
this a superb program. As more people use the job, we will find
other things that it can NOT do… currently. However, as it is a
SBCTC product, there is the potential for future enhancements. The
more people using the product, the more voice we will have for
future enhancements.
13
What’s “AUTO”?

The “Auto” part of this process is SM9294J - the Auto File Review (AFR)
posting job. This program does much of the previous manual labor of
initial file review. In some cases, this may be the only “file review”
required - other than assigning a package code.

The review and posting is the thing that makes AFR so great. There are
3 reports generated by this program. Over the years, we’ve found that:


We don’t look at report A, except for the first “test” runs each year.

We don’t look at report B, it’s too big and in dire need of revising. This would be a
useful report IF it was revised to eliminate all but one line listing the track code that the
edit caused.

Except occasionally during testing, we’ve never had a “C” (batch job error) report.
We’ll do a quick review of these reports and then move on to the next job,
which creates the reports we DO use.
14
Reports in Detail: SM9294J -- AFR (Auto File Review)

AFR - SM9294A: Students who qualified for AFR (shows posted AFR codes).


Students who fail an edit & have no awards in status 2 will show on this report. It
simply shows what AFR codes were posted to each student. We save this to an
electronic file for archive purposes, but after our initial testing each year, we do not
review this report. Instead, we use SM9142 A/B/C for pre-package review.
AFR - SM9294B*: Awarded students with new edits.

Students with awards who now get edits, will show on the SM9294B report. Includes
students who have scholarships or other aid prior to completing a financial aid
application for the year.


This report has the potential to be an incredible help (i.e., student awarded, now
has invalid intent, or is now SAP). However, it’s an inefficient report as too much
data is reported, and it is hundreds of pages long. I’m hoping we can get this
report revamped so we can use it to catch those “after award” issues. Currently,
you can create a DX to do this same job, just look for RQ’s not received on
students who already have awards.
AFR – SM9294C: Batch job error report

Say "Yes” to printing this one. It only prints if the program bombs, to tell you why. If you
get this and can’t figure it out, contact SBCTC.
* Reports that I believe have substantial revision needs before we can use them efficiently.
15
What’s NOT “Auto”?

SM9142J is the Staff Review (SFR) job. This program runs reports for files
that have AFR track codes posted and divides them based on criteria you set
up in your tables, so that designated staff members can perform the needed
staff review and packaging.

Our office focuses on the SM9142ABC reports for file review and packaging.
Reports in Detail: SM9142J -- SFR (Staff File Review)

SFR – SM9142A: PROFESSIONAL Review


Students who may need a more intense review, such as verification, SAR
Comment Codes, etc. Students who have no received date for the Professional
Review (ZZ) code will be on this report.
SFR – SM9142B: STAFF Review

Those files that may have need for some review prior to getting a package code.
Many edits can be resolved by viewing internal screens. Students who have no
received date for the Staff Review (ZY) code will be on this report.
16
Reports in Detail: SM9142J -- SFR (Staff File Review)

SFR – SM9142C*: FILES READY FOR PACKAGING

Those students who qualify for packaging without needing specific review, or
who have been reviewed, have moved from the A/B reports, and now need a
package code.

This report could be used to set up students to receive auto-assigned package
codes, if we used that program. Students with a received date for either the
Professional or Staff Review codes (even if other RQ items have no received date),
will show on Report C as ready for packaging.

Students who get a PKG CODE (not pkg’d), but still have edits will show on the
SM9142C report.

Students packaged, but no eligibility (no need, or not enough need to qualify for our
limited funds), so have no award data on screen 2 will continue to show on this
report.  This includes students with the AN and AO, as well as the AP code. It
makes the report messier to work with than we’d like -- but we DO use it and it
works.
* Reports that I believe could be vastly improved with a few revisions to make them more efficient.
17
Tips: SM9142J -- SFR (Staff File Review)

At our institution, Review codes are not filled in as received until EVERY
item is received and student is ready for packaging. This helps keep the
C report manageable.

Many students on reports A & B will not make it to the C report, as the
person reviewing the file and filling in the received date assigns the
package code, and in FAM, often just does the packaging. If we ever
get to the point of assigning package codes automatically, this report
would be used by the assign package program to do that.

It’s VERY important to look at the A & B reports to catch those students
who might fall through the cracks otherwise. In the beginning, we
struggled with getting people to use the reports – probably the hardest
thing in this process. We juggled tasks until everyone was comfortable
with their part of the process. Eventually, it became one person’s job to
review the reports. She has a process and we don’t mess with it ;-) Do
others still package, and review? Sure. She just skips those when she
encounters them.
18
Things to remember

Students who have awards and THEN get edits, show on the SM9294B report.

Students with a PKG CODE, who still have edits, show on the SM9142C
report.

The above 2 reports are ones I have asked CIS to look at revamping, so that
AFR can be the “efficiency” program I believe it has the potential to be.


SM9294B is simply unmanageable the way it currently prints – it prints tons of data,
so gets bigger and bigger each run (currently about 600 pages for WVC!). The
needed data is in there, you just can’t find the needle in the haystack. I’d like to see
only the RQ edit codes - no award data, and no NR codes.

I believe SM9142C also needs revamping to give more options to exclude those
packaged but no aid, such as no need, or not enough need. We “package” all
complete files. Students packaged without awards stay on the report, making it
difficult to review.
It is my fervent hope that we can get AFR elevated to a priority for a few fixes
that would make this product what I know it has the potential to be. Some
main things I’d like to see:



These two reports refined for better efficiency
Changing some hardcoded items to customizable items
Allowing edits such as Intent, Program, and “student in SMS” to look at ONLY the
requested session ranges, instead of entire student history
19
It seems like MORE work…

First year implementations of new systems, software and programs
ARE often more work at the start, but things should smooth out over
time and get better.

At Wenatchee, we started out using EVERY part of the program and
ALL reports and worked our way to the point we are today, eliminating
or adjusting that which did not prove efficient for us. We use most of
the edits, and some of the reports. After an initial period of more work
for some staff, while we worked through how to do things, it is now a
(mostly) smoothly flowing part of the system. We would be lost without
it and the time it saves.

Question: I like the idea of posting the AFR codes, but I don’t want to
use the Staff Review job or any of the reports. Can I do that?

YES! You can run just the SM9294J job, ignore all the reports, and continue the rest
of your file review as before. Many schools do this 
20
How can I get started?
Pre-Setup
Setting
Job
Work
up your tables
Scheduling
21
Documentation, DataX and Tables

First things first. READ the SBCTC documentation. At first, it may seem
big and scary, but it’s full of information. It will become your friend.

Prior to setting up my tables, I ran several DX’s to find & review track
codes. I looked carefully at all our codes, eliminating ones no longer
used, changing some to better fit our needs.

I decided on a range of track codes to use for Auto File Review. In our
case, these are mostly “Z” codes.

Why Z? With only a couple of exceptions, these were not in use. The few
which were in use were easy for me to switch to something else. Using
“Z” codes keeps them at the end of the tracking screens, easily seen, but
not in the way.

Once I’ve determined the codes I wanted, I went through the
documentation setup. Here, I’ve condensed it into the very basics…
22
Step 1: Set up AFR track codes

Application Setup/Validation Config





Table Name: SAF_Track
Click to edit table
Click to add track items
Click Save & Add More until done. Then click Save & Go Back.
Check your table
23
AFR Edit track codes
Z0
Z1
Z2
Z3
Z4
Z5
Z6
Z7
Z8
Z9
ZA
ZB
ZC
ZD
ZE
ZF
ZG
ZH
ZI
NO RECORD IN NEED DATABASE
SAR CITZ INELIG
SMS CITZ INELIG
SMS HAS BA DEGREE
NEED HAS BA DEGREE
PRIOR COLLEGES-SD5031 ADMISSIONS DB
PRIOR COLLEGES-SM2001 SMS DB
PRIOR COLLEGES-SD3005 TRANSFER DB
NO REC IN SMS
NO REC IN SMS-YR/SESS RANGE
INELIG PROGRAM ENROLLED
INELIG STUDENT INTENT
SCR1 ACADEMIC ELIG FLAG
VERIFY HS DIPLOMA/GED
NON-RES FEE PAY-SM2001
PARENT'S INCOME ESTIMATED*
STUDENT'S INCOME ESTIMATED*
*in table, but not using the edit
Used or reserved all Z0-ZZ codes. Blanks were left on
purpose, in the hopes for future edits 
ZJ
ZK
ZL
ZM
ZN
ZO
ZP
ZQ
ZR
ZS
ZT
ZU
ZV
ZW
ZX
ZY
ZZ
FINANCIAL AID PROBATION
IN DEFAULT PER TRACKING
OWES REPAYMENT PER TRACKING
BM1628 AWARD - SPONSORSHIP
MODULE
FAID TERMINATED PER TRACKING
STUDENT WANTS LOAN
VET BENEFITS IN SM2001
WANTS WORK STUDY
PASSED ALL EDITS
STAFF REVIEW
PROF REVIEW - VERIFY OR C CODE
Edit wish list:
•Dependents on ISIR
•Students with all $0 on ISIR
•Customizable descriptions
•Additional Customizable Edit (like term
& prob - look at all sessions for any
track codes I choose, my description.
24
Step 2: Set up WRV table

Application Setup/Processing Config/Processing Table





System: CIS, Table ID: WRV (if you don’t have, you will need to add)
Click to edit table
Click to add items (or edit items already there)
Click Save & Add More until done. Then click Save & Go Back.
Check your table
25
WRV Table – Sample
Value
Description
What is it? What’s it for?
Source Screen
for Data
BA-IN-NEEDTRK
Z4RQ
Trk: Bachelor degree in NEED.
FAM: ISIR Detail
BA-IN-SMTRK
Z3RQ
Trk: Bachelor degree in SMS.
SMS: SM2001
CITZINNEEDTRK
Z1RQ
Trk: Invalid citz in NEED.
FAM: ISIR Detail
CITZINSM
B1B2E1E2H2K1K2L1L2T ZZ
CITZINSMTRK
Z2RQ
Trk: Invalid citz in SMS.
SMS: SM5017,
SM2001
ELIGIBLECDETRK
ZCRQ
Trk: Acad Elig Flag on Tab 1
FAM: Tab 1
ELIGSTUINTENT
ABFGM
EXCLUDETRK-CDES AWAP
FILEREVIEWTRK
ZYRQ
HEADTRAIL
T
INDEFAULTTRK
ZQRQ
INDEFAULTTRK1
DFKS
Up to 20 invalid Citz Codes
Up to 20 invalid Intent Codes
Trk codes to exclude AFR from reviewing
certain students
Trk: File Ready for Review
Header or Trailer School?
Trk: In default on a loan.
FAM: Trk Detail
Track codes that trigger default edit
26
Value
Description
What is it?
What’s it for?
Invalid Prog
Codes – 8 per
line
INELIGPRG1
84,106,118,121,135,329,364,373,402,778
INELIGPRG2
814,839,934,940
“”
INELIGPRG3
364A,402B,657D,657E,657F,703D,703E,703F
“”
INELIGPRG4
745A,745B,745C,745D,745E,745F
“”
INELIGPRG5
151,514,520,608,715,895,2500,2501,2510
“”
Source Screen
for Data
DX report (See
SBCTC
AFR
documentation
for instructions)
INELIGPRGTRK
ZARQ
Trk: Enrolled in a
prog listed in
INELIGPRG1 thru
INELIGPRG5
INELIGSTUINTTRK
ZBRQ
Trk: Ineligible
student intent.
SMS: SM5017
NOHSGEDTRK
ZDRQ
Trk: No high
school dip or GED.
FAM: ISIR Detail
NONEEDRECTRK
Z0RQ
Trk: No record in
NEED.
FAM: ISIR Detail
NONRESFEEPAYTRK
ZFRQ
Trk: NOT paying
res tuition.
SMS: SM5017,
SM2001 27
SMS: SM5017,
SM2001
Value
Description
What is it? What’s it for?
Source Screen
for Student Data
NOSMSTRK
Z8RQ
Trk: No record in SMS.
SMS: SM2001
NOSMSYRQTRK
Z9RQ
Trk: No SMS record for the
year/sess range.
SMS: SM5017
OWESREPAYTRK
ZRRQ
Trk: Owes a repayment.
FAM: Trk Detail
OWESREPAYTRK1
RERPKRKZ
PARESTINCTRK
ZIRQ
Trk: Parent income is estimated.
PASSEDALLTRK
ZXNR
Trk: Passed all edits.
PRCOLADMTRK
Z5RQ
Trk: Prior college(s) in
admissions.
SMS: SD5031
PRCOLSMTRK
Z6RQ
Trk: Prior college(s) in SMS.
SMS: SM2001
Trk: Prior college(s) in transfer.
SMS: SD3005
PRCOLTRNSFRTRK Z7RQ
Track codes that trigger repayment edit
FAM: ISIR Detail
28
Value
PROBATIONTRK
Description
ZPNR
PROBATIONTRK1 PB
PROREVIEWTRK ZZRQ
What is
Source
it? What’s it Screen for
for?
Data
Trk: Shows
prior
financial
aid
probation
FAM: Trk
Detail
Track codes that
trigger Probation edit
Trk: Ready for Prof
Review
Track codes that
PROREVIEWTRK1
trigger Prof review.
Want all to get this?
Use a track
PROREVIEWTRK2 KDKEKFKGKJKKKLKMKNKQKRKSKTKUKVKWKXKYKZ
code that all
students get, like ISIR
code, and all will be
on the one
PROREVIEWTRK3 HSHTHU
Prof. Review Report
04050607081011121415K0K1K2K4K6K7K8KBKC
PROSTUSTAT
EXSSOVDVIV
Statuses that
trigger Prof. Review
29
Value
Description
What is it? What’s it for?
Source Screen
for Data
Up to 20 RESIDENT fee pay statuses
– all others will trigger edit
RESFEEPAY
01161823454858
SPONSORTRK
ZSRQ
Trk: Award in sponsorship module.
FMS: BM1628
STDESTINCTRK
ZIRQ
Trk: Student's income is estimated.
FAM: ISIR Dtl
STDLOANTRK
ZUNR
Trk: Wants a student loan.
FAM: ISIR Dtl
TERMTRK
ZTRQ
Trk: Shows prior termination from
aid.
FAM: Trk Detail
TERMTRK1
RSRYMTUNAS
Track codes that trigger Termination edit
VETBENINSMTRK ZVRQ
Trk: Veterans benefits in SMS.
SMS: SM2001
WORKSTUDYTRK ZWRQ
Trk: Wants work-study.
FAM: ISIR Dtl
30
Step 3: Scheduling AFR
Tip: Did you know you can set your parameters to default to certain
things, so you don’t have to remember what parms or look up the
documentation every time? Chose option 8 in job scheduling.
MAINTENANCE PROCESSES
------------------------------------7 MAINTAIN REPORT FORMATTING DEFAULTS
8 MAINTAIN PARAMETER DEFAULTS
9 MAINTAIN JOB GROUPS DEFINITIONS
Suggested nightly schedule order:

SM9108J
Update Bio from SMS

SM9108J updates with SID

SM9101J
AD update

AD update fills in the AD received date.

Job Group: AG926R

AFR JOB Group


SM9294J Auto File Review 0809
SM9142J FAID Staff File Review
(ABC Reports)


Auto File Review
Staff File Review
31
Scheduling AFR Job Group
JM1001-001
JOB GROUP SELECTION SCREEN
JOB GROUP NUM : AG926R
SEQ
SELECT
IND.
01
02
X
X
TITLE : 08-09 FIN AID FILE REVIEW
JOB/GROUP
SM9294J
SM9142J
JM1001-003
TITLE
FAID AUTOMATIC FILE REVIEW
FAID FILES READY FOR STAFF R
00
01
JOB GROUP SCHEDULING SCREEN
GROUP NUM : AG926R TRANS NUM : 740595
PRIORITY : 0
PRIOR
SEQ
EXECUTION TIME : P
COLLEGE : P150
RUN DATE : 022709
:
STATUS : COMPLETED
PROCESS LEVEL : C
FREQ : D
SEND TO :
LP - LINE PRINT (LOCAL)
REPORT
LP
MF PP D
SM9142A
SM9294A
01 00 00 00 Y
01 00 00 00 Y
MF - MICROFICHE
PP - PAGE PRINT (CENTRAL)
REPORT
LP
MF PP D
SM9142B
SM9294B
01 00 00 00 Y
01 00 00 00 Y
REPORT
LP
MF PP D
SM9142C
SM9294C
01 00 00 00 Y
01 00 00 00 Y
32
Scheduling AFR - WVC sample parameters
Parameter
Value
AWARD-CD-SEL-LN1
AWARD-CD-SEL-LN2
AWARD-CD-SEL-LN3
AWARD-CD-SEL-LN4
AWARD-CD-SEL-LN5
EXCLUDE-INACTIVE
Description
For ease of use, I leave these blank.
N
I do not exclude - Y excludes those with inactive codes defined in WRV
table, key value EXCLUDETRK-CDES
FAF-BEG-DATE
Blank looks at all, regardless of ISIR load date. Looks at ISIR track code
and date
FAF-END-DATE
“”
FAF-RCVD-DATE
“ ” This is for SM9142 job
FILE-REVIEW-OPT
A
Look at ALL students regardless of Professional/Staff review status
NON-SMS-EXCLUDE
N
Don’t care if in SMS, if they have an ISIR review them
POST-NOTIFY-DATE
N
Run Date updates in Due Date Column – Notified Date posts first time, then
stays that date
33
Scheduling AFR
Parameter
Value Description
POST-RECVD-DATE
Y
Post a received date for the file review code if a student has all required items
received.
PRELIM-FINAL
F
Final, will post tracking codes
SEL-DEFAULT-OPT
2
Any *Default track code w/o a rec’d date will cause edit to fail/post track code
SEL-PROB-OPT
2
Any *Prob track code w/o a rec’d date will cause edit to fail/post track code
SEL-REPAY-OPT
2
Any *Repay track code w/o a rec’d date will cause edit to fail/post track code
SEL-TERM-OPT
2
Any *Term track code w/o a rec’d date will cause edit to fail/post track code
SM9142-RPT-OPT
SORT-OPTION
All Reports will be printed (this is for the SM9142 job, not the SM9294 job)
2
Sort by Student Name, Student SSN (both jobs use this)
*College defined track code – customize to fit your needs 
34
Scheduling AFR
Parameter
Value Description
Leave blank to review all students (option is to say any track codes listed must
have rec’d dates to review) This is for SM9142J.
TRACK-CD-SEL
TRK-CD-OPT-SEL tracks must be rec’d by this date to be reviewed
TRK-CD-OPT-DATE
IF have these tracks, they must have a rec’d date to be reviewed
TRK-CD-OPT-SEL
(SM9294J)
TRK-CD-RQ-SEL tracks must be rec’d by this to be reviewed (SM9294J)
TRK-CD-RQ-DATE
TRK-CD-RQ-SEL
(SM9294J)
03
Must have Track Code, must have a rec’d date to be reviewed
(SM9294J)
YR-SES-BEG
A891 Enter the first session in the FAM year/session range to review
YR-SES-END
A895 Enter the last session in the FAM year/session range to review
YR-SES-START
A891 Enter the first year/session for the Academic year you wish to review
35
Scheduling AFR -- Edits
Parameter
Value Description
Z-AGENCY-SPONSOR
Y
Award in the Sponsorship module.
Z-BA-DEG-NEED
Y
Student has a bachelor’s degree in NEED01.
Z-BA-DEG-SM
N
Student has a bachelor’s degree in SMS.
Z-ELIGIBILITY-CD
N
Student has an academic ineligibility flag on SM9906, Screen 1.
Z-EST-INC-PAR
N
Parent income is estimated.
Z-EST-INC-STU
N
Student income is estimated.
Z-HS-GED
N
Student does not have a high school diploma or GED certificate.
Z-IN-DEFAULT-ED
Y
Student is in default on a student loan.
Z-INVALID-INTENT
Y
Student has an invalid student intent in one or more of the sessions being
reviewed.
Z-INVALID-PROG
Y
Student has an invalid program enrolled in SMS.
36
Parameter
Value Description
Z-NON-CITZ-NEED
N
Student is a non-citizen or not an eligible alien in NEED.
Z-NON-CITZ-SM
Y
Student is a non-citizen or not an eligible alien in SMS.
Z-NONRES-FEE-PAY
Y
Student's fee pay status in SMS is not resident.
Z-OWES-REPYMT
Y
Student owes a repayment as noted by a tracking code somewhere in the
student's tracking history.
Z-PR-COL-TRNSFR
Y
Student transferred in credits from another college in the transfer
database.
Z-PRIOR-COL-ADM
Y
Student indicated they attended a prior college in admissions.
Z-PRIOR-COL-SM
Y
Student indicated they attended a prior college in registration.
Z-PROBATION
N
Student is on financial aid probation
Z-TERMINATED
Y
Student is on financial aid termination
Z-VET-BENEFITS
Y
Student indicated receipt of veteran's benefits in SMS.
Z-WANTS-STU-LOAN
N
Student wants a loan.
Z-WANTS-WORK-STY
Y
Student wants work-study.
37
Change, Change, Change...
Preparation
Customizing
Other
AFR
Tips
38
Track Codes:


We made some major track code changes prior to implementing. I
created several dataX processes to sort out codes in different ways,
then ran and saved the reports for every code (in case something went
wrong and we had to replace or fix something later).

We deleted (manually or using SM9135J) many codes not in use, changed
others to something more appropriate and added a good deal more. Most of
this we did ourselves. In 2004, SBCTC was able to help with changing
those that had large quantities of track items – such as the verification code.

Major change for us: We changed from a 50 Verification code to a 08. This
puts the code up with the tax items and isn’t lost farther down the page.
Again, this was in 2004, and SBCTC had the ability to do this at that time. I
don’t know if they can any longer.

We posted a suggestion on the Enhancement wish list page for an
enhancement to the SM9135J job, to allow us to change codes and not just
delete – thereby removing the burden from SBCTC. Hopefully that will
happen someday. I think it’s more a necessity now, if SBCTC can’t easily do
this for us.
We chose the Z range for AFR codes, so they fall way at the end, are
easier to discern from other items needing resolution (I & K are our ISIR
comment codes) and being at the end, they don’t get in the way.
39
Customizing AFR:

We use the 0000 screen for SAP and repayment issues. We set AFR up
to look at those codes & post the Termination, Probation & Repayment
Edits on Screen 5 so that staff know when they need to look at 0000.

We went further, by using the Termination edit to find other track codes
we put in 0000 and now just pretend the edit means “look at 0000”,
instead of just termination.

When the Intent code edit (ZB) posts, the file reviewer sends a letter
using a different track code (IC). When the required docs are turned in,
we fill in the IC and erase the ZB. If the intent code changes to an
invalid one later, the ZB edit can post again.

Codes we delete once resolving, so they can pop up again if needed:



Z2 – Ineligible Citizenship in SMS
ZB – Intent Code
ZP – Probation



ZQ - Default
ZR - Repayment
ZT - Termination
40
EDE Track codes (File Review tip):

When doing an EDE correction, we use track codes with an
RQ status, so that students won’t get packaged accidentally
if all else is received.

We place the transaction number and EFC that we are
expecting, and our initials in the comment field.

If this is a correction done AFTER awarding, we also
unfreeze Screen 3, and make a note to repkg/refreeze when
the new ISIR comes in.

ISIRS coming in with a frozen screen and no track code will
be looked at before making a decision to load.
41
EDE Track codes (File Review tip):


WHY is this so important?

Sometimes a student makes a correction at the same time as we do and we
need to know which is the appropriate transaction to load. Before we started
this process, the person loading ISIRS would often have to research all such
ISIRs before unfreezing Screen 3 and loading them, to see which ones were
generated by the school, student, or NSLDS.

Now we don’t have to look at the ones that WE asked for, as long as Screen
3 isn’t frozen, they just load automatically and we simply make sure the EFC
and transaction number on Screen 3 matches what we asked for.
Besides saving time, these extra track codes are useful in
showing the progression of ISIRS.
42
EDE Track codes (File Review tip):

7/12: Student tells us she has no BA and will fix her SAR. We make a note, so we
know to receive the edits when new ISIR comes in. We don’t know if the student will
make other changes, so we just “???” the EFC (this ISIR we would look at when
loading, to make sure the BA was fixed).

7/20: After verifying, we put in the V status code, Everything is received now, so we
use the EDE codes to both track the new ISIR and prevent packaging.

The student makes her own revision after we package, causing a 04 trans with 0 EFC.
No EDE code on our screen. We double check the ISIR to make sure we didn’t
accidentally forget to put on the EC code. That done, we don’t load this one.

8/28: Then the student fills out a Revision Request. Again, a new ISIR.

9/03:Oops, I accidentally changed the students name! I have to wait for the 05 trans to
process, then I go in & fix the name. EFC stays the same. I make notes for the ISIR.
TRACKING
08 VERIFICATION STATUS
14 REVISION REQUEST
7$ REVISION REQUEST APPR
EC EDE CORRECTION, NEW ISIR
ED EDE CORRECTION, NEW ISIR
EE EDE CORRECTION, NEW ISIR
EF EDE CORRECTION, NEW ISIR
DUE
07102004
NOT'D
REC'D
ST
07202004 V
NR
08282004 08282004
NR
07122004
07152004 RQ
07202004
08032004 RQ
08282004
09294004 RQ
09294004
RQ
COMMENT
FM EFC = 3100
APPR CF NEW EFC=121
(note, letter generates for stu)
02/?? Stu fixing BA-rec edits
03/3100 FM
05/121 CF -Repkg (error, redo)
06/121 (re-FZ)
43
Caveats or Issues of Note
Things
What
We Are Discovering
We Are Doing To Fix What
Doesn’t Work Well For Us
Hopes
For The Future
*Disclaimer: Not bashing AFR. I love this program  This is simply to let you know
44
issues to watch for and some possible work-around solutions.
Too Much Detail: AD Track Code

We believe the AFR program would be most efficient if it limited the
search to the Year and Sessions dictated by the Financial Aid office and
the year AFR is run for, rather than detail screens from prior years which
have no bearing on current year awarding. Here are a few examples:
AD Track Code Issue: Due to limited funds, some schools want to package
only those who have shown intent to attend by completing an admissions
form. The Admissions edit and AD track code has a few kinks that we
must work around. AFR and the Admissions status update job (SM9101J)
look in the Admissions database for a student record -any record. A
student who attended WVC 15 years ago for an ABE class will have an
admissions record and get a received date for the RQ item.

Wish: We would like to see the programs look at the “last updated” date.
For students who are not currently enrolled, if the “last updated” date is in
the current year, then receive the edit. If it is prior, then do not receive the
edit. This might need to be an option, so that schools could give their own
time limits (1 year, 1 quarter, etc).
45
AD Track Code

Our Work around: we send ALL students a notice of Admission
requirements:
All applicants must be admitted to Wenatchee Valley College before we can
process and review a financial aid application. Please review the following
and comply with the appropriate action.
1) If you are a prospective student, and have not yet applied for
admission to the college, you need to do so now.
2) If you are student returning after time away and your absence
from WVC has been longer than 1 year, you will need to reapply
for admission.
3) If you are a current student, you do not need to reapply. Your
Admissions record will be automatically posted to Financial Aid.
NOTE: since FAM, we no longer run the SM9101J because we can’t run our letters in
between jobs at night. We are currently using the AFR admissions edit. We have
not yet developed a workaround to go back to SM9101J, but may simply add a
new track code which would send the letter. It doesn’t solve the issue of only
looking at current students though.
46
AD Track Code

Admittedly, not every student who has a 15 year old admissions record
reapplies. We don’t catch all of those who do fail to do so. We have
decided the benefits of not reviewing the Admissions screen for every
student far outweigh the issues of awarding a student who hasn’t
followed up his FAFSA with an application for admission.

If the student is awarded and never attends, we simply place the award
in status 5 and give the money to another student.

Possible issue: Now that we are no longer using the Data Sheet as
criteria for packaging, we don’t have that to use as a secondary “intent
to enroll”. Giving up on the admissions requirement prior to packaging
is something we have become more lax on because of the need to work
around the programs inefficiencies. Fixing this would definitely free up
wasted time packaging those who haven’t yet applied for admissions.

There are other edits that use similar programming logic and cause a
few headaches for us. We continue to work around them but would like
to see changes someday.
47
Too Much Detail: Intent Code

Issue: The Intent code edit has similar problems. Currently,
AFR looks in the current year, as well as prior years, for
intent codes.

A student who attended our school 15 years ago for an ABE class
will have an Intent code record for that session that is not financial
aid eligible. If the student is not yet enrolled for the year/session
intended, he will receive an edit for invalid intent. If a student has
never attended, and has not yet registered, the intent code would be
blank. This would trigger an edit.
48
Intent Code

Enhancement Wish: We would like to see the program look
at the correct corresponding year/session, for the year we are
running AFR.

For instance, in Spring quarter, we are awarding for the upcoming
year. We would like AFR to look at the UPCOMING year/sessions
only and if no Intent is there, we’d like the option to not post the edit
(at our school we would rather package and then run reports for
checking blank intent prior to disbursing). Workaround: Turn off Intent
Code checking until just prior to Fall quarter.

During the year, AFR would be looking at the CURRENT
year/sessions. First, at the current session. If Intent is there, use that
intent. If not there, a look at the upcoming session. If there, use. If not,
again the option to accept the “blank” as okay and move on. The
point here is not to use a prior year’s Intent code to hold up a student’s
aid for the current or upcoming year.
49
Intent Code Tip – what works for us

Working with Intent code edits:

Students who get the invalid intent code have an IC track code
placed on Screen 5. This generates a letter stating they need to
update their intent code.
Student fills out a form and bring it to us.
 Our staff fills in the received date of the IC code and puts the
Intent in the comments (e.g., F:323), and initials the form.
 The form is taken next door to the Registration office.
 Registration staff enter the new intent codes, initials the form
and brings it back to Financial Aid.
 ZB edit code is removed from Screen 5 (so it can pop up
again at a later time).
 The form is filed and packaging continues.


This works quite smoothly now, once we figured out what process worked
best and assigned specific people to the tasks, so as not to confuse things
or lose forms. If we need it right away, Registration is very good about doing
50
these on the spot for us 
Passed all edits – a puzzle…

This one has been bugging me since we implemented AFR. Partly
because I can’t figure out exactly how it operates, what causes it to post
(it’s not the obvious) and what it’s purpose is. Sometimes, I think I have
it figured out and then it does something different -- it’s a puzzling little
edit code…

My biggest issue is that it doesn’t seem to work well – or at least, I can’t
figure out how it IS working. Some students with AFR edits not received
will get this edit, others not.. Some students appear to pass all edits, but
never get the “passed edits” code. And sometimes, the “passed all edits
code” pops up after we apply the package code, or even months after
student has been packaged – with no edit flag showing. At some point, I
think CIS and I came to the conclusion that it operates in a circle,
creating it’s own edit…

Over the years, we have just ignored this one. It’s not a priority issue at
this time, as we have a work-around…
51
Passed all edits…

We originally had the ZW and ZX as "Required items". Then we tried
NRs. We now use RQ for work study and other edits and NR for passed
all edits.

In short, since we can’t do anything about it, and it doesn’t seem to
affect our packaging when it’s an NR status, we simply completely
ignore the “passed all edits” code. It’s not perfect, but it causes us the
least amount of pain.

We’d like to see this code go away, get fixed if there is a problem, or
simply allow us the option to not post it and waste space. But mostly, I’d
just like to understand it…
52
Same old students…

Issue: A student shows on the SM9142A or B report. Staff reviews the
record and sees missing items. Moves on to next student. Next day, staff
again sees that student and looks at him. Still missing items. Next
day…

Wish: Pie in the sky, but it would be so cool if we could put on a track
code that would let the program know “I already reviewed this student
and he’s not ready for packaging” and then the program would only print
them on the staff review reports if something on their screens had
changed (new date, new track, new edit flag, comment, whatever). AFR
would continue running, but wouldn’t show on the report.

I haven’t bothered to ask for this yet, but I will someday... It’s a long shot,
but as I always say, “I’m just the dreamer, it’s up to someone else to
figure out how to code it”. ;-)

Work Around: Don’t give up! Just keep reading those reports. The staff
person who reviews these daily tells me that after awhile, it got easier to
read them and filter things out – still time consuming, but easier.
53
Letters

AFR currently does not allow the AFR code to generate a tracking letter,
because it posts notified dates for edits. We must manually enter
different track codes for letters. This was discussed with CIS at one time,
but with Rehosting, we dropped the issue.

NOTE: As time moved on, we found this not too time-consuming and
actually preferable, as we delete some edits after resolving them, and
don’t want to lose the trail of the edit. If the option is ever implemented, I
advise schools to play with it to see what works best with the individual
tracking items for your school.
54
Assign Package Codes Program – SM9296J

We are not yet using this program, although we hope to at some later
date. After an initial review of the program, we determined it would not
meet our current needs…

Issue: Not enough options. It goes off the AFR criteria. We want to go
off of a priority deadline date, based on our ISIR track code received
date.

Wish: We’d like to see additional criteria for packaging before we would
implement... However, we need to study it more before being able to
make more concrete suggestions. I only know one person who
attempted to use this, years ago, and she ran into some problems. Not
sure if it was her setup or what. The research was stopped when the
person left her job and dropped the project. If anyone else has tried, I’d
love to know.
55
It Seems So Complicated...
Follow
the logic…
Watch the dates…
Samples…
56
Question: Why didn’t it package?
COCO-SAF505(09/15/97) T R A C K I N G D A T A
DATE: 08/03/04
SCREEN-5
SAFERS/3000
FUNCTION [5]
STUDENT ID N A M E
CAMPUS SESSION STATUS
[123456789 ] [SCHOLAR, SABRINA M
]
[01] [A451] [DE]
TRACKING
DUE
NOT'D REC'D ST COMMENT
03 ISIR REC'D/UPLOADED
04292004
04292004 RQ
09 DATA SHEET
04292004 05172004 06172004 RQ
AD APPLY FOR ADMISSION
04292004 04302004 05032004 RQ
IC INTENT CODE
07272004 07272004
RQ
RL RELEASE INFO____________
06172004 Father/James
RM RELEASE INFO –ADD’L_____ 06172004
06172004 BD/01-10-50
WA STATE NEED GRANT NOMINEE 04292004
IN
ZB INELIG STUDENT INTENT 08022004 06222004
RQ 1-J,D-J
ZW WANTS WORK STUDY
08022004 06172004
NR
ZY STAFF REVIEW
06172004 06172004 06182004 RQ File Complete




Data Sheet turned in on 17th.
AFR filled in rec’d date on 18th. Given a package code on 22nd but did not package because…
Student registered the 22nd with an invalid intent code. This student did not package, but continues to
show on the SM9142c report. Nothing happened with this student between 06/22 when the ZB code
was posted and 07/27 when the IC code was manually entered.
Resolution: The student needed the intent code manually placed on Screen 5. Student will
continue to show on the SM9142c, even after the ZY received date is filled in.
57
Question: Why didn’t it RE-package?
COCO-SAF505(09/15/97) T R A C K I N G D A T A
DATE: 08/04/04
SCREEN-5
SAFERS/3000
FUNCTION [5]
STUDENT ID N A M E
CAMPUS SESSION STATUS
[234567890 ] [BROTHER, NIC R
]
[01] [A451] [IN]
TRACKING
DUE
NOT'D REC'D ST COMMENT
03 ISIR REC'D/UPLOADED
04292004
04292004 RQ
09 DATA SHEET
04292004 05172004 05192004 RQ
14 REVISION REQUEST
07282004 07262004 APPR NEW EFC=0
AD APPLY FOR ADMISSION
04292004 04302004 05032004 RQ
AP AUTOMATICALLY PACKAGED 05282004
05282004 NR PELL SCH-0000 PAC-A3
AX LOAN ELIG ONLY
05292004 05292004 05292004 RQ
EC EDE CORRECTION, NEW ISIR 07282004
08032004 RQ 03/0
PN PACKAGE NOTES
4 QTR CM
WA STATE NEED GRANT NOMINEE 04292004
IN
ZT FAID TERMINATED PER TRAC 08032004 08032004
RQ RCNT TERM CD NOT RCV
ZW WANTS WORK STUDY
08032004 05282004 05282004 RQ (note, kept updating)
ZY STAFF REVIEW
05282004 05282004 05282004 RQ File Complete





Student reviewed by AFR on 5/28 - pkg code was given, but didn’t fit eligibility criteria. AX letter sent.
Revision Request was done on 7/26.
Max. Time Frame code is placed on screen 0000 on 7/27.
New ISIR received on 8/03.
At this point Packaging was attempted again (AP code removed) . Student shows up with RQs
missing received date (next slide)
58

AFR Report SM9142A
PN
PACKAGE NOTES
4 QTR CM
03 RQ ISIR REC'D/UPLOADED
04/29/04
04/29/04
WA IN STATE NEED GRANT NOMINEE 04/29/04
EC RQ EDE CORRECTION, NEW ISIR 07/28/04
08/03/04 03/0
AD RQ APPLY FOR ADMISSION
04/29/04 04/30/04 05/03/04
09 RQ DATA SHEET
04/29/04 05/17/04 05/19/04
ZW NR WANTS WORK STUDY
08/03/04 05/28/04
ZY RQ STAFF REVIEW
05/28/04 05/28/04 05/28/04 File Complete
14
REVISION REQUEST
07/28/04 07/26/04 APPR NEW EFC=0
ZT RQ FAID TERMINATED PER TRACKING 08/03/04 08/03/04
RCNT TERM CD NOT

Why the ZT? Because there is an MT (or other terminate-type flag) on the 0000 screen:
MT RQ MAX CRED ATTMPT’D
07/27/04 07/27/04
115 CR

The MT and ZT codes are doing their thing, and packaging will not complete until these
items are received.

The program and the staff are doing exactly what they should be doing and the next step is
up to the student (needs to file an appeal).

If pkg code is removed, student won’t go on packaging report again. If a student is on a
long time, I’ll remove the code, also taking off the “file complete” and received date. It won’t
get another package code until all items are received and is on SM9142C report.
59
Is It Worth It?

Was it a difficult change?



Change is almost always frightening and difficult.
It took time, it took patience, and it took people who wanted it to
work
Survey of our staff…. Would we want to go back to the
old way?

NO!!!!!!!!!! At this time, only 1 staff member (besides Kevin and
Cheryl) even remembers the old way of doing things 
QUESTIONS?

SBCTC:


[email protected]
509-803-9721

Cheryl


[email protected]
509-682-6816
60