Blogs

FA PAG Newsletter

April 2010

 

PAG Top Three Issues for 2010-11

The Financial Aid PAG represents the user community and helps facilitate Oracle in its development of the Financial Aid module. After the PAG Summit and feedback from the Alliance 2010 conference, the following issues have been defined as the top three priorities in the year ahead:

1. Cross-Over Pell
2. FA Term
3. DL Loan Entrance/Exit Counseling

 

Looking Forward…. Regs 3 Bundle and Webcast

Regs 3 is on its way, scheduled for release on April 30, 2010. 

The Oracle Live webcast for Financial Aid Regulatory Release 3 will be on May 11, 2010 at 3PM Eastern (2PM Central, 1PM Mountain and 12 Noon Pacific time). Here is a description of the session from the Oracle website:

This one-hour session is recommended for functional users who plan to implement Campus Solutions Financial Aid Regs 3. This presentation will help to familiarize you with the new features of the College Scholarship Service (CSS), Institutional Need Analysis System (INAS), Federal Methodology (FM) and additional Profile updates and Pell Schedules updates.

Registration is open for the session at the following link:  Note: 1069395.1

You can navigate to the page by going to My Oracle Support and clicking on the My Oracle Support/Training Central link in the left navigation area.   Then scroll down the left navigation window and select PeopleSoft Enterprises.  You can then scroll through the results window to find the Regs 3 session.   Click on the abstract link and you’ll get the specific session info and the above link to the registration form.

Watch the fa.ps list for any further announcements about webcast content.

Interested in the Pre-Release Notes for the Regs 3 Bundle?  Log into My Oracle Support and try the following:

1. In the search box in the upper right hand corner, select the downward arrow to the left and select “All Sources (Excl Documentation)
2.  Enter ‘830098’ for 9.0 as the search term (or ‘830099’ for 8.9) and select search. 
3.  Select the hyperlink for the returned result and follow the update for the documentation.

Direct Lending Webinar Series Continues

Watch the fa.ps and fa.dl lists for the continuation of the Transitioning to Direct Loans webinar series!  While the schedule is not set at this time, we hope to start up again at the beginning of May.

Here is the current list of topics:

• Working the Exception Reports (Validation Error, Origination Error, etc.)
• PNote strategies – MPN Checklists (Assign/Update), requesting a Paper PNote from COD
• Where to look for help – COD Technical Reference, HEUG Web site search, etc.
• Drawing down funds
• July 1 Loan Fee change
• Reconciliation – loading files and viewing data, how at least one school creates reconciliation reports
• Year End Close Out
• Loan Counseling
• PLUS Loan Processing (both Grad and Parent PLUS)

All of the previous presentations are archived within the Financial Aid File Library at HEUG online.

 

FA Term Working Group

The Financial Aid Working Group met on March 25 and reviewed feedback from the FA Term presentation and breakout at Alliance in San Antonio.   The group is moving forward with the preparation of a white paper to present to Oracle by the start of summer.    We are reviewing case studies submitted by working group participants to fit as many of those pain points that FA experiences with the current FA term (as defined on the lifecycle document).

The goal is to explain to Oracle as best we can why schools override information delivered by the current FA term process at that point in time.  Oracle analysts can then better understand where schools look for the “truth” as FA sees it at that point in time, whether looking at current data or projecting.    The group will meet monthly until the white paper is completed.   

 If any school has a particular case study that fits a pain point on the lifecycle document that you would like to submit for us to pass along to Oracle, please send it to Mary Walters  mwalter@emory.edu or Chris Johnson cjohnson@ku.edu. 

The lifecycle document is posted to the HEUG website.  Click on the Alliance 2010 session download link, scroll down to the financial aid group and select Financial Aid Birds of a Feather #1.

 

FA Issues Tracker

We all love to have our say….and the FA Issue Tracker is the best way to make your wishes known to the PAG, and through them to Oracle.  By writing up your needs, or voting on those offered by others, you help determine what new development is seen as important by the Financial Aid Community (i.e., YOU).

Let your voice be heard!  Here are some recent issues; it’s important you vote to let us know which are most important to you.  If you have ideas to add to one of them, weigh in on the Issue Tracker with your additional comments.  If you don’t see your “hot topic” issue, add it now!

 

NSLDS Enhancements

• NSLDS Load Process Enhancements Requested (Issue 1642)
• NSLDS Suspense Maintenance (Issue 1643)

Alternative Loan Processing

• Add Alternative Loan 3 Digit Code to CL4 Cert Request (1688)
• Add COA and Estimated FA to CL4 App Send (1661)

COD/DL

• Expand DL Entrance/Exit Functionality (1689)
• Develop COD Framework (1690)

Authorization/Disbursement

• Authorization process to use Equation Engine to be able to customize criteria (1687)

FA Word Cloud…The Past Month’s Discussion at FA.ps@heug.org

 

 

 

 

My Oracle Support

Knowledge articles are awesome.  Here are a couple of articles and updates that you might find of interest.

PeopleSoft Enterprise Financial Aid 9.0+ PeopleBook [ID 748253.1]

Financial Aid PeopleBooks in a downloadable .pdf with updates through Bundle 10.  It’s a plus!

Note:748253.1

Campus Solutions 9.0 Communication Generation [ID 1068079.1]

Interested in Communication Generation 9.0 and Looking for a Guide?  Check out a white paper produced by the Campus Community PAG.

Note:1068079.1

PeopleSoft PeopleTools 8.50 Documentation Home Page [ID 847882.1]

A spring board for a variety of documentation related to PeopleTools 8.50.

Note: 847882.1

 

HEUG Online….RSS Feeds and Favorites

Blogs are a newer feature within HEUG online and there are some tools under the left hand column in the Links section to help you manage your interests.  Here are a couple of ways you can help track changes and updates to your favorite blog…such as the FA PAG Blog!

1.     Favorites
Selecting the Fav button will add a page to your Favorites within HEUG online for easy access.

2.     RSS Feed (Real Simple Syndication)
Selecting the Feed link creates a subscription to the blog that you can direct to appear in an application of your choice that you use to manage RSS feeds.  For example, you can choose to have the feed appear in your Microsoft Outlook inbox, on your Google home page, or you can select another application of your choice.

 

 

 

Financial Aid Product Advisory Group, 2010-2011

 

 

Humor (and Needed)

 

The Top Ten Lies Told by Graduate Students

(according to the Harvard Crimson)

1. It doesn't bother me at all that my college roommate is making $80,000 a year on Wall Street.
2. I'd be delighted to proofread your book/chapter/article.
3. My work has a lot of practical importance.
4. I would never date an undergraduate.
5. Your latest article was so inspiring.
6. I turned down a lot of great job offers to come here.
7. I just have one more book to read and then I'll start writing.
8. The department is giving me so much support.
9. My job prospects look really good.
10. No really, I'll be out of here in only two more years.