High-Level Workflow of Automation

Prerequisites for Automation

In order to take advantage of the automated features, certain configuration items must be set up for the student's program.  Furthermore, there are task and SBL related pre-requisites.

Configuration Items

R2T4 Automation settings are configurable on Institution Setup and inherit down to the Campus and Program setup levels.  The details of the available Automation Settings are outlined below with descriptions and business rules.  Additional information on these settings can be found at Institution Setup Requirements, R2T4 Settings Sub-tab

Task Setup

The following tasks must be configured in a school's Task Setup as "Active" for proper processing of Automated R2T4s:

• Review R2T4
• Review R2T4 with Abbreviated Loan Period
• Review Automated R2T4
• Review Return from LOA or CORE

All R2T4 Automation will be dependent upon the existence of the "Review R2T4" task.  A school may also configure any one of a number of other R2T4 related tasks in order to identify students who may need to be considered for R2T4, but those additional tasks have no impact or functionality within the automated process.  Furthermore, the R2T4 Automation Process will auto-close the "Review R2T4" task once the R2T4 closed as either "Not Required" or "Finalized."  

The “Review R2T4 with Abbreviated Loan Period” task will be triggered when the Automated R2T4 Process determines that a nonterm student has an Abbreviated Loan Period somewhere within the academic plan, even if the Abbreviated Loan Period is not in the R2T4 period.  This will alert the school to a scenario when the R2T4 must be completed outside of Regent Award.  When a nonterm student meets this scenario, the “Review R2T4” task will be auto-closed, so as not to create duplicate tasks for a single student, therefore it’s recommended that a school configure the “Review R2T4 with Abbreviated Loan Period” task and the “Review R2T4” task with the same restrictions.  

The “Review Automated R2T4” task will be triggered when the Automated Process determines that a student needs to be manually reviewed by the end user.  That could be because:

• The system has not finalized the R2T4 because it's not configured to finalize any R2T4s with the R2T4’s result of No Action Needed, Refund, and/or PWD. The R2T4 will be placed in a Ready for Review status and the task's System Message will state that the R2T4 calculations are complete and ready for Finalization Review. 
• The task could also be triggered if the system has not finalized the R2T4 because the student is nonterm and in a short program or remaining period of study. In this case, the calculations in step 2 should be reviewed to ensure the proper period of enrollment is in use.  The R2T4 will be placed in a Ready for Review status and the task's System Message will direct the user to review the Period of Enrollment for accurate calculation.
• Finally, this task could be triggered if the R2T4 Status is "Error." If this occurs, the task's System Message will contain any Error text that was logged by Automated Process.

When the R2T4s that trigger the “Review Automated R2T4” task are Finalized, Regent Award will auto-close both the “Review Automated R2T4” task and the “Review R2T4” task for the   Regent recommends that the “Review Automated R2T4” task and the “Review R2T4” tasks are configured in different Task Queues in order to call attention to them separately.

Finally, it' recommended that the school configure the “Review Return from LOA or CORE” task to track those students who do not return from an LOA or CORE within 7 days of the LOA or CORE end date, so they can be reviewed to determine if action is needed.

SBL Data

The SBL plays an important role in allowing Regent Award to automate R2T4s.  First, it is the existence of the R2T4 node within the SBL that triggers the "Review R2T4" task, mentioned above, to be created on a student's record.  Second, the Date of Determination that the student withdrew is required within the R2T4 node, and it's this date that all of Regent Award's configuration offsets, also outlined above, use to determine when the various aspects of automation can occur for a given student.  The overall process flow to initiate R2T4 automation is as  follows:

Not Required Logic

When R2T4 Automation is in use (Identify Whether Potential R2T4 is Required = Yes), Regent Award's R2T4 Automation Process will assess students through a series of "checks" to determine whether or not the R2T4 can be closed as "Not Required."  This automation, alone, saves a tremendous amount of time.  Only those students with a "Review R2T4" task will be assessed.  The timing of each student's assessment will depend on the configuration "Offset from DOD for Evaluation of Not Required R2T4s."

The "Not Required" logic is as follows, and students are assessed through the tests in the order shown:

1. Does the student have two or more open "Review R2T4" Tasks for the same payment period?
   • If yes, the automated process will exit here and provide messaging on the Process Log that states: "The student has two or more "Review R2T4" tasks, and therefore Regent Award was unable to determine which is valid for R2T4 Automation.  Please review the student."  Note that if the school closes the extraneous task(s), the next time the R2T4 Automation process is executed, it will evaluate the student through the checks again (as normal).
     
     • An R2T4 Template will not be created for this student and the "Review R2T4" task will remain "Open."
     • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
   • Else, move on to the next test.
2. Does the student have an Abbreviated Period on the Academic Plan?
   • If the student is in a nonterm program during the R2T4 period AND has any Manual AY on their Academic Plan designated as an Abbreviated Loan Period (ALP), regardless of whether the ALP is in the R2T4 period, the automated process will exit here and provide messaging on the Process Log that states: "There is an Abbreviated Loan Period on the student's Academic Plan and no R2T4 template has been created.  Please review the student."
     • An R2T4 Template will not be created for this student 
     • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will be auto-closed and Regent Award will trigger the “Review R2T4 with Abbrev. Loan Period” task for this student.
     • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
   • Else, move on to the next test.
3. Did the student begin attendance in the R2T4 payment period?
   • If the student has not begun attendance in the R2T4 payment period, the R2T4 will be closed as “Not Required” with the not required reason “Student did not attend this payment period.  Note:  If the school is using the Assume Attendance feature, and has provided at least one indication of attendance, we'll assume the student attended during the R2T4 period.
     • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will be auto-closed.
     • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
   • Else, move on to the next test.
4. Did the student have Title IV for the R2T4 payment period?
   • If the student has neither a Pell-eligible ISIR (with a transaction process date up to or equal to the Date of Withdrawal) nor Title IV awards that qualify for inclusion in the R2T4 calculation, for the R2T4 period, the R2T4 will be closed as “Not Required” with the comment “No Title IV eligibility for R2T4 period.”
     • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will be auto-closed.
     • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
   • Else, move on to the next test.
5. Does the student already have an R2T4 on the Payment Period?  
   1. If the student has an R2T4 in the same Payment Period, with a status of "Open" or "Reversed," with the same WDD as the WDD on the R2T4, do not auto-assess the student for another R2T4. Exit here and provide messaging on the output file that states "The student already has a Open/Reversed R2T4 with the same withdrawal date.  Regent Award was unable to determine if additional action is needed.  Please review the student."
      • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
      • An R2T4 Template will not be created for this student 
      • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will NOT be auto-closed
   2. If there is a "Finalized" R2T4 in the same payment period, with the same Date of Withdrawal as the R2T4 Node, AND no NEW attendance was reported after the WDD, exit here and provide messaging on the output file that states "The student already has a Finalized R2T4 with the same withdrawal date.  Regent Award was unable to determine if additional action is needed.  Please review the student."
      • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
      • An R2T4 Template will not be created for this student 
      • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will NOT be auto-closed
   3. ELSE, move on to the next test.

6. Did the student complete a CORE (commitment to return for a future PA course in the PP)? 

   • For Nonterm: Did the student complete a CORE to return within 45 days after the end of the last course for which the student had attendance regardless if the course was withdrawn or not?
   • For Term: Did the student complete a CORE to return within the R2T4 term?
   • If either of the above checks is true, the R2T4 will only have to be completed if the student does not return as scheduled. 
     • Close the R2T4 as “Not Required” with the not required reason “Student confirmed future attendance in the payment period.”
     • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will be auto-closed.
     • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
     • Note:  The "Review Return from LOA or CORE" task (if configured) will be assigned if a student does not return from a CORE as scheduled.  The R2T4 Automated Process will be re-initiated if Regent Award receives another SBL node for the student, which will trigger a new “Review R2T4” task.
   • If no, the R2T4 must be completed.  Move on to the next test.
   • • the student, which will trigger a new “Review R2T4” task.
   • If no, the R2T4 must be completed.  Move on to the next test.
   • If the R2T4 is assessed through the "Not Required" logic after the CORE End Date, the R2T4 will not auto-close for this check. The system will proceed to the next test.
7. Does the student have an Approved Leave of Absence (LOA) student break that includes the R2T4 "Not Required" assessment date? (today's date)
   • If yes, close the R2T4 as “Not Required” with the not required reason “Student is on an approved Leave of Absence.”
     • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will be auto-closed.
     • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
   • If no, the R2T4 must be completed. Move on to the next test.
   • If the R2T4 is assessed through the "Not Required" logic after the LOA End Date, the R2T4 will not auto-close for this check. The system will proceed to the next test.
   • If the R2T4 50% Indicator is selected, the R2T4 will not auto-close for this check. The system will proceed to the next test.
   • Note: If an institution wishes to complete R2T4s when a student goes on an academic LOA, those LOAs should not be recorded in Regent Award.
8. Did the student return in the same PP in the same payment period before the R2T4 was finalized (return in the same term or in nonterm, within 45 days after the end date of the last course for which the student had attendance)?
   • For term-based, did the student return in the same term?
     • Did the school send us an LDA on any course within the same term that was greater than the WDD OR
     • Did they provide an attendance (flag) in a course within the same term with a start date greater than the WDD?
   • For nonterm, did the student return in the same payment period within 45 days after the end date of the last course for which the student had attendance?
     • Did the school send us an LDA on any course in the same payment period that was greater than the R2T4 WDD  and not greater than the last attended/withdrawn course’s end date+45 days?
     • Did they send us an attendance (flag) in a course in the same payment period with a start date greater than the R2T4 WDD and not greater than the last attended/withdrawn course’s end date+45 days?
   • If either of the above checks is true, the R2T4 will be closed as "Not Required" with the not required reason "Student returned in the payment period after the initial WDD"
     • The “Review R2T4” task for the student will be auto-closed.
     • An Activity Log Entry will be logged.
   • If no, the R2T4 must be completed. The template will be created in an “Open” status.

For the students whose R2T4 could not be closed as "Not Required," and for which an R2T4 template was created in an "Open" status, the R2T4 Automation Process will continue to assess these students each time Batch Packaging is executed.  If, at any point prior to the "Finalization" offset day, the student's data changes such that it now meets one of the "Not Required" tests, the R2T4 Automation Process will close the R2T4 as "Not Required" and log the appropriate "reason."  Otherwise, the R2T4 will remain "Open" until the "Finalization" offset day.

The first day that the student is assessed and the R2T4 template is created in an "Open" status, the process will log the message:  "The student's R2T4 was automatically created due to a Date of Determination provided on the SBL for {PaymentPeriod}."  On each subsequent day that the student's data does not change and the R2T4 template remains open, the process will log the message: "Existing R2T4 cannot be closed as "Not Required" or "Finalized."  No further action was taken on this record." 

Auto-Finalization Logic 

If the "Not Required" logic above is performed on an R2T4, but the R2T4 is not closed due to any of the "Not Required" checks, Regent Award will create the R2T4 template/worksheet and automatically complete the "top" of the R2T4 worksheet - the section titled "R2T4 Calculation Wizard."  Similar to current R2T4 functionality, all of the awards are pulled into Step 1 of the worksheet, the Step 2 Period of Enrollment is calculated, and the remaining steps of the Wizard are completed to perform all of the necessary R2T4 calculations to determine the R2T4 result.  The Status of the R2T4 will be "Open."

Fully Earned / Fully Disbursed 

When the day arrives that the student's R2T4 can be considered for auto-finalization, (Offset from DOD to Auto-Finalize R2T4s value is set as a number of days after the student's Date of Determination), the R2T4 Automated Process can consider the R2T4 for auto-finalization.  If the value in "Box H" (Percentage of Title IV Earned) is 60.001% or greater AND the values in both "Box J" = $0 and "Box K" $0, (all Title IV (excluding Work Study) has been fully earned, and therefore does not need to be returned, and has been fully disbursed and therefore does not require a Post Withdrawal Disbursement) then the R2T4 meets the requirements for a "Fully Earned/Fully Disbursed."  The R2T4 Automated Process will change the R2T4 Status to "Finalized," with a Result of "No Action Required."  The R2T4 Automated Process output will provide a message that states "The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" because the student fully earned and was fully disbursed all Title IV Aid during [Payment Period].  Upon auto-Finalization, the "Review R2T4" task for the student will be auto-closed.

If the value in "Box H" (Percentage of Title IV Earned) equals 50%, AND both values in "Box J" and Box K" equal $0, then the R2T4 meets the requirements for an "Amount Earned Equals Amount Disbursed". The R2T4 Automated Process will change the R2T4 Status to "Finalized, with a Result of "No Action Required". The R2T4 Automated Process output will provide a message that states "The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" because the student "earned the amount disbursed" during [Payment Period]".

Refund 

If the value in "Box H" (Percentage of Title IV Earned) is less than 60%, the value in "Box J" = $0 and the value in "Box K" is greater than $0, then the R2T4 meets the requirements for a "Refund". The R2T4 Automated Process will change the R2T4 Status to "Finalized", with a Result of "Refund" if the Institutional Costs have been manually entered on the R2T4, providing the data needed to Finalize the calculation. The R2T4 Automated Process output will provide a message that states "The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" with a refund of $XXXX.XX Fund type during [Payment Period]". Once the R2T4 is Finalized with a status of "Refund", Regent Award will return all refund amounts from Step 6 during packaging to their fund source including any Pell recalculation amount. Those negative disbursements will then be processed on the EST.  If the Institutional Costs have not been manually entered on the R2T4, the "Review Automated R2T4" task will trigger with the message "The Automated R2T4 Process determined that there are no Institutional Costs provided when a refund is required."  

PWD 

If the value in "Box J" is greater than $0, then the R2T4 meets the requirements for a "PWD". The R2T4 Automated Process will change the R2T4 Status to "Finalized" with a Result of "PWD." The R2T4 Automated Process output will provide a message that states "The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" with a PWD of $XXXX.XX Fund type during [Payment Period]."  The school will still need to manually enter PWD acceptance data on the PWD tab.  See Return of Title IV (R2T4): Offered PWD Scenarios.

However, if the R2T4 results in a PWD, but the Actual Cancel Date and/or PWD Response Deadline date has not been provided for one or more disbursements, the "Review Automated R2T4" task will be triggered with the message "The Automated R2T4 Process determined that the Actual Cancel Date and/or PWD Response Deadline date has not been provided for one or more disbursements, therefore the PWD should be reviewed prior to being Auto-Finalized."

Ready for Review 

When an R2T4 is able to be Auto-Finalized, but the "Type of R2T4 to Auto-Finalize" configuration option does not include the type of R2T4 completed, Regent Award will update the status of these R2T4s to "Ready for Review" and generate a "Review Automated R2T4" task to bring these R2T4s to the user's attention for manual Finalization. Upon manual Finalization, both the "Review Automated R2T4" task and the "Review R2T4" task for the student will be auto-closed.

Error 

If, for some reason, the R2T4 Automated Process cannot act upon an R2T4 - for example, some type of system or data error, Regent Award will update the R2T4 Status of these R2T4s to "Error," and generate a "Review Automated R2T4" task to bring these R2T4s to the user's attention for manual review.  Upon manual Finalization, both the "Review Automated R2T4" task and the "Review R2T4" task for the student will be auto-closed.

Duplicate R2T4s

If a duplicate R2T4 record is received with the same Withdrawal Date as an existing R2T4 that is in a Finalized or Reversed status, Regent Award will not process it via the R2T4 Automated Process.  If a client identifies a case where an R2T4 needs to be reprocessed, this must be done manually.

Reporting

Automated Process Output

When the new "R2T4 Automated Process" is executed during Batch Packaging, Regent Award captures an audit history of the details of the processing results for each student processed.  This data is surfaced in the Process Log (for the Batch Packaging Process) and in Reports.  The automated process will log a full record of the data produced by the R2T4 Automated Process every day that the student is assessed.

This process captures ONLY data on Automated R2T4s, and Automated R2T4s up to the point where they become "Manual."  Once they are made manual, tracking ends.  

The process captures the following info:

1. Student 
2. Student IDs (internal as well as external; all four external) 
   
3. IO Process ID
4. Date Process was Executed
5. Automated vs. Manual 
6. R2T4 Date of Determination 
7. R2T4 Date of Withdrawal 
8. 50% Indicator
9. R2T4 Status 
10. Result Reason Text
11. Percentage Earned (Box H) 
12. Post-Withdrawal Disbursement (Box J)
13. Title IV Aid to be Returned (Box K)
14. Amount for School to Return (Box O)
15. Amount of Unearned Pell
16. Step 10 Grant Overpayment
17. PWD
18.  Total Total Gross PWD Amount
19.  Total Total Non-IOP Net PWD Amount
20.  Total Total IOP Net PWD Amount
21.  Total Total Net Amount Accepted 
22.  Notification Notification Sent
    1. This is the date the PWD Notification was sent to the student
23.  Response Response Deadline
    1. This is the date the student/parent must respond to the PWD Notification
24. R2T4 Not Processed
25. Manual R2T4 Status
26. Date Completed

R2T4 - PWD Results Report

The PWD Column in the Automated Process Output will have either a "Yes" or "No". If the result is "Yes", meaning the R2T4 resulted in a PWD, the user will have the ability to click on "Yes" which will open the "R2T4 - PWD Results Report" for the single student.  Each disbursement will be listed in a separate row and the following output will be provided for each PWD Disbursement.

1. Type of Aid
2. Gross PWD Amount
3. FAY Loan ID
4. Disbursement #
5. Net Non-IOP PWD Amount
6. Net IOP PWD Amount
7. Actual Cancel Date
8. Date PWD Response
9. Net Amount Accepted
10. Date Disbursed
11. Do Not Offer
12. Return Amount Reason

Standard Reports

• Reports: Student - R2T4
• Reports: R2T4 Automated Process Results Report

Activity Log Entries

An Activity Log Entry (ALE) is logged when the student's R2T4 is automatically created based on the DOD node provided on the SBL.

Description:  The student's R2T4 was automatically created due to a Date of Determination provided on the SBL for [Payment Period].

An ALE is logged when the student's R2T4 is automatically closed as "Not Required" because "Reason Text"

Description:  The student's R2T4 was automatically closed as "Not Required" because [Reason Text].

An ALE is logged when the student has two or more open "Review R2T4" tasks.

Description:  The student has two or more "Review R2T4" tasks, and therefore Regent Award was unable to determine which is valid for R2T4 Automation.  Please review the student.

An ALE is logged when the student has an Abbreviated Loan Period preventing auto-processing of their R2T4.

Description:  The student's R2T4 was not automatically created/processed due to an Abbreviated Loan Period being present on their Academic Plan in AY [AY#].

An ALE is logged when the student had a previously "Finalized" R2T4 for the same Payment Period

Description: The student's R2T4 was not automatically created/processed due to a previously "finalized" R2T4 being present in the same [Payment Period] with the same DOD.

An ALE is logged when the student had a previously "Reversed" R2T4 for the same Same Payment Period

Description:  The student's R2T4 was not automatically created/processed due to a previously "Reversed" R2T4 being present in the same [Payment Period] with the same DOD.

An ALE is logged when the end user enters an R2T4, that was initiated by the Automated Process (meaning the Automated Process created the R2T4 Template, therefore, the StudentR2T4 is set to "Automated"), and changes any data field on the R2T4.  For each data field changed, the data field label, prior value, and changed value must be displayed in the ALE.  If the user changes the data back to the original value, or changes to yet a different value, another ALE would be logged.  

Description:  The student's Automated R2T4 was manually modified by [userID].  The following fields were changed:  [field label] changed from [original value] to [new value]; [field label] changed from [original value] to [new value]; [field label] changed from [original value] to [new value]; [field label] changed from [original value] to [new value];.

An ALE is logged when the student's R2T4 is automatically completed as "Finalized" because of "[Reason]."

Description:  The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" because the student "fully earned and was fully disbursed all Title IV Aid during [Payment Period]".

Description: The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" with a refund of $XXXX.XX Fund type during [Payment Period].

Description: The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" because the student "earned the amount disbursed" during [Payment Period]

Description: The student's R2T4 was automatically completed as "Finalized" with a PWD of $XXXX.XX Fund type during [Payment Period].

An ALE is logged when the student's R2T4 status is "Ready for Review." 

Description:  The student's R2T4 for [Payment Period] is "Ready for Review." 

An ALE is logged when the student's R2T4 status is "Error." 

Description:  The student's R2T4 for [Payment Period] is "Error."

R2T4 Statuses

Two additional R2T4 statuses help drive the R2T4 Automation workflow:

1. Ready for Review = Automated R2T4 requires Manual review by a User.
   • Regent Award took the R2T4 through the designated process, but per the "Types of R2T4s to Auto-finalize" configuration item, the school wants to manually Finalize the R2T4.  
   • The Automated R2T4's Payment Period is a non-term Shortened Remaining Period of Study, or the student is in a Short Program and the Program Setup field Method for Projecting Nonterm R2T4 PP End Date is set to R2T4-Only Payment Period Extrapolation Formula.  
2. Error = Regent Award was unable to take the R2T4 through the designated process:
   • Could not create the R2T4 template for some reason 
   • Could not close the R2T4 as "Not Required" when it met the "Not Required" criteria.
   • Could not Finalize the R2T4 as Fully Earned / Fully Disbursed (Box H = 100%; Box J = $0; Box K = $0) 

Automated vs. Manual R2T4s

With the introduction of "Automated" R2T4s, it's important to understand the difference between an “automated” and a "manual" R2T4 in order to know when Regent Award will or will not take automated action.

• When a user creates the R2T4 template, the R2T4 is "manual."  Regent Award will not take any automated action on these R2T4s and data for these records will be reported on the Student R2T4 report ONLY.   
• When Regent Award creates the R2T4 template, but prior to finalization a user changes data on the template, Regent Award will use the updated data.  If the user does not finalize the R2T4 at this point in time, Regent will continue to take automated action on this record.  A manual icon will be displayed next to the manually updated fields, but the R2T4 itself is not considered to be “manual”.    
• When Regent Award initiated the R2T4 template, but prior to finalization the user enters the template, completes all data and finalizes the R2T4, the record becomes "manual."  Anytime that a user Finalizes an R2T4, it will become "manual."  
• If an R2T4 finalized by the automated process is Reversed by the end-user, the record will become "manual."  The Automated Process will NEVER auto-reverse an R2T4.
• Regent Award will automatically assess PWD disbursements to determine if they should be set to Do Not Offer for both manual and automated R2T4s.
• Regent Award will auto-populate PWD Response Deadline Dates and Auto Cancellation dates for all PWD disbursements for both manual and automated R2T4s.