4.8.0.0 - Release FAQs

Can anyone take Release 4.8.0.0?  

All Regent Award clients are expected to take Release 4.8.0.0. for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.  Production Upgrades are coordinated with Account Managers.  Regent Access and Regent Review clients may also take the 4.8 Release.

What is included in Release 4.8.0.0?

Initial 4.8.0.0 Delivery

• Automated R2T4 Post Withdrawal Disbursements (PWDs)
• PWD "Do Not Offer" and Cancellation Features
• Task to Alert when Institutional Costs needed for R2T4 resulting in Refund
• Treatment of Breaks for Nonterm R2T4s
• Automation of additional Aggregate Loan Scenarios
• COD Web File Processing Improvements
• Option for NSLDS TSM Alert Disbursements
• Enhanced Academic Plan Display with Dependency Status and Total COA
• New BBAY Anchor Option
• Fund Adjustment Option for Past Payment Periods in a Current Award Period
• New Data Views and Updated Versions
• Use of a Third Federal Award Year in a Lengthy Nonterm Academic Year.
• Triage Self Help Guide
• Spanish/English Questionnaire and E-mails available for Access (limited initial roll-out)

New Features Overview for Late Summer Update:

• First Phase of New Student Experience
• Access 2020-2021 Questionnaire
• Access ISIR Format Export

Why is Release 4.8.0.0 being delivered in two phases?

Delivery of the first phase of Student Experience and automated R2T4 PWDs along with an extensive list of additional features was such a large effort that we decided it would benefit our clients to make many of the features available early summer, without waiting for completion of the items identified for late summer delivery.

When will we be able to get the new Student Experience?

The first phase of the new Student Experience will be available at the end of the summer. 

Is the new Student Experience available only for Regent Award?

No.  Student Experience will extend across our entire product suite with various features available to Award, Review, Access and Plan.

Will the old portal (SNAP) will be supported?

We will support the old portal for a period of time as we determine an appropriate end of life strategy.

What is the process for implementation of the new Student Experience?

Product Management and Development teams are evaluating the necessary activities to migrate a client to the new platform.  Details about the migration path and required services will follow in the coming weeks.

What Federal Awards Years will be available for the Verification Worksheet (VWS) in the new Student Experience?

Initial development is focusing on the 2019-2020 VWS, and the 2020-2021 VWS will be available Fall 2019.

How will users be able to control which aspects of R2T4 automation are implemented in their systems?

All of the various R2T4-related configuration items have been assembled on a separate tab for both Institutional and Campus-level configuration.  Users may activate initial review of R2T4s to automatically close any R2T4s that are not required for reasons such as no student attendance or no Title IV during the R2T4 period.  There are additional configuration options to fully automate only those R2T4s resulting in fully earned/fully disbursed awards and/or those R2T4s resulting in PWDs.  A third option is available for R2T4s resulting in refunds - activation of that option in 4.8.0.0 will not cause R2T4s resulting in refunds to auto-finalize until institutional costs are added, but will trigger a task when it is time to finalize an R2T4 resulting in a refund and the Institutional Costs have not yet been populated.

How will R2T4s with PWDs created before the upgrade to Release 4.8.0.0 be managed?

If the existing R2T4 with a PWD is in a Finalized status, much of the display will remain unchanged.  It will remain at the award level and will not include the new disbursement column.  As has been the case, these PWD sections will never be marked "locked" and manual edits will not be identified with the "M" icon.  If any of the PWD awards were designated as "Do Not Offer" due to missing MPN or Entrance Counseling, that reason will still display when viewing the PWD.  However, as these two reasons were removed from the drop down options in 4.8.0.0, if the user edits the PWD post upgrade, those items will be updated to the reason of "Other" and a note will be appended to the PWD Comments field. Any pending PWD loan amounts will still need to be blocked from disbursing with the existing PWD document until such time as the student accepts them and the document is satisfied.

If the existing PWD is in an Open status, the new PWD features in 4.8.0.0 will apply.  PWD amounts will be displayed at the disbursement level; the disbursement column will display, manual edits will be marked with the "M" icon, Regent Award will be able to auto-cancel / auto-disburse the PWDs and will lock the record when the PWD is fully processed.  The PWD blocking document will no longer be needed to keep offered loan amounts from disbursing until they are either accepted or cancelled.