5.6 Product Brief

Product Release Summary

This Product Brief includes a summary of Regent 5.6, information on key enhancements, and direction to additional documentation and information.

Product Release Description

Regent 5.6:

The 5.6.0.0 release addresses product defects as listed in the “Bugs” section of the Release Notes, and also enhancements and new features including:

• 2022-2023 Regulatory Updates for ISIR Processing
• 2022-2023 Verification Worksheet and Related Documents
• Nonterm 180-Day Rule Treatment
  
• Clock Hour R2T4 Automation
• Non-SSO Password Controls
• Packaging ‘Grids’
• New Fund Configuration Options
• Smart Form Confirmation Emails

Further details on enhancements/new features and a complete list of bug fixes can be found in the Release Notes. 

The Release Notes also contain information on new configuration options, and a list of updates to the Admin Guide and User Guide.  

Other Documentation  

In addition to the Product Brief, the following documentation is also available:

System Requirements

Any client currently using Regent Award must take Regent 5.6 for UAT and ultimately production upgrade in order to process 2022-2023 ISIRs.

Any client currently using Regent Review must take Regent 5.6 for UAT and ultimately production upgrade in order to utilize the 2022-2023 Verification Worksheet.

Any client currently using Regent Access may take Regent 5.6 for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Award may take the Regent 5.6 version of Student Experience for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Review may take the Regent 5.6 version of Student Experience for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Access may take the Regent 5.6 version of Student Experience for UAT and ultimately production upgrade. Note: All customer-specific functionality may not be available in the new Student Experience portal at this time.

New Feature Overview for Regent 5.6

2022-2023 Regulatory Updates:  Includes required updates to Regent Award and Regent Review as appropriate in support of 2022-2023 ISIR processing.

• ISIR Details display and Verification/Corrections Wizard has been updated to support the 2022-2023 Federal Award Year, as has the ISIR Comparison Tool.
• SAR Comment Code Text Definitions have been updated per the U.S. Department of Education 2022-2023 SAR Comment Codes and Text document.  These items display in ISIR Details, the Compare ISIR Wizard, and in the ISIR Print function.  Year reference changes were also updated as needed for ISIR reject codes.
• Regent now supports printing of ISIRs for the 2022-2023 Federal Award Year.
• Message Classes were added to the SAIG Mailbox Integration feature in support of 2022-2023 ISIR file processing.  The new message classes should be dynamically set as Active for SAIG processing if the related classes for the prior FAY are configured as Active.
• The ability to import data for 2022-2023 ISIRs and export 2022-2023 ISIR correction data has been implemented in accordance with EDE Technical Reference 2022-2023.
• Regent updated the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) formula for FAY 2022-2023 in Release 5.5 in support of Regent Access processing.  The updated tables and specifications are available to Regent Award and Regent Review with this 5.6 Release.
• The TEACH Grant sequestration reduction amounts did not change from last year - Regent Award has been updated so TEACH Grants with first disbursements on or after October 1, 2021 and before October 1, 2022 will be reduced by 5.70% from the award amount for which the student would otherwise have been eligible. 
• Important Reminder: Ensure your 'Set Verification Status' configuration is set to assign 'N' (Needed) status to 2022-2023 V1, V4, and V5 ISIRs as they are imported into Regent. 

2022-2023 Verification Worksheet:  The new 2022-2023 Verification Worksheet is available to Regent Review clients.

• All year references have been incrementally updated for the new Federal Award Year.
• Any references to 'virtual currency' and 'IRS 10040 NR EZ' have been removed.
• Any references to Selective Service and Drug Convictions have been removed – these no longer affect student eligibility.

Please note that some IRS tax form line item references still need to be updated to reflect the 2020 IRS documents. This will be completed shortly after certification of Release 5.6, and your Account Manager will notify you when the new version is available.

        Contact Your Regent Account Manager to upgrade to the new Verification Worksheets

Annual Document Updates in Support of the Verification Worksheet:

Each year, annual documents must be added to a client's Document Setup before ISIRs are imported for the new year in order for Regent Review's Verification Worksheet to function properly. Please be certain to do this first in a QA environment before updating your Production instance. 

A list of the current Regent Review documents for existing clients can be found here:  2022-2023 Verification Support Document Configuration List.xlsx. Please follow the steps below to update the Regent Review document requirements for the 2022-2023 FAY.

Document Updates Step 1:

1. Confirm the following document requirements are configured in your Regent instance:
   1. Verification Worksheet
   2. Verification Worksheet - Changed
   3. Verification Worksheet - V5
   4. Verification Worksheet- Revised Request
2. Update the four document requirements listed above:
   1. If the document requirements above are configured and if the 'All FAYs' is not selected, add the FAY association for the new year.
   2. If the document requirements above are configured and the 'All FAYs' is selected, no further action is required for these requirements.
   3. If the document requirements are not configured at all, please create a Customer Zone ticket to receive guidance for adding or updating the document requirements.
3. Update the following documents, if necessary, to account for any changes you made when the 2021-2022 verification requirements were waived:   
   1. Verification Worksheet
   2. Verification Worksheet -V5
   3. Verification Worksheet - Change
4. Depending on what changes you made for the 2021-2022 year, you may need to update the 2022-2023 Verification Worksheets requirements as follows:
   1. On the General tab, update the Initial Status from Waived to Needed
   2. On the General tab, update the Scope by removing FAY 2021-2022 and adding FAY 2022-2023, if applicable
   3. On the General tab, if you used the expiration date, review the setup to see if any updates are necessary for your 2022-2023 processing
   4. On the ISIR assignment tab, enable the ISIR Assignment
   5. On the ISIR tab, update the Initial Status from Waived to Needed
   6. On the ISIR Tab, confirm the Correct FAY years are selected for Scope (excluding 2021-2022 as appropriate)

Document Updates Step 2:

Select one of the following two methods for this step.

Method 1:  Adding Documents via the Regent Award Export/Import Processes

1. Download documents in XML format from Regent Award:
   1. Click on the Export Processes under the Processes menu tab
   2. Select 'Export Setup Configuration' under the Process Type 
   3. Select 'XML' for Format
   4. Select Enterprise
   5. Select All or applicable Institutions
   6. Select All or applicable Campuses
   7. Select All or applicable Sites
   8. Add the Document, DocumentAssignmentISIR, and DocumentRequirementsSBLUDF templates
   9. Click Export
   10.  
   11. Click on the Process Log under the Processes menu tab 
   12. Click on the Download File(s) on the Export Setup Configuration Process Type for the process ran above
2. Update the XML document export file for the 2022-2023 FAY:
   1. Remove all documents that you will not be updating for the 2022-2023 FAY.  For example, if you have added other student-scoped or 'All FAY' documents to your system that will not need updated for the 2022-2023 FAY, remove them from the XML file. 
      1. Your current document configurations for these documents will remain unchanged in your Regent instance.
      2. Hint:  You will likely be removing any documents that do not have 2021-2022 or 2019 in the document name.
   2. Update the Document externalId for each document remaining in the XML document.
      1. These will be the new externalids for the new document requirements you are creating.
      2. The externalIDs must must be unique across all documents.
3. Update Document Names and add the 2022-2023 FAY: 
1. Search all FAY-scoped documents that do not have a year reference in the Document Name and have 2022 in the 'FAY List' and add the 2023 FAY to the 'FAY List'.
   1. Search all documents with a 'name' (document name) that contains 2022 and replace 2022 with 2023
2.  Then, search for documents with a 'name' (document name) that contains 2021 and replace 2021 with 2022
   1. Search for documents with a 'name' (document name) that contains 2019 and replace 2019 with 2020
1. Upload documents in XML format into Regent Award:
1. Click on the Import Processes under the Processes menu tab
   1. Select 'Import Student Documents XML' under the Process Type
   2. Select the updated XML file under the Import File
   3. Click Import
   4. Review documents under the Document Setup in the Regent Award User Interface

Method 2:  Adding New Documents Manually

1. Manually add new 2022-2023 document requirements under Document Setup in the Regent Award User Interface for the forms on this list: 2022-2023 Verification Support Document Configuration List.xlsx  
2. Important notes:
1. The Document Name must not be modified on these documents or it will affect the functioning of the Verification Worksheet in Regent Review.
2. Create a new, unique externalID for each new document requirement.
3. However, a customer can update the Document Message and can update the Document ID.  A Document ID is provided in these files and is required for the import process to work.  
4. Also, take note that any file attachments needed for these documents must be added manually through Document Setup. 
5. Finally, ISIRs for the NEW aid year should not be imported into Regent Award until this Document Setup is complete.

Other Annual Document Updates

Each year, our customers must also make Document Setup updates that pertain to general Financial Aid and Student processing, that are not specific to Regent Review's Verification Worksheet Functionality.  Clients are encouraged to do this work themselves, or they can engage with Regent under a paid SOW to complete the work. 

If you wish to assign due dates or expiration dates to specific documents, please see Document Setup Data Elements for more information on configuring those dates.

Nonterm '180 Day Rule' Treatment

R2T4: A nonterm payment period will cease expanding when an R2T4 is in 'Open' or 'Finalized' status. This does not affect the Nonterm R2T4 Extrapolation functionality.  If the R2T4 is closed as ‘not needed’ or is reversed, the configured Academic Plan Payment Period Projection Method will resume control over the payment period end date.

180 Day Payment Period End Date Freeze: A nonterm payment period is closed and the Payment Period End Date will no longer shift when 180 days have elapsed since the later of the withdrawal date of an attended, program applicable course or the end date of a non-withdrawn, program applicable, attended course.  Attendance is assumed upon receipt of a Last Day of Attendance, an Attended Flag, or confirmation of Course Completion. This rule applies if a student does not attend any courses for 180 days after completion of the first payment period in the academic year. 

Reentry: If the student begins a new course after the 180^th day, a new academic year will be created beginning on the Course Start Date - the end date of the previous payment period/academic year will not change. If a student returns to a nonterm payment period (in the same or a substantially equal program) within the 180 days, the current payment period and all future payment periods and academic years are pushed out to adjust for the newly extended payment period, and the period of nonattendance will be treated as a student level break for R2T4.

Clock Hour R2T4 Automation:

Hours Scheduled to Complete:  Data reported in the SBL ‘Hours Scheduled to Complete’ field, when provided with  a Date of Determination/Withdrawal Date, will populate in Step 2 of the Clock Hour R2T4 template.  Users can also enter this information directly into the template and, until the R2T4 is finalized, can override SBL information that has populated in the field.  When R2T4 automation is turned on, Clock Hour R2T4 without an entry in this field will not autofinalize.

Total Hours in Period:  This field will populate with the total number of anticipated clock hours Regent has for the specific payment period associated with the R2T4.  Users can override the calculated amount for this field.

Percentage of Period Completed: Regent will calculate the ‘Percentage of Period Completed’ using the ‘Hours Scheduled to Complete’ divided by ‘Total Hours in Period’, rounding to the standard three decimal places and displaying as a percentage.  If the “Percentage of Period Completed” is less than or equal to 60%, Box H will populate with the ‘Percentage of Period Completed’.  If the ‘Percentage of Period Completed’ is greater than 60%, Box H will populate with 100%.

Password Controls:

In order to comply with industry SOC 2 standards, new minimum password validation requirements will apply to:

• Non-SSO Student Experience Portal Access
• All Parent Student Experience Portal Access
• Non-SSO Staff Regent Login

The new password creation requirements are:

• Minimum 8 Characters
• Minimum 1 Upper Case Character
• Minimum 1 Lower Case Character
• Minimum 1 Numeric Character
• Minimum 1 Special Character
• Maximum 2 Sequential Numeric Characters
• Maximum 2 Sequential Repeated Characters
• Minimum 180 day Reset Password Frequency
• Minimum 12 Previous Password Allowance
• Minimum 5 Lockout Password Attempts
• Password cannot match logon name
• When a new account is created, password must be reset on the next login
• When an existing user account is reset, the password must be reset again on the next login

Password validation messaging has been updated accordingly.  Clients may use the standard CZ ticket process to request more stringent password configurations than the minimums/maximums listed above.

Note:  Customers may see the new password controls in the portal for students prior to upgrading their Regent Review/Award/Access instance to a version with the new password control functionality.

Grid Packaging

Regent 5.6 supports packaging from indexed grids where fund award amounts are determined by one or two variables.  For example, a chart or grid may have GPA ranges across one axis and EFC ranges across the other, and a student’s specific award amount is identified via the grid cell corresponding to the student’s GPA and EFC. All other eligibility stipulations configured for the fund (such as a requirement for SAP or ISIR) continue to apply.

This feature is embedded within the Packaging Philosophy functionality. When the packaging engine reaches a fund configured to use grids, the fund is packaged according to the grid that applies to the student (if one exists), and then the packaging run moves on to the next fund in the packaging philosophy as usual.

New Packaging Philosophy 'Package To' Configuration Options:   

Packaging Grid: A fund is configured to use grid packaging by selecting the ‘Packaging Grids’ option for the fund’s ‘Package To’ field in Packaging Philosophy setup. This option is not available for Title IV funds.  The ‘Package to Amount’ field will default to N/A, as packaging will reference configured grid(s) to determine the award amount(s).

Additional Options: We have also added two additional ‘Package To’ options to the Packaging Philosophy Setup:

• ‘% of Full Need’ packages the fund up to a percentage of COA – EFC.  Please note that the current option of ‘% of FM Need’ has been renamed ‘% of Remaining Need’, as the award considers preceding awards when determining the need amount to which the percentage is applied.  In both cases, funds awarded earlier in the packaging run are subtracted from the amount calculated by the ‘Package To’ formula when making the award.
• ‘Flat Amount to COA’ packages a stipulated dollar amount as long as COA is not exceeded.  Awards preceding the fund in the Packaging Philosophy order are subtracted from COA before awarding the lesser of the full award amount or the remaining COA.

Creating a Grid - Initial Configuration Requirements: 

Beneath ‘Packaging Philosophy Setup’ on the Campus Setup menu is a new option for ‘Packaging Grid Setup’.  This is where the actual grids are created and associated with a fund(s).  Users will be able to add, edit, refresh, copy/rename, and delete grids.  A listing of configured grids displays at the top of the ‘Packaging Grid Setup’ screen.

When creating a grid, the user will provide the following initial information:

• Active: (Enable/Disable)
• Grid Name: This is a unique name using up to 35 alphanumeric and/or special characters.  Be thoughtful about your naming conventions for ease of management over time.
• Effective Start Date and Effective End Date: Determine the period during which the grid will be used for packaging
• Packaging Grid Option: This determines which grid applies to which students.  Options are to assign the grid to ‘all students’ for the configured period, site(s), and program(s), or provide a specific UDF for the grid.  If using a UDF, the grid will only be considered for students in the period, site(s), and program(s) who have the specified UDF.  Note that you may want to use a different UDF year over year for the same type of student if, for example, you want a different grid to be applied to state residents in their first year for 2021-2022 than to first year state residents for 2022-2023.  Multiple grids can be created for the same scope period, but only one grid should apply to any given student.  This is a single UDF that can have multiple values for use in different grids.
• Package To:  Select from the ‘Package to’ options normally available when configuring non-grid-based funds in the Packaging Philosophy.  This will indicate how the awarding target will be determined for students falling in a specific grid cell.
  
• Packaging Frequency:  Identifies whether Regent packaging should reassess the student for fund eligibility using the grid 1) on each packaging run, 2) only once per fund scope period, or 3) only once per student. 
• Persistence Packaging Option: This option determines how the award is managed during the Packaging Frequency period if the eligibility reassessment is only once per scope period or once per student.  Options are to persist 1) the originally calculated dollar amount, 2) the cell value (either a $ or % depending on the 'Package To' type), or 3) the grid cell designation.  For example, if ‘Award once for student’ is selected for the Packaging Frequency, the ‘Persistence Packaging Option’ tells packaging how to award the fund to the student throughout the full Academic Plan.
  • If persisting the dollar amount, the student will be awarded the same dollar amount for all periods in the Academic Plan, even if the ‘Package To’ option was percentage-based.
  • If persisting the cell value, the same dollar amount or percentage will be applied in packaging the fund for all periods in the academic plan, but the fund award dollar amounts may change over time as Need and COA fluctuate.
  • If persisting the grid cell designation, the student will not be reassessed to determine which grid cell applies, but if the number configured in the grid cell were to change or as results change as Need and COA fluctuate.
  • If reassessing the student on each packaging run, the Persistence Packaging Option will not be available.
  • Be aware that if electing the 'Award once per fund scope period' for the Packaging Frequency, all scope periods (e.g. Academic Year) on the student’s plan will be packaged on the first packaging run unless separate grids are created for each scope period or if an ISIR is required for the fund.  In the latter case, Regent will only package 'Estimated' awards for future periods until an ISIR is received for the future period(s).
• Recalculate for Program Changes:  (Enable/Disable) This option only applies if the Packaging Frequency is set to only once per fund scope or only once per student.  If enabled, packaging recalculates the award for a program change the first time the packaging process is run.
• Fund, Site, and Program Association:  Multi-select configuration sections allow the user to specify all, one, or more than one fund, site, and program for the grid.  Title IV funds are not available in the fund multi-select dropdown list.
• Federal Award Year (FAY): Options for ‘All’ or multi-select. Regent will make the FAY associations as follows:
  • If the grid is configured with a FAY and the fund is configured as Academic Year scope, packaging will match the FAY associated with the Academic Year to determine eligibility. 
  • If the grid is configured with a FAY and the fund is configured as FAY scope, packaging will award for the specified FAY.

Creating a Grid – Rows, Columns, and Cells:

Once grid rules have been established, the user will add columns and rows for the grid, and will then populate each cell with the desired dollar amount or percentage to which the grid’s ‘Package To’ option will be applied during packaging.

Columns and Rows are established using one of the following criteria for each:

• Cumulative GPA
• SAP GPA
• High School GPA
• Available GPA
  • Determination of which Student GPA in Regent Award to use will follow this priority order for available GPAs:
    
    • Cumulative Undergraduate GPA from Student node of SBL, if the student is in an undergraduate program
    • Cumulative Graduate GPA from Student node of SBL if the student is in a graduate program
    • Cumulative GPA from SAP node of SBL
    • High School GPA from High School node of SBL if reviewing eligibility for the first Academic Year
      
• EFC
• UDF
• None (if the grid has a single row or a single column)

The grid starts with one row and one column – use the ‘Add Row’ and ‘Add Column’ buttons to expand the grid. Once the grid has the desired number of rows and columns, fill in each row and/or column header with either 1) the desired range (for GPA or EFC), or a specific UDF value (a separate UDF value for each row and/or column). These UDFs are different than the UDF used above for grid assignment. Ensure UDFs are not duplicated within a grid. Then, populate each cell with the desired dollar amount or percentage to be applied by the ‘Package To’ formula.   For example, if the grid is packaging to ‘Percent of Remaining Need’, the numbers entered will be reflected as percentages, and if packaging to ‘Flat Amount to COA’, the numbers entered will be treated as dollars/cents.

Grid Override Capability

Users may override an existing packaging grid determination on the Awards Tab using the Packaging Grid Override option that will display for an award made using a packaging grid.  Users may override the grid cell reference (change the cell selected for the student), the grid value, or the grid award amount.

Activity Log entries document the specifics of initial awards or changes to awards made when packaging with a grid.

Additional Information

Please see additional guidance on Grid Packaging in Regent Award at:  To be added

New Fund Configuration Options

Prorate Award for Less than Full Time Enrollment:  When the ‘Prorate Distribution Amounts’ checkbox is selected (default is unselected), the calculated award for a term will be prorated based if the student has less than full-time program applicable, registered units for the period.  The number of full-time units used is the minimum full-time enrollment level for the program. For example, if the minimum full-time definition is 12 credits, the term award amount is $1200, and the student’s current enrollment is only 8 credits, the award will be reduced to $800. The adjustments continue throughout the term. Anticipated periods use anticipated units to determine the enrollment level for this purpose.  This option will not be available for Title IV funds, nor will it be associated with a specific ruleset, nor does it apply to nonterm programs. 

Exclude Headers and Trailers: When this checkbox is selected (default is unselected), terms configured as Headers or Trailers are not included in award distribution across term-based payment periods. This option will not be available for Title IV funds nor for those configured with a specific ruleset. 

Updated ‘Amount Per Payment Period’ Configuration: Users will now be able to configure different award amounts for different enrollment statuses during a scope period.  Existing configurations for ‘Amount Per Payment Period’ will persist during the 5.6 upgrade.

 Smart Form Confirmation E-Mails

A communication template for Confirmation E-mails is available for use with any Smart Form students complete via the Student Experience portal.  In Regent Institution Setup > Portal Configuration > General Tab> Communications Settings, there is a new option of 'Smart Form Submitted Email'.  The e-mail communication will be sent when the Smart Form is successfully completed (signed by student or parent) within Student Experience to confirm submission and to identify any next steps such such as when a Dependent student has signed and the parent signature is still outstanding.

If the form is configured as a ‘Financial Aid Application’ or as a 'Verification Worksheet' and an EFC is available for the FAY, the EFC will be included in the messaging when an Independent student completes the signature process or when a Dependent student's parent completes the signature process.

Known Issues for Regent 5.6