6.6.0.0 Product Brief

Product Release Summary

This Product Brief includes a summary of Regent 6.6.0.0, information on key enhancements, and direction to additional documentation and information.

Product Release Description

The 6.6 release addresses product defects as listed in the “Bugs” section of the Release Notes, and also enhancements and new features including:

• COD Export - Federal Work Study (FWS) 2023-2024 Schema/Process for 2022 Calendar Year Earnings (for 2024-2025 SAI Calculations) (RS-25524)

• Implement SAI Calculation for 2024-2025 (RS-26042)

• 2024-2025 Access Master Questionnaire (RS-24786)

• 2024-2025 ISIR Data Tables and ISIR Details Screen (RS-24774) and 2024-2025 ISIR Import and ISIR Correction Export Updates (RS-24780)

• Pell Amounts for 2024-2025 (RS-26300)

• Update Global and Title IV Standard Fund Rules to Accommodate 2024-2025 Changes (RS-26536)

• Update Regent Queries to Accommodate 2024-2025 ISIR Changes (RS-25615)

• Update Document Setup/Functionality to Accommodate 2024-2025 ISIR Changes (RS-25612)

• Add 2024-2025 SAIG Message Classes to the SAIG Process (RS-24779)

Further details on enhancements/new features and a complete list of bug fixes as well as any new scripts and data views can be found in the Release Notes. 

The Release Notes also contain information on new configuration options. Customer Zone Knowledge Base documentation will be updated with the 6.7 Release.

Other Documentation 

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

System Requirements

Any client currently using Regent Award may take Regent 6.6 for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Review may take Regent 6.6 for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Access may take Regent 6.6 for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Fund may take Regent 6.6 for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Award may take the Regent 6.6 version of Student Experience for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Review may take the Regent 6.6 version of Student Experience for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Any client currently using Regent Fund may take the Regent 6.6 version of Student Experience for UAT and ultimately production upgrade.

Some Regent Access clients may take the Regent 6.6 version of Student Experience for UAT and ultimately production upgrade. Please work with your Account Manager for additional information. Note: All current customer-specific functionality in the legacy portal may not be available in the new Student Experience portal at this time.

Clients using Regent Award for Salesforce will not need to upgrade to a new Salesforce application version in order to continue current functionality.

New Feature Overview for Regent 6.6

COD Export - Federal Work Study (FWS) 2023-2024 Schema/Process for 2022 Calendar Year Earnings (for 2024-2025 SAI Calculations) (RS-25524)

Institutions are required to report their 2022 Federal Work Study (FWS) payment amounts to COD for use in the 2024-2025 Student Aid Index (SAI) calculations.  Previously, this information was collected from students via the FAFSA process.

Updated CSV Import Process is in place to support clients who do not already have their 2022 FWS gross payroll amounts in Regent.  The schema is available here: 

• You do not need to report each payroll period amount separately.

• At a minimum, provide one amount for 2021-2022 FWS paid during the 2022 calendar year, and another for the 2022-2023 FWS paid during the 2022 calendar year.

• Make sure the Paid Date falls during the calendar year 2022.

• Dollar amounts reflect the gross paid amount – Regent will round to the nearest dollar when creating the student export records.

• Report both Federal and Institutional amounts awarded as FWS together in the gross paid amount (they may be separated out for reporting for a future year).

• The display for the Earnings subtab for FWS in Regent Award has been redesigned to display payments by calendar year.  If you already had data in the system, that data will remain but will just display differently.

• Use the Import Federal Work Study (FWS) Process Type to import your completed CSV file.

• https://regenteducation.atlassian.net/servicedesk/customer/portal/3/article/271024484?src=2088723603 is available on Customer Zone Knowledge Base for more information about importing earnings.

New SAIG Message Classes for 2023-2024:  Activate the following message classes in the Regent Award SAIG Mailbox integration – these are non-program specific and non-award year specific.:

• CRCBMYIN – this is the XML file being sent to COD

• CRCBMYOP – this is the corresponding output file from COD. If using SAIG integration in Regent, the file will be received via the SAIG mailbox but will not be importable into Regent.

  • Either open and review this file outside of Regent once received, or access COD-on-the-Web for the status of your CRCBMYIN file submission.

Export Campus-Based Data: Once you have confirmed that the 2022 payments are all accurate within Regent Award, take the following steps:

• Under Processes>Exports>Export  Process, select the new ‘Export Campus-Based Webfile’ option.

• Select Calendar Year (2022), and then Enterprise, Institution(s), and Campus(s) Export file using the XML Schema version 1.0a.

• Complete the export process

Regent will review the paid dates for FWS earnings data within Regent and using Campus Based Common Record XML Schema version 1.0a, will report one record totaling all amounts from FAY 2021-2022 paid during 2022 for each student and a second record for all amounts from FAY 2022-2023 paid during 2022 for each student.  If the student only received FWS during 2022 from one FAY, there will be only one record for that student. Once FWS payroll data has been used to create a record(s) in the export file for COD, that data will no longer be available to the export process.  So please confirm your data is complete and correct before running the Export Campus-Based Webfile process for the calendar year.

Utilize COD-on-the-Web to:

• Add 2022 FWS payment amounts that are not going to be reported using the file export process from Regent Award.  This may be a good option if you had only a few FWS students in 2022.

• Report 2022 FWS payment amounts for students that are not in Regent.

• Make any adjustments to FWS amounts already reported either manually or via the file export process.

This process must be completed before the 2024-2025 FAFSA opens in December 2023.  Should 2022 FWS records be reported later than that, it will trigger new ISIR transactions and potential confusion for the affected students.

Separately, a new warning edit was added for 2023-2024.  Edit 299, ‘Pell LEU Restoration due to eligible loan discharge’ will now display within the student’s COD record should that edit be included in a response file.  It advises that the ‘student has undergone a restoration of a portion of their Pell Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) due to the discharge of an eligible loan’.   

Federal Work Study functionality was delivered in Release 6.5.2.0, with necessary documentation provided above and in the early draft of this Product Brief. Federal Work Study documentation and schema (above) will be included in the Customer Zone Knowledge Base with the 6.7 Release for use in future year reporting.

Implement SAI Calculation for 2024-2025 (RS-26042)

Regent has implemented the 2024-2025 SAI calculations detailed in 2024-25 Draft Student Aid Index (SAI) and Pell Grant Eligibility Guide in support of Access student applications and for use in calculations related to ISIR corrections.

• References to, calculation of, and usage of the EFC for years up through 2023-2024 will remain in place for those years and have been replaced by the SAI for years beginning with 2024-2025. 

• Be advised that for the 2024-2025 FAY there will be a full year (9-month) SAI and an aligning but separate Provisional SAI value for students in ‘Provisional Independent’ status. (Full support for the Provisionally Independent student flow will be in the next release.)

• There will be no calculation of alternate SAIs for periods other than 9 months for the 2024-2025 FAY.

  • The 9-month SAI is to be used regardless of the length of the 2024-2025 period being packaged, while the associated Cost of Attendance must still be prorated to reflect costs for the actual period being packaged.

• The SAI value can be anywhere from -1500 to 999,999.

  • If the SAI is negative, a zero SAI is used to calculate need.

• For Access clients in the 6.6 Release only, students who do not meet any of the other criteria for an Independent Student but respond “Yes” to "Are the student's parents unwilling to provide their information, but the student does not have an unusual circumstance that prevents them from contacting the parents or obtaining their information?" (the "Unsubsidized Loans Only" question on the FAFSA), Regent will temporarily identify the student as ‘Provisionally Independent’. This is not the correct status for this scenario. The correct status of ‘Rejected Dependent’ will be implemented in the 6.7 Release. A build script for Access clients will be available with the 6.7 Release which will update the dependency status from ‘Z - Provisionally Independent’ to ‘X - Rejected Dependent’ for applicable students.

2024-2025 Access Master Questionnaire (RS-24786)

The 2024-2025 Regent Access Master questionnaire was created in the Smart Form Manager Tool based on the new 2024-2025 FAFSA.

Regent Access and the PDF output was updated for 2024-2025 to calculate and display the Student Aid Index (SAI) instead of the Estimated Family Contribution (EFC). The SAI value will be displayed to Student and Parent on the Student Experience Portal within the ‘Document Reason’ field on the Document Requirement.

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The ‘Smart Form Submitted’ communication was updated to reflect necessary changes beginning in the 2024-2025 FAY. The communication for the 2023-2024 FAY and prior will continue to use the current language.

Note: The 6.6 Release will not include the e-signature functionality for the new ‘Student Spouse’ and ‘Parent Spouse/Partner’ contributors. Following current functionality, dependency logic will require student and parent (if required) signatures only. The 6.9 Release is expected to include the remaining contributor e-signature functionality.

In December, a summary of final changes to the 2024-2025 FAFSA form was published in response to public comments on the previous draft.  These changes are mainly to clarify language in the instructions and on the form itself and include amended language about contesting IRS information, giving ‘consent’, and Pell Grant access that do not impact the Access application.  There are no new questions, and none were removed. Regent will evaluate the updates and determine whether aligning changes are needed to the Access application.

  2024-2025 ISIR Data Tables and ISIR Details Screen (RS-24774) and 2024-2025 ISIR Import and ISIR Correction Export Updates (RS-24780)

There is an all new ISIR layout for 2024-2025.  With this release, the new layout is in place for all Regent products and is reflected in the ISIR details and comparison screens and the 2024-2025 ISIR corrections process.  Aligning updates have been made to Active ISIR Logic and the means used to determine whether an ISIR is graduate or undergraduate.

Any Federal Taxpayer Information (FTI) is labelled as CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) within Regent screens and will be so labeled on the printed ISIR output when it becomes available in a future release.  Clients are responsible to ensure only individuals who need access to FTI in support of the awarding and processing of financial aid have access to FTI and that if any such data is exported from the Regent system into external systems that FTI data is properly labeled and protected.  Access and Use of Federal Taxpayer Information (FTI) for Federal Student Aid Programs Beginning with the 2024-2025 Processing Cycle is a good reference for this. Regent recommends that users not enter any FTI into Activity Log remarks that may be exported to other systems at their institutions unless staff are trained to properly label those elements and to also ensure proper security and use of the FTI data once it is exported.

There are all new Comment Codes for 2024-2025.  The code numbers used in the past are being reused with new purposes and comment text. The new Comment Codes are updated in Regent, as are new Edits and Reject Codes.  There are no Assumption codes beginning with the 2024-2025 year.  Please see Volumes 5 and 7 of the 2024-2025 FAFSA Specifications Guide for detailed information on the new codes.

Add 2024-2025 SAIG Message Classes to the SAIG Process (RS-24779)

The 6.6 Release includes full 2024-2025 ISIR import functionality. However, due to delays in the provision of technical guidance for the new TD Client version in support of the FTI-SAIG mailbox, the 6.6 Release does not support the 2024-2025 SAIG Mailbox integration. The TDClient information and technical guidance was released in November, but Regent has submitted questions about that guidance to the Department. Therefore, clients will not be able to download 2024-2025 ISIRs via the SAIG mailbox until we receive the additional required information in response to our questions. Once Regent has reviewed the Department’s responses to our questions, guidance will be provided to clients on any enhancements or special treatment required for the new TD Client version. SAIG integration for prior years will continue to work as expected. (Note: ISIRs are not expected to be made available by the Department to schools until late January).

In the meantime, clients must sign and submit new FTI SAIG Enrollment Agreements with the Department of Education and those agreements must be approved before 2024-2025 ISIRs will be made available to them. Please see https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/electronic-announcements/2023-09-22/updated-saig-enrollment-agreement-available-oct-23-2023-required-steps-receive-2024-25-isirs-updated-oct-23-2023 for instructions.

As in prior years, the non-COD message classes that were Active for 2023-2024 within Regent Award will automatically be made Active within Regent for the 2024-2025 year. The COD message classes will be added for the Spring release as part of the implementation of the new COD schema for 2024-2025 processing. If you do not want to send/receive 2024-2025 ISIR files automatically as the related processes are kicked off either manually or with automation within Regent to include 2024-2025, please be sure to DEACTIVATE those 2024-2025 message classes until such time as you have the upcoming new TDClient version installed, have configured your 2024-2025 document requirements, and are ready to process 2024-2025 ISIRs.

Pell Amounts for 2024-2025 (RS-26300)

Regent has been updated with the rules published in the https://fsapartners.ed.gov/knowledge-center/library/handbooks-manuals-or-guides/2022-11-21/2024-25-draft-student-aid-index-sai-and-pell-grant-eligibility-guide-updated-aug-25-2023 to determine Pell eligibility and the Scheduled (full year full-time) Pell amounts for 2024-2025. These rules replace the Pell lookup tables in use up through 2023-2024 to determine the Scheduled Pell for a student.

As usual, 2024-2025 Pell awards will be estimated using the 2023-2024 amounts until such time as Congress determines the Maximum Pell Amount for 2024-2025. Typically this is updated within Regent as part of the Spring Regulatory Release but is dependent on the timing of the Congressional action. Current enrollment level treatment will apply until implementation of Enrollment Intensity Percentages for 2024-2025 Pell with the next release.

The Pell Cost of Attendance clients configure in Regent is structured by housing status, but 2024-2025 ISIRs will not contain the needed housing information.  Regent is planning enhanced housing status functionality in the next major release to support this change.  If you plan to package estimated 2024-2025 Pell awards in advance of the 6.7 release, ensure a Pell COA amount is configured in Program setup for each program you will be awarding.

Open

Update Global and Title IV Standard Fund Rules to Accommodate 2024-2025 Changes (RS-26536)

Regent Award has been updated to support the 2024-2025 changes for awarding. Key among these are:

• For 2024-2025, the 9-month SAI will be used for all packaging calculations even if the period being awarded is a different length and is using a prorated Cost of Attendance to reflect the actual period length. As noted above, there will be no calculation of alternate SAIs for periods other than 9 months for the 2024-2025 FAY. The 9-month SAI is to be used regardless of the length of the 2024-2025 period being packaged, while the associated Cost of Attendance must still be prorated to reflect costs for the actual period being packaged.

• Due to the impact of the 9-month SAI being used for periods of any length, there is a new Activity Log Entry to alert users if a loan period length is changed due to something like R2T4 truncation.

• Pell rules are implemented as noted in the previous section.

• If a student has a negative SAI, a zero is used in its place for Needs Analysis.

• The basic Need calculation is unchanged - it is COA - Resources - SAI - Other Financial Aid (OFA). OFA is the same as EFA except a few type of awards (such as emergency funding) are now exempt from inclusion in the calculation. Clients should handle such exemptions in Fund Setup by checking ‘Exempt/Replaces SAI’.

• No other direct impact on other Title IV except for campus-based decisions on SAI ranges, etc. for the new year.

Update Regent Queries to Accommodate 2024-2025 ISIR Changes (RS-25615)

Several updates were made to the Regent Query Builder to reflect changes to the ISIR fields for the 2024-2025 FAY.

The following fields were added:

• ‘Z- Provisional Independent’ value was added to ‘Dependency Model’

• ‘(NL) Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada’ value was added to residency questions

• ‘Parent Spouse or Partner Tax Filer Status’

• ‘Parent Tax Filer Status’

• ‘Spouse Tax Filer Status’

• ‘Student Tax Filer Status’

• ‘SAI' will replace ‘Primary EFC’ regardless of FAY selection. The field will return EFC for 2023-2024 and prior, and return SAI for 2024-2025 FAY and forward.

  • Note: For clients using ‘Primary EFC’ in queries to award currently, the functionality should continue to work. However once the query is opened/edited, clients will need to replace the ‘Primary EFC’ query property with the ‘SAI’ query property.

• 'dateApplicationCompleted' will replace ‘studentSignatureDate’ for 2024-2025 and beyond

The following query property names (not the RQL names) were updated from:

The following fields were deprecated:

• ‘isFirstBachelorDegreeReceived’ (duplicate field)

• ‘Primary EFC’

There are multiple fields (e.g. 'Degree or Certificate Working On' and ‘Housing Plan’) that were not removed, but will not return any data for 2024-2025 or later because the ISIR field no longer exists.

Update Document Setup/Functionality to Accommodate 2024-2025 ISIR Changes (RS-25612)

Due to significant changes in the 2024-2025 ISIR layout, Document Setup has been updated to support configurations for 2024-2025 and forward separately from those for previous FAYs.

On the Document Setup General Tab, there is a new checkbox ‘2023-2024 and Prior Federal Award Years’. The default is ‘unchecked’ when configuring a new document. When adding new documents for 2024-2025, the ‘2023-2024 and Prior Federal Award Years’ checkbox should remain ‘unchecked’. The options available for configuration on the ISIR Assignment tab will reflect the new ISIR layout and values including new Comment Codes and Reject values.

All currently existing documents in your system at the time of your upgrade to 6.6 or a later release will automatically include a one-time build script, which will set the checkbox to ‘checked’ for all existing documents in document configuration to apply for 2023-2024 and prior federal award years.

Clients must configure new document requirements for 2024-2025, including if the requirements use any ISIR assignment options. However, this excludes Student Scoped documents that are not assigned by the ISIR. In this case, clients should not create a new 2024-2025 document.

Wait until you upgrade to 6.6 to configure 2024-2025 documents because with the upgrade, the checkbox mentioned above will apply all existing documents for 2023-2024 and prior federal award years. When configuring 2024-2025 documents, make sure the ‘2023-2024 and Prior Federal Award Years’ checkbox on the Document General Tab is unchecked (default setting). 

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 Regent Review documents for existing clients will be posted as part of the 6.7 Release documentation.

Known Issues for Regent 6.6