Packaging a Student Using a Packaging Formula

To package a student using a packaging formula, complete the following steps:

  1. Search for and select the student record you want to package. For more information see Searching for Student Records.
  2. Expand the Packaging options in the middle navigation menu and select Aid Package.
  1. From the Academic Year list, select the year you wish to package using a formula.

    Aid package award year

    Caution: The Aid Package page automatically displays the Academic Year with the latest actual start date associated with that student. Be sure to always select the appropriate academic year when interacting with aid packages.

  2. Select Packaging Options.

    The aid package menu is expanded with the packaging options button highlighted.

  1. Formula Override: To override the automatic selection of a packaging formula for this student, select the packaging formula you want to be used from the list. Only those formulas available for the Award Year associated with the Academic Year selected are available. This will make it so the selected formula is used for automated packaging, not whatever formula the system would’ve selected for the student.
  2. Increase Unsub Due to PLUS Denial: To increase the federal unsubsidized annual loan limit for the student due to the denial of a parent PLUS loan, set this option to Yes. This will increase the annual loan limit to $9,500 for first year students, $10,500 for second year students, and $12,500 for third and fourth year students. The lifetime loan limits will be set to the undergraduate independent level of $57,500.
  3. Allow Unsub without Parent Information: To indicate the student should receive federal unsubsidized loans despite a rejected dependency status for not providing parent information on the FAFSA form, set this option to Yes. This will allow unsubsidized loans to be packaged.
  4. Allow PLUS for Independent Student: To indicate the student should be able to receive a Parent PLUS loan despite being an independent undergraduate student, set the toggle to yes. This will allow the Parent PLUS loan to be packaged.
  5. Increase Unsub Due to Health Profession: To allow a student in school for a health profession to have a higher annual loan limit, choose the additional eligibility amount from the list. This will allow the student to be packaged with more federal direct unsubsidized loan. In addition, it will increase the student's lifetime loan limit to $224,000.
  6. Enforce Teacher Certification Loan Limits: To indicate that annual federal loan limits for undergraduate teacher certification should be enforced for this student, set this option to Yes. This will set the student's annual federal loan limit to $5,500 if they are dependent, or to $12,500 if they are independent or had a parent PLUS loan denied.
  7. Increase SEOG for Study Abroad: To increase the federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) annual limit for this student due to participation in a study abroad program, set the toggle to Yes. This will set the student's annual SEOG eligibility to $4,400.
  8. Select Save. A success message is displayed in the upper right portion of the page letting you know the Packaging Options has been updated.
  1. Open the Aid Package menu on the Aid Package page.
  2. Select Package. The system will then determine the packaging formula to use for the student based on the available packaging formulas' selection set criteria or the Formula Override (if selected) in Packaging Options to create a financial aid package for the student.

    Packaging

Note: The packaging process in PowerFAIDS is asynchronous, meaning that you can navigate away from this student record to other student records, modules, or pages, or even close PowerFAIDS completely without disrupting the packaging process. Once completed, a message will appear in the top right of the page letting you know the packaging process was completed successfully or that there was a problem, and it was unable to be completed. Either way, a results report is generated with more information.

  1. Open the Aid Package menu on the Aid Package page.
  2. Select Packaging Results.

    The aid package menu is expanded with the packaging results option highlighted.

    A window will appear with detailed information on which funds were awarded and the award amount and which were not awarded and the reason(s) why.

    Packaging Results

    In addition, if the student could not be awarded using automated packaging, an error message will appear.

    automated packaging error