Creating Functions
Once you've created a custom process, you can now add one or more functions and string them together in the order you want them executed. To add a function to a custom process, complete the following steps for the type of function you're adding:
Creating a Calculation Function
To create a calculation function, complete the following steps:
- Select + Add rule to create a row for your first rule.
- Choose the type of data upon which you want to perform the calculation from the Type dropdown list, then select or enter the value to use in the calculation in the Field/Value field.
- Select Constant to perform the calculation using a fixed value such as 500, then enter a number in the Field/Value field.
- Select Student Record Field to perform the calculation on a data element in the student record such as Payment Period Credits, then select a field alias from the Field/Value dropdown list.
Caution: It is important to keep in mind how you intend to use the custom process to ensure the correct data points are included. When running a custom process that includes an academic year- or payment period-specific dictionary item, depending on the context where the custom process is used, PowerFAIDS Cloud may return the first data point the system finds rather than the one you intended. For more information, see Best Practices and Considerations.
- Select Prior Function if this calculation is going to be part of a series of calculations and you want to perform the math on the result of a preceding function in a chain.
- Specify the mathematical operation you want to perform in the Operator field.
Operations other than End automatically insert a new row so that you can enter the next rule.
- Repeat the above steps as necessary for multiple rules.
A success message is displayed in the upper right portion of the page letting you know the function has been saved.
Perhaps your school calculates institutional grant award amount by awarding 5% of combined student and parent income.
To achieve this using custom processes, you would first create a Calculation function that finds the sum of student and parent income.
Then, you would create a second Calculation function that multiplies the combined student and parent income by 5% using the Parameter/Previous Value option.
Next, you would string together the two calculations in the correct order.
Finally, you would tie the custom process to the appropriate fund in the packaging formula.
For more information on multi-function custom processes, see the section below titled Connecting Multiple Functions.
Creating a True/False Function
To create a true/false function, complete the following steps:
- Select + Add rule to create a row for your first rule.
- Choose the type of data you will be testing from the Type dropdown list, then select or enter the value to use in the test in the Field/Value field if appropriate.
- Select Constant to perform the test against a fixed value such as 500, then enter a number or letter in the Field/Value field.
- Select Student Record Field to perform the test against another data element in the student record such as Payment Period Credits, then select a field alias from the Field/Value dropdown list.
Caution: It is important to keep in mind how you intend to use the custom process to ensure the correct data points are included. When running a custom process that includes an academic year- or payment period-specific dictionary item, depending on the context where the custom process is used, PowerFAIDS Cloud may return the first data point the system finds rather than the one you intended. For more information, see Best Practices and Considerations.
- Select Prior Function to perform the test on the result of the preceding function in a chain.
- Specify the type of comparison to make between the initial field alias and the corresponding field or value selected in the Comparison field.
Like in a mathematical equation, the comparison allows you to describe the logical relationship between the data within each rule. Depending on the type of data being compared, different operations will be available.
- Choose the type of data you are comparing the first element with in the second Type and Field/Value fields.
Note: When creating a function rule in a custom process using a field alias with award year-specific code set values, choose the appropriate award year from the Code Set list (1) and the values available to choose within that award year will appear as options in the Field/Value list (2) as seen in the image below:
- Repeat the above steps as necessary for multiple rules. To group rules together, select + Add group before repeating the above steps.
When creating multiple rules in true/false functions, you can indicate how each rule or group is connected from the options at the top portion of the function builder:
- Connecting two rules with And indicates that they must both be satisfied in order for a student to qualify for the population.
- Connecting two rules with Or indicates that at least one must be satisfied but both are not required.
- Selecting the Not qualifier reverses the parameters of the associated rule or group.
A success message is displayed in the upper right portion of the page letting you know the function has been saved.
Perhaps your school has different transportation costs for students living in states outside of the continental US.
To identify this population using a custom process, you would create a True/False function with two rules: one identifying students whose state of residence is Hawaii, and one identifying students whose state of residence is Alaska.
Then, you could branch the True/False function into two different Calculation functions for each transportation cost and apply the custom process to the Transportation cost of attendance category.
For more information on multi-function custom processes, see the section below titled Connecting Multiple Functions.
Creating a Range Function
To create a range function, complete the following steps:
- Choose the student data element you want to examine from the Student Record Field list.
Alternatively, select Prior Function if you want to examine the values of the result of the preceding function in a chain.
Caution: It is important to keep in mind how you intend to use the custom process to ensure the correct data points are included. When running a custom process that includes an academic year- or payment period-specific dictionary item, depending on the context where the custom process is used, PowerFAIDS Cloud may return the first data point the system finds rather than the one you intended. For more information, see Best Practices and Considerations.
- Set the Out of Range value. This is the value that will be returned if the dictionary item does not fall into one of the ranges you specify in your rules for the function.
- Select Constant to return a fixed value such as 500, then enter a number in the secondary field.
- Select Dictionary to return the value of a data element in the student record such as Payment Period Credits, then select a field alias from the secondary dropdown list.
- Select Calculation Comparison to return the result of another custom process, then select the custom process from the secondary dropdown list.
- Select Parameter/Previous Value if this calculation is going to be part of a series of calculations and you want to perform the math on the result of the preceding function in a chain.
- Select + Add rule to create a row for your first rule.
- Specify the subset of the range of possible data values of the range item in the If Value is column. For example, 1 to 5.
You can also choose to use one specific value as the upper and lower bound, for example, 1 to 1, 2 to 2, etc.
If the range item is a custom data field with an alphabetic code lookup value, you can also enter the alphabetic value.
- Choose the type of data that should be assigned when the value of the range item is within the range you've specified in the Function returns column.
- Repeat the above steps as necessary for multiple rules.
A success message is displayed in the upper right portion of the page letting you know the function has been saved.
Perhaps your school has different room and board costs for students based on their housing situation. Students living on campus receive a room and board allowance of $2,250 for the fall term; students living with their parents receive $1,750; and students living off campus are allowed $2,450. For students whose housing status is unknown, a default allowance of $1,750 will be provided.
To achieve this using a range function, you would select the ISIR housing question as the Dictionary Item, then enter the Out of Range Value as 1750, since this is the default allowance for students whose housing status is unknown.
Then, you would check the Field Aliases, to find the corresponding numeric value for each response to the ISIR housing question.
Next, you would create three rules based on the response code values to assign students living on campus an allowance of $2,250, students living with their parents $1,750, and students living off campus $2,450.
Finally, you would apply the custom process to the Room and Board cost of attendance category.
Connecting Multiple Functions
To connect multiple functions in a multi-function custom process, complete the following steps:
- Select and drag the connector icon on the function you want to perform first until the line reaches the connector icon on the second function.
For true/false functions, you will select and drag the green icon on the left for the true condition, and the red icon on the right for the false condition.
- Repeat the above steps as necessary for multiple functions.
- If you need to remove a connector, select the connector with your mouse and then select Backspace (Windows) or Delete (Mac) on your keyboard.
A success message is displayed in the upper right portion of the page letting you know the custom process has been saved.