Creating and Editing a Packaging Formula

To create a packaging formula, complete the following steps:

  1. Select System Administration in the top navigation bar to open the System Administration menu along the left side of the page.
  2. Expand the Packaging options in the left navigation menu and select Packaging Formulas.

Select the + icon in the Packaging Formulas header to open the Create Packaging Formula window.

  1. Select the federal award year to be associated with the packaging formula from the Award Year list.

    Only funds associated with the selected award year will be available to add to the packaging formula.

  2. Enter the packaging sequence (0-99) in the Packaging Sequence field.

    When packaging is initiated on the student Aid Package, the student is packaged using the first formula they meet the criteria for in sequence order.

    Tip: Some schools like to leave room between sequence numbers so that they can easily add in a new formula between other formulas. If you wish to leave room to add new formulas later, you may want to start off using increments of 5 or 10 for your sequence numbers

  3. Select how you want the system to calculate the maximum amount this packaging formula can award a student from the Formula Limit Type list. You can choose from the following options:
    ValueDescription
    Maximum EligibilityIndicates that students can be packaged up to the maximum amount they’re eligible for based on cost of attendance, need, annual limits, lifetime limits, and specific fund parameters.
    Fixed AmountIndicates that students can be packaged up to a fixed dollar amount. When you select this option, an additional field is displayed to indicate the dollar amount.
    Custom ProcessIndicates that students can be packaged up to an amount calculated using a custom process. When you select this option, an additional list is displayed to select one of your institution's custom processes.
  4. Enter a name for this packaging formula in the Name field.
  5. Choose the population of students to be packaged using this formula from the Selection Set list.
  6. Optional: Indicate any information relevant to the packaging formula that is not captured elsewhere in the Note field.
  7. Select Create.

    A success message is displayed in the upper right portion of the page letting you know the packaging formula has been created.

  1. Select + Add Fund Group to create your first Fund Group.
  2. Select + Add New to add a new a fund in the Fund Group table.

    The Fund Setup page is shown with a new fund group table. A red arrow points to the Add Fund button to add a new fund to the fund group.

  3. Enter the packaging sequence (0-99) in the Packaging Sequence field. The sequence number establishes the order in which the fund is considered when the associated fund group is processed.
  4. Select the fund you want to add to the fund group from the Fund list. Only funds associated with the award year of the Packaging Formula are available.

    Note: You cannot choose a fund for Pell Grants. For students eligible for a Federal Pell Grant, PowerFAIDS will evaluate eligibility and calculate this award amount automatically.

  5. Choose the population of students to be packaged from this fund from the Selection Set list.
  6. Specify the method in which you want the minimum and maximum award amount to be calculated for this fund in the Minimum Type and Maximum Type fields.

    Tip: Custom Processes are a great way to calculate fund minimums and maximums for each student individually if you don’t want to set a fixed amount across a whole population. For example, you could use a custom process to award a group of institutional grants based on each student's need or GPA. For more information on custom processes, see Creating a Custom Process.

  7. Select the green check mark at the end of the row to save the fund to the fund group.

    A fund group table is shown with a red arrow pointing out a green checkmark to save the fund to the fund group.

  8. Select + Add Fund and repeat the above steps to add additional funds to this fund group as needed or Add Fund Group to add additional fund groups to this packaging formula.

    Fund Setup with two distinct fund groups shown

    Note: For users of previous versions of PowerFAIDS, the fund group functionality in PowerFAIDS Cloud was previously accomplished through the scan group and group packaging features.

  1. From the More Options more options iconmenu, select Fund Group Settings.

    The Fund Group More Options menu is shown with the Fund Group settings option highlighted.

  2. In the Fund Group Settings window, enter the packaging sequence (0-99) in the Packaging Sequence field. The sequence number establishes the order in which the fund group is processed when this packaging formula is executed.
  3. Enter the maximum number of funds to be awarded from in this fund group in the Maximum Number of Awards field.
  4. Select the method you want to use to calculate the maximum dollar amount that can be awarded from this fund group from the Maximum Type list. You can choose from the following options:
    ValueDescription
    Maximum EligibilityIndicates that students can be packaged up to the maximum amount they’re eligible for based on cost of attendance, need, annual limits, lifetime limits, and specific fund parameters.
    Fixed AmountIndicates that students can be packaged up to a fixed dollar amount. When you select this option, an additional field is displayed to indicate the dollar amount.
    Custom ProcessIndicates that students can be packaged up to an amount calculated using a custom process. When you select this option, an additional list is displayed to select one of your institution's custom processes.
  5. Set the Reduce Maximum by Protected Funds setting to Yes or No.

    When you turn this setting on and select funds to protect, existing awards from these funds on the student's aid package that are shielded will be subtracted from the maximum dollar amount that can be awarded from this fund group.

  6. Select Save.

    A success message is displayed in the upper right portion of the page letting you know the fund group setting has been updated.

Once created, you'll see the Packaging Formula in the Packaging Formula list. Select it from the list to make any necessary edits to the parameters you previously set.