| PublicationDate: 9/5/2000 Summary: Availability of Return of Title IV Funds Service Release Version 1.1.1 Author: PSS - Program Systems Service Posted on September 5, 2000 TO: All Destination Points FROM: U.S. Department of Education RE: Availability of Return of Title IV Funds Service Release Version 1.1.1 We wish to alert all schools to the availability of Return of Title IV Funds Service Release Version 1.1.1. The Return of Title IV Funds software is designed to assist schools in calculating and managing the return of Title IV funds when a student withdraws, and can be used to process and analyze information for multiple processing years. This new service release includes three enhancements to the last release, Version 1.1, as well as, two software fixes. Version 1.1.1 must be downloaded from the Departments SFAdownload Web site, located at http://fsadownload.ed.gov/index.htm. The Return of Title IV Funds Installation Guide and the Version 1.1.1 Cover Letter contain important information you should review and must also be downloaded from the SFAdownload Web site. The SFAdownload site also contains a helpful Quick Reference sheet with information on commonly-used functionality and processes. You must have Version 1.1 installed on your system before you can install Version 1.1.1. Version 1.1 is also available for download from the SFAdownload Web site. Do not attempt to upgrade from Version 1.0 to Version 1.1.1. To install Version 1.1.1 on your system, download and run the installation file (R2T4V111.EXE) on ALL PC workstations that access the Return of Title IV Funds software. Be sure to reboot each PC after the installation is complete so your PC can recognize the new system files that are loaded. Version 1.1.1 will NOT perform any updates to your Return of Title IV Funds database (R2T4.MDB). NOTE: If you need to run the Uninstall utility for any reason, please create a back-up copy of your Return of Title IV Funds database (R2T4.mdb) first. This file will be located in the PC or network drive you originally directed the standalone or network server installation to. Return of Title IV Funds is a 32-bit software program and will run only in Windows 95, Windows NT, or Windows 98 environments. For further system requirements, please consult the Installation Guide. The following three enhancements are included in Version 1.1.1: 1) On the Other Title IV Programs grid on page one of the R2T4 tab, the column heading Title for Program has been changed to Program Name. 2) On page 3, Step 8 of the R2T4 tab, the column heading Initial Amount to Return x 50% has been modified to read Initial Amount to Return. The Amount for Student to Return column displays the amount reduced by 50%. 3) When a Withdrawal Date is entered in Step 2 on the first page of the R2T4 tab that falls within a Scheduled Break Period (which only applies to institutions not required to take attendance), the software will display the message The withdrawal date you have entered falls within a scheduled break range. You must use the schools last scheduled class date prior to the break. In prior versions this message stated The date you have entered falls within a scheduled break range. You must use the last date of attendance. NOTE FOR CLOCK HOUR PROGRAMS: The software automatically uses clock hours scheduled to be completed if the student meets the 70% threshold of clock hours completed to clock hours scheduled to be completed because this usually leads to a calculation more beneficial to the student. Since the use of scheduled hours in lieu of completed hours is the school's option, if a school opts not to use clock hours scheduled to be completed, the calculation must be performed manually. For example: if a student has completed more hours than he or she was scheduled to complete as of the withdrawal date (such as in a case where the student has accelerated the program), the software will calculate the return based upon the scheduled hours rather than the completed hours; therefore, an alternative such as the paper worksheets must be used. For a copy of the paper worksheets, refer to our website http://ifap.ed.gov/csb_html/bookshlf.htm and go to the Return of Title IV worksheets. The following software fixes will be loaded by Version 1.1.1: 1) On page 3 of the R2T4 tab, the software will correctly divide the Amount for Student to Return between the Pell Grant, SEOG, and Other Title IV Funds columns, instead of totalling all the amounts in the Pell Grant column. NOTE: In Versions 1.0 and 1.1, this error only occurred if there was a PLUS loan reported in Step 1, the school owed no portion of the Pell Grant back in Step 6, AND the student owed SEOG and other grants in addition to Pell Grant funds. 2) The software will retain data entered under Step 1 of the R2T4 tab in the Other Title IV Programs grid if you switch to page 2 or page 3 of the R2T4 tab without first saving the record. In Versions 1.0 and 1.1, any data entered in this grid was lost and had to be re-entered if a save was not performed on page one prior to switching to page 2 or page 3 of the R2T4 tab. If you need any assistance connecting to the SFAdownload site or downloading Return of Title IV Funds Version 1.1.1, please contact Title IV WAN Customer Service at 800/615-1189 or via email at T4WAN@NCS.COM If you need assistance with the installation or encounter technical problems in your use of the Return of Title IV Funds Version 1.1.1 (once downloaded from the SFAdownload Web site), please contact CPS Customer Service at 800/330-5947, option 9, or via email at CPS@NCS.COM If you have questions regarding policy or regulations of the return of Title IV funds to the Department, including the calculation methodologies used in Version 1.1.1, please contact the Departments Customer Support Branch at 800/433-7327 or via email at osfap_csb@ed.gov If you have technical questions about our SFA systems and software, you may want to subscribe to our email list serve, SFATECH. For more information about SFATECH, including how to subscribe, go to online at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OSFAP/sfatech/ |