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Suspension of MAP Award Announcements

Suspension of 2013-14 MAP Award Announcements
Return of Funds for 2012-13 Awards Released from Suspense Status
Limited Release of Suspended 2012-13 MAP Awards
Suspension of 2012-13 MAP Award Announcements
Identifying MAP Records in Suspension
Identifying MAP Records Released from Suspension

ISAC continues to announce MAP awards until projections indicate that the dollars appropriated will be exhausted by the number of awards already announced for the year. Applications received after this point are placed in award announcement suspension. If it becomes necessary to suspend the processing of award announcements in order to remain within appropriated funding levels, such action is applied concurrently to all students.

The status of suspended awards will be evaluated as more information becomes available and, if application volume and claim rates support such action, some suspended awards may be released. Any suspended awards that might be released in the future would remain subject to the MAP priority considerations dates of the academic year that awards are suspended.

Suspension of 2013-14 MAP Award Announcements

ISAC is suspending the announcement of 2013-14 MAP grants for all students whose initial 2013-14 FAFSA was received by the Central Processing System (CPS) on or after March 2, 2013. Effective March 5, 2013, MAP records in suspension will be available in the MAP system via the GAP Access portal and show on the appropriate screens and reports, as well as in the MAP Eligibility File Extraction.

Operational Information:

  • MAP records in suspension status will be indicated by a MAP Suspend Code of “S” (S = New application received after the suspense date will not be considered for an award this year) in MAP system screens and reports, and in the MAP Eligibility File Extraction.
  • The 2013-14 MAP Applicant Award Status Chart provides an overview of categories for students based on the initial application (FAFSA) receipt date.
  • Colleges must suspend announcements of MAP awards to students whose initial FAFSA receipt date is on or after March 2, 2013. ISAC is not notifying affected applicants that their awards have been placed in suspension status. Schools are advised to communicate announcement information to students with suspended awards as prescribed in school policy and procedure.

The MAP system contains filters that will allow colleges to identify student records and create a custom report of those records placed in suspension status. Refer to the Identifying MAP Records in Suspension section below for information on how to identify records in a suspension status and instructions for creating a custom report.

Return of Funds for 2012-13 Awards Released from Suspense Status

Provided below are the operational details to assist financial aid administrators with the process of returning funds for those students whose 2012-13 MAP awards have been released from suspense status [i.e., students whose FAFSA receipt dates were March 20, 2012 through (and including) April 2, 2012].

No funds will need to be returned for students whose 2012-13 MAP awards were never in suspense status (i.e., whose FAFSA receipt dates were on or before March 19, 2012).

Lists of Impacted Students to be Sent to Colleges

ISAC will send each MAP-approved college an individual e-mail, providing the following information:

  • a listing of all impacted MAP recipients at the college;
  • the specific dollar amount to be returned for each student; and,
  • step-by-step instructions for returning 2012-13 MAP funds.

Anticipated Sequence of Events

Below is the anticipated sequence of events for the return of 2012-13 MAP funds.

  • Individual e-mails, referenced above, are scheduled to be sent to the e-mail address of the financial aid director at each college during the week of May 6, 2013.
  • Each college is to complete the two-step process of returning MAP funds:
    1. impacted student payment records will need to be adjusted in the MAP system via the GAP Access portal or via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and the adjusted payment requests must be submitted by Monday, May 20, 2013, according to the e-mail instructions; and,
    2. funds must be returned to ISAC for every impacted MAP recipient using the required Check Return Form, per the instructions that will be provided. The process of returning MAP funds should be completed as soon as possible after receiving the e-mail from ISAC, and all returns should be received at ISAC no later than Friday, June 7, 2013.
  • Timely claims (i.e., third-term claims, and positive adjustments to first- and second-term claims initially submitted on or before April 1, 2013) will be scheduled for release from "hold" status for payment processing after it has been determined that MAP appropriated funds are sufficient to do so.
  • Letters detailing any additional outstanding amount each institution must refund to ISAC for MAP for the 2012-13 academic year will be mailed to financial aid directors in June. Once these letters are received, the usual procedures should be followed by colleges for returning any remaining amounts due.

Reminders

  • For a preview of impacted students, colleges may use the initial "Application Receipt Date" filter in the MAP system. By using the 2012-13 release from suspension dates (March 20, 2012 – April 2, 2012), a report can be created that will identify students by their initial FAFSA receipt date.
  • ISAC is not notifying affected students that a portion of their MAP awards must be returned. Colleges are advised to communicate announcement information to impacted students as prescribed in school policies and procedures.
  • Late claims (i.e., first- and second-term claims submitted after April 1, 2013) will continue to be held until a determination can be made regarding whether they can be paid.
  • Continue to regularly visit the MAP Program News page for the most up-to-date information.

Limited Release of Suspended 2012-13 MAP Awards

2012-13 MAP grants for students whose FAFSA receipt dates were March 20, 2012 through (and including) April 2, 2012 were released from suspension January 8, 2013 and are available to be viewed in the MAP system as of January 9, 2013. All MAP grants for eligible students with initial FAFSA receipt dates on or after April 3, 2012 remain in a suspended status.

Colleges are encouraged to submit their payment requests (including for the first term) as soon as possible for those students who are impacted by the limited release of 2012-13 suspended MAP awards. The 2012-13 MAP Applicant Award Status Chart provides an overview of categories for students based on the initial application (FAFSA) receipt date. Refer to the section below for information on how to identify records released from suspension in the MAP system.

Suspension of 2012-13 MAP Award Announcements

ISAC suspended the announcement of 2012-13 MAP grants for all students whose initial 2012-13 FAFSA was received by the Central Processing System (CPS) on or after March 20, 2012. MAP records in suspension are available in the new MAP system via the GAP Access portal and show on the appropriate screens and reports, as well as in the Eligibility Status File (ESF) Extraction.

Operational Information:

  • MAP records in suspension status will be indicated by a MAP Suspend Code of “S” (S = New application received after the suspense date will not be considered for an award this year) in MAP system screens and reports, and in the Eligibility Status File (ESF) extract.   
  • The 2012-13 MAP Applicant Award Status Chart provides an overview of categories for students based on the initial application (FAFSA) receipt date.
  • Colleges must suspend announcements of MAP awards to students whose initial FAFSA receipt date is on or after April 3, 2012. ISAC is not notifying affected applicants that their awards have been placed in suspension status. Schools are advised to communicate announcement information to students with suspended awards as prescribed in school policy and procedure.
  • The MAP system contains filters that will allow colleges to identify student records and create a custom report of those records placed in suspension status. Refer to the Identifying MAP Records in Suspension section below for information on how to identify records in a suspension status and instructions for creating a custom report. 

Identifying MAP Records in Suspension

Schools may want to identify student records placed into suspension for a variety of reasons (i.e., file review, packaging, etc.). MAP records in suspension status will be indicated by a code of "S" in the “MAP Suspend” field on the MAP system via the GAP Access portal, reports and in the Eligibility Status File (ESF). New applications received after the suspense date will not be considered for an award this year.

The MAP system via GAP Access contains filters that allow colleges to identify student records and create a report. Refer to the instructions to run a report of suspended student records for each system.

Identifying MAP Records Released from Suspension

Financial Aid Office or Business Office staff will want to be able to identify student records that have been released from suspension. There's no indicator in the system that identifies which student records were released; the suspense flag ("S") is simply removed. When records are released from suspense, ISAC will create an Eligibility Status File (ESF) update that will remove the "S" from the "MAP Suspend" field on MAP system screens and from the ESF Extraction Suspense Flag (position 94). Schools may then use their standard procedure to request payment for  eligible students.

Below are two different options, or filters, to use in creating a report to identify student records released from suspension.

  • Prior to the release of suspended records, create a report of Suspended Student Records Using the Suspense Flag. This report can be used later to determine which released student records may be eligible for MAP payment. Colleges will be notified via the e-Messaging service in College Zone when the release of suspended MAP records will take place.
  • After the release of suspended records, colleges should use the initial "Application Receipt Date" filter in the system to create a listing of student records using a date range of released records. For example, by using the 2012-13 release from suspension dates (March 20, 2012 - April 2, 2012), a report can be created that will identify students by application receipt date (initial FAFSA receipt date).

The 'Application Receipt Date' filter is not restricted to use with suspension, it may be used for any type of student listing using a date range. This filter is also available on the Student List Payment screen.