[ctcLinkfinaidsupport] FA Weeklyish Bulletin - 8/31/23
Kelly Forsberg
kforsberg at sbctc.edu
Thu Aug 31 16:01:56 PDT 2023
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Knowing is Half the Battle
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UPDATE FROM FA SUPPORT:
* LOAN DEBT LETTERS: Some changes are coming to the Loan Debt Letter template. For Direct Loans, the REPAYE repayment plan has been replaced by the SAVE plan. So, the following updates to the Loan Debt Letter template are being made:
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Query Corner
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SAP BY STUDENT GROUP: Are you still finding yourself manually checking SAP on different populations of students? Do you have Veteran students you need to check SAP on? Maybe there are other student groups you need to check. There’s a query for that! You can run QCS_FA_STDNTGRP_SAP_STATUS by Term and Student Group. The query will show the Term GPA, Cumulative GPA, Current Attempted Units, Cumulative Attended Units, Current Earned Units, and Cumulative Earned Units, as well as their calculated SAP status for the term.
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Workshops, Trainings, Q & As, and Work Sessions
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TRAININGS
Session: CS Core Refresher: Update a Letter Template with Merge Fields
When: Wednesday, 09/20/2023, 8:30AM – 10:00AM
Audience: Staff responsible for communications
Presenter: Tanjagay Martin, CS Core Functional Trainer
Objectives:
* Update a Letter Template
* Merge data from an XML file containing all letter template fields
Session: State Aid Reconciliation Refresher (Real-Time Reporting to WSAC)
When: Tuesday, 09/26/2023, 9AM – 11:00AM
Audience: Staff responsible for reconciliation of financial aid and doing the WSAC draw-down of state funds
Presenters: Kelly Forsberg, FA Functional Trainer
Objectives:
After completing this training, you should be able to:
* Understand what queries are available for state aid recon and what they do:
* CTC _SNG_COMPARE
* CTC_FA_CBS_SNG_NOT_AWARDED
* CTC_FA_SNG_ELIG_NOTPKGD
* Understand the clean-up reports to run prior to running recon
* Fund Roster
* Understand how to run WCG Interim
* Understand how to use the Fiscal Item Types page to help in your recon efforts
* Tips for success & additional resources
Note: There are no FA Work Sessions Scheduled in September – happy Fall!🍂
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In Case You Missed It!
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We are giving a {{ big shout out }} to the SF Team here at State Board who put on a fabulous Charge Priority List (CPL) Work Session last week on 8/23/2023! If you’re ever curious about why your Item Types are behaving a certain way in Customer Accounts, it’s all about your CPL set up.
For example, are you seeing multiple sources of funding in the Customer Accounts, and some of the funding you think should be applying to specific charges is now showing as ‘unapplied’ to the Customer Accounts—meaning, it never picked up the charge?
Check out this previously recorded SF work session (listed below) to get a deeper-dive on how Charge Priority Lists are functioning at your institution.
SF Charge Priority Work Session
* Once logged into the ctcLink Pillar Work Session Information course, navigate to: Modules > Student Financials Work Sessions (2023) > Charge Priority Lists (CPLs) – Held on 8/23/2023
* ctcLink Pillar Work Session Information<https://sbctc.instructure.com/courses/2056628/pages/charge-priority-lists-cpls-held-on-8-slash-23-slash-2023> (01:56:55)
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Training Team Updates
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The QRGs and BPGs are currently undergoing a continual overhaul to accommodate the upcoming PeopleTools 8.59 system upgrade. We expect these updates to continue until the end of the year. Keep your eyes peeled for a new look and feel of the QRGs in the coming months as we work through 4,000 QRGs and guides in the ctcLink Reference Center!
MOST RECENTLY UPDATED 8.59 QRGs/BPGs:
* QRGs:
* NSLDS Suspense Management<https://ctclinkreferencecenter.ctclink.us/m/92423/l/1009989-nslds-suspense-management> – Completed
* BPGs:
* FA Flow Business Processing Guide<https://ctclinkreferencecenter.ctclink.us/m/92436/l/794730-9-2-fa-business-flow> – Completed
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Just for Fun!
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Let’s Talk Screen Time! Let’s face it, we spend a lot of time in front of screens. 8 + hours at work, and then maybe we go to watch some television when we get home, and let’s not forget about the scrollin’ on the phones. Our work is blue-screen heavy, so here’s some helpful tips on how to keep your eyes and mind healthy in our digital environments:
* Tip #1) Take a nature break. We live in a state where there is a lot of greenery and scenery. Commit to those walks outside and make sure you’re getting your daily dose of sunshine, even if it is hidden behind the PNW clouds.
* Tip #2) Move more when you’re at your desk. Do some neck stretching, raise your arms up and stretch, do some torso-twisting in the chair.
* Tip #3) Make your sleep domain a sanctuary! Keep electronics charging in the other room so it’s not the last thing we are doing at night and the first thing we reach for in the morning.
* Tip #4) Use orange lighting. I do this at my house, the LED lights are too much for me sometimes, so I use soft orange lighting when I am winding down at night.
* Tip #5) Practice mindfulness at work. Find time to center yourself and breathe when there’s a quiet moment. Close your eyes, remove your glasses if you wear them. Let your eyes rest for a few moments.
* Tip #6) Find time to bond with your teammates and your families. Schedule a team bonding activity where you don’t have to look at the computer. You can make it work-focused, but maybe go old school and use index cards and other paper aids. Haha, even this is a hard one for me. Paper? Ew.
* Tip #7) Rotate out some time for office chores: Schedule a day of the week where you take turns cleaning out the clutter in the office, reorganize the office supply closet, dust the printer drawers and shelves, dust off the filing cabinet. Spend 5 – 10 mins on one day, a few times a month, and you’ve spent less time looking at a screen and you’re organizing your workspace, clearing your head to be ready for the day.
* Tip #7) Turn down the brightness on your monitor. This is my personal favorite. I always have my monitor and my phone on the dimmest setting. Sure, I may not be able to see it well enough when the sun is shining on it, but that’s what window shades are for yes? My eyes will be thankful later.
For other tips, check out the article below:
Source: 10 Ways to Protect the Brain from Daily Screen Time | Psychology Today<https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/mental-wealth/201704/10-ways-protect-the-brain-daily-screen-time>
TGIF-eve,
[Compass]Kelly Forsberg
ctcLink Functional Trainer | Financial Aid
Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges
o: 360-704-1066
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