Award Methodologies

Use the Award Methodologies window to define how awards will be distributed. This is a two-part process. First, define the methodology and determine how the amount will be calculated. Next, build the disbursement based on the method used to determine the amount to award. Methodology for each disbursement period must be defined, which means that two methodologies may be created for the entire two-term cycle. For example, the state of Missouri gives an institution a grant of $500,000 annually to be disbursed equally over the two-term Financial Aid year. Two methodologies will be created, one for Fall, and one for Spring. These will be assigned simultaneously during the Prioritized Package process.

Note: Award Methodology uses Pell Schedule prior to 2024-2025 academic year.

To Define Award Methodology:

From the CAMS Enterprise Home page, click Financial Aid >Packaging >Prioritized >Award Methodology. The Award Methodology window displays.
Select the appropriate Academic Year and Financial Aid Year, and then click Find to display any methodologies already associated with the selected Academic and Financial Aid year. You MUST click Find first to add a new record.
Right-click in the data grid to add a methodology, or double-click an existing methodology to modify it. The Award Methodology detail window displays.
Provide an Award Methodology Description.
Click the search icon next to the Student Selection Criteria field to open the Student Selection Criteria window displaying the queries for the Academic Year/Financial Aid Year you are working with. Double-click the query to associate with this methodology.
Enter the Min Amount and Max Amount of the award to be applied to the student. For example, if a student could receive an amount for that disbursement period between $250 and $1000 depending on the amount of remaining need, student load, Pell, or sum of billing transdocs, that would be the range entered into these fields. If the Total Funds are to be distributed using the Even Split option, then the Min Amount and Max Amount fields would NOT display on the window.
For awards, such as Unsubsidized loans, that are totaled together with another award, such as Subsidized loans, select the Award Methodology used for the Sub loan (for example) using the lookup icon next to the Combined Max field and enter the total maximum amount of both awards in the Combined Max Total field.
Award Methodology has the flexibility to set rounding for each methodology as is needed. Select the required Rounding from the drop-down for each Award Methodology:

No Rounding (default setting) - awards are not rounded.
Round Up - awards with any number after the decimal are rounded up to the next dollar.
Round Down - awards with any number after the decimal are rounded down to the next dollar.
COD Loan Rounding - awards will be rounded as specified by COD rules.

Note: For Prioritized Packaging, the setting for Award Rounding in Award Reference will determine if the award is rounded in dollars or cents. How the award is rounded is determined by the setting here. The setting of "No Rounding" will not consider what is set in Award Reference.

Enter the Term. The term is the period during which the distribution will occur. A single award can be distributed multiple times during the term if required. Another methodology would be built using the same term but different distribution dates if that were the case.
Enter the Distribution Date, required. This may be an approximate date. The exact date of distribution is typically changed during the Financial Aid Transfer process.
Enter the Award Type by selecting from the drop-down list.

Note: Once a package that includes an Award Methodology has been applied to students, the methodology Term, Distribution Date, and Award Type fields cannot be changed.

In the Total Funds field, enter the entire amount of the award available to ALL students for this distribution period. For example, the MO State Grant award may allow a yearly maximum of $500,000. If the award is split evenly between Fall and Spring, then the amount should be $250,000. The Amount Used and the Balance fields are automatically updated by the system as the funds are disbursed during the packaging process.
In the Amount Determined By area, choose the method (defined below) by which the amount will be awarded to individual students. The method chosen here will determine which fields are available in the lower data grid of the Award Methodologies window.
Click Add to save the Award Methodology, or Cancel to exit without saving. Repeat these steps to add additional terms for the award year. Alternatively, single Award Methodologies may be copied utilizing the Copy One button below the top grid.

Once the Award Methodology is defined, the method by which the amount will be awarded to individual students must be determined. This will complete the Award Methodology, which will later be used in the Prioritized Packaging process.

Copy Award Methodologies

Because methodologies are attached to a specific Academic and Financial Aid Year, it is necessary to create them for each Academic and Financial Aid year. This can be done manually, or to save time, use the Copy button to copy all methodologies associated with one particular Academic and Financial Aid year to another Academic and Financial Aid year. Individual methodologies can also be copied in order to facilitate creating Award Methodologies for multiple-term Financial Aid Years.

Note: Copy Methodologies should NOT be done here when using the Copy Package function. When using the Copy Package function, Package Criteria queries, Award Methodologies, and Budgets associated with the Package are copied automatically. You should ONLY copy methodologies here if you will NOT be copying packages. Copying the methodologies will also copy the associated Package Criteria queries.

To Copy All Award Methodologies:

On the Award Methodology window, select the appropriate Academic and Financial Aid year and click Find to display the methodologies associated with the selected criteria.
Click the Copy All button above the top grid. The Copy Award Methodologies detail window opens with the Academic Year From and Financial Aid Year From displayed.
Select the Academic Year To and Financial Aid Year To.
Click Copy to copy the methodologies to the new Academic and Financial Aid years or click Cancel to exit without copying.

Note: Be sure that all methodologies for the Copy From Academic and Financial Aid years have been added prior to copying. If the Copy process occurs more than once, duplicate methodologies will be created in the Copy To Academic and Financial Aid years. If duplication occurs, highlight the unwanted methodology in the data grid and click Delete to remove. Methodologies already attached to packages, awards, and budgets cannot be deleted.

To Copy One Award Methodology:

On the Award Methodology window, select the appropriate Academic and Financial Aid year and click Find to display the methodologies associated with the selected criteria.
In the top grid, highlight the methodology you wish to copy to this Academic and Financial Aid year.
Click the Copy One button below the top grid. The Copy Single Award Methodology detail window opens.
Enter the Term to which you are copying the methodology.
Click Copy to copy the methodology within the Academic and Financial Aid year selected on the Award Methodology window. A copy of the methodology is created with the additional term for the Academic and Financial Aid year.