Florida Department of Education

Florida Department of Education www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org Office of Student Financial Assistance Training Manual for Self-Study: Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System for Private Schools 2015-16

Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System For Florida Private High Schools Table of Contents A. Introduction... 1 B. Important Terminology... 1 C. Navigating the Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System... 3 D. Student Lists/Search... 5 1. Bright Futures List of Student Transcripts... 5 2. Financial Aid Applicants List... 12 E. Transcripts/Functions... 13 F. Processing Evaluations for Mid-Year Graduates... 19 G. Reports... 19 1. Summary Statistics... 19 2. Annual Statistical Reports... 20 H. For More Information... 20 ii

Florida Department of Education Office of Student Financial Assistance Florida Bright Futures Scholarship Program Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System For Florida Private High Schools A. Introduction The Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System is an electronic system that receives transcript data from Florida public and private schools. The system evaluates the records to determine if students are eligible for any of the Bright Futures Scholarship awards. It allows you to advise students based on their current evaluations; provide evaluation reports to students and parents; and match Florida Financial Aid Applications (FFAA) to student records. The system can provide Bright Futures evaluation reports for students in 9 th through 12 th grades (if your school enters transcript data for students beginning in the 9 th grade). Records are evaluated nightly for seniors and on Fridays for underclassmen. B. Important Terminology Early Evaluation (or 7 th semester), which is in the middle of a student s senior year, allows you to review a student s evaluation and when the student completes the FFAA, move the record from practice to production for an early evaluation of eligibility. It is also an advisement tool whereby you can access Bright Futures evaluations for students from 9 th through 11 th grades. Final Evaluation (or 8 th semester) is a system evaluation of senior transcript data after the final semester. This evaluation includes all high school coursework. Transcript data is submitted after graduation. Eighth refers to the student s final semester of high school or the last semester of the senior year. Transcript information for December graduates is submitted to final evaluation. Practice provides an unofficial evaluation of a student s transcript data that does not require a completed FFAA. It is strictly used as an advisement tool. It is important to make sure student records are accurate while in practice, BEFORE moving them to production. Production refers to the official evaluation of a student s transcript data for Bright Futures eligibility. It requires the student to have a completed FFAA submitted to the Department of Education after December 1 of the last year in high school and before high school graduation. Results are official. Students can monitor their award statuses online by choosing Applications & Updates or selecting Check My Status under Applicant Quick Links on the State Programs Home page. Revised August 2015 1

You will find (and enter transcript data for) students that are in 9 th through 12 th grades in practice. Use practice to: Clean up inaccuracies on student records. Advise students about coursework, GPA, and test scores needed for Bright Futures eligibility. Help students accurately complete the FFAA by providing the information from the student evaluation (e.g., transcript data). You will move records to production, AFTER reviewing the records for accuracy, for students who: Submitted a completed FFAA and the data they provided matches the transcript data. There are five key fields where data must match between the student record and the FFAA: 1. SSN (when there is an SSN on both the record and the FFAA) 2. First name 3. Last name 4. DOB 5. Gender Are in their 7 th or 8 th semesters. Early admission students must apply with their graduating class. Students are evaluated twice: once in 7 th semester and a final evaluation in 8 th semester. Students who are awarded in 7 th semester can only improve the award in 8 th semester. Seventh semester eligibility is not reduced or taken away after an 8th semester evaluation, unless the student does not graduate from a Florida public or FDOE registered private high school. Said yes for Bright Futures evaluations on the saved results page of the application. The default is set to yes. If students changed the yes to no, you would not be able to move their records to production. Answered no to the final question on the application about being found guilty of a felony or pleading no contest to a felony. Note: The student can check no if the felony took place in juvenile court or if the conviction was removed from the student s record by the court. Because production is the official evaluation, students can view their award statuses online. OSFA notifies postsecondary institutions of student eligibility through the secure, online Master Eligibility List. Mid-year Graduates are those students who graduate mid-way through the academic year and intend to enroll in a postsecondary institution in the spring of the same academic year. These students must complete the FFAA for the year that they seek funding. For example, a mid-year graduate who desires funding for the spring of 2017 must complete the 2016-17 application by August 31, 2016. (Refer to page 19 for information about processing mid-year graduates.) Revised August 2015 2

C. Navigating the Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System Revised August 2015 3

Navigate to the Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System from the State Programs Home page by selecting Bright Futures Scholarship. Then, select the link for Login to the Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System under Administrator Quick Links. Enter your Logon ID and Password. You will be asked to change your password the first time that you log in. Contact OSFA for security access by calling 888-827-2004 or e-mail OSFASecurity@fldoe.org. On the Home page, you can choose Processing Options. Use the blue menu bar and embedded links for navigation after choosing these options. When using the system, a pop-up box will appear when a feature is not available. For example, if you choose statistical reports that are not currently available, a pop-up box will appear to notify you. Also, each screen will tell you where you are working (your chosen Processing Options) with text in the yellow bar just below the blue menu bar. Revised August 2015 4

Public school transcript data is submitted three times a year for students in 9 th - 12 th grades. Private schools are encouraged to follow the same timeline. By submitting student records beginning in the 9 th grade, you will have a student progress report. Parents appreciate progress reports and information about what is needed to achieve the scholarship. For twins and triplets, please be sure the course, grade, and test data entered in our system is accurately associated with the right twin or triplet. Please finish data clean-up and processing before you leave at the end of the school year. Our initial eligibility final processes run during the summer months. Academic Top Scholars awards are determined in November after the fall-term disbursement for a prior year graduate. This ensures that awardees are attending a Florida postsecondary school before they are selected. One student per county is identified from those who are eligible for the Florida Academic Scholars award. These students have the highest Bright Futures GPA and test score multiple in their counties. Academic Top Scholars receive a cost per credit hour award amount established by the Florida Legislature in the General Appropriations Act in addition to the Florida Academic Scholars award. For more information, refer to the Bright Futures website, www.floridastudentfinancialaid.org/ssfad/bf/ats.htm. The FFAA opens December 1. Submission of production transcripts for early and final evaluations opens on January 1. Tests must be taken by January 31 to be included in early evaluations and by June 30 for final evaluations. Students may view their eligibility online based on early evaluations in March, and in August for final evaluations. The FFAA will close August 31 for current year graduates. Note: Mid-year graduates must apply by August 31 prior to graduating early. D. Student Lists/Search 1. Bright Futures List of Student Transcripts To see the Bright Futures List of Student Transcripts, choose the student s graduation year and Practice in Processing Options. Select Student Lists/Search on the blue menu bar. Then from Revised August 2015 5

the links below, you can search by student ID, last name, or GPA. You can also retrieve the entire list and sort by student ID, last name, or GPA. Also, you can search for an individual evaluation by SSN or HS-ID. Use Find a specific student to see if and where the student evaluation exists and then, select List a specific student to see the individual student s listing. The example below shows the Bright Futures List of Current Year Transcripts listed alphabetically by last name. (For privacy reasons, student data is erased from the examples. However, you will see the information for your students records in the various columns when you are using the database.) There are two ways to navigate the List of Student Transcripts. First, you can select the page numbers which appear on the top and bottom of the list. Each page allows you to view ten records. Second, you can use the search box to find individual students by entering the entire last name. For example, if you are looking for Smith, you can type in the entire name; or type S, which will give you all the last names starting with S; or you could type in Smi, which will give you all the last names starting with Smi. Revised August 2015 6

To view (scroll through) or print all student records, select the Printable Page button (see the above graphic). Then, choose the Select a format drop-down and choose the format (Excel or Acrobat). Select the Export link. On the Bright Futures List of Student Transcripts, various codes (letters) in the Action column appear as links. A legend is provided by selecting the column header. The codes will vary depending on the Processing Options that you choose. For example, the action codes that appear in production differ from those in practice. Revised August 2015 7

The E action code gives you the opportunity to correct, change, or add student demographic information. After the transcript is matched with the student s application, only the student can change demographic information. On this screen, you can add the student s high school graduation date (in final evaluation), check diploma type, and enter community service hours. From the menu bar, you can access the courses and test entry pages. By selecting the C, you have the ability to enter and edit student records. Be sure the courses are entered in the year they were taken. Using this screen, you can check for accuracy and make any needed changes before moving the record into production. Revised August 2015 8

When you select the school year button, you will see a screen that looks exactly like the screen where you originally entered the transcript data. It works the same way, with a link to the Comprehensive Course Table (CCT) as well as the short list of courses. The V link provides student demographics and test data. It provides information about FFAA status, awards, and evaluations of eligibility. Revised August 2015 9

The D code allows you to delete a single student record or you may choose to delete up to 10 records by checking the select boxes and choosing the Delete up to 10 recs button. X will allow you to transfer a record to production or you may choose to transfer up to 10 records from practice to production by checking the select boxes and clicking the Xfer Pract to Prod 10 recs. Note: This action does not appear when you choose production from the processing options. 8 allows you to copy a record to practice final evaluation or you may choose to copy up to 10 records from 7th to 8th semester by checking the select boxes and choosing the Copy 7th to 8th 10 recs button. By scrolling down the The R code provides the Student Evaluation Report. Notice that there is a link to the Student Evaluation Key which will open in a separate window. The student evaluation begins with demographics and award status. The report provides test scores and any service hours or special academic programs completed. Select the Key to Student Evaluation Report link for the key. Revised August 2015 10

Section 2 provides a summary of the student s progress toward all of the Bright Futures awards. It gives a summary of course credits for each of the awards as well as GPA and quality points. Missing criteria for each award is indicated in 7th semester early evaluation. By scrolling down to Section 3, you will see specific courses with grades and how they are applied to each award. The FFAA Status column header provides a legend that explains each of the designations in that column. It will open in a pop-up window. Revised August 2015 11

2. Florida Financial Aid Applicants List From Student Lists/Search, choose the Florida Financial Aid Applicants List. This list is populated after students submit their completed applications. This list displays students that listed your high school as their school of graduation on the FFAA. The information in the first five columns is used to match their transcripts to their applications. For students who did not supply an SSN, the match is to the four columns including last name, first name, birth date, and gender. Revised August 2015 12

Navigation is the same as the Student List of Transcripts. To view or print all records, select Printable Page and follow the process to export and save or open a file (described on pages 6 and 7). The FFAA Status column indicates the results of the student's preliminary evaluation. Select the FFAA Status link to view status code definitions. Records coded "B" identify students who have requested an official Bright Futures eligibility evaluation. A record must be sent to the Bright Futures production evaluation system for early and final evaluations. The Bright Futures Status columns will display the student's Bright Futures evaluation status if the FFAA and Bright Futures record have been matched. "Unmatched" records indicate (1) FFAA applicants with no records in the Bright Futures evaluation system or (2) FFAA applicants with unmatched records. This list may be used to compare and reconcile FFAA information with Bright Futures transcript information. We strongly encourage you to submit records to production for all students with an FFAA status of "A" or "B" as soon as possible. E. TRANSCRIPTS/FUNCTIONS To enter transcript data, choose the student s graduation year and Practice from the Processing Options drop-down menus on the Home page. Then, choose Transcripts/Functions on the blue menu bar. Select the link Add a Transcript to begin. As a private school (or non-faster school), you will enter all transcript data here. At a minimum, you should enter transcript data for early evaluation during a student s seventh semester in high school. This helps students and postsecondary institutions prepare for financial aid before the first semester of college. Revised August 2015 13

The next screen asks for student information such as SSN, first name, last name, date of birth, gender, and race. These include the data elements used for matching the FFAA to the student s record. It is important that this information appears exactly the same as it does on the student s FFAA. If an SSN is not available for a student, select Local ID from the drop-down menu and enter the unique 10-digit local high school ID. You can set up a Local ID in any format. Suggestions include: using the student s birth date with added zeros or a student s phone number. The next screen allows you to enter the student s education status. Click inside the check box if a student is working on a standard diploma. For National Merit Finalists or Scholars, Achievement Finalists or Scholars, or National Hispanic Scholars, contact OSFA. OSFA will enter those for you. OSFA will receive official IB and AICE diploma recipient information from IBO and AICE, respectively. For eighth semester final evaluations, enter the graduation date. The system will not accept a future date. Revised August 2015 14

To enter test results, select the button for the type of test. On this screen, you can enter the official scores from a student s ACT, SAT, and PERT test results. Enter all test scores. The system will use only the best section scores for determining eligibility. (Note: You must have received an official score before entering scores online.) If the student puts on his test registration form a Florida public high school code or lists any of the twelve state public universities or 28 Florida Colleges (community colleges) to receive scores, the scores will automatically be sent to Florida s repository. Any scores retrieved from the repository will show on the Student Evaluation Report. Select the button for All Tests to see scores from the repository. Revised August 2015 15

Select the Demographics button to return to the Edit screen. To begin entering courses, select the Courses button or Action code C on the Student List of Transcripts. Select the year when the courses were taken. To enter transcripts manually, choose the year from the drop-down menu. Enter each course in the year taken. Enter the student s entire record. Vocational courses are considered for the Gold Seal Vocational Scholars award. Some courses are not valid in certain years. In the right-hand column, you will see a list of commonly used course numbers. This is the short list for entering the information quickly if your school s courses are equivalent. By choosing the course number from the short list, the system will complete the course information with Course Number. The State Course Name fills in after you save the record. There is a link to the Comprehensive Course Table (CCT) and to FDOE course descriptions, so you can look up course numbers and descriptions. Revised August 2015 16

When entering courses, also note: If you are entering courses manually, be sure the course number is entered correctly. The system will look at the number rather than the course name. Use a local title when the course is different from the state course name. Also, there is no need to type in the flag for honors courses, because the system does it automatically. If there is no equivalent course in the state course listings, you can enter a course code of 9999999 (seven 9s). However, be aware that these courses will not be considered for a student s Bright Futures eligibility. Enter private college courses as ZZZ9999 and the subject area. A single course may be entered as two half credits (one for each semester), or as a single full-credit course. If entered as a full credit course, the system will split the course into two equal semester grades. When entering courses in the Early Evaluation for the student s senior year, enter 8th semester (final) courses as in progress by entering a P in the flag column. When entering high school courses taken during the middle school years, enter a nine (9) in the course flag column. When entering science dual enrollment courses, be sure to read the Read More information by selecting the link in the Comprehensive Course Table. It is important to understand maximum credits for properly entering science courses and their corresponding labs. The postsecondary course numbers for lab or combined lecture and lab courses (which use 8 character numbers) will need to be recoded to seven character numbers using the following conventions: Type of Course Postsecondary Format Send Format Lecture Courses: XXX9999 in the Statewide Use the actual 7 character Course Numbering System alphanumeric course number. Lab Courses: XXX9999L in the Statewide Replace the first numeric Course Numbering System character with L. Example: PHY1050L would be reported PHYL050. Combined Lecture and Lab XXX9999C in the Statewide Replace the first numeric Courses: Course Numbering character with C. Example: System PHY1050C would be reported PHYC050. After you enter transcript information, the system processes the evaluation overnight for seniors (on Fridays for underclassmen). The next day, evaluation results will be listed on the Bright Futures List of Student Transcripts. Revised August 2015 17

When all the information is entered accurately and you have a B or A in the FFAA Status column, you can and should Transfer Practice System Transcripts with FFAA Match to the Production System for selected School or District. Transfer records from Early Practice to Early Production. Then, copy them from Early Practice and Production to Final Practice. Note: If you edit records in Early Practice after you have moved them to Final Practice, you will need to copy these records forward or make the edits in both places. For batch processing, choose Copy ALL Early Evaluation (Practice and Production) Transcripts to Final Evaluation Practice of the SAME YEAR for the selected School or District. After entering all final grades through the student s graduation date, transfer records from Final Practice to Final Production for those students with a match of their records and FFAAs (you will see a B or A in the FFAA Status column). Also, you can use a batch process for entering graduation dates and set diploma type as standard. On or after the graduation date, in Final Practice, choose Provide Graduation Date and set Diploma Type to Standard for ALL unlocked transcripts having a blank Graduation Date for the selected School. Revised August 2015 18

In Final Practice, you can also Transfer Practice System Transcripts with FFAA Match to the Production System for the selected School or District. This will allow you to use a batch process for transferring records that have a graduation date to Final Production. After you transfer records to production, you have 10 days to make edits if needed. After the data is locked, you will need to call Bright Futures to make edits. At the end of the final evaluation period, OSFA may change the lock schedule to one day so that student records can be evaluated quickly for 8th semester eligibility. F. PROCESSING EVALUATIONS FOR MID-YEAR GRADUATES Mid-year graduates who desire funding for the spring term may be evaluated at the end of their seventh semester (spring term of the junior year) with required coursework completed, courses in progress, service hours, BF GPA through the spring term of the junior year, and test scores for tests taken through June 30. Seventh semester evaluations may begin posting in October. Eighth semester evaluations occur after graduation and all grades are posted and are based upon the final transcript submitted, service hours completed by high school graduation, and test scores taken through January 31. Send these transcripts with high school graduation dates. Final evaluations may begin posting in February. Mid-year graduates must apply by August 31 prior to their graduation date. G. REPORTS 1. Summary Statistics Another feature of the Online Transcript Entry & Evaluation System is Summary Statistics. From the blue menu bar, select Reports and then choose Summary Statistics. Revised August 2015 19

The statistics shown will depend on the Processing Options selected on the Home page. If you select an underlined, blue number in one of the columns of the Summary Statistics report, it will display a list of students included in that column. 2. Annual Statistical Reports If you choose Production after September 1 of a graduation year, you may view three different reports for your school or district: Report of Students Disbursed by Award Level for all students funded for your school. This report provides the number of students disbursed, by award and by type of student for initial, renewal, reinstatement, and restoration for the school. You will need your SSFAD User ID and PIN to access these reports. You can also view a statewide summary report for all students funded for private schools only, public schools only, the entire state, or the entire state by districts. Report of Initial Eligibility Students by Award Level for high school graduates based on final eligibility status for your school. This report provides the numbers of students awarded by award for the school. It includes an unduplicated count which counts a student for only the highest award for which the student was determined eligible. A duplicated count gives counts for a student for every award for which the student was determined eligible. The report also provides a statewide summary for high school graduates based on final eligibility status summarized for private schools only, public schools only, the entire state, or the entire state by districts. It provides the numbers of students, duplicated and unduplicated, for the state, broken out by those categories. Race/Gender Report of Initial Eligible students by Award Level for high school graduates based on final eligibility status for your school. This report provides the unduplicated count of students awarded, by award and by race and gender, for the school. It also provides a statewide summary report for high school graduates based on final eligibility status summarized for private schools only, public schools only, entire state, or entire state by districts. The report provides an unduplicated count of students awarded, by award and by race and gender, for the state, broken out by those categories. H. For More Information Students and parents may call toll free 1-888-827-2004. Private high school counselors call Julia Osmond at 850-410-5173. Revised August 2015 20