2010-11 Calculating Awards

Note: Payment on 2nd and 3rd term claims for the 2010-11 Monetary Award Program (MAP) will be reduced in order to ensure that program funds will not be overspent. The calculation described below applies to the 1st semester and 1st quarters only. Due the reduction factor, refer to the Reduction of 2010-11 MAP 2nd and 3rd Term Awards: The Calculation resource for instructions on calculating term awards.

Schools have a choice in how the term awards are calculated. Awards may be split evenly between terms or be split by whole dollar amounts. For example, if a semester school has elected to use the "cents" option, an annual award of $4,521.00 is split evenly between terms as an award of $2,260.50. If the school chooses to use the " no cents" option, the annual award of $4,521.00 would be $2,260.00 for the first term and $2,261.00 for the second term.

For a quarter school using the "cents" option, an annual award, for example, of $3,974.00 is split between the terms as $1,324.66, $1,324.67, and $1,324.67. If the quarter school chooses to use the " no cents" option, the annual award of $3,974.00 would be split as $1,324.00, $1,325.00, and $1,325.00.

The majority of schools calculate term awards by the "cents" option, but if you're interested in switching to the " no cents" option (or vice versa) simply send an e-mail message to schoolservices@isac.org prior to June 1 of the upcoming academic year (i.e., June 1, 2010 for the 2010-11 academic year).

Below is a narrative guide summarizing ISAC's step-by-step process in calculating a term award for either a semester or quarter school. This information is provided for explanatory purposes only, it is not intended for school use in payment request processing.

Calculating a Term Award - Semester Schools
Calculating a Term Award - Quarter Schools

Student Detail: Anticipated Enrollment Calculator Screen

The Student Detail: Anticipated Enrollment Calculator screen can be used to calculate awards for students who are enrolled, or anticipated to enroll, for less than 15 credit hours per term. This screen will also help ensure accurate award calculations by credit hour.

This screen does allow for schools to enter a fraction of an hour. The decimal fields were initiated to accommodate the Enrollment Hours conversion factor for quarter schools. Although a semester school could also enter a fraction of an hour (decimal value), semester school enrollment hours will be rounded to the nearest whole number. Examples of the award calculation for both quarter and semester schools are available in the Student Eligibility section of the MAPnet User Guide.

Formula and MAP Award Validation Tool - No More Rounding Issues

The Formula and MAP Award Validation Tool was developed with the purpose of ensuring that awards calculated by institutions outside of MAPnet match ISAC's official award calculations. Schools who have the ability to utilize File Transfer Protocol (FTP) for data exchanges are being offered an automated tool to submit test files to ISAC and are strongly encouraged to take advantage of this formula and award validation tool. It will become available at start-up and will continue to be available until the payment cycle begins. Refer to the Formula and MAP Award Validation Tool section of the MAPnet User Guide for further guidance concerning the FTP process.

Schools who do not currently participate in the FTP process, but are interested in becoming an FTP participant should contact schoolservices@isac.org.