User Documentation Overview Manual - Sigma Sys · ProSAM Overview Manual ... Overview of ProSAM ......

User Documentation Overview Manual

Sigma Systems, Inc. April 2012

ProSAM Overview Manual

Sigma Systems, Inc. Page i April 2012

Table of Contents Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. i Table of Screens, Drawings and Figures .........................................................................ii ProSAM Operating Environment ..................................................................................... 1

Client Workstation .................................................................................................................1 Application Server .................................................................................................................1 Database Server ...................................................................................................................1 Typical Operating Environment .............................................................................................2

Overview of ProSAM ....................................................................................................... 2 Windows Oriented Client/Server Presentation Layer .............................................................2 Coexistence with Sigma’s Text Based System SAM .............................................................3 Background Processing Feature ...........................................................................................3 Security .................................................................................................................................4

OPT Table Setup............................................................................................................. 8 Application Validation ...................................................................................................... 8 Administrative Options .................................................................................................... 9 ProSAM Signon Window ............................................................................................... 11 The ProSAM Application Window.................................................................................. 12

Title Bar...............................................................................................................................12 Menu Bar ............................................................................................................................13 Tool Bar ..............................................................................................................................13 Task Bar ..............................................................................................................................14 Fingertip Summary Section .................................................................................................15 Navigation Section ..............................................................................................................16 Working Section ..................................................................................................................17

Standard Windows Icons ............................................................................................... 18 Opening Existing Student Records ......................................................................................18 Adding a New Student to the Database ...............................................................................19 Saving Information That Has Been Changed.......................................................................20 Adding New Records to the Financial Aid Database ............................................................21 Deleting Records in the Financial Aid Database ..................................................................21 Tools / Options - User Preferences Actions Tab ..................................................................22 Tools / Options - User Preferences Appearance Tab ..........................................................23

Special Purpose Toolbar Icons ..................................................................................... 24 Create / Revision Button .....................................................................................................25 Aid Year Icon.......................................................................................................................26 Create Memo ......................................................................................................................27 Send Email ..........................................................................................................................28 Question Mark "About" Icon ................................................................................................29 The Assign Track Icon Invokes a Job Script ........................................................................30 The Calculate EFC Icon Invokes a Job Script......................................................................31 The Compliance Verification Icon Invokes a Job Script .......................................................32 The Determine Budget Icon Invokes a Job Script ................................................................33 The Generate Package Icon Invokes a Job Script ...............................................................33 The Disburse Awards Icon Invokes a Job Script ..................................................................34 The Diagnostics Icon Invokes a Job Script ..........................................................................34


Sigma Systems, Inc. Page ii April 2012

Table of Screens, Drawings and Figures

The Signon Window ...................................................................................................... 11Taskbar Properties ........................................................................................................ 14The Open Student Icon ................................................................................................. 18The Add New Student Icon ........................................................................................... 19The Save Icon ............................................................................................................... 20The New Icon ................................................................................................................ 21The Delete Icon ............................................................................................................. 21User Preference Options, Actions Tab .......................................................................... 23User Preference Options, Appearance Tab .................................................................. 23Timeout Sign on Window .............................................................................................. 24Create / Revision Pop up Window ................................................................................. 25The Aid Year Icon .......................................................................................................... 26Aid Year Window ........................................................................................................... 26Optional Aid Year Window with drop down values ........................................................ 26The Create Memo Icon .................................................................................................. 27The Email Icon .............................................................................................................. 28email For a Student ....................................................................................................... 28Question Mark "About" Icon .......................................................................................... 29ProSAM Version Information Window ........................................................................... 29The Assign Track Icon ................................................................................................... 30The Calculate EFC Icon ................................................................................................ 31The Compliance Icon .................................................................................................... 32The Determine Budget Icon .......................................................................................... 33The Generate Package Icon ......................................................................................... 33The Disburse Awards Icon ............................................................................................ 34The Diagnostics Icon ..................................................................................................... 34


Sigma Systems, Inc. Page 1 April 2012

ProSAM Operating Environment NOTE: This ProSAM user documentation including copies of ProSAM screens has been prepared on a computer with Windows/XP. ProSAM will operate under different versions of the Windows operating system, therefore, the screens may look slightly different.

Client Workstation The functions performed by ProSAM are the same if the workstation is using Windows/2000 or higher. Sigma Systems, Inc. has thoroughly tested ProSAM on those operating system environments. The style of presentation differs slightly for each of Microsoft’s Windows operating systems, but the functions are similar. If a problem is encountered in the format of screens or windows for an individual’s workstation, the institution’s department that supports users of the Windows workstations should be contacted to gain assistance to configure the Windows Desktop so that ProSAM can be used most easily and effectively. The ProSAM Client software can be installed on the workstation hard drive or on a network drive accessible by the workstation. It is recommended that a ProSAM icon be placed on the workstation Desktop to simplify access to the ProSAM programs.

Application Server The ProSAM Client communicates with an active program on the institution’s application server. Socket layer communications are used to exchange information between the ProSAM Client workstation and the supporting program on the application server. Application servers supported initially are the UNIX derivatives AIX running on an IBM RS/6000 and SUN Solaris running on a SUN computer. This same socket layer communication program on the application server can be used to support IVR (Voice Response) servers or Web servers.

Database Server The ProSAM application server programs exchange information with the database management system or file system implemented by the institution. It is not necessary that the data storage programs be located on the same computer as the application server. ProSAM programs have been developed to operate in a three tier environment. The I/O Drivers can also access information from more than one database system. Combinations of Oracle, DB2, DB2/UDB, IDMS and an Indexed Sequential File System are most commonly used.



Typical Operating Environment A typical example of an actual operating environment would include the following. The individual user’s workstation could be a personal computer with Windows/2000 or Windows/XP operating system. The workstation can be connected to the application server through an institution network or through the Internet. It can also be connected indirectly through an interconnection of the network on which the application server resides and a departmental network on which the workstation resides. The application server could be a UNIX based computer system such as an IBM RS/6000 using the AIX operating system or a Sun computer using the Solaris operating system. The database server could be the same computer as the application server or could be different. If it is different, the institution must supply and support any middleware needed to support a remote database management server. The financial aid database could be DB2/UDB or Oracle or could be an Indexed File Management System. In many situations, it is necessary to access information directly from a different database on a different computer to obtain demographic information, such as admissions status, registration information and academic standing information needed by the financial aid software to perform its functions. For example, the Admissions and Registrar systems could reside on a mainframe computer using an IBM operating system and the IDMS database. ProSAM supports direct access to the needed information in those systems using middleware obtained and supported by the institution. One example could be the use of DB2 Stored Procedures to activate a program on the mainframe to access an IDMS database and return information to the ProSAM program on the application server. The Sigma Integration Shell could be formatted to instruct the ProSAM program to ALWAYS get specific data from the remote system rather than from the financial aid database. The Integration Shell could also be used to update the financial aid database with information from the remote application systems on a regular basis. In this case the I/O Driver can be formatted to use the information in the financial aid database. The institution can specify the preferred operating environment options briefly summarized above, so that ProSAM will deliver the most appropriate information consistent with the institution’s policies and computing environment.

Overview of ProSAM

Windows Oriented Client/Server Presentation Layer ProSAM is a client/server presentation layer set of programs that access the extensive Financial Aid database and supporting programs developed and supported by Sigma Systems, Inc.



ProSAM offers Windows style screens to support all of the functions of Sigma’s financial aid software.

Coexistence with Sigma’s Text Based System SAM ProSAM can be used concurrently with the mature text based screen programs supplied with the SAM (Student Aid Management) system of Sigma Systems, Inc. Modifications made to a student’s records while using ProSAM are immediately accessible to staff members using the SAM screens. The reverse is true also. The exception to this capability is the Memorandum feature of the financial aid software. ProSAM uses more advanced editing and formatting capabilities for the Memo module than can be supported with the text based screen system. Staff members who prefer to use text based screens because of familiarity and speed of high volume data entry operations, will probably choose to use the ProSAM Memo feature for recording notes and events pertaining to a student.

Background Processing Feature ProSAM also has the unique feature of icons that can initiate background processing for the major functional activities undertaken by staff of the Financial Aid office. This enables the staff to invoke the institution’s business rules to process only one student or possibly several students. This ability to invoke the business rules established and tested by the institution to perform processing for the student a staff member is assisting, reduces the need for manual calculations and decisions. The result is to provide answers to the student more quickly with much lower risk of error.



Security ProSAM enjoys comparable security features to those of the SAM product using the LockSmith software. (See the LockSmith documentation for a full description of setting up security). Access to major functions is controlled as it is in SAM. This enables individual users to have:

No access, to a function or module;

Query access or Read-Only to a function restricting the individual user to look at the information displayed on the screen;

BIO specific: Add / No update

Update Access and query access providing the ability to see and update information on an existing record in the database;

Add update and query access, which permits the individual to add new records to the database module (except BIO records) as well as update and query records that already exist;

Delete, add, update, and query access

Executive Access, permits the individual all of the above with the addition of special override ability in some applications such as packaging.

Refer to the ASYU manual and the Locksmith documentation for more thorough discussion of the Security capabilities of the Sigma Financial Aid software. The following table is similar to Appendix B of the ASYU Manual. It identifies the two character abbreviation for each Special Purpose Toolbar and Navigation entry within the ProSAM (PSM) application system. NOTE: ProSAM data element security utilizes the SAM data element control record when security is desired on specific elements.



Module Code

Major Group Intermediate Group Minor Group SAM File(s)

AD Campus Tools Student Diagnostics Institution Dependent AN Financial Aid Notification SAM, OPT Table AP Financial Aid Aid Application Document Posting TRK, TRS, DOC Table AS Financial Aid Aid Application Applicant Summary SAM AT Financial Aid Aid Application Document Tracking TRK, TRS

TRK, DOC Tables AL Financial Aid Aid Application #ProSAM Lite BG Financial Aid Budgeting Budget Information SAM, BUD Table CA Financial Aid Award Management !Cal Grant STA CP Campus Tools Department Posting Award Posting AWD, PGM DA Financial Aid Award Management Disbursement

Adjustment ADJ

DE Financial Aid Award Management Estimated Summary EDS DI Financial Aid Award Management Anticipated

Disbursement DIS

DP Financial Aid Award Management Disbursement Posting ADJ DS Financial Aid Award Management Disbursement Actual

Summary ADS

EC Campus Tools Electronic Partner Commerce Partner ECP, PRD, BSP, COM

FC Management Tools

Financial Aid Funds Aid Program Commitment

PGM

FD Management Tools

Financial Aid Funds Aid Program Definition PGM, SCH

FE Management Tools

Financial Aid Funds Electronic Fund Transactions

EFM, MSF

FM Management Tools

Financial Aid Funds Master Fund Summary

MSF, EFM

GC Financial Aid Need Analysis *Grants CAP AMS, AMD GK Financial Aid Need Analysis *Grants KEES AMS, AMD HA Financial Aid Award Management Award History HAW IC Financial Aid Need Analysis ISIR Mgmt/ Compare

& Select (Query access allows Compare, Add access allows ISIR load)

ISR

IM Queue View



Module Code

Major Group Intermediate Group Minor Group SAM File(s)

IP Financial Aid Need Analysis ISIR Mgmt. / Preprocessor

AMS, AMD

LA Financial Aid Award Management Common Record Data Browse

AWD, DIS, FLO

LD Financial Aid Award Management Common Record Data FLO LN Financial Aid Award Management Loan Application LNA LR Financial Aid Award Management Loan Relationships BIO NC Financial Aid Need Analysis Compliance SNF NV Financial Aid Need Analysis Verification Review SNB, SNF, SNS, SNP PI Financial Aid Award Management Promissory Note PMN PK Financial Aid Award Management Packaging AWD, SAM, PGM,

SCH, MAP, OPT Tables

PN Financial Aid Award Management NSLDS HAW, SNS, SNP, SNF, SNB

PO Financial Aid Award Management Pell Crossover PP Financial Aid Award Management Posting AWD, PGM RA Management

Tools Reporting Audit AUB, AUS

RD Management Tools

Reporting Document Info Exchange

DIE

RP Financial Aid Award Management Award Posting Limited AWD RT Financial Aid Award Management Return Title IV Funds RAW, RTN, CRG SB Campus Tools Student Browse BIO SC Campus Tools Student Continuous Data BIO SD Campus Tools Student #Demographics BIO, BSP, COM SM Campus Tools Student Memoranda MEH, MED, MEK SP Campus Tools Student Common Record

Person PSN

TB Tool Bar Determine Budget OPT Table TC Tool Bar Compliance

Verification OPT Table

TD Tool Bar Disburse Awards OPT Table TE Tool Bar Send Email OPT Table TI Tool Bar Diagnostics OPT Table

TM Tool Bar Create Memo OPT Table TN Tool Bar Calculate EFC OPT Table TP Tool Bar Generate Package OPT Table TR Tool Bar ^Document Imaging OPT Table TS Tool Bar @Student Fees OPT Table TT Tool Bar Assign Track OPT Table YR Tool Bar Change Aid Yr

XP Campus Tools Student Course Management

#A security level of (7 or higher) is required for this module in order to “Add” students to the BIO database file. ~ Illinois Grants schools only. *Kentucky Grants schools only. ^Document Imaging schools only.



@Univ. Kentucky only. # DeVry only. ! Univ of California Berkeley only. NOTE: The security for YR by default is active, an entry is only needed if you wish to suppress the ability to change the aidyr. ProSAM Workbench Table (PWB): Module Code

Table Name U08 TABLE

AA Global Defaults AAA AB SNX Defaults AAB AC FLO Defaults AAC AD Documents Container ADR BD Budgets BUD CD Codes COD CS Class CLS CM Commitment COM CY Cycle Term Session (DeVry only) DA Diagnostics DIA DC Documents DOC DD Document Definition ADD DF Definition DEF ER Enrollment ENR FV Verification FNV GI Rules Container JC Job Control (DeVry only) LB Labels LAB MP Map Schedule MAP OT Options OPT PG Program PRG PO Crossover Pell Awarding Options RC Race RAC RG Range RNG RN Reconciliation SH Schedule SCH SR Supplemental Document Requirements SDR ST Schedule Dates SDT TB Table TBL TK Tracks TRK TL Load Table TN Translation TRN TR Roll Table TU Unload Table WP Award Priority YR Change Aid Year



OPT Table Setup The OPT Table located in the Workbench software, is used to connect ProSAM’s Special Purpose Icons with jobscripts to run batch programs that apply the institution’s business practices. A key file is created for the particular student from the ProSAM client before the process is run. This achieves the same results as if the student had been run through the general batch processing. Please see the Workbench documentation for a complete setup description.

Application Validation Once ProSAM has been started, the client sends ProSAM’s version information to the application server to validate against the version.ssi file that is located in the bin directory. The application server determines if the client that has connected to the server is a valid version. If the validation was successful, the signon window will be displayed. Otherwise, an error message will be displayed. At this point the user would need to contact the ProSAM technical representative at the University for a correct version of ProSAM to implement on the machine. In addition to the version checking, the user must have a profile.txt or use the ProSAM Gateway application to execute ProSAM. Important note: you must identify in your settings either in the Gateway or Profile.txt (or both) whether or not your institution is utilizing the Encryption processing, this value is required as omission of this value will default to ENCODE=Y and that may or may not be appropriate for your application.

ADDRESS=your.inst.edu PORT=4040 (or whichever port you establish for access to your server) DBID=ABC REGION=DEV ENCODE=Y or N



Administrative Options The University’s “global” preferences are defined in the Administrative Options file called ADMOPT.ssi and must reside on the University’s Server in the Sigma/Bin directory. These values are defined to control the look and how ProSAM processes which affect ALL of the users. Each user has a minimal number of individual choices or preferences that can be defined using Tools/Options on their individual PC (described later in this document) that affect only that particular PC. The following table provides the valid options and values for each option.

Variable Purpose or Action Valid Value(s) BATCHTIMEOUT Sets the length of time for online batch

jobs to run prior to timing out. Value is set in seconds for example: 180000 would set 180 seconds or 3 minutes.

CSSPROF Display the CSS profile tabs in Verification Review or not

ON = default, displays

OFF = does not display

CLRSCHEME Controls the background display color of ProSAM

CLASSIC = displays dark background

MYSTIC = default, light gray background

DPACPTST Used for automatically accepting awards processed with the Department Posting module

NOAID = default, No auto accept ALLAID = Auto accept All aid NOLOANS = Accept All aid “except” loans.

ESERVER Establishes the email server to be used for sending posting manifests

Example: Mail.yourserver.edu

EALIAS Establishes the email address to be used for sending posting manifests

Example: Finaid.yourserver.edu

FRCLOGOFF This feature is for SSO portal clients. Other clients that use the normal signon screen for ProSAM will not need to use this feature. When set to Y, and once the application session has timed out and minimized, the application will close automatically.

Y=will perform this check Blank (the default) will not perform this check and the session, once minimized, will prompt for the password used when originally signing on to ProSAM

LDAP LDAP is UMD only presently. LDAP_HOST – is the server where LDAP is installed and used for authentication binding requests. LDAT_PORT – is a SSL/TLS secure socket layer. LDAP_DN – is the Distinguished Name which generally is the domain name. LDAP_GROUP – presently not used, however, is used to drill down into group memberships.

LOGONSYS This option specifies what user store is the leading system to validate an end user's credentials upon log on.

SIGNON – Default is BLANK SSOSAP - SAP clients that use the SAP Enterprise Portal to logon to the



This option must be specified only if LockSmith User Accounts will not be used to validate the end user.

ProSAM Client Suite using SAP SSO Tickets. SSOMD5 - Clients that use a portal to logon to the ProSAM Client Suite using an MD5 for encryption. SSOLDAP - Clients that will validate against an LDAP system. SSOAD - Clients that will validate end users and manage role/group membership with Active Directory.

NAMEDEL Name Delimiter to use when student is interactively added to ProSAM

Comma “,” (the default) or Slash “/”.

IDMASK Will X mask the ID except for last 4 numbers

SID, SID2, BOTH

SENDEMAIL Allows to source the email address between BIO or COM for the Email Toolbar function

BIO or COM.ADTYPE ie., IS=ISIR or PM=Parent Mother

UPDATE_URL Provides a web link to a portal where users can be redirected.



ProSAM Signon Window The ProSAM sign on window is based upon the premise that each individual user will have their own User ID and password. When each individual user has their own User ID and password, the tracking and auditing features of the financial aid software can be used to identify when changes are made to data elements and who made them. The User ID and password may be entered in either upper or lower case, however, use of the following special characters cannot be used; {, }, or |. If security was setup using the LockSmith software, ProSAM converts the entry to upper case before the security access system is invoked. Once the User ID and Password have been entered, the individual must click on the OK button or press the Enter key on the keyboard to activate the program. To facilitate coexistence of ProSAM and SAM, or migration to ProSAM from text based SAM, ProSAM uses the same type of User ID and Password as the text based SAM system. NOTE: if security was established using the SAM security module rather than LockSmith, the SEC file can be imported into Locksmith’s SAC file, however, only the OPERID is transferred; all other settings must be re-established.

The Signon Window



The ProSAM Application Window The ProSAM Window has seven areas that contribute to the information displayed to an individual user, and the processing the user will perform. They are the Title Bar, the Menu Bar, the Tool Bar, the Taskbar, a Thumbnail Summary section, a Navigation Tree section and the main working section.

The ProSAM Window

Title Bar The Title Bar (the top line of the window) contains the ProSAM logo, information about which student is being accessed and the name of the program being used. It also has the familiar Minimize, Maximize, Restore and Close buttons at the right end of the Title Bar.



Menu Bar The Menu Bar has the Windows pull down menus of File, Edit, View, Tools and Help.

Tool Bar The ProSAM Windows use the toolbar to provide some of the Windows standard icons such as Open, New and Save. It also includes some custom ProSAM icons to support financial aid specific functions, such as selecting the aid year, initiating track assignment rules for the student being processed, or initiating the disbursement process for the student. Each of these special purpose icons will be discussed in more detail in subsequent segments of this documentation. Note: there are a limited number of keyboard shortcuts that can be used to invoke the toolbar icons they are as follows:

CTL-S – Save CTL-O – Open Student, to change students by entry of SID/SID2 CTL-A - Create a New Student (If have security access) CTL-N – Create “New” CTL-Y – Change Aidyr CTL-c – Cancel task



Task Bar

The Taskbar is useful if the individual has more than one workstation session open. Also, if there is a session open for access to the text based financial aid software; Microsoft Word and ProSAM are shown in the above example. Access to the particular working session of interest, can be made by clicking on that session’s entry on the Taskbar. Also, access to Web and other office applications is possible. For some workstation screens, the screen density selected may require that the Taskbar be set to Autohide, so that the ProSAM tabs are fully visible. If a ProSAM screen is displayed and the tabs are hidden, then set the Taskbar to Autohide. This is done by clicking on Start, Settings, Taskbar and Start Menu to get the following window to display.

Taskbar Properties

Check the Auto hide box and then click OK to display the ProSAM window tabs. As another option, the ProSAM Application window can be resized by using the diagonal arrow click and drag method. This setting can be saved by selecting the ‘Appearance’ tab in the ProSAM Options window, and check "Save size and position of application", then press ok. The next time ProSAM is opened, the ProSAM Application window will be resized automatically until the user chooses to modify it again.



Fingertip Summary Section The main processing part of the ProSAM Window corresponds somewhat to a document working space or a spreadsheet. However, it differs in that it is separated into three areas or sections. The section in the upper left corner of the screen below the toolbar, is the Thumbnail summary area. It shows the name, ID and ID2 of the student being supported, the aid year being used, privacy information for the student, and any Memo or Diagnostic Alerts that may exist on the student. The tab with the camera is for displaying a picture of the student, if the institution has an image server that can supply those pictures in digital format to the ProSAM application server.



Navigation Section The section in the lower left part of the screen is the Navigation tree area. It is used much like other tree structures used in Windows. A box with a plus sign indicates that the navigation line is a group containing other entries on the tree that are presently hidden from view. Clicking on the plus sign will open the group to display the functions that can be accessed within that group. The plus sign is changed to a minus sign to indicate that the group is open. Clicking on the minus sign will close the group to shorten the Navigation tree. The yellow push pins also represent groupings of functions. The green push pin identifies the function that is presently being used in the main working section of the Window. The red push pins identify functions that can be accessed. To access one of these functions, click on the name of the function desired.



Working Section The Working section is the largest block of the Window. It displays the functional processing windows for each line on the Navigation tree. If more than one window is required to perform the functions for a Navigation entry, the windows are identified by tabs at the top of the windows.



Standard Windows Icons

Opening Existing Student Records

The Open Student Icon

The Windows Open icon is used to open the records for a student that exists in the Financial Aid Database. The Open icon can also be accessed by using the hotkey "Ctrl O" at any time during processing. Additionally, the user can choose to automatically invoke the Open Icon upon entry into ProSAM, by utilizing the ProSAM options window "Open Options" described above. This process is discussed more fully in the Student Manual.



Adding a New Student to the Database

The Add New Student Icon

A special icon has been added to the toolbar to facilitate adding new students to the database. This is discussed in detail in the Student User Manual, but it is important to stress that the use of IDs must be well understood when adding new students to the database. A student’s SSN is needed so that matches to ISIRs can be performed. If the institution does not use the student’s SSN as the primary identifier in the student information system, that identifier must also be used with ProSAM. The primary identifier employed in the student information system should be used as the primary identifier in ProSAM. When the institution does not use the SSN as the primary identifier, the SSN should be placed in the secondary identifier data element in ProSAM. Note: A security level of 7 or higher is required for the SD module in order to “Add” students to the database. See your system administrator if you need to use this functionality.



Saving Information That Has Been Changed As information is updated using ProSAM, it is necessary to insure that the new information is saved. When the user’s preferences are set to “Explicit Save” (see Tools / Options - User Preferences Actions Tab information below) the Save Icon is used for this purpose. Before exiting a window in which information has been changed, be sure to click on the Save icon to insure that the modified information is retained. The Save function can also be invoked by using the hotkey of “Ctl S”. If the information is not to be saved, click on the cancel button ( ) located on the toolbar to the right of the save icon, and the record will be refreshed to the original state prior to modification. The example below shows the save icon (grayed out) in Auto Save mode. This mode will save the modifications when leaving the tab, module, changing students or aidyr.

The Save Icon



Adding New Records to the Financial Aid Database The New icon on the toolbar can be clicked to add new records to the Financial Aid database. This will be used for adding records other than new students. For instance, in the Document Tracking function, the New icon will be used to add documents to a student’s records. Here again, the New icon can be invoked by using the hotkey “Ctl N”.

The New Icon

Deleting Records in the Financial Aid Database The Delete icon on the toolbar is selected when deleting or removing a selected record or item from the database. For instance, in the Memoranda Module you may wish to delete a particular memo. You would highlight the memo to be deleted, and then click on the delete icon. The selected memo will be removed from the database.

The Delete Icon



Tools / Options - User Preferences Actions Tab Individual user preferences can be established by pressing the ‘Tools’ drop down and selecting Options. The ProSAM options window allows the user to select Save options, Open options, Messages, Retrieve Online Task Document and Appearance. Once the choices are indicated, press ok. The selections will be invoked immediately for the current session, and will save the user’s preferences for the next time the user executes ProSAM. These options are stored in each individual PC registry. On the Action Tab, the “Save Options” allow the user to determine “how” the ProSAM client is to save modifications. When set to “Explicit Save”, ProSAM requires the user to interactively press either the SAVE icon on the Toolbar, or Hotkey ‘CTL S’ every time the user has satisfactorily modified data. The “Auto Save” will automatically save all modified data when the user leaves the screen, changes to a different module, changes student or changes aidyr. NOTE: if the user made modifications and later decides (before exiting the screen) that the changes are not desired, the user can press the cancel button ( ). This is located on the toolbar, and will cause the record to be refreshed to the original state, prior to modification. The “Open Options” allow the user to choose where the ProSAM client opens when initiated. The "Messages" preferences are not available at this time. The “Retrieve Online Task Document” box can be checked on and off during a session. When checked, this will invoke the output reports or letters (after a jobscript has been successfully run) to be opened on the user’s desktop in Wordpad. This gives the user further ability to print or modify the document as desired.



User Preference Options, Actions Tab

Tools / Options - User Preferences Appearance Tab The Screen Timeout can be set to “Lock” a user’s session when there is no activity for the established amount of time. You can set the timeout value to anything from 1 minute to 60 minutes; 10 minutes is set by default. Once the session is idle for the established amount of time, the ProSAM client will automatically minimize. To reopen or Unlock the session, the user will select the ProSAM client from their Taskbar and will then be prompted to enter their password again (see Timeout Sign on Window example below). The password entered must match the password that was used to initially sign-on. If the password is correct, the session will unlock and the ProSAM client will open at the same place that it locked. If the password entered is incorrect, the user must retry or select ‘exit’, then reinitiate the ProSAM client.

User Preference Options, Appearance Tab



Timeout Sign on Window

Special Purpose Toolbar Icons In addition to the Standard ProSAM toolbar icons, there are ten other special icons that Sigma has placed on the Windows Toolbar to activate ProSAM functions. Four of them initiate functions without using job scripts prepared by the institution. These are Aid Year, Create Memo, Send Email and About. In addition, there is a special hidden icon, which invokes a Create/Revision button. The other icons activate job scripts prepared by the institution, which are called from the OPT table in Workbench (see OPT table in the Workbench documentation for more information). The job scripts apply institutional business rules to the single ‘student’ active within ProSAM. They compute an estimated EFC, assign a track or budget, update the student’s award package and create loan origination records. The job scripts also control disbursement of aid that is ready, and for which the student is eligible. The Diagnostics Icon also utilizes job scripts to run previously created batch queries. The Imaged documents icon is for clients who are using this functionality and is not available to all clients.



Create / Revision Button To invoke the Create / Revision button, the user must ‘right mouse click’ on any tab within any of the ProSAM modules. The Create/Revision button will appear, and when selected, a window will pop up that displays which database records are accessed by this tab, along with the dates the record was created, dates the record was revised, and the userid or batch program which last modified the record. The create or revision information can be particularly helpful when determining why a record may have been updated or when the record was originally created.

Create / Revision Pop up Window



Aid Year Icon

The Aid Year Icon

When activating the Aid Year icon, either by selecting the icon from the toolbar or the hotkey “Ctl Y”, the Aid Year window is displayed. A different aid year can be entered and then click OK. If this window was accessed in error, click on Cancel to exit without making any changes. Optionally, values can be defined in Workbench, Codes table for VAIDYR for displaying a selection of valid Aid Years. See the Workbench documentation for a full description of this setup.

Aid Year Window

Optional Aid Year Window with drop down values



Create Memo The Create Memo icon shows a pen and paper. It activates the Memoranda Editing Function within the Financial Aid software without opening the Memoranda Module. This allows memos to be added to the student whose record is currently displayed. The Memoranda Module displays a set of tabs, which permit the individual user to scan information about Memos, such as when they were created and by whom. Note: this icon should only be invoked when you are NOT in the Memoranda Module. The Memoranda Function is more fully discussed in the Student Manual.

The Create Memo Icon



Send Email The next special icon on the Toolbar is for accessing the email software. This icon shows the image of an envelope with a capital E over it. The email address displayed on the Student Demographics Personal tab can be used to send an email to the student using the institution’s selected email system. The default used by Sigma Systems, Inc. and shown in this documentation is Microsoft Outlook.

The Email Icon

The email document editor specified in the institution’s email system will be accessed with the student’s email address in the To… field

email For a Student

The email can be entered, additional people can be added to receive copies of the email and the subject can be established as desired. When the email is ready to send, click on the Send button as normal.



Question Mark "About" Icon This Icon displays version information regarding the ProSAM client that is currently installed on the PC. Occasionally, it may be necessary to check the version of specific DLL's which comprise the ProSAM software.

Question Mark "About" Icon

The ProSAM Version Information Window can be utilized when trouble shooting problems, which may occur during normal processing.

ProSAM Version Information Window



The Assign Track Icon Invokes a Job Script The Assign Track icon can be clicked to access the job scripts desired to assign a track to a particular student. Because a Track assigned to a student causes Standard documents to be submitted to the institution as part of the requirements for the student to complete their aid application process, this icon shows a stack of documents with arrows. The job script can invoke special business rules pertinent to the type of student being helped, or can invoke the main set of track assignment business rules that would be used in a volume process at the institution. When the job script is completed, the financial aid database will be updated and the Document Tracking Module will be opened for the user to view the modifications made to the student’s record.

The Assign Track Icon



The Calculate EFC Icon Invokes a Job Script The Calculate EFC icon initiates the financial aid function within the software to compute the student’s EFC using Federal Methodology. Sigma recommends that the program to compute an EFC be incorporated in the job script that loads ISIRs, because it populates a set of fields in the financial aid database that contain estimates of values corresponding to the values supplied in the ISIR. The computation algorithm is the same as used by the US Department of Education to compute EFC’s. This is particularly useful when making professional judgment decisions regarding a student’s eligibility for aid. Values may be changed that could affect the EFC. By computing the “estimated” EFC values, award packaging can be instructed to use the estimated values, rather than the official Federal values to immediately produce an estimated award package for the student. When the job script is completed, the financial aid database will be updated and the Verification Review Module will be opened for the user to view the modifications made to the student’s record. This icon can also be optionally utilized to create ECAR (ISIR Correction) records to be sent to the Department of Education.

The Calculate EFC Icon



The Compliance Verification Icon Invokes a Job Script This icon invokes the jobscript which initiates the Compliance Verification jobscripts to determine whether or not the student has met the school’s Verification requirements. The icon is only available when the user is in the Compliance Module and has security. When this jobscript is finished the Verification Review database is updated with the Reviewer’s Initials and the Applicant Summary database is updated with the Verification Date and Verification Status.

The Compliance Icon



The Determine Budget Icon Invokes a Job Script Clicking on this icon will initiate a job script that will process budget assignment business rules for a student. The business rules may be a special set of business rules specific to the characteristics of the student, or can be the main set of budget assignment business rules used by the institution. When the job script is completed, the financial aid database will be updated and the Budgeting Module will be opened for the user to view the modifications made to the student’s record.

The Determine Budget Icon

The Generate Package Icon Invokes a Job Script This is a situation where it may be very desirable to have separate business rules to handle the major types of exceptions that are encountered when helping a student with their aid application and eligibility. The job script invoked by the Generate Package icon can call on the separate business rules as directed by the individual user. As with the other job script icons, the main set of business rules used by the institution can be activated by this icon. When the job script is completed, the financial aid database will be updated and the Packaging Module will be opened for the user to view the modifications made to the student’s record.

The Generate Package Icon



The Disburse Awards Icon Invokes a Job Script Sometimes it is important to process a student’s aid for disbursement outside the normal volume processing schedule. This icon permits an institution to process a job script that creates an ACT file containing authorized disbursements, immediately. The ACT file can also be forwarded to the institution’s Student Accounts Receivable software to update the student’s account and make funds available to be paid to the student. The Financial Aid software does not make the payment to the student. It authorizes the disbursement of aid to the student. When the job script is completed, the financial aid database will be updated and the Packaging Module will be opened for the user to view the modifications made to the student’s record.

The Disburse Awards Icon

The Diagnostics Icon Invokes a Job Script The Diagnostic job scripts are used when a student's file needs to be analyzed to determine what information or documentation is needed for the student's Financial Aid process to be complete. Once the information is gathered, it can be viewed by selecting the Diagnostics tabs in the Navigation area. This process is further explained in the Diagnostics Manual.

The Diagnostics Icon

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