Scholarship Accounting Services

Posting Directly

The department or unit may post the scholarships directly following these steps:

• Request access and complete the required training to post scholarships either directly into the student information system Compass or through the web-based SPARTA program managed by Scholarships and Financial Aid. Contact SAS for further instructions on obtaining access and training.
• Complete the entry of awards and send the list of awards to SAS for reconciliation. Include:
  • Recipient's name
  • UIN
  • Semester(s)
  • Amount
• Complete fund transfers prior to the disbursement of scholarships so that accounts have sufficient funds to cover the awards.

SAS Assisted Posting

SAS can assist with scholarship processing and posting.

• The department first completes the Scholarship/Fellowship Payment Request Form and obtains signatures.
• The department emails the form to SAS at scholaraabs@tamu.edu for review:
  • If the scholarship funds will be coming from a Texas A&M Foundation or another FAMIS account, the department may include the appropriate form with the Scholarship Request form for SAS to facilitate the process.
  • If the department requests the transfer directly, they need to indicate to SAS that funds have been requested.
• If funds will need to be transferred, SAS will review the request and forward the transfer form to the appropriate office for processing.
• SAS reviews the scholarship request by checking the account and fund code and verifying the available balance.
• SAS forwards the request to Scholarships and Financial Aid for processing into Compass.

Email SAS if you have questions regarding the posting of any scholarship requests or other information. SAS works with SFA as needed to address any questions.

Departments have the option to pay tuition and/or fees for graduate assistants. These payments are optional unless required by a sponsored contract. Departments can submit tuition payment requests any time prior to the beginning of the semester or throughout the semester. Email SAS if you have questions regarding the posting of any tuition payment requests. SAS is the point of contact for the tuition request and will work with Student Business Services as needed.

Paying Tuition and Fees

If the department chooses to pay for graduate tuition and/or fees:

• The department submits the Graduate Tuition Payment Request Form to SAS with the required approvals and source of funds.
• SAS posts the tuition payments in Compass using the Tuition Waiver and Payments (TWAPMTS) form at the beginning of each semester until the 12th class day. In most instances the payment posts to the student’s account on the next business day.
• After the TWAPMTS form in Compass closes, all submissions are processed via the Student Business Services (SBS) third-party IDT. SAS completes this form and returns it to the department for review and signatures. The department returns the form to SAS, and SAS will submit the form to Student Business Services (SBS) for them to enter manually. The payment will post to the student’s account in 2 to 5 business days.
• The departmental FAMIS account is charged for the student’s tuition payment after SBS completes their audits:
  • Usually about 20 days after the close of the TWAPMTS form in Compass, or
  • In 1 to 3 business days after the paper form is posted to the student’s account.
• For waivers of non-resident tuition for applicable graduate assistants, departments work with the graduate assistant to complete the Non-Resident Tuition Waiver Request Form and submit it to Graduate & Professional Studies.
• To cancel or remove a previously submitted Graduate Tuition Payment Request, email SAS. Include the student’s name, UIN, and reason for cancellation or removal.

Posting Exemptions and Waivers

Different departments may post multiple exemptions, waivers, and tuition and fee payments for an individual student. The order in which they are applied is directed by the Compass programming as follows, unless otherwise specified:

• Exemptions are applied first.
• If exemption covers both tuition and fees, a waiver will not be used. Examples of waivers include a non-resident tuition waiver for receipt of an eligible competitive Texas A&M scholarship or a graduate assistantship non-resident tuition waiver.
• Waivers are typically applied before tuition and fee payments by departments. However, assistantship waivers are usually applied before competitive scholarship waivers due to the limitation established by the state on scholarship waivers.
• Tuition and fee payments are applied in the order they were posted. If the waivers are for different coverage (e.g., tuition only for 9 SCH versus 100% tuition and fees), the order will determine what each waiver pays. If the smaller amount waiver is first, then the 100% waiver will pick up the balance. If the 100% is first, then the smaller waiver will pay $0.
• During the semester audit process, Student Billing contacts people who entered the waivers and/or tuition payments to determine which should take precedence.
• The student will not have duplicated coverage for tuition or fees that would otherwise result in a refund to the student.

New Account & Compass Fund Code Setup

Scholarships & Financial Aid (SFA) is the entity on campus authorized to establish Compass fund codes. As a service to awarding departments, and to ensure FAMIS accounts are correctly set up, departments may request that SFA complete the new FAMIS account setup process:

• Department completes and submits the SFA form Request for a New Scholarship FAMIS Account or Compass Fund Code (for either College Station or Galveston) for each scholarship the department wishes to track separately.  Supporting documentation should be attached as indicated on the form.
• If a new FAMIS account is required, SFA works with FMO first to establish the FAMIS account.
• When the account is established, SFA works with Student Business Services to establish scholarship fund and detail codes. SFA updates the Scholarship On-Line Account Review (SOLAR) with new account and/or new fund code information, including details of the scholarship award criteria.
• Departments are responsible for ensuring SOLAR information accurately reflects scholarship award criteria.  
  • SOLAR access must be requested from SFA using the SOLAR Training and Access Request Form on the Scholarships Staff Resources page.
  • To access SOLAR, employees must have access to their department as granted by their Primary Authorizing Agent (PAA) for Compass. SOLAR may be accessed from the Scholarships web page for staff.
  • If inaccuracies are noted in SOLAR, corrections are made by submitting a Scholarship/Fellowship — CORRECTION FORM to SFA.

FAMIS Account Setup Informaiton

FAMIS accounts to be used for scholarships, fellowships, and tuition payments must be set up with a function code of:

• 60 for scholarships, fellowships, and other aid
• 15 for research

If an account has a funding source that would allow a scholarship to be paid, but the account does not have a function code of 60 or 15:

• A new account in that same account range or a support account with function code 60 should be established.
• A transfer of funds should be completed to move the necessary funds to the new account or support account to cover the scholarship, fellowship, or tuition payment.

Accounts beginning with 4 can pay for scholarships and fellowships if it is listed in the account description on screen 8 in FAMIS, no matter what the function code is on screen 6.

Accounts beginning with 50 or 51 that do not currently have a function code of 60 should transfer funds to an account beginning with 65 to pay scholarships and fellowships.

FAMIS Scholarship Object Codes

The table below shows the primary FAMIS codes used for scholarship reporting.

Code	Description	Student Level
5910	Scholarship – Undergraduate	Undergraduate
5915	Scholarship – Graduate	Graduate
5920*	Scholarship - Professional	Professional
5928**	Donor Selects Recipient	Undergraduate or Graduate

 

 

 

 

*Professional students include Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Law students and Ph.D. candidates.
** 5928 is not used for sponsored contracts, and deposits relating to 5928 award expenses are to be made using Object Code 5929

SAS Account Reconciliation (Non-FAID)

SAS reconciles all scholarship and other aid accounts. The reconciliation process is two-fold:

• SAS reconciles FAMIS data for each scholarship account to the corresponding Compass data.
• SAS reconciles Compass data to the source documents provided by the departments to ensure the correct students and amounts are awarded as the department intended.

The department sends SAS the source documentation during the awarding process. For information on the source documentation, see Departmental Scholarship Payment Process. The source documents are required for the reconciliation process.

Departmental Budget Request (Non-FAID)

As described in the Budgets, Balance, & Reporting section of this manual, DBRs are used to transfer funds between budget pools within an account or between like accounts. For transfers relating to scholarships, tuition payments, or other aid, you may either:

• submit your request to transfer funds directly to BBR as described in their section, or
• use the SAS Departmental Budget Transfer Request Form for SAS to facilitate the request.

Departmental Correction Request (Non-FAID)

If the department identifies the need for a correction to a scholarship, fellowship, or other type of aid, the department should contact SAS. SAS will work with the department to determine the appropriate method of correction.

For items not posted through RPAAWRD in Compass or SOLAR, the department may use the SAS Departmental Correction Request Form. Examples include graduate tuition and fee payments or awards processed through AggieBuy. SAS enters and submits it for processing in FAMIS.