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Administrator Guide
Last Updated: 2026-07-10
Maintain Federal Student Aid Program Policies

Maintain Federal Student Aid Program Policies

  • Set up financial aid load status policies for programs of study.
  • Security:
    Set Up: Financial Aid Rule Sets and Policies
     domain in the Financial Aid functional area.
You can set up federal student aid (FSA) program policies for different programs of study at your institution. You can specify things like Title IV eligibility or how many weeks of instruction make up an academic year. Workday uses this information to create financial aid attendance plans for students and generate reports for the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
You can also create multiple policies. Example: Create an FSA program policy for all 4-year undergraduate programs offered by the College of Arts and Sciences. Create a separate policy for its certificate programs.
You can create an FSA program policy for:
  • An academic unit and level. The policy applies to all programs of study in the academic unit, as well as programs offered by subordinate academic units.
  • A specific program of study.
  1. Access the
    Maintain Federal Student Aid Program Policy
     task.
    Select the academic unit and level, or program of study for which you want to create the FSA program policy.
  2. As you complete the task, consider:
    Option Description
    Title IV Eligible
    Select the check box if all programs of study associated with the policy are eligible for Title IV funds.
    Workday doesn't build attendance plans based on the policy if it isn't Title IV eligible.
    Eligible Federal Program IDs
    If eligible for Title IV funds, select the federal programs for which the programs of study are eligible.
    Pell Formula
    If
    Pell Grant
     is an eligible federal program, select a formula. Workday supports:
    • Formula 1.
    • Formula 4, but only when the:
      • Financial Aid Academic Year Type
         is
        BBAY 3
        .
      • Financial Aid Term Type
         is
        Nonterm-Fixed Period
        .
    If you select Formula 4, associate the policy with a program that has a duration set in weeks. Workday uses weeks of instruction to calculate Formula 4. Workday recommends selecting Formula 4 for packaging Workforce Pell.
    Workday doesn't support packaging Pell Grants using Formula 2, 3, or 5. If you are using any of these formulas, consider:
    • You can't include the Pell Grant on a packaging strategy.
    • You must make any changes to Pell Grant awards manually.
    • You can configure only Formula 1 or 4 on the Federal Student Aid Program Policy.
    Workforce Pell Tuition and Fees
    Workday displays this prompt when the
    Eligible Federal Program IDs
     selection includes
    Pell Grant
    .
    Create or select a formula to calculate student tuition and fees for Workforce Pell packaging and Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) reporting for award years 2026-2027 and later.
    Leave this prompt blank unless this policy applies to a Workforce Pell program. Populating it indicates that all covered programs of study are Workforce Pell programs.
    Workforce Pell is calculated as a prorated Pell award, not a separate award type.
    Financial Aid Term Type
    Select the term type that the programs of study use. Workday supports:
    • Term
      .
    • Nonterm-Fixed Period
      .
    Workday displays these term types as options but only uses this data for reporting:
    • Nonstandard Term
      .
    • Nonstandard Term - SE9W
      .
    Default OPEID
    Select the location to associate with the academic unit and level, or program of study.
    Subject to Gainful Employment
    Select to include in gainful employment reporting to ED. Workday only uses this data for reporting.
    College Financing Plan Report Layout
    Select a custom College Financing Plan layout for the programs of study to use. Create the custom layout using Report Designer in Workday Studio.
    Financial Aid Award Letter Report Layout
    Select a custom financial aid award letter layout for the programs of study to use. Create the custom layout using Report Designer in Workday Studio.
    Financial Aid External Site System User
    Select an unconstrained user that's part of a user-based security group for financial aid. The user-based security group must also have viewing access to the
    Manage: Financial Aid Award Letters
     domain.
    Selecting a user on this prompt enables applicants to print their College Financing Plans and award letters from the external student site.
  3. As you complete the
    Load Status Definition
     section, consider:
    Option Description
    Default Load Status (POS) Configuration
    Select the classes in Title IV-eligible programs that count toward the program of study (POS) load status:
    • Classes towards any program
      : Include classes for any of the programs of study that the student is enrolled in. All programs of study must have the same credential level.
    • Classes towards any program in the reporting record
      : If the student has multiple academic records, include only the classes for programs of study in the reporting record. All programs of study must have the same credential level.
    • Classes towards any program in the reporting record excluding addable only
      : Exclude programs of study in the reporting record that students must complete with their primary program of study. All programs of study must have the same credential level.
    • Classes towards any program in the reporting record excluding stackable
      : Exclude programs of study in the reporting record that students can complete independently of their primary program of study. All programs of study must have the same credential level.
    • Classes towards reporting record's primary program of study
      : If the student has multiple academic records, include only the classes for the primary program of study of the reporting record.
    FSA Repeat Coursework Configuration
    Select how to award financial aid for repeatable courses:
    • FSA Repeat Logic for All Courses
      : If the student exceeds the maximum number of course attempts, they won't receive financial aid for that course.
    • FSA Repeat Logic for All Courses (Exclude Courses that are Repeatable for Additional Credit)
      : The same as
      FSA Repeat Logic for All Courses
       option, except it excludes courses that are
      Repeatable for Additional Credit
      .
    • No FSA Repeat Logic for Any Courses
      : All courses count towards financial aid regardless of how many times a student repeats the course.
    This option doesn't affect the total number of attempts a student can make, only the attempts that count toward the financial aid load status. You can determine the total number of attempts a student can make by configuring either:
    • The course attempt limit policy of the program of study.
    • The maximum number of attempts or units configured for the course.
    Developmental Academic Level
    Designate an academic level as developmental. Any units attempted at this level count toward the maximum developmental units.
    Maximum Developmental Units
    If you define a developmental academic level, enter the maximum number of developmental units. Any units in excess of this maximum don’t count toward the load status.
  4. As you complete the
    Academic Year Definition
     section, consider:
    Option Description
    Weeks of Instruction
    Enter the number of weeks of instruction that constitute an academic year for programs of study. This value is different than the one:
    • Configured for an academic period and is primarily information for the FAFSA Processing System (FPS).
    • That displays on financial aid attendance plans.
    • Used to calculate Pell Formula 4.
    Workday reports this data to National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) and Common Origination and Disbursement (COD).
    Academic Periods
    Enter the number of standard academic periods that comprise an academic year for programs of study.
    The number you enter has implications for financial aid processing. Example: Pell Grant award amounts for the academic period are calculated by dividing the scheduled award amount for the award year by the number of academic periods.
    Financial Aid Academic Year Type
    Select the financial aid academic year type for a student's financial aid attendance plan:
    • SAY
      : Programs that start and end at the same time annually and follow an academic calendar where the Summer academic period is a header or trailer.
    • BBAY 1
      : Credit-hour programs using SAY with standard terms or nonstandard SE9W terms. Students can switch from SAY to BBAY1 based on their enrollment in a Summer academic period.
      You can process Federal Direct Loans automatically for BBAY1 programs of study when you select the
      Allow Borrower Based
       check box.
    • BBAY 3
      : Clock-hour programs, non-term programs, nonstandard-term programs, or programs with standard or nonstandard terms that don't align with SAY or BBAY1 academic year types.
      You can process Federal Direct Loans and Pell Grant Formula 4 awards manually for BBAY3 programs of study.
    Workday uses your selection to group academic periods into the appropriate award years for financial aid processing.
    Summer Type
    If the
    Financial Aid Academic Year Type
     is
    SAY
     or
    BBAY 1
    , select where the summer academic period falls within the financial aid award year:
    • Header
      : The award year begins with a summer academic period.
    • Trailer
      : The award year concludes with a summer academic period.
    • No Summer
      : There's no academic period considered a summer period.
    Award Year Mapping
    If the
    Summer Type
     is
    No Summer
    , select the date that determines the award year in which the academic period belongs. You can select either the academic period:
    • Standard Start Date
      .
    • Standard End Date
      .
    Example: Your institution doesn't have a summer academic period. The 2023-2024 award year begins on July 1, 2023. The Fall 2023 academic period has a Standard Start Date of June 1 and a Standard End Date of December 1. If you select:
    • Standard Start Date
      , Workday groups the Fall 2023 academic period within the 2022-2023 award year.
    • Standard End Date
      , Workday groups the Fall 2023 academic period within the 2023-2024 award year.
    Allow Borrower Based
    Select to enable packaging financial aid for borrower-based award years. Select the check box to process Federal Direct Loans for BBAY 1 programs of study.
    Academic Year Minimum Coursework
    Enter the units of credit or the number of clock hours that define the financial aid academic year. Use whole numbers.
    Workday uses this value in Pell Formula 4 to determine the prorated payment for the payment period.
  5. As you complete the
    Program Definition
     section, consider:
    Option Description
    Credential Level
    Workday reports this data to NSC and COD.
    Special Indicator
    Workday reports this data to NSC and COD.
    Health Professional Additional Unsubsidized Loan
    Select if programs of study with this policy are health professional programs that qualify for additional unsubsidized loans. Workday reports this data to COD.
    Health Professional Approved Accreditation Tier
    Workday uses the value that you select on this field to package students with Health Professional Additional Unsubsidized Loans when:
    • You don't configure any class standing overrides.
    • No class standing overrides apply to the student.
    Health Professional Academic Year Program Length
    Workday uses the value that you select on this field to package students with Health Professional Additional Unsubsidized Loans when:
    • You don't configure any class standing overrides.
    • No class standing overrides apply to the student.
    Workday packages students for these additional unsubsidized loan amounts based on the accreditation tier and program length you select.
    For Tier 1 programs:
    • 9 month $20,000
    • 10 month $22,222
    • 11 month $24,444
    • 12 month $26,667
    For Tier 2 programs:
    • 9 month $12,500
    • 10 month $13,889
    • 11 month $15,278
    • 12 month $16,667
    Class Standing Overrides
    (Optional) Package students with Health Professional Additional Unsubsidized Loan amounts based on their class standing. Workday packages the award based on the Health Professional Additional Unsubsidized Loans eligibility on your policy when:
    • You don't configure any overrides.
    • No overrides apply to a student.
    Workday recommends that you only:
    • Use class standing overrides for Health Professional programs that vary in program length and are longer than 1 academic year.
    • Configure class standing overrides for graduate-level policies.
    • Run packaging for academic periods in which the student has the same class standing. Example: If a student is a first year graduate student in the Fall and a second year in the Spring, package them for the Fall and Spring academic periods separately.
  6. (Optional) In the
    R2T4 Weekend Instructional Days
     section, select the check boxes for the days on which your institution offers weekend classes.
    Your selection affects the number of break days used in calculations for a student's Return of Title IV worksheet.
  7. In the
    Default Program Minimum Coursework
     section, enter the units of credit or the number of clock hours for the program.
    Use the option (units of credit or number of clock hours) that you used for the
    Academic Year Definition
    .
    Workday first uses the program minimum coursework value defined on the relevant program of study to process financial aid. If no value exists on the program of study, Workday uses the value on this policy as the default.
To ensure that Workday uses the most updated program of study for student load statuses, access the
Refresh Financial Aid Based on Configuration Changes
 task and select
Refresh Programs of Study for Load Status
. Always run this task when you update any of these fields on an FSA program policy:
  • Title IV Eligible
  • Default Load Status (POS) Configuration
  • Credential Level
To review your FSA program policies for an academic unit and level, or program of study, access the
Academic Unit Policy Viewer
 report.