Student Packaged at Wrong Academic Level Due to Transfer Credits

Issue

A student has transfer credits on file that should place them at a higher academic level (e.g., second-year or third-year), but their funding estimate was created using the wrong academic level, resulting in incorrect annual loan limits or Pell packaging. The school may also be manually updating grade levels on each funding estimate because the system is not picking up transfer credits automatically.

Why This Happens

Campus Ivy determines a student's academic level for packaging based on the grade level configured in the student's Academic Enrollment record. Transfer credits entered in the SIS do not automatically update the academic level in Campus Ivy unless the school's grade-level progression configuration is set to account for transfer credits. If the configuration only considers credits earned at the current institution, a transfer student will always start at the first-year level regardless of how many credits they brought in.

Steps to Resolve

1. Confirm the student's total transfer credits in the SIS or Academic Enrollment record in Campus Ivy.
2. Determine what academic level the student should be at based on the institution's credit thresholds (e.g., 30+ credits = second-year, 60+ = third-year).
3. If the current FE was created at the wrong level and has not yet been approved or disbursed, submit a ticket to CI Student Support requesting the grade level be corrected on the FE. Include the student name, ID, current grade level on the FE, and correct grade level with credit documentation.
4. If the problem is recurring across multiple students, submit a ticket to CI Configuration requesting a review of the institution's grade-level progression settings to incorporate transfer credits.

Important Notes

• Using the wrong academic level for packaging affects Direct Loan annual limits. A first-year student has lower annual loan limits than a second-year or higher. Over-awarding loans above the correct annual limit is a compliance issue.
• If a batch has already processed with an incorrect academic level, contact CI Financial Aid before creating a corrected FE to ensure the prior disbursement is properly managed.