Refunds Using the Percent of Days (%DAYS) Calculation

Refunds for %DAYS and *DAYS are generated using either Transaction Status or Billing Status. Generating charges using the Billing Status allows refunds to be generated for students who have dropped a course past the census date which is configured on the A/R Configuration window.

This method of generating refunds is based on a student's attendance in a course expressed as a percentage and can be used for both course charges (Charge Type = C) and student charges (Charge Type = S).

To calculate the actual refund amount, the system performs a two-step process:

Step 1

1.    The Charge program checks all courses on the Student Course History table for all terms it is processing and identifies the credit hours from newly dropped courses. The credit hours are identified when Transaction Status = D (dropped) and Processed Flag = " " (not processed).

2.    The Charge program then finds the difference between what the student was previously charged and what they should be charged now (Working Amount).

Working Amount =New Charge Amount - Amount Previously Charged

3.    The amount previously charged comes from the Fees table.

4.    Finally, the Charge program will calculate a per-hour charge for the difference by dividing the working amount by the total number of credit hours dropped. This is necessary because when tuition rates are charged on an hourly basis, there is typically a point where a flat rate is used, causing the actual hourly rate to differ. If the working amount does not divide evenly by the credit hours dropped, the program will calculate a remainder.

Per-Hour Charge = Working Amount / Total Credit Hours Dropped (with a remainder)

Step 2

The second step is performed on a course-by-course basis.

1.    The Charges program reads the row for the first newly dropped course from the Student Course History table and the Section Master table and retrieves the begin date, ending date, and the drop date for the course. It then calculates the percent of time a student has been registered for that course (Percent Days) .

 Number of Days Enrolled = Drop Date - Begin Date

 Length of Course = Ending Date - Begin Date

 Percent Days = Number of Days Enrolled / Length of course

2.    Next, it uses the percent days to find the appropriate row on the Refund Detail and reads that refund percentage (or the override percentage from the prompt window, if one was entered).

3.    Then, it calculates the portion of the charge difference that is attributed to that one course by multiplying the number of hours for that course by the per hour charge that was calculated in Step 1. If there was a remainder, it adds the remainder to the refund amount on the first course.

 Refund Amount = Dropped Hours for Course * Per Hour Charge (Step 1)

4.    Finally, the program calculates the actual refund amount to the student for that course by multiplying the refund amount by the refund percent.

 Actual Refund = Refund Amount * Refund Percent

5.    The charge program repeats Step 2 until it creates a separate refund for each newly dropped course.

For this example, the Charge Definition is based solely on the number of credit hours that the student is taking (Student Charge). Tom Wise registered for courses on 9/01/10 (some courses have different beginning dates from the regular term beginning date of 9/01/10) for a total of 16 hours.

The table below displays the Charge Detail for the example. Students taking 0 -11 hours are charged at a rate of $100 per hour; 12-18 hours, a flat fee of $1,150; and over 18 hours, the flat fee and $100 per each additional hour over 18 hours.

The table below displays the Refund Definition applying the usage code G with the %DAYS calculation.

Since Tom was registered for 16 hours, he was considered a full-time student and charged the flat fee of $1,150.

Tom then drops the following courses a month later on 10/01/03:

1.    The system calculates the new total charge. To determine the new total charge, the system determines how many hours Tom was taking, how many he dropped, and how many he is currently taking. Based on the number of hours Tom is currently taking, the system looks at the amount charged per hour (displayed on Charge Detail example, above ) to determine a new total charge.

16 (initial hours) - 9 (dropped hours) = 7 (hours Tom is taking)

$100 per hour * 7 hours = $700 (New Total Charge)

2.    Using the new total charge amount, the system determines the working amount by subtracting the amount previously charged from the new charge.

$700 (New Total Charge) - $1,150 (Previous Charge) = $450 (Working Amount)

3.    The system then uses the working amount to calculate the per-hour charge. The per-hour charge is derived by dividing the working amount by the number of hours dropped.

$450 (Working Amount) / 9 (Hours Tom Dropped) = $50 (Per Hour Charge)

4.    Next, the system calculates the refund percent. Calculating the refund percent involves two main steps: Determining the total duration of each course Tom dropped and determining the number of days for which Tom was actually accountable.

Using the BUS - 215 - E course Tom dropped:

1.    The system first determines the total duration of each course Tom dropped and the number of days for which Tom was actually accountable.

12/15/10 (Course Ends) - 9/1/10 (Course Began) = 106 days (Course Duration)

10/1/10 (Course Dropped) - 9/1/10 (Course Began) = 31 days (Days Accountable For)

2.    The system then divides the days for which Tom is accountable by the course duration. The derived percentage is compared to the actual refund percentage (displayed in the Refund Definition example, above) to determine the percentage refund.

31 (Days Attended) / 106 (Course Duration) = 0.2925 (Actual Percentage)

0.2925 (Actual Refund Percentage) > 0200 and 0.2925 < 0300 = 0.8000 refund percent (as compared in the Refund Definition example, above).

3.    Using the actual refund percentage, the system calculates the refund amount by multiplying the dropped hours for the course by the per-hours charge, computed in step 3.

3 (Number of Course Credit Hours) * $50 (Per Hour Charge)= $150 (Refund Amount)

4.    To determine Tom's actual refund amount, the systems multiplies the refund amount by the refund percent.

$150 (Refund Amount) * .8000 (Refund Percent) = $120 (Actual Refund Amount)

The process is repeated for each course, and ultimately Tom's charges and refunds are as follows:

Depending upon your organizations configuration, Transactions Status or Billing Status may be used when processing %DAYS refunds.

Related Topics

Planning Refunds