April 2023 Update

As we near the end of the spring 2023 semester, we would like to provide an Oracle Student Financial Planning (OSFP) project update. We have completed the planned releases and are in our second year of conducting financial aid processing in the OSFP system. We are seeing benefits of the new system to both students and staff, as we manage challenges associated with the implementation of a universitywide system.

Where We’ve Been

The OSFP project began in June 2020 as a joint effort involving a cross-functional project team consisting of members from Rutgers and our implementation partner, Sierra-Cedar, in partnership with Oracle. During the first year of the project, we conducted interactive design and planning sessions with Rutgers functional staff to understand our current state financial aid processes. We also performed technical deep dives with Rutgers OIT staff to gain a thorough understanding of the legacy mainframe and Banner student systems to allow us to plan, design, and build the necessary integrations between with OSFP.

In October 2021we loading institutional student information records (ISIRs) into the new system for the 2022-2023 financial aid year. In August 2022, we implemented the final release of loan origination and disbursement functionality to most of our student populations. Within this time, we also implemented Oracle Identity Cloud Service to integrate Rutgers’ two identity management systems with OSFP so that students and their authorized users could upload requested documents to OSFP. We also integrated OSFP with Salesforce and the myRutgers student dashboard.

Some of the benefits we are realizing as a result of the OSFP implementation are listed below.

ISIR Loading	Cost of Attendance & Packaging	Verification	Loan Origination & Disbursement
Daily Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) loading ISIR Reject/Comment Code/ verification clearing ISIRs accepted more quickly	Faster packaging for all students Built-in federal regulatory compliance Flexible cost of attendance for different programs Configurable institutional and other non-federal fund  management Reduction in manual packaging and adjustments	Automated ISIR corrections Customizable forms for meta-data collection for faster processing Easy documentation submission for students	Common Origination and Disbursement (COD) system originations and disbursements – Direct Loans/Pell-automation Students’ ability to accept or decline their loans automatically Students’ ability to adjust their loan amounts automatically Return to Title IV automation

 

Where We’re Going

We are now transitioning from a project implementation phase to an OSFP operational state. This includes remaining knowledge transfer activities between our implementation partner and Rutgers’ functional and technical staff, operational support model resourcing considerations, and prioritization of “Day 2” and system enhancement work.

We thank you all for your patience and support throughout this important university initiative.

We would be happy to hear from you if you have any questions, concerns, or comments, please email us at seiiproject@finance.rutgers.edu.