Â鶹AV
Frequently Asked Questions
What awards should be submitted using the Award Processing Form (APF)?
All awards payable to students should be entered via this form. This includes fellowships, prizes, scholarships, stipends, etc.
Employment income (pay for work performed) and all payments to Postdocs should be processed through HR.
What office disburses awards to students?
The Award Processing Support Service in the Scholarships and Student Aid Office (SSAO)Â handles the disbursement of all awards in BSA using the Award Processing Form in Minerva.
Why can’t I find the Aid Fund Code (AFC) I want to use?
Verify that you selected the correct option that matches the level for the award you are looking for: i.e. Undergraduate or Graduate. If the award does not appear, use the drop down arrow to “Request new student stipend or agency†to create a new Aid Fund Code on the fly. This can be used only for Funds that are tied to a Granting Agency and have fund types 2C, 2E, 2F or 2M in Finance.
For everything else, submit the BSA Aid Fund Code (AFC) Request Form.ÌýFunds that are terminated in Finance cannot be used to submit awards in BSA.ÌýShould the Fund be re-activated in Finance, do not request a new Aid Fund Code; you can request the AFC be re-activated by completing the Aid Fund Code (AFC) Request form and selecting "Reactivate an existing Aid Fund Code".
Note: There is no automated process between Finance and BSA to re-activate AFCs.
How can I see all the funds I can use?
Click Undergraduate or Graduate. With your cursor in the Aid Fund box, hit your space bar or type in % and click the Search button.
How are awards paid to students?
Awards for undergraduates are normally paid to the student’s fee account for entering and continuing students and by direct deposit for convocation awards and some prizes.
Most graduate awards are paid by direct deposit but can also be paid to the student's fee account.
In the case of Student Stipends - whether undergraduate or graduate - the payment must be made via direct deposit.
Note: Please ensure that the student has Direct Deposit information setup in Minerva before submitting awards.Ìý
We do NOT process awards as cheques except for situations where direct deposit to a student’s bank account or fee account is not feasible due to extenuating circumstances. If you encounter any difficulty, please send an email to student.funding [at] mcgill.ca.Ìý
How do students set up Direct Deposit?
Students should go to MINERVA, select the menu item “Direct Deposit Bank Account†and enter the required information under the "Student Related" section.
Note: If the student is also working at Â鶹AV and has direct deposit set up for payroll, they must still set up direct deposit banking for student awards. These are separate transactions but the student is allowed to have the same banking information for both. The MINERVA form allows for easy copying of existing bank account info from payroll to student and vice versa with the click of a button.
What Start Term and End Term do I select for undergraduate awards?
Choose the terms during which the student should be registered in order to be eligible for the award. Here are some examples:
   •For an award to be paid partly in the Fall term and partly in the Winter term, select the Start term as Fall and select the End term as Winter.
   •For an award to be paid entirely in one term, use that term as both the Start and End term.
   •For convocation awards, use the last term during which the student was registered as both the Start and End term.
What Start and End dates do I enter for graduate awards and stipends?
Enter the first and last payment date for the award.Ìý Keep in mind that the student should be registered during the payment period.
How do I make a one-lump sum payment?
When you get to the Custom Disbursement Schedule form, click on the “Customize†button near the bottom of the page and specify the date, method of payment and amount.
How do I set a Disbursement Schedule?
Once you have entered the student ID and the total amount of the award and clicked on “Add to Previewâ€, go the last column on the right side and click on “Requiredâ€. This will take you to a second page where you can customize the disbursement schedule. Even if you select semi-monthly or monthly, etc., you can adjust individual payments but the total amount must add up to 100% of the award amount.
Note: If you want to pay several students from the same fund with the same disbursement schedule, enter the ID numbers and the value of the awards (the values of the awards can be different), click “Add to Previewâ€, go to the heading of the last column on the right side and click on “Disbursement Scheduleâ€. This will take you to a second page where you can customize the same disbursement schedule for all the recipients.
What is “Accounts Receivable�
When an award is paid to “Accounts Receivableâ€, it is being deposited in the student’s tuition fee account.
What is “Accounts Payable�
When an award is paid to “Accounts Payableâ€, it is being paid directly to the student by direct deposit to the student’s bank account.
Where can students see their awards?
Awards are displayed to students in Minerva > Financial Aid & Awards >My Financial Aid and Awards. Awards are displayed by Aid Year, i.e., by academic year.
Note : There is a delay from the time the award is submitted to the time it is displayed to the student on Minerva. See below.
When does the award display to the student?
When does the student receive payment?
If the award is paid to Accounts Receivable, the award amount will appear in the student’s fee account by the end of the business day on which it was disbursed.
If the award is paid to Accounts Payable, there is a 2-3 business day delay from the disbursed date until it gets to the student’s bank account.
Examples:
• If the disbursed date is Friday, the money may not be in the student’s bank account until the next Wednesday.
• If the disbursed date is Wednesday and there is a holiday on Friday, the money may not be in the student’s bank account until the next Tuesday.
I incorrectly submitted the same award twice for a student; how do I cancel one?
Please complete the Cancel/Reduce Payments form as soon as possible.Ìý Awards are processed by the system twice a day on a daily basis - 5am and 3pm.Ìý If you notice the duplicate entry during the work day, let us know before 2:30pm.
How do I increase/lower the value of an award already submitted
If you need to change it to a higher amount, you can simply submit a new award for the difference.
NOTE: This is only possible on Graduate level awards.Ìý For Undergraduate level awards, please send a detailed email to student.funding [at] mcgill.ca.ÌýIf you need to lower the amount, please complete the Cancel/Reduce Payments form.
How do I change a disbursement schedule?
For awards paid from Grants (e.g. stipends) the Fund Administrator (FADM) must be involved in/made aware of changes.
   •If the award has not yet been approved, send an email to the FADM asking that s/he “Reject†the award. This will put it in a status that you can then edit and resubmit for approval.Ìý You can also cancel the award and resubmit with a new schedule.
   •If the award, or part of it, has been disbursed, please send a detailed email to student.funding [at] mcgill.ca. Student Funding may be required to consult with the FADM depending on the change being requested.
For all other awards (from non-grants):
Please send a detailed email to student.funding [at] mcgill.ca
How do I cancel future payments?
Please complete the Cancel/Reduce Payments form.
How do I change the FOAPAL for an award I submitted?
In BSA terminology, changing a FOAPAL is “reassigning†an award. You can reassign an award by going to Award Summary/Search, accessing the award you wish to change and clicking the “Reassign†button at the bottom of the page. A reassignment is possible only if the award has already been disbursed. If the award has not yet been disbursed, you can request that it be cancelled by completing the Cancel/Reduce Payments form. You may then create the new award via the Award Processing Form (APF).
Why is my student not receiving payments?
Is the student registered for the award period? If applicable, does the student have Direct Deposit set-up? Does the student have a valid address on file at Â鶹AV? If you have answered ‘YES’ to all of these questions, please send an email to student.funding [at] mcgill.ca with the details and Student Funding will look into the matter.
Where can I get a list of the awards I submitted?
In Award/Summary Search, you can get a list of all the awards you submitted by Aid Year.
My co-worker submitted some awards. Can I view them too?
You can access all awards submitted by people with the same ORG as yours. Go to Award Summary/Search and change the last box ‘My Awards Only' from “Yes†to “Noâ€.
I wish to reimburse the PGSS insurance premia to a graduate student.Ìý Do I use an expense report?
No, PGSS insurance premia cannot be reimbursed via an Expense Report.Ìý The value of PGSS insurance premia should be included in your overall funding package to a student and should therefore be incorporated in award payments (e.g. fellowships, stipends) and processed via the BSA Award Processing form in Minerva.Ìý This payment will be considered an award for income tax purposes.Ìý
Exception: Post Docs are not technically students (for example, international Post Docs need work permits and not study permits to come to Â鶹AV).Ìý All payments to Post Docs, even if called an award, are considered employment income and must be processed via Payroll for the appropriate tax receipts and deductions at source.Ìý It therefore follows that any coverage of PGSS insurance premia be included as salary and therefore must be processed via Payroll.