PROJECT OVERVIEW

The “Integrated Student Financial Aid Information Management System” project involved the design and implementation of a system aimed at improving the administration of scholarships and student aid benefits awarded to students of the University of Chile.

The system is capable of managing scholarships assigned to students from multiple data sources, ranging from the Ministry of Education to internal university benefits, such as tuition discounts for children of university employees.

The platform processes different data sources, load formats, and validation rules for each scholarship provider, enabling individualized management of student benefits.

Scholarship management includes the processing of first-year awards, renewals, modifications, and suspensions, each governed by distinct business rules and data consistency validations. In addition, these transactions are submitted in bulk file formats by the issuing entities.

Calculation and Allocation Process

The system implements a Benefits Compatibility Matrix, which manages how multiple scholarships coexist for a single beneficiary. This is critical, as some scholarships are complementary, while others are mutually exclusive.

To handle these scenarios, the system incorporates a Scholarship Priority model. When incompatible scholarships are detected, the system automatically determines and assigns the scholarship with the highest priority to the student or beneficiary.

Additionally, during benefit processing, the system adjusts the total scholarship amounts to match the student’s program tuition fee, based on the defined priority, compatibility, and incompatibility rules. This ensures:

• Tuition coverage is accurately aligned with the program fee
• Over-coverage is avoided
• Assigned percentages and monetary amounts comply with scholarship conditions

Reporting and Projection Capabilities

Finally, the system includes a comprehensive reporting module based on historical data stored in the platform. It also allows the configuration of adjustment factors and supports simulation and projection of scholarship allocations for future academic periods.