Overview

This section contains various options that affect the behavior and display of the online application. All default settings are noted by * unless otherwise noted in blue text. 

Student/Family Miscellaneous Setup
District Miscellaneous Setup

Establish Student/Family Miscellaneous Setup and District Miscellaneous Setup settings as applicable. Then, click Update Settings.

Student/Family Miscellaneous Setup

• Prompt for Student Number - Choose whether or not to prompt for a Student Number.  If unchecked, this section will be disabled on the applicant side and will not display the student number field on the application. 

• Student Number Validation Method - Selects the validation method used when validating Student Numbers (if present).
  *Numeric - Each digit of the Student Number must be a numeric value (0-9).
  Alphanumeric - Each digit of the Student Number must either be a numeric (0-9) or alphabetic (a-z, A-Z) value.

• Student Number Min - The minimum length for the Student Number, if present. Default is "1".

• Student Number Max - The maximum length for the Student Number, if present. Default is "16".

• Use Autocomplete School Search - Selecting this option displays a textbox field that allows the applicant to search through matching school values instead of the standard drop-down menu.

• Allow Optional School - Establishes if selection/entry of a school is required. Use the drop-down menu to make the appropriate selection.
  *Required – Selecting this option allows the applicant to require entering the school
  Optional – Selecting this option allows the applicant to force select N/A or Other
  Completely Optional - Selecting this option completely skips entering the school

• Allow Optional BirthDate - Selecting this option allows the applicant to choose NOT to provide a birthdate for a student (makes the field optional). 

• Allow Optional Address - Selecting this option allows the applicant to choose NOT to provide any address information on the application (makes the address optional).  Turning this on is recommended by the USDA as it reduces the exclusion of homeless applicants; however it can decrease application accuracy/validity. Default is checked.

  • Prompt for Gender - Select an option to allow the applicant to choose to provide gender for a student.
    Required - Applicant must provide a gender to continue with the application process.
    Optional - Applicant has the choice to provide a gender on the application.
    Hidden - The gender field will not show on an application.
    🆕 Note: Districts new to MSA (May, 2020) will have a Hidden Gender Prompt as default. Districts with previously selected gender prompt options will see no change.

• Prompt for Student Identification - Selecting this option will display a prompt when adding students to clarify whether or not the child is actually a student. By default, this option is unchecked/do not prompt.

• Signature Verification - Select a method to determine if the signature entered matches the signer information entered.
  *None - Applicant must enter text in the signature box.  It only verifies that they entered text in the field.
  Lastname Only - Verifies that at least the last name entered is contained in the signature provided.
  Exact- The signature must match the signer's name exactly.

• *Allow Adult Student To Sign Application - Selecting this option allows the applicant to choose a previously entered adult student (over 18 years of age) as the signer.

• Show Emancipated Minor Options - Displays options for emancipated minors to allow them to omit entering household information and adult SSNs.  When enabled a checkbox will be shown on the Enter Household Member steps to allow emancipated minors to skip household members easily. 

• *Auto Skip Student income and Household Member Section - Choose whether or not to allow skipping of the household member information/step and all income screens if possible to do so (e.g. SNAP). Unchecking this will ask the signer if they wish to skip the section in those cases.

• *Allow Annual Income Freq Option - Choose whether or not to allow the option for 'annual' in the income frequency options.

• Show Privacy Act Inline on Review - Displays the privacy act statement and non-discrimination statements inline in the application signature section on the final review page. By default, a link is displayed to the statement.

• Prompt for Household Special Circumstances - Choose whether or not to prompt for special circumstance options (migrant/homeless/runaway/headstart) at the household level.

• Prompt for Student Special Circumstances - Choose whether or not to prompt for special circumstance options (migrant/homeless/runaway/headstart) at the student level.

• Prompt for Child (Non-Student) Special Circumstances - Choose whether or not to prompt for special circumstance options (migrant/homeless/runaway/headstart) for non-students residing in the household.

• *Include Special Circumstances: Migrant - When prompting for Special Circumstances, a checkbox will appear for the applicant to select if Migrant Special Circumstances apply.

• *Include Special Circumstances: Runaway - When prompting for Special Circumstances, a checkbox will appear for the applicant to select if Runaway Special Circumstances apply.

• *Include Special Circumstances: Homeless - When prompting for Special Circumstances, a checkbox will appear for the applicant to select if Homeless Special Circumstances apply.

• *Include Special Circumstances: Headstart - When prompting for Special Circumstances, a checkbox will appear for the applicant to select if Headstart Special Circumstances apply.

• Special Circumstances Categorically Free - Choose whether or not to enforce a special circumstance automatically makes the application status categorically free.

• Display Stated Does Not Qualify - Choose whether or not to display the option allowing an applicant to state they do not qualify.

• Skip Household Info When Stating 'Does Not Qualify' - Choose whether or not to skip the household info section when the signer has stated that their household does not qualify for free or reduced price meals.

• Skip Signer Info When Stating 'Does Not Qualify' - Choose whether or not to skip signer info section when the signer has stated that their household does not qualify for free or reduced price meals.

• Skip Miscellaneous Info When Stating 'Does Not Qualify' - Choose whether or not to skip misc info section when the signer has stated that their household does not qualify for free or reduced price meals.

• Prompt for Ethnicity - Choose what level the applicant should be prompted for ethnicity.
  Household - Asks for ethnicity at the household level.
  Student - Asks for ethnicity at the student level.
  Neither - Does not ask for ethnicity.

• Student Income - Choose how student income should be calculated.
  Individual - Prompts for student income at the individual student level.
  Total - Prompts for a single total student income at the application level.

• Require Email Address - Establishes if the entry of an email address is required. Use the drop-down menu to make the appropriate selection.
  *Optional - Selecting this option does not require the applicant to enter an email address before continuing to the next step.
  Required -  Selecting this option forces the applicant to enter an email address before continuing to the next step.

• Require Primary Phone - Establishes if the entry of a primary phone number is required. Use the drop-down menu to make the appropriate selection.
  *Optional - Selecting this option does not require the applicant to enter a primary phone number before continuing to the next step.
  Required -  Selecting this option forces the applicant to enter a primary phone number before continuing to the next step.

• Hide USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines - Choose whether or not to hide the USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines on the application instructions page.

• *Hide USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines: Twice per Month - Select this option to display the USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines for the Twice per Month income option.

• *Hide USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines: Every 2 Weeks - Select this option to display the USDA Income Eligibility Guidelines for the Every Two Weeks income option.

District Miscellaneous Setup

• Display SchoolCode in School Search - Choose whether or not to show the school code in the school search dialog on the Student Add/Edit screens.

• Auto Start Date - Date will automatically switch from Test mode to Active mode. Format must be mm/dd/yyyy (e.g. 07/31/2015) and after July 1st of the current school year.

• End of Year Date - Establishes a date to stop accepting applications for the school year. Format must be mm/dd/yyyy (e.g. 05/25/2015) and between April 1st and June 1st. After June 1st the system will prevent ALL Districts (automatically) from accepting new online applications in order to prepare for the new school year. The default is June 1st.

• *Show Contact on 'District Not Ready' Page - Displays the District benefits contact information on the District Not Ready page (displayed to parents while your District is configured in a testing or inactive status.  

• Override the Format of the 'Getting Started' Section - Replaces the 'Getting Started' text at the beginning of an application with a more flexible Custom String, which will allow for more advanced formatting.

• Completion Page URL - If not empty, this will display a custom URL on the Finished page under inside of the 'HighlightedCompletionText' string. To remove the URL, clear this field and save.

• Show Anticipated Status on Completion Page - Choose whether or not to show the applicant an anticipated status upon successful submission of the application.

• *Send Confirmation Email - Choose whether or not to send the parent a confirmation email upon successful submission of the application.

• Custom Application Submission Email Text - If not empty, this will display custom text on the Application Confirmation/Receipt email sent to customers upon application completion. To remove the message, clear this field and save.

• Show Print Button in Kiosk Mode - Displays/hides the print application button on the 'finished' step while in kiosk mode. 
  Note: In situations when using a Kiosk, a printer may not be available; therefore, this option can be used to ensure that the user cannot print the application.

• Final Income Display Format - Determines how to display the final income summary on the application review page. These settings control the calculation of the summary income data on the Final Review step (last page) of the online application process.
  *Normal - By default, the income summary is shown in the units used. If multiple unit designations are specified in the application, the income is shown as an annual amount. For example, if all income is reported as weekly, then the summary will show weekly. If income is reported as weekly and monthly, the income will be shown as an annual amount.  As an option, you can force ALL income to be summarized as monthly no matter how it is reported by the user.
  Monthly Always - When using this setting the income is ALWAYS summarized as monthly on the Final Review page.  This setting only affects the display of the income summary to the user on the final page. It has no effect on the data reported to the District.

• Form Type - Determines the type of form users are submitting. 
  *Meal-Benefits Application - Designates the form as a Meal Benefit Application with all fields available (as established by the District) for the District and end-user. Applications will be imported to the designated Free & Reduced system accordingly.
  Household Economic Survey - Designates the form as a Household Economic Survey suppressing the Adult SSN field and related Help text fields. All other fields are available (as established by the District) for the District and end-user. Applications will be imported to the designated Free & Reduced system accordingly.