Application Processor
- Robin Rodrigue
- Former user (Deleted)
The Application Processor Guide is provided to take the application processor through daily operations in Franklin.
Before beginning the scanning process, please be sure all system settings have been adjusted in System Settings (Application Processing, Application Review, and Scanning tabs) and Miscellaneous Setup (Scan Forms).
Application Scanning
Application scanning will allow you to scan and receive delivery bags, enter counts, edit receiving details, and review delivery bags. Application scanning displays many tracking details in regards to the Delivery Bag and its contents as well as the staff handling the application from the school through scanning completion.
From the Home tab, locate the Scanned Applications group in the ribbon and click on Scan.
Select Scan New Delivery Bag to utilize the wizard to complete the scanning processes.
A delivery bag is an envelope, box, etc. that is received from a school with applications and other supporting documents for those applications.
The majority of Districts will use the Scan New Delivery Bag wizard. Larger districts who have designated personnel for receiving, counting, and scanning will utilize the system differently. To view those steps, please refer to Departmentalized Delivery Bags.
Custom Views
You can customize the status view of the processes you see by editing options under the Show button.
In the Action tab, locate and click on Show. Check or uncheck the status options you wish to have appear in the Application Scanning queue tab. We recommend unchecking the Scanned status as this indicates all procedures of a delivery bag have been completed. You may also choose to Remember these Settings.
Use the slide bar to view information collected during the application scanning process.
The purpose of the Delivery Bag Receiving Information is to record information of the receipt of the Delivery Bag to the Central Office. Complete the necessary information required by your District. Then, click Ok.
Many Districts choose to simply click the Ok button; however, this process can be useful for tracking and auditing information.
The purpose of the Delivery Bag Counts is to record information of the contents reviewed by staff at the Central Office. Complete the necessary information required by your District. Then, click Ok.
Batch Count
The Batch Count is the number of batches of applications in the delivery bag. e.g. The school sent 117 scannable applications sorted into batches of 25. The Batch Count is entered as 5 (4 batches of 25 and 1 batch of 17). If the school did not separate the applications into batches, you may leave the field blank.
Unrecognizable and Discarded Apps
Unrecognizable and Discarded apps may be manually keyed if they are legible. Counts should still be entered for these applications if required by your District.
If you have not already done so, separate applications from supporting documentation and load your first batch of applications from this Delivery Bag into the scanner. Edit Scan Batch information if necessary. Then, click Ok.
Mixing Supporting Documents and Applications
If supporting documentation is scanned with applications, the system will mark supporting documents as an error. The system is able to distinguish an application from an non-application through the alignment of Scan Form anchor zoning.
Page Count and Batch Size
The page count may default to the pre-determined batch size established in System Settings. Complete the scanning process through Step 8. Then, click the Scan Batch button to scan a new batch from this Delivery Bag. e.g. The default batch size is set to 25 applications and 35 applications are counted and loaded. The system will scan 25 applications and place them in the Delivery Bag with a system-defined Batch ID. Click Scan Batch to scan the remaining 10. Note the system will assign a new Batch ID to each subsequent batch within the delivery bag.
- The batch scanning speedometer window will appear. Note the left speedometer indicated the number of applications scanned and the right speedometer indicates the number of scans processed. During the processing of scanning, applications are identified as valid or invalid and, if necessary, correctly rotates applications for Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR - which identifies handwriting).
- After applications have been scanned, you should see a Scan Complete window. Click Ok.
The Scan Delivery Bag # Contents tab will appear. The Reference # should match the number on the outside of your delivery bag (if you use this method). The App Count should reflect the number of items you scanned. If all images have scanned in successfully, you will see a green check mark in the Images Ok column. If errors exist, you will be notified. You can view the images scanned by double-clicking the checkmark and then clicking on an image file in the next window. For more information on how to handle errors, refer to View Scanned Application - Additional Details.
Marking Images Unrecognizable
When an image has manually been marked as unrecognizable, the Images Ok status will change to notify you errors exist in the batch.
Once you have completed scanning all batches in a delivery bag, click Mark as Scanned to change the status.
Once a delivery bag has been marked as "Scanned," no additional batches should be scanned into the delivery bag and a new delivery bag must be started.
You have completed the scanning process.
The Receive Delivery Bag, Enter Counts, and Scan Delivery Bag Contents buttons are typically utilized for larger districts in which a particular group or person performs a specific task in terms of delivery bags processes.
Checking or unchecking the various status options, will hide or show the information displayed. (Highlighted statuses are for documentation purposes only. Your screen will not display highlights.)
Receive Delivery Bags
The purpose of the Delivery Bag Receiving Information is to record information of the receipt of the Delivery Bag to the Central Office.
- From the Application Scanning tab, select Receive Delivery Bag.
Complete the necessary information required by your District. Then, click Ok.
If you are responsible for entering counts as well as documenting the receipt of a delivery bag, click the Enter Counts button.
Enter Counts
The purpose of the Delivery Bag Counts is to record information of the contents reviewed by staff at the Central Office.
- From the Application Scanning tab, select a delivery bag that is marked as Received from the list. Then, click Enter Counts.
Complete the necessary information required by your District. Then, click Ok.
Batch Count
The Batch Count is the number of batches of applications in the delivery bag. e.g. The school sent 117 scannable applications sorted into batches of 25. The Batch Count is entered as 5 (4 batches of 25 and 1 batch of 17). If applications are not separated into batches, you may leave the field blank.
Unrecognizable and Discarded Apps
Unrecognizable and Discarded apps may be manually keyed if they are legible. Counts should still be entered for these applications if required by your District.
Scan Delivery Bag Contents
- From the Application Scanning tab, select a delivery bag that is marked Sorted and Scanned from the list. Then, click Scan Delivery Bag Contents.
The Scan Delivery Bag # Contents tab will appear. If you have not already done so, separate applications from supporting documentation and load your first batch of applications from this Delivery Bag into the scanner. The Reference # should match the number on the outside of your delivery bag (if you use this method). Then, click Scan Batch.
Mixing Supporting Documents and Applications
If supporting documentation is scanned with applications, the system will mark supporting documents as invalid. The system is able to distinguish an application from an non-application though the alignment of Scan Form anchor zoning.
Edit Scan Batch information if necessary. Then, click Ok.
Page Count and Batch Size
The page count may default to the pre-determined batch size established in System Settings. Complete Steps 2-6. Then, click Scan Batch to scan a new batch from this Delivery Bag. e.g. The default batch size is set to 25 applications and 35 applications are counted and loaded. The system will scan 25 applications and place them in the Delivery Bag with a system-defined Batch ID. ClickScan Batch to scan the remaining 10. Note the system will assign a new Batch ID to each subsequent batch within the delivery bag.
- The batch scanning speedometer window will appear. Note the left speedometer indicates the number of applications scanned and the right speedometer indicates the number of scans processed. During the processing of scanning, applications are identified as valid or invalid and, if necessary, correctly rotates applications for Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR - handwriting identification).
- After applications have been scanned, you should see a Scan Complete window. Click Ok.
The App Count should reflect the number of items you scanned. If all images have scanned in successfully, you will see a green check mark in the Images Ok column. If errors exist, you will be notified. You can view the images scanned by double-clicking the checkmark and then clicking on an image file in the next window. For more information on how to handle errors, refer to View Scanned Application - Additional Details.
Marking Images Unrecognizable
When an image has manually been marked as unrecognizable, the Images Ok status will change to notify you errors exist in the batch.
Once you have completed scanning all batches in a delivery bag, click Mark as Scanned to change the status.
Once a delivery bag has been marked as "Scanned," no additional batches should be scanned into the delivery bag and a new delivery bag must be started.
View Scanned Applications allows you to perform a number of additional actions.
- Print - Prints the image to your default printer
- Save Copy as - Saves a copy of the image to your local or network drive
- Recognition Image - Displays the information passed to the recognition process
- Display Image - Displays the image collected during the scan process
- Zoom - Select Fit Entire Image, Best Fit, Actual Size, Zoom In, or Zoom Out for best application review method
- Show Anchors - Highlights the zoned anchors of the application - If you receive many invalid scans, you may be selecting the incorrect scan form or need to rezone your application
- Rescan Image - Allows you to rescan the selected image - Be sure to place the correct application on the scanner before rescanning
- Rotate - If an image did not auto-rotate, select how to rotate the image -90° Clockwise, 90° Counter-clockwise, 180° (Upside-down) - If images are consistently rotated incorrectly, you may need to review your scan form settings
- Mark as Unrecognizable - Marks an image as unrecognizable
- Mark as Ok - Marks an invalid image as Ok
- Previous Image - Changes the current image to the previous image in the batch
- Next Image - Changes the current image to the next image in the batch
Recognize
The Recognize process will validate the applications after they are scanned and prepare them for the scanning verification process (Scanning Q/A) by analyzing the handwriting on scanned apps and attempting to match them with alphanumber characters.
From the Home tab, locate and click on the Recognize button.
You may also select Recognize from the Application Scanning tab.
- By default, all batches are selected. If the Select None button is pushed, simply click the Select All button. To select a single row only select the Delivery Bag you wish to recognize. Then, click Recognize.
You will see a series of processes running as the batch(es) you selected is being prepared for the next process.
Scanning Q/A
The Scanning Q/A (Quality Analysis) allows you to verify that information collected during the scanning process is valid, correct misinterpreted information, and perform student fuzzy match lookup. By making corrections in the Scanning Q/A process, you will decrease the amount of work in the Application Review process.
(The names, student numbers, and birth dates have been changed in the below screenshot to protect identities.)
From the Home tab, click Scanning Q/A.
You may also select Scanning Q/A from the Recognize Scanned Applications tab.
From the Scanning Quality Assurance tab, you may select a batch to conduct Q/A by double-clicking on a Batch ID. You may also select Auto-Select Next which selects the next batch available to perform Q/A.
Selecting Verify Selected Batch will lock the selected batch and begin the Q/A process. Locking a batch prevents another user from running the q/a/ process on the same batch at the same time.
Complete the Q/A process. As each application runs through the Q/A process, critical fields (established by the Admin in Scan Forms) will highlight in yellow. An enhanced image of the highlighted field will appear at the bottom of the screen in the Zone area. Your District may require that you clean-up the critical areas as you work through the process.
Hot Keys Key Function F3 Returns to the previous field F4 Skips to the next field F6 Flags the application for review F7 Adds a comment to the record F8 Allows determination of a valid/invalid row (e.g. name has been scratched out) F12 Skips current row Enter Skips to the next field In the example below, notice the household case number appears as "987654321" in the Household Case Number zone. This occurred because the individual writing the application has a unique way of writing the numbers "8" and "6" and the system recognized the numbers differently (as numbers and letters) from what was written.
Once you complete one student field, the student fuzzy match window will appear. The higher the score, the better match the student. Select the correct student from the list and click Match Found. If you cannot confidently match the student, click No Match Found.
The student fuzzy match will display the Scanned Image, system Search for potential alphanumeric matches of the scanned image, and a list of students in the District. Scores ranging 300+ are typically accurate matches; however, in cases where a name is popular in your District, please take a few more moments to review the information to ensure you have the correct student.
In the example below, notice the last name of the student appears as "DUPAE" in the Student Match search. This occurred because the individual writing the application has a unique way of writing the letter "R" and the system recognized the letter as an "A". Click F2 or Cleanup/Edit Name to type in the student's name, birthday, address, etc. to increase the matching score.
Additional Q/A Actions
Skip Row - As you work through the application, you may choose to skip a row if information is not present and move to the next field.
If you select Valid Rows prior to working through the selected application, you reduce the times this option is utilized saving you time.
- Back - Moves to the previous field in the sequence.
- Next - Moves to the next field in the sequence.
- Flag for Review - Marks the entire application to be help for Application Review.
- Comments - Enter an necessary comments in regards to the application.
- Show App List - Opens a frame within the Scanning Q/A Batch window that displays the entire application list in the batch and who checked the application.
- Continue through the process for each application. When you have completed, the last application, the Batch Completed window will appear. Click Ok.
Application Review
The Application Review can be accessed at any point. You should note that if you have previously made any edits or changes to a record and saved it, you will need to click on the Edit button and enter an edit reason to make additional changes. Additional fields in the application may also require a comment to be entered. These comment entries greatly assist with auditing by providing a details record of what changes were made and who conducted those changes.
Work Queues
Application Review Queues are established in Administration and Maintenance → Miscellaneous Setup → Application Review Queues. You may then establish a user-defined formula to automatically move applications into various queues for staff to compete daily operations. Default Queue is selected by default; however, you may use the drop-down menu to select (All Queues) or the queue you utilize on a regular basis. (e.g. You have three staff members who process Spanish applications and two staff members who process Zero-Income applications.)
- From the Home tab, select Application Review.
Select Process All from the Application Review group in the ribbon. This process will attempt to confidently match students on the application to student records in the system and process any non-error-prone applications for benefits. Any applications that cannot successfully be processed will be held for review and will require further action.
Process All Permission
Depending on your District and state regulations, you may not be able to utilize the Process All function. In those cases, skip to Step 3.
If your District utilizes Review Queues to work through applications, use the drop-down menu to select the review queue you work.
Select an application and click Edit Application.
The top row is automatically selected.
Application Review provides a color-coded system to indicate the age of an application in the queue.
Green - 0 to <5 days
Yellow - 5 to 9 days
Red - >9 days
Work through the application cleaning up data and problems in an attempt to process the application. After you have made all changes, you may wish to click Preview Approval to review how the application will process.
Review Queues
If your District utilizes various Review Queues, click Move to Review Queue and select from the available list of queues. Then, click Ok.
Editing an Application
In some cases, you may need to click the Edit button and enter a comment before you can make changes to an application. This creates an audit trail for each application.
Some students may have been processed and others may be held for review as indicated by the system icon
. In the example below, the application is being held due to Suspicious income and Student not found.
Email Addx
The system is designed to support multiple email addresses. Addresses must be separated by a semicolon (;) e.g. johndoe@hometown.com; janedoe@yahoo.com; doerame@gmail.com
Child Income
Enter totals of all incomes for all students on the application defined in the Students section.
Language
Setting a language informs the system in which language various letters should be printed (if the additional language letters have be setup by the District).
Verification
For more information, refer to Verification Process instructions.
Once an application has had changes saved, problems may exist which prevent the application from completing the process. Refer to the Problems window in the lower left-hand corner to see why an application has been held for review. Some problems require action, such as Missing Income Frequency. Others require verification that the information reported on the application is accurate such as No Signature. For those problems, verify the information is correct and click in the box to place a checkmark to indicate the information is accurate.
"Signer's Name & Signature" Zoning and Application Review Flow Chart
Signer's First Name and Signer's Last name do not affect the "Signature" status of an application. Only the Signer's Full Name, Signature, or combination of both will result in a Signed status.
Signer's Full Name Signature Result Not Zoned Exists Pass Zoned & Blank Exists Pass Zoned & Exists Blank Pass Zoned & Exists Exists Pass Not Zoned Blank Fail Annual Income Manual Review Second Application, Increasing Benefits Currently Declining Benefits Missing Case Number Recipient SNAP/TANF Application DC Student Missing Case Type Special Circumstances DC Students Mixed with Non-DC Missing Household Members List Student at CEP School Duplicate Income Missing Income Student Income Duplicate Student Missing Income Frequency Student is Inactive Emails Exists on Another Application Missing Total Members Student Not Found Emancipated Minor Multi-Child TANF Suspicious Income (Low or High) Foster Child Multiple Students on Foster Application Suspicious Total Members In Verification No Application Number Too Many Zero Incomes Invalid Adult SSN No Signature Total Income Mismatch Invalid Case Number Not Receiving Foodstamps Total Members Mismatch Invalid Income Previous Application Already Scanned Unmatched Students on Auto Economic Survey Invalid Language Second Application, Decreasing Benefits Zero Income 
Add a Student - Click on the asterisk * to add a student to the application.
Delete a Bad Student Row - In cases where a student row was imported and no data exists, you may remove the row by right-clicking and selecting Delete Student Row.
Convert Student to Household Member - In cases where an applicant has added a household member to the student field of the application, you may convert that person to a household member by right-clicking and selecting Convert to Household Member. All information associated with the "student" will be migrated to the Household Member section of the application.There are two different tabs for each student - Income and Ethnicity. Click the plus (+) sign to expand the additional sections and complete details in accordance with your District's requirements.
Locate the student in the Student Lookup screen. The higher the score, the more likely the match.
Once you are sure you have located the correct student, click Match Found. If you have not located the right student, click No Match Found.
Add a Household Member- Click on the asterisk * to add a household member to the application.
Delete a Bad Family Member Row - In cases where a family member row was imported and no data exists, you may remove the row by right-clicking and selecting Delete Family Member Row.
Convert Household Member to Student - In cases where an applicant has added a student to the household member field of the application, you may convert that person to a student by right-clicking and selecting Convert to Student. All information associated with the "household member" will be migrated to the Students section of the application.Click the plus (+) sign to expand the Income section and complete details in accordance with your District's requirements.
- Click Save Changes & Process. A window will appear noting the number of students processed and the benefit status.
Student processed as Free.
Student processed as Reduced.
Student processed as Denied (High Income).
- Continue the same process through the rest of the student applications.
If an application continues to have errors such as no signature or missing income, the system will generate a letter notifying the household of the reasons the application was incomplete.
Manually Key Applications
- From the Home tab, click Add Keyed Applications.
- The New Application tab will appear.
Compete each section with the details provided by the household.
Email Addx
Multiple email addresses may be added to an application. If multiple email addresses exist and your District has enabled emailing letters, the system will attempt to send an email notification to all email accounts listed. Multiple emails must be separated by a semicolon to work properly. (e.g. john.doe@hometown.org; Independence1776@hometown.com)
Child Income
Enter totals of all incomes for all students on the application defined in the Students section.
Language
Setting a language informs the system in which language various letters should be printed (if the additional language letters have be setup by the District).
Verification
For more information, refer to Verification Process instructions.
Info Release
The Information Release field appears if it has been defined on the application and has been enabled in Admin & Maintenance → System Settings → Application Processing: Information Releases for Keyed Apps
Once an application has had changes saved, problems may exist which prevent the application from completing the process. Refer to the Problems window in the lower left-hand corner to see why an application has been held for review. Some problems require further action, such as "Student Not Found." Other problems require confirmation that noted problem is accurate, such as Foster Child. Place a checkmark in the Foster Child box once you confirm the selection is correct.
"Signer's Name & Signature" Zoning and Application Review Flow Chart
Signer's First Name and Signer's Last name do not affect the "Signature" status of an application. Only the Signer's Full Name, Signature, or combination of both will result in a Signed status.
Signer's Full Name Signature Result Not Zoned Exists Pass Zoned & Blank Exists Pass Zoned & Exists Blank Pass Zoned & Exists Exists Pass Not Zoned Blank Fail Annual Income Manual Review Second Application, Increasing Benefits Currently Declining Benefits Missing Case Number Recipient SNAP/TANF Application DC Student Missing Case Type Special Circumstances DC Students Mixed with Non-DC Missing Household Members List Student at CEP School Duplicate Income Missing Income Student Income Duplicate Student Missing Income Frequency Student is Inactive Emails Exists on Another Application Missing Total Members Student Not Found Emancipated Minor Multi-Child TANF Suspicious Income (Low or High) Foster Child Multiple Students on Foster Application Suspicious Total Members In Verification No Application Number Too Many Zero Incomes Invalid Adult SSN No Signature Total Income Mismatch Invalid Case Number Not Receiving Foodstamps Total Members Mismatch Invalid Income Previous Application Already Scanned Unmatched Students on Auto Economic Survey Invalid Language Second Application, Decreasing Benefits Zero Income There are two different tabs for each student - Income and Ethnicity. Click the plus (+) sign to expand the additional sections and complete details in accordance with your District's requirements.
Locate the student in the Student Lookup screen. The higher the score, the more likely the match.
Once you are sure you have located the correct student, click Match Found. If you have not located the right student, click No Match Found.
Click the plus (+) sign to expand the Income section and complete details in accordance with your District's requirements.
- After you have completed keying all information from the application, click Save Changes & Process.
- An application number and batch number will be assigned to the keyed application. If the application had any problems, it will be held for review.
Independent Application Review
An Independent Application Review has been added to the system in accordance with the Federal Register Vol. 79, No. 25 for school Districts susceptible to high risk of administrative error during certification, verification, and other administrative processes. The Independent Review process allows you to select a percentage of Free, Reduced, and/or Denied applications to pass through an independent/secondary review process prior to status approval.
In order for a percentage of applications to automatically be placed into an Independent Application Review, you must setup the system (Administration and Maintenance → System Settings → Independent Application Review).
From the Home tab, select Application Review.
- Work through the approval process for each application as you normally would. Then, click Save Changes & Process. You will be notified if an application is selected for an Independent/Second Review. The application will then be moved to the Independent Review queue.
From the Home tab, select Independent Application Review.
The user that completed the initial application review cannot approve Independent/Second Reviews of applications.
- Select an application and click Edit/Review Application or double-click.
- Make necessary edits to the application and resolve any problems. You may use the Comments/Work Log to review and create an audit trail. When you are done, click Save Changes & Process.
- Review the students and approval status. Confirm the application by clicking Ok. Then, click Ok in the Application # (Batch #) window.
Reviewed and processed with no changes
Reviewed and processed with changes
- Repeat the process to work through the other applications.
Print Notification Letters
Once applications have been processed, notification letters will be queued for printing.
Notification letters include:
- Application processed and benefits awarded (free, reduced, full pay)
- Application Incomplete and reasons why the application is incomplete
- Benefits decreased
- From the Home tab, click Print Letters.
- Choose which letter type to print and how to sort the letters. When you have completed setting up print options, click Ok.
- Letter batch counts will only print the maximum amount established in System Settings. To proceed with letter printing, click Ok.
In the Letters window, review the notification letters. Use the printer icon to print, the PDF disk icon to export/save, or the PDF envelope icon to email letters.
In order to email letters, an email address must exist in a student's record.
- You will be asked if all letters in the batch printed successfully. If they printed correctly, click Yes and the printed batch will appear in Review Batches.
- If there are additional letters to print, you can continue with the printing process by clicking Ok. If you do not wish to proceed, click Cancel.
Print Mailing Labels/Reprint Batches
You can print mailing labels to attach to envelopes. The mailing label template is defaulted for Avery 5160 labels.
- From the Home tab, click on Review Batches.
Highlight a batch by clicking on it. Then, select Print Mailing Labels.
If you would like to review/reprint letter batches that have already printed, select a batch(es) and click Reprint Batch(es).
If you would like to remove a batch, select a batch and click Delete Batch.
- In the Mailing Labels window, use the drop-down menu to select a layout other than the default if available and click Ok.
In the Mailing Labels tab, review the labels. Use the printer icon to print the labels.
It is good practice to print one page of labels on a regular sheet of paper to ensure all addresses are lining up with the labels prior to printing on label paper. Overlay the paper on a label sheet and hold it up toward a light to see where addresses and label borders line up.
Choose the correct printer and click Print.
You may be warned that some of the margins are outside of the print area. You may cancel out and make adjustment to the mailing label template or continue with printing.
Reports
Delivery bag reports are available
- From the Home tab, click the Scan button.
In the Action tab, select the delivery bag you wish to show by clicking on the row to highlight it and then click Print and select the report you wish to print. You may view, print, or export the report.
The Show History (Delivery Bag History) report only reports information on the selected delivery bag. The Tally Sheet report reports information for all delivery bags.
Show History
The delivery bag history report will be generated to show a history of who entered or made changes, the date those changes were made, which area changes were edited, and the number of counts (applications and supporting documents). 
Tally Sheet
The Delivery Bag Tally Sheet Report allows you to print a report showing delivery bag details.
Details include the following information (Some information my be blank if your District does not utilize all features of the Delivery Bag process):
| Receiving Information | Delivery Bag Counts |
|
|
Application Pipeline
The Application Pipeline report can also be run. This report will give details in regards to the applications process. Click on the link for more Application Pipeline report details.
It is vital to utilize delivery bags to receive accurate pipeline details in the report.