Once the completed application has been received and verified by the Facility Manager, an applicant who wishes to register for classes while their Fee Assistance Application is under review (with tickler text on the account) is allowed to do so at a price equal to 10% of the program’s full value. Leave the remaining balance account until the Fee Assistance application is processed and an award percentage is approved.
- Stress that the 10% price is temporary. The client must understand and accept that the cost of the course will be adjusted later based on the amount of Fee Assistance they are awarded (and has signed the application contract to that effect).
- The 10% charge assumes a maximum award of 90% Fee Assistance. In the event that the client is approved for a lower percentage of aid (or none at all), they will be charged the remaining cost of the course, and they will be required to pay this cost within 10 business days or be withdrawn from the program.
- If the client is not satisfied with the level of fee assistance approved, they are entitled to a withdrawal and full refund of any money paid toward the cost of the registration(s).
Registration guidelines:
- Course start date must be at least 3 weeks from the date the application was received.
- Memberships can begin immediately.
- Pay close attention to program exclusions (see warning below). Find a list on www.pgparks.com.
- Day Camp registrations have a custom process. See the Summer Programs section below for details.
Warning! Incorrectly applied fee assistance (applied to ineligible course, applied after approval period has ended, applied at the wrong rate, etc.) will be billed to the facility where the transaction(s) took place to “pay” for the difference owed by the client.
Do NOT allow the client to attend any program (or use facility) without receiving the full remaining balance due for the course/membership once the decision is received!
Procedure:
- Bring up the client’s account in Global Sales.
- Verify that the Tickler Text states that the application is pending.
- Process the registration at full price. Since the client has not yet been approved for Fee Assistance, automated adjustments will not happen at this time.
Note that some programs will NOT be eligible for Fee Assistance. Those items should be paid in full.
Apply manual calculations at the Payment Window.
It is the responsibility of the facility that originally received the application to do amendments for all applicable course registrations after the approved packet is returned from the division office.
Once Fee Assistance has been approved or denied:
- The Tickler Code must be removed from the household.
- The appropriate Fee Assistance Membership Pass must be sold to all applicable clients.
This will make future registrations completely automated.
Sell the appropriate Fee Assistance Membership to the household. The fee is $0.00 but will allow discounts for appropriate registrations.
Make sure the shopping cart is EMPTY. Outstanding balances from registrations while the application was pending will be adjusted after the membership is processed.
Use the Global Sales Selection Matrix to add Fee Assistance to all applicable family members.
Now that the membership has been added, you may amend registrations that were partially paid while Fee Assistance was pending.
Make sure the shopping cart is EMPTY.
PLEASE NOTE: The Fee Assistance is effective as of the date that the Division Chief signs and approves the paperwork. Any registrations made prior to the approval date should be left in the cart with partial payment. These registrations should be updated once the application is approved.
Fee Assistance CANNOT be backdated for programs prior to the approval date UNLESS that registration was left in a pending status during the application process.
Once the proper membership has been applied to each applicable family member of a household, registrations for Fee Assistance-eligible programs is automated!
Staff can enroll clients in activity sections as normal. If the section is eligible for Fee Assistance, the price will automatically be adjusted when it is added to the shopping cart.
Automatic Fee Assistance adjustments will happen for the customer online using PARKS DIRECT as well. There is no need for them to come in person to register for activities.
PARKS DIRECT will apply discounts when necessary and charge full price for ineligible programs. Staff will not have to worry about manually adjusting fees.
A program is eligible to be discounted if:
- It has a fee greater than $35.00. Linked courses (e.g. extended care) are exceptions; they receive the fee assistance percentage identical to that granted to the primary course.
- It is not offered by either a Recreation Council or a Boys and Girls Club.
- It is not a sports league.
- It is not a rental of any kind. (Tennis/racquetball contracts and court reservations are counted as rentals.)
- It is not a Summer Playtime or a Teen Center.
- It does not take place at an employee child care facility.
- It is not a fee for materials, supplies, equipment, team participation, registration, food/concessions, picnic kits, amusement park tickets, etc.
- It is not an admission fee (drop in or otherwise) to a performance or program.
- Does not fall under the “Trips and Excursions” brochure section.