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Glossary and Acronyms

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A

Adjustments - Changes to data elements that are made by the aid administrator when the data elements are correct but, in the financial aid administrator's opinion, do not realistically reflect the student's circumstances. An adjustment, which must begin with correct data, results from the use of professional judgment.

AFDC - Aid to Families with Dependent Children

Annual notification - Requirement that schools once a year notify all currently enrolled students and the parents of all currently enrolled students of their rights under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).

AP - Advanced Placement

B

Base-year - For need analysis purposes, the base year is the calendar year preceding the award year. For instance, 2003 is the base year used for the 2004-05 award year. Base-year income is the income from the calendar year preceding the award year.

C

Certificate or degree-seeking student - A student enrolled in a course of study who is recognized by the institution as seeking a degree or certificate.

Combined summer mini-sessions - Federal Pell Grant regulations permit, but do not require, summer mini-sessions to be combined into a single term which crosses-over July 1. When summer mini- sessions are combined into a term, the weeks of instructional time in the combined term are the weeks between the beginning of the first mini-session and the end date of the last mini-session. Enrollment status is established based on the student's enrollment, or projected enrollment, in all mini-sessions in the term. The amount of the student's cost of attendance, EFC and EFA must, however, reflect the student's actual period of enrollment during the summer term.

COA (Cost of attendance) - Includes a student's tuition, fees, room and board expenses while attending school, and an allowance for books and supplies, transportation, loan fees, dependent care costs, costs related to a disability, and other miscellaneous costs. Reasonable costs for a study-abroad program and costs associated with a student's employment as part of a cooperative education program may be included.

CPS - Central Processing System

Cross-over period - A payment period that begins before July 1 and ends after July 1 is known as a cross-over payment period. A cross over payment period crosses from one award year into the next.

CWS - College Work-Study

D

Dependency override - Making an otherwise dependent student independent, based on documented unusual circumstances.

Dependent student - A student who, for federal financial aid purposes, is dependent on his or her parents for support and must provide parental information on the FAFSA.

Documentation - The supplying of documents or supporting references. In professional judgment, documentation is used to provide information in addition to that found on the application and need analysis documents, and to provide a history of the student's circumstances for future reference for another aid administrator, an auditor, a program reviewer, or some other third party.

E

EFC - Expected Family Contribution

EFT - Electronic Funds Transfer

ESAR - Electronic Student Aid Report

F

FAA - Financial Aid Administrator

FAF - Financial Aid Form

FAFSA - Free Application for Federal Student Aid

FAO - Financial Aid Office

FAT - Financial Aid Transcript

FERPA ( Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974) - Federal law that sets certain conditions on the disclosure of personal information from records kept by schools that participate in the student financial assistance programs.

FDSLP - Federal Direct Student Loan Program

FFELP - Federal Family Education Loan Program

First-time freshman student - An entering freshman who has never attended any institution of higher education. Includes a student enrolled in the fall term who attended a postsecondary institution for the first time in the prior summer term, and a student who entered with advanced standing (college credit earned before graduation from high school).

FSEOG - Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

Full-time student - An enrolled student who is carrying a full-time academic workload (other than by correspondence) as determined by the institution under a standard applicable to all students enrolled in a particular program. The student's workload may include any combination of courses, work, research, or special studies that the institution considers sufficient to classify the student as a full-time student. However, for an undergraduate student, an institution's standard must equal or exceed one of the following minimum requirements: 12 semester hours or 12 quarter hours per academic term in an educational program using a semester, trimester, or quarter system; 24 semester hours or 36 quarter hours per academic year in an educational program using credit hours but not using a semester, trimester, or quarter system (or the prorated equivalent for a program of less than one academic year); 24 clock hours per week for an educational program using clock hours.

FWS - Federal Work-Study

G

GPA - Grade Point Average

GSL - Guaranteed Student Loan

H

I

IPA (Income Protection Allowance) - This is a provision in the needs analysis formula that provides for the basic living expenses of a family. The allowance varies according to the number in the parents' household and the number in college, as reported on the FAFSA.

Increment - A required division of a school's satisfactory progress maximum time frame. The length of any increment cannot exceed the lesser of one academic year or one-half of the published length of the program. The school must assess each student's progress at the end of each increment as defined by the satisfactory progress policy.

Independent student - A student who, for federal financial aid purposes, is not dependent on his or her parents for support. A student is considered independent if he or she is any one of the following: 1) 24 years of age or older by December 31 of the award year; 2) an orphan, or ward of the court, or was a ward of the court until the individual reached the age of 18; 3) a veteran of the Armed Forces United States; 4) a graduate or professional student; 5) a married individual; 6) has legal dependent other than a spouse; or (7) is a student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented determination of independence by reason of other unusual circumstances.

Individual (non-combined) summer mini-sessions - Mini-sessions that are not combined are treated as individual non-standard terms. If mini-sessions are not combined, each mini-session should have its own cost of attendance budget, EFC, and EFA. Summer awards are packaged for each mini-session individually, according to the student's demonstrated financial need for that mini-session.

IRA - Individual Retirement Account

IRS - Internal Revenue Service

ISIR - Institutional Student Information Report

J

K

L

M

Maximum time frame - The period of time in which a student must meet all requirements for graduation. If a student has not completed his or her program by the end of the maximum time frame, he or she is not eligible for further Title IV aid. For undergraduate programs, the maximum time frame cannot exceed 150 percent of the published length of the educational program.

Mitigating circumstances - Under the satisfactory progress provisions, special or unusual circumstances that affect a student's ability to progress according to the specified progress standards. These circumstances must distinguish the student from a class of students and must be determined on a case-by-case basis, through the satisfactory progress policy's appeal procedures. If mitigating circumstances exist, the school may consider that the student is still making satisfactory progress for the purposes of receiving Title IV funds, although he or she has failed to meet one or more of the policy's standards.

N

Need analysis - The process of analyzing household and financial information on a student's financial aid application and calculating an Expected Family Contribution (EFC).

NMSQT - National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test

Normal time - The amount of time necessary for a student to complete all requirements for a degree or certificate according the institution's catalog. This is typically four years (8 semesters or trimesters, or 12 quarters, excluding summer terms) for a bachelor's degree in a standard term-based institution, two years (4 semesters or trimesters, or 6 quarters, excluding summer terms) for an associate degree in a standard term-based institution, and the various scheduled times for certificate programs.

NSL - Nursing Student Loan

O

P

PC - Parent Contribution

Personally identifiable information - Includes, but is not limited to: the student's name; the name of the student's parent or other family member; the address of the student or student's family; a personal identifier, such as the student's social security number or student number; a list of personal characteristics that would make the student's identity easily traceable; or other information that would make the student's identity easily traceable.

PJ - Professional Judgment

PLUS - Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students

Professional judgment -The authority that allows financial aid administrators to treat a student individually when the student has special circumstances that are not sufficiently addressed by a standard approach.

Projected-year income - Income from the current year rather than the base year. For example, for the 2004-05 award year, based on professional judgment, it may be more appropriate to use projected - year income (2004), rather than base-year income (2003).

Prospective student - Individuals who have contacted an eligible institution requesting information concerning admission to that institution.

PSAT - Preliminary Scholastic Assessment Test

Q

Qualitative component - One of the required elements of a school's satisfactory progress policy. The qualitative component is a measurement of a student's progress that consists of grades, work projects completed, or other comparable factors that are measurable against a norm. The qualitative standard may be either fixed or graduated.

Quantitative component - One of the required elements of a school's satisfactory progress policy. The quantitative component measures a student's incremental progress toward his or her educational credential. The quantitative component must contain a maximum time frame (for undergraduate programs, the maximum time frame cannot exceed 150 percent of the published program length) that is divided into increments, and a schedule designating the amount of work a student must complete each increment in order to complete his or her program within the maximum time frame. The quantitative standard may be either fixed or graduated.

R

RA - Research Assistantship

ROTC - Reserve Officer Training Corps

S

Same as or stricter than - One of the general requirements that a satisfactory progress policy must meet. Satisfactory progress standards for students receiving Title IV aid must be the same as or stricter than the standards for a student enrolled in the same educational program who is not receiving Title IV funds.

SAP (Satisfactory academic progress) - A student eligibility criterion. In order to receive Title IV funds, students must be moving toward a definite educational goal at a reasonable rate according to the school's satisfactory progress policy. Also, an institutional eligibility criterion that requires schools to establish, publish and apply a satisfactory progress policy that meets the regulatory parameters.

SAR - Student Aid Report

SAT - Scholastic Assessment Test

SC - Student Contribution

Schedule of work - The designation within a written satisfactory progress policy, of the minimum percentage or amount of work that a student must complete at the end of each increment in order to complete his or her program within the maximum time frame.

SEOG - Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant

SLMA - Student Loan Marketing Association

Special circumstances - Are conditions that differentiate an individual student from a class of students rather than conditions that exist across a class of students. Also known as unusual circumstances.

T

TA - Teaching Assistantship

TOEFL - Test Of English As A Foreign Language

U

USED - US Department of Education

Undergraduate student - A student enrolled in a 4-year or 5-year bachelor's degree program, an associate degree program, or a vocational or technical program below the baccalaureate level.

V

VA - Veterans Administration

W

X

Y

Z