Academic Year: A period of time
schools use to measure a quantity of study. For example, a school's
academic year may consist of a fall and spring semester, during
which a student must complete 24 semester hours. Academic years
vary from school to school, and even from education program to
education program at the same school.
Accreditation: A process of granting recognition
to academic institutions and professional programs offered by
those institutions for meeting established standards of performance,
integrity and quality and which entitles them to the confidence
of the educational community and the public.
American College Test (ACT): A standardized external
battery of tests administered by the American College Testing
Program and covering English, mathematics, reading and science
reasoning. The tests are designed to assess the student's educational
development and readiness for college-level study and may used
by institutions in lieu of the SAT.
Admissions Office: The office responsible for
admitting students to the institution.
Advanced Placement (AP): A series of courses
administered by the College Board that high school students can
take to earn college credit. Students must master a generally
higher level of coursework and pass an accompanying test.
Application fee: That amount of money that an
institution charges for processing a student's application for
acceptance. This amount is not creditable toward tuition and required
fees, nor is it refundable if the student is not admitted to the
institution.
Associate degree: An award that normally requires
at least two but less than four years of full-time equivalent
college work.
Auditing: Taking a class to acquire knowledge
but not for credit or grades. Audited courses do not count toward
degree requirements.
Award Letter: An official document issued by
a financial aid office listing all the financial aid awarded to
the student. The award letter will include information about the
cost of attendance and terms and conditions for the financial
aid.
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Bachelor's degree: An award (baccalaureate
or equivalent degree, as determined by the Secretary of the U.S.
Department of Education) that normally requires at least four
years but not more than five years of full-time equivalent college-level
work. This includes ALL bachelor's degrees conferred in a five-year
cooperative (work-study plan) program. (A cooperative plan provides
for alternate class attendance and employment in business, industry,
or government; thus, it allows students to combine actual work
experience with their college studies.) Also, it includes bachelor's
degrees in which the normal four years of work are completed in
three years.
Borrower: A student or parent to who a loan has
been made. Students are the borrowers under the Federal Stafford
Program. Parents of a legally dependent undergraduate student
are the borrowers under the Federal PLUS (Parent Loan for Undergraduate
Students) loan program.
Capitalization: The process by
which unpaid interest is added to the loan principal.
Carnegie Unit: A credit representing the completion
of a core of high school courses. Developed in the early 1900s
to set norms for curriculum and course time in public schools
across the country, these are named after the Carnegie Foundation
for the Advancement of Teaching, which first suggested the practice.
Class Rank: The relative position of a student
in his or her graduating class, determined by grade average.
College Level Examination Program (CLEP): A program
offered by the College Board designed to offer students the opportunity
to earn college credit by examination.
College-preparatory program: Courses in academic
subjects (English, history and social studies, foreign languages,
mathematics, science, and the arts) that stress preparation for
college or university study.
COMPASS: Computer adaptive placement assessment services.
This test is given for placement purposes.
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Consolidation: A loan program that pays off all
federal education loans and replaces them with a single new loan.
Core Curriculum: General education requirements
set as a defined series of interdisciplinary courses that must
be taken by all undergraduates enrolled in degree programs at
an institution.
Cost of Attendance: The total estimated cost
for a student to attend a particular school. This includes the
cost of tuition, fees, books, supplies, transportation and personal
expenses.
Credit: Time-based quantitative measure assigned
to courses or course-equivalent learning. One credit is usually
defined as 50 minutes of instruction over a semester (semester
credit) or a quarter (quarter credit). 'Unit' is another term
for credit.
Cumulative Grade Point Average: The numerical average
of all the student's grades achieved during the period of study
at an institution.
Default: Failure of the borrower
to repay the student loan in accordance with the agreed upon terms
and conditions.
Deferment: An authorized period during which
the borrower is entitled to postpone repayment of principal and
interest on their student loan.
Degree-seeking students: Students enrolled in
courses for credit who are recognized by the institution as seeking
a degree or formal award. At the undergraduate level, this is
intended to include students enrolled in vocational or occupational
programs.
Delinquent: A loan is considered delinquent the
day after a borrower fails t make the full loan payment on the
agreed upon due date.
Dependent Student: A dependent student is a single,
undergraduate student who is less than 24 years old, has no dependent
children, is not an orphan, a ward of the court, or veteran of
the military and has not otherwise been determined to be independent
based on other unusual documented circumstances.
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Doctoral degree: The highest award a student
can earn for graduate study. The doctoral degree classification
includes such degrees as Doctor of Education, Doctor of Juridical
Science, Doctor of Public Health, and the Doctor of Philosophy
degree in any field such as agronomy, food technology, education,
engineering, public administration, ophthalmology, or radiology.
For the Doctor of Public Health degree, the prior degree is generally
earned in the closely related field of medicine or in sanitary
engineering.
Dual enrollment: A program through which high
school students may enroll in college courses while still enrolled
in high school. Students are not required to apply for admission
to the college in order to participate.
Enrollment: (1) The process of
registering for classes. (2) the total number of students at an
institution.
Expected Family Contribution (EFC): The projected
amount students and their families are expected to contribute
to the student's educational costs.
Extracurricular activities (as admission factor):
Special consideration in the admissions process given for participation
in both school and non school-related activities of interest to
the college, such as clubs, hobbies, student government, athletics,
performing arts, etc.
Faculty: (1) The body of teaching
personnel in a department, division, or an entire institution.
(2) An academic administrative unit, e.g., The Faculty of Engineering.
FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid):
The form that must be completed by students and parents applying
for Federal Title IV student aid.
FAT (Financial Aid Transcript): A record of all
financial aid received by students at each school attended.
FDSLP: The Federal Direct Student Loan Program.
Stafford and PLUS loans are available directly from the government
rather than through commercial lenders. Selected colleges and
universities participate in this program.
FFELP: The Federal Family Education Loan Program.
Stafford and PLUS loans are financed by private lenders and guaranteed
by the government.
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Financial Aid: Scholarships, grants and loans
provided for students by academic institutions from government
and private sources to help defray educational costs.
Financial Aid Package: A combination of financial
aid (scholarships, grants, loans, and/or work-study) awarded by
the financial aid office of a college or university.
Financial Need: The difference between the cost
of attendance at a college and the Expected Family Contribution.
Forbearance: A period of time during which the
borrower is permitted to temporarily cease making payments.
Freshman: Freshman: First-year student (applies
to both college undergraduates and high school students).
Full-time student (undergraduate): A student
enrolled for 12 or more semester credits, 12 or more quarter credits,
or 24 or more contact hours a week each term.
Grace Period: The six-month period
between the time a borrower graduates, withdraws or drops below
half-time enrollment status and the point at which they must begin
repayment of principal and interest on their loan.
Grade point average (academic high school GPA):
The sum of grade points a student has earned in secondary school
divided by the number of courses taken. The most common system
of assigning numbers to grades counts four points for an A, three
points for a B, two points for a C, one point for a D, and no
points for an E or F. Unweighted GPAs/assign the same weight to
each course. Weighting gives students additional points for their
grades in advanced or honors courses.
Graduate student: A student who holds a bachelor's
or first professional degree, or equivalent, and is taking courses
at the post-baccalaureate level.
Grants: Financial aid awards that do not have
to be repaid. Grants are available through the government, state
agencies and colleges.
Guarantee Fee: A fee put into an insurance fund
to protect the lender against loan default.
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Independent Student: A student
who is least 24 years old, married, a graduate or professional
student, someone with legal dependents other than a spouse, an
orphan or ward of the court, or a veteran.
Interest: The fee charged to borrow money.
Junior: Third year student. (Applies
to both college undergraduates and high school students.)
Lender: The organization the
provides the funds for a student loan.
Letter of Recommendation: Letter written in support of
a student's application for admission to a study program, which
assesses the candidate's qualifications for the program in question.
Loan: A type of financial aid that is available
to students and their parents. Education loan programs have varying
interest rates and repayment provisions. An education loan must
be repaid.
Major: Letter written in support
of a student's application for admission to a study program which
assesses the candidate's qualifications for the program in question.
Master's degree: An award that requires the successful
completion of a program of study of at least the full-time equivalent
of one but not more than two academic years of work beyond the
bachelor's degree.
Matriculated: Enrolled in a program leading to
a degree.
Minor: Enrolled in a program leading to a degree.
Need: The difference between
the cost of education and the Expected Family Contribution (EFC)
is the student's financial need.
Other expenses (costs): Include
average costs for clothing, laundry, entertainment, medical (if
not a required fee), and furnishings.
Part-time student (undergraduate):
A student enrolled for fewer than 12 credits per semester or quarter,
or fewer than 24 contact hours a week each term.
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PC (Parent's Contribution): Amount parents can
be expected to contribute each year to the cost of their student's
education as determined by the Federal Methodology.
Pell Grant Program: The largest grant program.
Eligibility and award amounts are determined by the college based
on established guidelines.
Perkins Loans: Federally insured loans funded
by the government and awarded by the school. The loans feature
a low interest rate and are repayable over an extended period.
Ph. D. (Doctor of Philosophy): The highest earned
degree awarded in the United States.
PLUS (Parent Loans for Undergraduate Students):
Federally insured loans for parents of dependent students.
Post-Secondary: This term means "after high
school" and refers to all programs for high school graduates,
including programs at two and four-year colleges, and vocational
& technical schools.
Prerequisite: A course, which must be completed
before a student is allowed to register for a more advanced course.
Principal: The amount of the loan that must be
repaid upon maturity and the amount upon which interest will be
charged.
Professor: The common honorific for all university
faculty members. But it is also the formal rank of senior (full)
professors.
Promissory Note: The legal document a borrower
signs before receiving loan proceeds.
PSAT: Pre-scholastic aptitude test.
Registrar: The officer responsible
for registering students and maintaining their educational records.
Regents
Scholar Curriculum:
- 4 units of English
- 3 units of social studies
- 4 units of algebra or higher mathematics
- 4 units of science, including 3 units of approved laboratory
science
- 1/2 unit of computer science
- 1/2 unit of fine arts
- 2 units of the same modern or classical language
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Regents
Scholar Diploma: Awarded by the state of South Dakota
based on criteria established by the South Dakota Board of Regents.
It is a commemorative certificate issued by the Department of
Education that says the student completed the Regents Scholar
curriculum and is automatically eligible for admission to one
of the six public universities governed by the Board of Regents.
Required fees: Fixed sum charged to students
for items not covered by tuition and required of such a large
proportion of all students that the student who does NOT pay is
the exception. Do not include application fees or optional fees
such as lab fees or parking fees.
Repayment: The period during which the student
or parent borrower actively pay back the loan(s).
Room and board (charges)--on campus: Assume double
occupancy in institutional housing and 19 meals per week (or maximum
meal plan).
SAR (Student Aid Report): An
output document sent to a student by the application processor.
The SAR contains financial and other information reported by the
student on the FAFSA. The student's Expected Family Contribution
(EFC) is printed on the front of the SAR and is the figure used
by colleges to determine eligibility for aid.
SAT: Scholastic Aptitude Test - The SAT is a
standardized test, usually taken by college-bound students. The
SAT I: Reasoning Test is a test of verbal and mathematical reasoning
ability. It is designed to predict who will do well in college.
The SAT II: Subject Test, formerly known as Achievement Tests,
are tests of current ability and knowledge in high school subject
areas such as English and biology.
Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): Student financial
aid recipients are required to meet minimum academic standards
to continue to receive aid funds.
Scholarships: Funds used to pay for higher education
that do not have to be repaid. Scholarships may be awarded based
on any number of criteria, such as academics, achievements, talents,
and affiliations with various groups, or career aspirations. Scholarships
do not have to be repaid.
Senior: Fourth year student (Applies to both
college undergraduates and high school students).
South
Dakota Opportunity Scholarship: $5,000 scholarship
over four years to qualifying students who attend an eligible
higher education institution in South Dakota.
Student Aid Report (SAR): A report that is sent
to students who complete the paper or electronic FAFSA. The SAR
summarizes Expected Family Contribution (EFC) and other items
dealing with financial aid eligibility.
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Subsidized Stafford Loans: Need-based loans.
Transcript: A list of all the
courses that a student has taken at a particular high school or
college with the grades that the student earned in each course.
Tuition: Amount of money charged to students
for instructional services. Tuition may be charged per term, per
course, or per credit.
Undergraduate Student: A student
enrolled at a college, university or trade school in a program
of study beyond the high school level.
Unsubsidized Stafford Loans: Non-need-based loans.
Verification Worksheet: A form sent by
the college to students who are selected for verification by the
Department of Education's Central Processing System.
Withdrawal: Formal process of
leaving an institution before (and without) completing a degree.
Work Study: A program, awarded by the college,
through which students work part-time to help fund their education.
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