Financial Aid Glossary

A

Academic Level
The number of regular credits successfully completed (including transfer credits) that determines the academic level for students seeking their first degree.

Academic Year
A period of time schools use to measure a quantity of study. At BCC, the academic year is defined as the Fall, Winter and Spring quarters combined. The Summer quarter is considered the beginning of the academic year.

Accrued Interest
The interest that accumulates on the unpaid principal balance of a loan.

Admissions Application
The application that must be submitted to become accepted into Bellevue Community College. The Admissions Office oversees this determination. The application is available on their Web site at http://bellevuecollege.edu/enrollment/admissions/apply/credit/.

Amortization
The gradual reduction of a loan debt by periodic installment payments (usually monthly) of principal and interest.

Appeal
Students who have lost their financial aid eligibility due to lack of Academic Progress may file an Appeal with BCC’s aid in an attempt to regain financial aid eligibility. You can access this form from our forms link.

APR
Annual Percentage Rate - Amount of interest associated with a loan. It can change or remain the same during the year and term of the loan. If the interest rate is variable, the rate can change; if it is fixed, the rate will not change.

Award Letter
An award letter is sent to you by the Financial Aid office letting you know what amount and type of financial aid BCC is able to offer you.

Attempted Credits
Attempted credits for financial aid pass rate purposes include all BCC courses for which you were registered at each census. Audited courses are considered neither passed nor attempted and are not included in the count. Courses in which grades of F, Y, I or HW/ W (hardship withdrawal or withdrawal are included in the count).

B

BIA
Bureau of Indian Affairs

C

Capitalization
The addition of unpaid accrued interest applied to the principal balance of a loan that increases the total debt outstanding. BCC highly recommends and strongly encourages that students pay this interest rather than allowing it to be capitalized.

Census
The point in time that BCC’s Financial Aid Office evaluates your official enrollment status for financial aid purposes. The actual time that Census occurs is at 12 AM [Pacific Standard Time] on the 10th calendar day of each quarter. The summer census date is different; it is on the 6th day of the quarter.  Any changes in your schedule made after the census date may affect your financial aid eligibility.

CFR
Code of Federal Regulations

COA
Cost of Attendance - The estimated COA is used by the Financial Aid office to determine your financial aid eligibility - it is not a bill. This figure is used in the calculation to determine your unmet need amount. The COA minus your EFC (Expected Family Contribution) equals unmet need.

Consolidation
The process of combining one or more eligible educational loans into a single new loan.

Co-signer
A person besides the borrower who signs a credit agreement and is legally obligated to repay the loan if the borrower does not make payments.

Central Processing System (CPS)
The Department of Education facility that processes applications for federal student aid, determining a student's eligibility for aid and conducting a series of quality control and eligibility checks on the application data.

D

DRN
Data Release Number - found on your SAR.

Default
A loan is in default when the borrower fails to pay several regular installments on time (i.e., payments overdue by 270 days) or otherwise fails to meet the terms and conditions of the loan. If you default on a loan, the state government and the federal government can take legal action to recover the money, including garnishing your wages and withholding income tax refunds. Defaulting on a government loan can make you ineligible for future financial aid, and can affect your credit rating.

Deferment
An approved temporary suspension of loan payments based on certain events and criteria. If you decide to return to school at any time, and attend with an enrollment status (usually 6 college level credits) of half-time or greater, your loans will return to deferment status. This additional deferment period will end when you are not enrolled halftime or greater and payments will begin the following month.

Delinquency
The failure to make scheduled monthly loan payments when they are due. Late fees may be charged.

Default Fee
A fee charged by a guaranty agency to help cover the costs of defaulted student loans.

Direct Costs
Costs directly associated with attending BCC, which includes tuition and fees, rent/room and board, and books and supplies.

DOE
The United States Department of Education (a.k.a. DOE, ED or USED).

Dependent Student
Federal regulations dictate who is considered dependent for financial aid purposes. If you are considered a dependent student, your parents’ financial resources are considered when awarding you financial aid. Dependent means you are under 24 years of age as of January 1 of the award year, have no children, are not married, are not a Veteran, or a graduate student.

Direct Student Loan
Federal loan available from schools which participate in the Direct Loan Program; in this particular loan program the school acts like a lending institution. BCC participates in the Stafford Loan Program, but BCC is not acting like a lender (as in the Direct Loan Program), you must find your own bank or credit union to loan you funds.

Disbursement
The release of funds by a school or lender to the student or borrower.

E

EFC
Expected Family Contribution - The Expected Family Contribution (EFC) is a measurement of your family's financial strength, and is used to determine your eligibility for need-based federal, state and institutional aid during one school year (July 1st through June 30th). You receive an EFC based on the processing results of your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Your EFC can be found on the first page of your paper SAR, or online at www.fafsa.ed.gov.

Enrollment
The Financial Aid office assumes full-time enrollment when awarding you financial aid (12 credits). Less than full-time enrollment may result in a reduction or cancellation of your awards. Your awards are prorated (reduced proportionally) when you do not attend full-time:

F

FAFSA
Free Application for Federal Student Aid - An application that must be filed with the Federal Processor EVERY year in order to receive financial aid consideration.

FAO
Financial Aid Office

Federal Methodology
The Federal Methodology is the need analysis formula used to determine the EFC. It takes into account taxable and non-taxable income, assets, family size, and the number of family members in college. Unlike many Institutional Methodologies, it does not consider the net value of a family's home.

Federal Processor
The Department of Educations’ application data processing facility; it is currently located in Iowa. The processor uses student information from the FAFSA to calculate the EFC and returns the student's eligibility information electronically to BCC.

Financial Aid
Money provided to a student and/or his or her family to help pay for a student's education. Financial aid can be in the form of gift aid (grants and scholarships) or self-help aid (scholarships, loans and work-study).

Financial Aid Package
The total financial aid award received by a student from all sources (federal, state, institutional, and private).

Financial Aid Probation
This is a warning status when you have either not completed all the credits you registered for as of the Census date or your CGPA does not meat the minimums. You remain aid eligible (as long as you meet all other eligibility criteria).

Financial Aid Suspension
All financial aid is cancelled, including loans, due to Unsatisfactory Academic Progress i.e. not meeting the BCC pass rate standard. Students with this SAP status are ineligible for financial aid. If the measurement occurs after a quarter has begun, aid for that quarter will not be awarded and future quarters of aid will also be cancelled. This status can be changed if you file an appeal and it’s approved.

Financial Aid Cancellation
Students with this SAP status are ineligible for financial aid, grants and loans. If file review occurs after a quarter has begun, you will not receive aid for that quarter; your aid will be cancelled and you will also lose aid eligibility for future quarters. This status is permanent and cannot be changed by filing an appeal or paying for a quarter on your own funds.

Financial Need
The difference between the student's COA and EFC.

Forbearance
The approved temporary suspension or reduction of loan payments due to a financial hardship during which interest continues to accrue. Contact the lender on your student loan to apply and determine if you are eligible.

FSEOG
Federal Student Education Opportunity Grant

FWS Program
Federal Work-Study Program - A self-help award in which the student obtains a job and the FWS program pays a percentage of student wages.

G

GA
Guaranty Agency

Gift Assistance
Student financial aid that does not have to be repaid as long as enrollment for the quarter in which you received the grant is maintained. Gift assistance does not require the recipient to be employed, examples of gift assistance include grants and scholarships).

Grace Period
The period after a student either graduates, leaves school (unofficially or officially), or drops below half-time enrollment before loan payments must begin.

During the grace period, subsidized Stafford Loans do not accrue interest while unsubsidized Stafford Loans do. Borrowers may either pay this interest as it accrues or have it capitalized. A borrower's payment period begins the day after the grace period ends. The first payment will be due within 60 days after the repayment period begins.

Gross Income
Income before taxes, deductions, and allowances have been subtracted.

H

Housing Status
The Financial Aid Office determines your housing status from the information you provided on your FAFSA (Step 6).

I

ISIR
Institutional Student Information Report - Schools receive your FAFSA data from the Federal Processor in the form of an ISIR i.e. electronically via a computer download.

Independent Student
For financial aid purposes, an independent student is a person who meets any one of the following criteria:

• Has dependent children
• Is married
• Over the age of 24 as of January 1st of the award year
• Graduate Student
• Veteran

Institutional Methodology
A formula, other than the Federal methodology, used by an college or university to determine financial need for the allocation of institutional financial aid funds.

J

K

L

LEAP
Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Grant

Loans
Money that must be repaid, with interest. Educational loans are usually subsidized by the state or federal government, or by colleges. Subsidized loans carry lower interest rates than commercial loans, and often repayment doesn't begin until the student leaves college. Eligibility for subsidized loans is determined by student need, while unsubsidized loans are available to all students, regardless of need. There are many different types of loans with different interest rates, repayment schedules, maximum borrowing limits, and interest accrual periods, so it is important for students and their families to thoroughly understand each specific loan before borrowing.

Loan Entrance Counseling
A federal requirement for student-borrowers to learn about the rights and responsibilities of taking out a Stafford loan. The on line session assists student-borrowers in understanding the terms and responsibilities of his/her loan(s).

Loan Period
The time frame covered by an educational loan, generally three quarters. However, a loan period also can be one quarter in length. The FAO determines the loan period from the Loan application submitted to this office.

M

MPN
Master Promissory Note – Must be signed and returned to our guaranty agency before funds can be disbursed. It is the promise note or promise to repay the borrowed funds. Only one note is required even if the student borrower attends more than one academic year unless the student borrower want to change lenders, then a new note must be signed.

N

Need
See Financial Need.

Need-based Aid
Financial aid that is awarded based on a student's financial situation. Most federal and state financial aid is need-based. Need-based aid includes grants, some loans, and federal work-study.

NSLDS
National Student Loan Data System - A database of federal student loan borrowers which is available to student-borrowers and aid offices alike.

Non-Title IV Aid
Financial aid that is not governed under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. This includes:

• BCC Grant
• BCC tuition waiver
• Scholarships
• Washington State Need Grant

Please Note: Although scholarships are non-Title IV aid, the impact to this type of assistance when a student completely withdraws from school varies depending on the donor or type of scholarship. Contact the Scholarship Coordinator in BCC’s financial aid office if you are completely withdrawing and want to know the impact this will have on your scholarship(s).

O

Office of the Ombudsman
Stafford loan student borrower advocate who will assist in difficulties which you seem unable to resolve with your lender or guaranty agency.

Origination Fee/Default Fee
A fee paid to the bank to compensate for the cost of administering the loan. A portion of this fee is paid to the federal government to offset the administrative costs of the loan. Origination fees usually run about 3% of the amount disbursed and are charged as the loan is disbursed.

Other Eligible Non-citizen
Other non-citizens who are eligible for some and/or all Federal financial aid funds include those with an Arrival-Departure Record (I-94) showing any one of the following designations:

• Refugee. This status is considered temporary, although refugees can apply for permanent residence;
• Asylum Granted. Persons who have been granted asylum in the United States are given employment authorization for one year. At the end of that year, they are eligible to apply for permanent residence. Asylum status continues unless revoked by Department of Homeland Security or until permanent residence status is granted;
• Conditional entrants. These individuals are refugees who entered the United States under the seventh preference category of P.L. 89-236 or whose status was adjusted to lawful permanent-resident alien under that category. Note that the Department of Homeland Security stopped using this category on March 31, 1980;
• Parole. (I-94 confirms paroled for a minimum of one year and status not expired.) These individuals must also provide evidence (such as having filed a valid permanent resident application) from the Department of Homeland Security that they are in the U.S. for other than a temporary purpose and intend to become a citizen or permanent resident;
• Cuban-Haitian Entrant.

See also U.S. Permanent Resident or Eligible Noncitizen.

Outside Resources
Funding received from outside sources that assist you in paying for your educational expenses. Examples of outside resources include, but are not limited to: Veteran's benefits, faculty/staff tuition benefits, private donor scholarships, fellowships, assistantships, Americorp benefits and vocational rehabilitation benefits. Receipt of outside resources must be reported to BCC’ Financial Aid office. Outside resources reduce your need and consequently may affect your eligibility for financial aid. BCC will assume that outside resources (including tribal funds) received in the summer or fall quarter will also be received in the winter and spring quarters unless we are informed otherwise.

Over Aggregate
A student is considered to be over his/her aggregate loan limit when he/she has borrowed up to the maximum loan limit.

Overaward
This results when a student has received aid in excess of his/her established need or his/her COA. A recalculation of financial aid eligibility is required if this situation occurs.

P

Parent
A student’s natural or adoptive mother, father, or the spouse of a parent who remarried if the spouse’s income and assets would have been taken into account when calculating a dependent student’s expected family contribution. For purposes of Federal PLUS loan eligibility: The biological or adoptive mother or father may apply for a Federal PLUS loan, even if one parent's information is not on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) due to divorce or separation. However, a stepparent may apply for a Federal PLUS loan only if the stepparent's income and assets are considered in the calculation of the student's expected family contribution (EFC), or would be considered if the student files a FAFSA.

Pell Grant
Federal Pell grants are gift assistance awarded to eligible undergraduate students pursuing their first bachelor's degree who demonstrate significant financial need.

To determine eligibility, the U.S. Department of Education uses a standard formula, established by Congress, to evaluate the information reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The formula produces an Expected Family Contribution (EFC). This figure is used by the Financial Aid Office to award Federal Pell grants, as well as other types of aid.

Factors affecting the amount of the Pell Grant award include the EFC, cost of attendance, enrollment status and whether or not college attendance is for the full academic year.

Passed Credits
Passed credits for financial aid pass rate purposes include letter grades of A, B, C, D, and P. Passed credits DO NOT include courses for which no grade was received (NR), or grade of incomplete (I), failure (F), withdrawn (W), remedial no credit.

Audited courses are considered neither passed nor attempted.

Grade changes are not systematically reviewed until the next scheduled SAP measurement. If you have a late grade change and you think that may impact your current SAP status, please contact the Financial Aid office in person.

PIN
Personal Identification Number - Your PIN serves as your electronic signature and gives you access to your personal records with the US DOE.

Principal
The full amount borrowed. During repayment, it refers to the portion of the original amount still owed (not including interest).

Priority Processing Deadline Date
The BCC priority processing date for filing the FAFSA for the upcoming academic year; the date is usually April 15th unless that date falls on a weekend. If you file your FAFSA by this date, you will increase your opportunity for grants and work-study. The FAFSA becomes available every January 1st for the next academic year.

PJ
Professional Judgment - Under limited circumstances, financial aid administrators may adjust a student's aid package and contribution when extenuating circumstances exist (e.g., loss of a parent, unemployment, unanticipated medical expenses, etc.).

Promissory Note
A legal document that must be signed by the borrower in order to obtain a loan. By signing, the borrower promises to repay the loan, with interest, in specified installments. The promissory note also includes any information about the grace period, deferment, or cancellation provisions, and the borrower's rights and responsibilities with respect to the loan.

Prorate
To make a proportional distribution of funds based on a student's lower enrollment status. Students are awarded aid based on full-time enrollment. Less than full-time enrollment may result in a reduction or cancellation of a student's awards.

Q

Quality Assurance Program (QAP)
Federal financial aid program that exempts schools from collecting certain documents from students to verify the accuracy of information reported on the FAFSA. The Quality Assurance Program allows participating schools to collect data from a smaller number of students. Data collected from the sample is used the following year to address and correct errors in the FAFSA application process.

R

Residency Status
The Office of the Registrar determines your residency status from the information you provided on your application for admission. Residency status is not associated with your financial aid dependency status. For information on establishing Washington residency, visit the Registrar's Office.

Return of Title IV Funds
The calculation the Financial Aid performs to determine if a student must repay Title IV funds, state or institutional funds when the student completely withdraws from all classes or stops attending.

S

SAP
Satisfactory Academic Progress

SAR
Student Aid Report - The SAR summarized the information included in the FAFSA and contains your EFC. When you receive your SAR, check it for any mistakes. If you find a mistake, go to the FAFSA web site and using your pin make the correction(s) or if you filed using a paper application instead of the web on Part 2 of the form make your correction(s) and return it to the Federal Processor in the envelope provided.

SFAO
Student Financial Assistance Office - The financial aid administrator for BCC students.

SWS Program
Washington State Work-Study Program - A self-help award in which the student obtains a job and the SWS program pays a percentage of student wages.

T

Title IV Funds
Funds governed under Title IV of the Higher Education Act. Title IV Funds include:

• Federal Pell Grants
• Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants
• Federal Stafford Loans
• Federal PLUS Loan
• Federal Work-Study
• Academic Competitiveness Grant

For purposes of complete withdrawal and the Return of Title IV Formula, Federal Work-Study is not considered. However, in ALL complete withdrawal cases, you cannot continue to work under the Federal Work-Study or the State Work Study program after your date of withdrawal.

Tuition Deferment
A tuition deferment is a delay in the date by which your tuition must be paid.

U

USED
United States Department of Education

Unsubsidized Loan
A loan that begins to accrue interest upon disbursement. The student can choose to defer interest payments while enrolled at least half-time, during the student's grace period, and during periods of authorized deferment. However, interest continues to accrue and capitalize on the principle loan amount. Unsubsidized loan amounts are not determined by financial need, but are limited by your academic level and your COA.

U.S. Citizen or National
The term "U.S. citizen" includes citizens of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. All U.S. citizens are considered to be U.S. nationals. However, not all nationals are U.S. citizens: natives of American Samoa and Swain’s Island are not U.S. citizens but are nationals.

U.S. Permanent Resident
A lawful permanent resident (LPR) is a non-citizen who is legally permitted to live and work in the United States permanently. The standard documentation for a permanent resident of the United States is the Permanent Resident Card (Form I-551, since 1997) or Resident Alien Card (Form I-551, before 1997). Both forms are referred to colloquially as "green cards," though they are not green. However, the older Alien Registration Receipt Card (Form I-151, issued prior to June 1978) remains acceptable as evidence of permanent residence for the purpose of receiving FSA funds. Permanent residents may also present an Arrival/Departure Record (Form I-94) with one of the following endorsements:

Processed for I-551

Temporary Form I-551

The I-94 will have an A-Number annotated on it and is an acceptable document as long as the expiration date has not passed. See also Other Eligible Non-Citizen.

V

Verification
Review process in which the Financial Aid Administrator requests documentation to verify the accuracy of FAFSA data.

Veteran
A veteran is a student who participated in active service in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard and was released under a condition other than dishonorable. This includes a student who attended a United States military academy but withdrew in good standing, as well as a student who is not a veteran now, but will be a veteran by the FAFSA application deadline each year. If your service was only for training purposes (e.g., National Guard or Reserves, or a ROTC student), you are not considered a veteran for federal financial aid purposes.

W

Work Study
See FWS or SWS.

X

Y

Z

#

529 College Saving Plans
An education savings plan operated by a state or educational institution designed to help families set aside funds for future college costs. As long as the plan satisfies a few basic requirements, the federal tax law provides special tax benefits to you, the plan participant (Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code). [cited: Savingforcollege.com] The FinAid.org website (for parents and student) discusses how to choose a 529 plan, how the plan works, how to contribute to it, and how it will affect financial aid. Using your 529 Plan at BCC If you want to use your 529 plan funds at BCC, you must contact the state agency where your funds are administered. Many of these agencies require a tuition billing statement be sent to their office before funds will be disbursed. Students can print their BCC Tuition Statement using BCC’s on-line services.

Return to the Financial Aid Office's main web page.

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