Indiana Administrative Code
Title 500 - COMMISSION FOR HIGHER EDUCATION OF THE STATE OF INDIANA
Article 1 - ADMINISTRATION OF SCHOLARSHIP AND GRANT PROGRAMS
Rule 1 - Grant and Scholarship Programs
Section 1-1 - Definitions

(1) "Academic year" means an approved institution's school year, usually two (2) semesters, three (3) quarters, or three (3) trimesters, but not including summer sessions.

(2) "Act" means IC 20-12-21[IC 20-12 was repealed by P.L. 2-2007, SECTION 390, effective July 1, 2007.].

(3) "Allowable tuition and fees" means the tuition and fees upon which awards are based and shall be established annually by a resolution adopted by the commission under section 7 of this rule.

(4) "Application deadline" means the date on which paper applications for awards must be postmarked, or the date that electronic applications for awards must be received. The opening date for the application shall be January 1 of each year, and the closing date shall be March 1 of each year. The commission may establish other dates due to budgetary constraints. The closing date may be extended by a reasonable period of time as determined by the commission to allow time for mail delivery or, if funds are available, to make awards to those who did not file by the deadline.

(5) "Application period" means the period of time that applications for awards are accepted.

(6) "Approved application" means the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

(7) "Approved institution" means institutions of higher learning as defined in IC 20-12-21-3[IC 20-12 was repealed by P.L. 2-2007, SECTION 390, effective July 1, 2007.]. All approved institutions must have active Title IV participation agreements with the United States Department of Education and active program participation agreements with the commission.

(8) "Award" means any monetary grant made by the commission from appropriations for Higher Education Awards and Freedom of Choice grants, federal funds, or other appropriations, grants, gifts, or bequests.

(9) "Award notification" means a notice from the commission informing eligible applicants of their state award status.

(10) "Citizen" means a person:

(11) "Commission" means the policy making body of the state student assistance commission of Indiana created by IC 20-12-21-4[IC 20-12 was repealed by P.L. 2-2007, SECTION 390, effective July 1, 2007.] and the agency of state government with the same name.

(12) "Completed application" means a completed and error-free Free Application for Federal Student Aid as defined by the commission.

(13) "Consortium agreement" means a written agreement between two (2) approved institutions to provide course work, which is applicable to a degree program at the home institution.

(14) "Correspondence course" means a home study course provided by an approved institution. Students may or may not be physically attending classes at the institution. The institution provides instructional materials, including examinations, to students.

(15) "Default" means the failure of a borrower to make an installment payment on a federal student loan when due in accordance with the terms outlined under Title IV, Part B of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 1071, et seq.

(16) "Dependent student" means any applicant not meeting the criteria under section 5(b) or 5(c) of this rule.

(17) "Distance education" means an educational process that is characterized by the separation, in time or place, of the student and instructor and includes courses offered principally through the use of various means, including the Internet, television, audio, or computer transmission, such as open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, or satellite transmission; audio or computer conferencing; video cassettes or disks; or correspondence.

(18) "Domiciled in the state" means that a dependent applicant's parents' or an independent applicant's permanent, continuous, and principal place of residence is within Indiana.

(19) "Edit letter" means a notice by mail that the commission sends to an applicant, stating the reason or reasons why an applicant is ineligible for an award and advising the applicant of the methods and deadlines that are associated with correcting an incomplete approved application.

(20) "Eligible noncitizen" means a person who has been granted eligible noncitizen status by the United States Department of Immigration and Naturalization Service.

(21) "Eligible student" means a person who is enrolled or has been accepted for enrollment at an approved institution of higher education.

(22) "Enrollment period" means a portion of an academic year, usually a semester, a trimester, or a quarter.

(23) "Executive director" means the person appointed by the governor to administer the commission's programs.

(24) "Expected family contribution (EFC)" means the dollar amount that an applicant and his or her spouse and/or the parents are expected to contribute to the costs of education.

(25) "Federal methodology" means the federally legislated, nationally standardized procedure used for calculating a parental contribution (PC) and expected family contribution (EFC) from data on the approved application.

(26) "File with the commission" means the filing of an approved application to the application processing center designated by the United States Department of Education to perform the analysis.

(27) "Full-time student" means an individual enrolled at an approved institution for not less than twelve (12) semester credit hours in each enrollment period of an academic year at a semester-based institution. Semester credit hours shall be converted to the equivalent if a different grading period is used at the college or university. Unless it is established that a different equivalency applies, it shall be presumed that the correct equivalency is two (2) semester hours for every three (3) quarter or trimester hours.

(28) "Grant overpayment" means any federal or state grant that occurs any time the student receives a payment that is greater than the amount for which the student is eligible.

(29) "Higher education grant (HEG)" means funds awarded under the higher education award and the freedom of choice grant programs.

(30) "Home school" means the school responsible for administering a student's financial aid package and satisfactory academic progress (SAP) under the terms of a consortium agreement as outlined in this rule. Under a consortium agreement, the home school is the institution that will issue the student's degree.

(31) "Home study course" means a course that is delivered in whole or in part through video cassettes or video discs and considered a correspondence course unless the school also delivers comparable instruction to students physically attending classes at the school during the same award year.

(32) "Hoosier scholar" means an individual selected to receive a stipend under IC 20-12-21-20[IC 20-12 was repealed by P.L. 2-2007, SECTION 390, effective July 1, 2007.].

(33) "Independent student" means any applicant meeting the criteria of section 5(b) or 5(c) of this rule.

(34) "Need analysis application" means the form prescribed by the commission used to determine eligibility for the state grant program.

(35) "Parent" means:

(36) "Parental contribution (PC)" means the dollar amount that an applicant's parents are expected to contribute to the costs of education that is derived from an analysis of financial data submitted by an applicant or an approved institution by the approved need analysis process.

(37) "Regularly assessed fees" means the nontuition charges regularly assessed against all undergraduate students enrolling at an approved institution.

(38) "Servicer" means any entity approved by the commission to perform the financial needs analysis that computes the parental contribution (PC) and/or expected family contribution (EFC) figures used in the awards calculation process.

(39) "Stipend" means the grant made to a hoosier scholar under IC 20-12-21-20[IC 20-12 was repealed by P.L. 2-2007, SECTION 390, effective July 1, 2007.].

(40) "Telecommunications course" means a course that is offered principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission, including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, satellite, audio conferencing, computer conferencing, or video cassettes or discs. The term does not include a course that is delivered using video cassettes or discs recordings unless the institution also delivers comparable instruction offered on the cassettes or discs to students physically attending classes at the school during the same academic year.

(41) "Verification" means the procedure followed by financial aid administrators or commission staff to audit the data disclosed on an applicant's applications for federal, state, or institutional student financial assistance.