Washington Administrative Code
Title 250 - Student Achievement Council
Chapter 250-21 - State student financial aid program-washington college grant
Section 250-21-010 - Program definitions
Current through Register Vol. 24-06, March 15, 2024
(1) "Council" means the nine-member council of the Washington student achievement council.
(2) "Agency" refers to the Washington student achievement council.
(3) "Office" means the office of student financial assistance, a division of the Washington student achievement council.
(4) "Financial need" shall be determined in accordance with industry standards and provisions as recognized and modified by the office.
(5) The term "post-secondary institution" shall mean:
(6) The term "approved accrediting association" shall mean a national or regional accrediting association that is recognized by the council and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education and in alignment with WAC 250-61-050.
(7) "Washington resident" shall be defined as an individual who satisfies the requirements of RCW 28B.15.012(2)(a) through (e) and office-adopted rules and regulations pertaining to the determination of residency.
(8) "Student budgets" is determined by institutions and subject to approval by the office. The student budget consists of that amount required to support an individual as a student for nine months and may take into consideration cost factors for maintaining the student's dependents.
(9) "Family income" is the student's family income for the calendar year as required for federal need analysis.
(10) "Income cutoff" means the amount of family income below which a student is determined to be eligible for the Washington college grant.
At the discretion of the institution's aid administrator, a student who was eligible for a Washington college grant in the prior academic year may be deemed eligible if their family income increases by no more than three percent and family income is over the one hundred percent MFI level.
(11) "Median family income" is the median income for Washington state, adjusted by family size and number in college and as determined by the office using a federal standard.
(12) "Grant" is the Washington college grant award for each sector as defined in statute.
(13) "Academic year" is that period of time typically between July 1st and the following June 30th, and may include summer terms, during which a full-time student would normally be expected to complete the equivalent of two semesters or three quarters or nine hundred clock hours of instruction.
(14) "Clock hours" means a period of time which is the equivalent of either:
(15) "Apprenticeship payment period" means the time frame approved by the office for an apprenticeship program that is the equivalent of an academic year and usage rate of three quarters full-time equivalent.
(16) "Satisfactory academic progress" is the student's successful completion of a minimum number of credit or clock hours for each term in which the grant was received. Each school's policy for measuring progress of Washington college grant recipients must define satisfactory academic progress as the student's successful completion of the minimum number of credit or clock hours for which the aid was disbursed.
(17) "Satisfactory program progress" is an apprentice's (qualifying under RCW 28B.92.200(5)(b)(ii) ) successful completion of a minimum number of hours for each apprenticeship payment period in which the grant was received. Each apprenticeship program's policy for measuring progress of Washington college grant recipients must define satisfactory program progress as the apprentice's successful completion of the minimum number of hours for which the aid was disbursed.
(18) The term "eligible program" shall mean a program encompassed within the institution's accreditation and be an eligible program for purposes of the federal Title IV student financial aid programs. Apprenticeships qualifying as eligible programs must be a registered apprenticeship program approved under chapter 49.04 RCW.
(19) "Tuition growth factor" means an increase of no more than the average annual percentage growth rate of the median hourly wage for Washington for the previous fourteen years as the wage is determined by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics.
(20) "State grant" refers to all state grant programs administered by the office.
(21) "High school+ (HS+)" is a competency based high school diploma program for adult learners eighteen and older who do not have a high school diploma or equivalency.
(22) "Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training Program (I-BEST)" is a nationally recognized model that uses a team-teaching approach to quickly boost students' literacy while they learn job skills or academic subjects.