34 C.F.R. § 668.2
Annual debt-to-earnings rate (annual D/E rate): The ratio of a program's annual loan payment amount to the annual earnings of the students who completed the program, expressed as a percentage, as calculated under § 668.403 .
Campus-based programs:
Classification of instructional program (CIP) code: A taxonomy of instructional program classifications and descriptions developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Specific programs offered by institutions are classified using a six-digit CIP code.
Cohort period: The set of award years used to identify a cohort of students who completed a program and whose debt and earnings outcomes are used to calculate debt-to-earnings rates and the earnings premium measure under subpart Q of this part. The Secretary uses a 2-year cohort period to calculate the debt-to-earnings rates and earnings premium measure for a program when the number of students (after exclusions identified in §§ 668.403(e) and 668.404(c) ) in the 2-year cohort period is 30 or more. The Secretary uses a 4-year cohort period to calculate the debt-to-earnings rates and earnings premium measure when the number of students completing the program in the two-year cohort period is fewer than 30 and when the number of students completing the program in the 4-year cohort period is 30 or more. The cohort period covers consecutive award years that are-
Credential level: The level of the academic credential awarded by an institution to students who complete the program. For the purposes of this part, the undergraduate credential levels are: undergraduate certificate or diploma, associate degree, bachelor's degree, and post-baccalaureate certificate; and the graduate credential levels are master's degree, doctoral degree, first-professional degree (e.g., MD, DDS, JD), and graduate certificate (including a postgraduate certificate).
Debt-to-earnings rates (D/E rates): The discretionary debt-to-earnings rate and annual debt-to-earnings rate as calculated under § 668.403 .
Defense loan: A loan made before July 1, 1972, under Title II of the National Defense Education Act of 1958.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 421-429 )
Dependent student: Any student who does not qualify as an independent student (see Independent student).
Designated department official: An official of the Department of Education to whom the Secretary has delegated responsibilities indicated in this part.
Direct Loan Program loan: A loan made under the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.)
Direct PLUS Loan: A loan made under the Federal Direct PLUS Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078-2 and 1087a et seq.)
Direct Subsidized Loan: A loan made under the Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loan Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071 and 1087a et seq.)
Direct Unsubsidized Loan: A loan made under the Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loan Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.)
Discretionary debt-to-earnings rate (discretionary D/E rate): The percentage of a program's annual loan payment compared to the discretionary earnings of the students who completed the program, as calculated under § 668.403 .
Earnings premium: The amount by which the median annual earnings of students who recently completed a program exceed the earnings threshold, as calculated under § 668.404 . If the median annual earnings of recent completers is equal to the earnings threshold, the earnings premium is zero. If the median annual earnings of recent completers is less than the earnings threshold, the earnings premium is negative.
Earnings threshold: Based on data from the Census Bureau, the median earnings for working adults aged 25-34, who either worked during the year or indicated they were unemployed (i.e., not employed but looking for and available to work) when interviewed, with only a high school diploma (or recognized equivalent)-
Eligible career pathway program: A program that combines rigorous and high-quality education, training, and other services that-
Eligible non-GE program: An educational program other than a gainful employment (GE) program offered by an institution and included in the institution's participation in the title IV, HEA programs, identified by a combination of the institution's six-digit Office of Postsecondary Education ID (OPEID) number, the program's six-digit CIP code as assigned by the institution or determined by the Secretary, and the program's credential level. Includes all coursework associated with the program's credential level.
Enrolled: The status of a student who-
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1088 )
Expected family contribution (EFC): The amount, as determined under title IV, part F of the HEA, an applicant and his or her spouse and family are expected to contribute toward the applicant's cost of attendance.
Federal agency with earnings data: A Federal agency with which the Department enters into an agreement to access earnings data for the D/E rates and earnings threshold measure. The agency must have individual earnings data sufficient to match with title IV, HEA recipients who completed any eligible program during the cohort period and may include agencies such as the Treasury Department (including the Internal Revenue Service), the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Census Bureau.
Federal Consolidation Loan program: The loan program authorized by Title IV-B, section 428C, of the HEA that encourages the making of loans to borrowers for the purpose of consolidating their repayment obligations, with respect to loans received by those borrowers, under the Federal Insured Student Loan (FISL) Program as defined in 34 CFR part 682, the Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS (as in effect before October 17, 1986), Federal Consolidation Loan, Federal SLS, ALAS (as in effect before October 17, 1986), Federal Direct Student Loan, and Federal Perkins Loan programs, and under the Health Professions Student Loan (HPSL) Program authorized by subpart II of part C of Title VII of the Public Health Service Act, for Federal PLUS borrowers whose loans were made after October 17, 1986, and for Higher Education Assistance Loans (HEAL) authorized by subpart I of part A of Title VII of the Public Health Services Act.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078-3 )
Federal Direct PLUS Program: A loan program authorized by title IV, Part D of the HEA that is one of the components of the Direct Loan Program. The Federal Direct PLUS Program provides loans to parents of dependent students attending schools that participate in the Direct Loan Program. The Federal Direct PLUS Program also provides loans to graduate or professional students attending schools that participate in the Direct Loan Program. The borrower is responsible for the interest that accrues during any period.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 10782 and 1087a et seq.)
Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loan Program: A loan program authorized by Title IV, Part D of the HEA that is one of the components of the Direct Loan Program. The Federal Direct Stafford/Ford Loan Program provides loans to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attending schools that participate in the Direct Loan Program. The Secretary subsidizes the interest while the borrower is in an in-school, grace, or deferment period.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071 and 1087a et seq.)
Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loan Program: A loan program authorized by Title IV, Part D of the HEA that is one of the components of the Direct Loan Program. The Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford/Ford Loan Program provides loans to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students attending schools that participate in the Direct Loan Program. The borrower is responsible for the interest that accrues during any period.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087a et seq.)
Federal Pell Grant Program: A grant program authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the HEA under which grants are awarded to help financially needy students meet the cost of their postsecondary education.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a )
Federal Perkins loan: A loan made under Title IV-E of the HEA to cover the cost of attendance for a period of enrollment beginning on or after July 1, 1987, to an individual who on July 1, 1987, had no outstanding balance of principal or interest owing on any loan previously made under Title IV-E of the HEA.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087aa et seq.)
Federal Perkins Loan program: The student loan program authorized by Title IV-E of the HEA after October 16, 1986. Unless otherwise noted, as used in this part, the Federal Perkins Loan Program includes the National Direct Student Loan Program and the National Defense Student Loan Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087aa-1087ii )
Federal PLUS loan: A loan made under the Federal PLUS Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078-2 )
Federal PLUS program: The loan program authorized by Title IV-B, section 428B, of the HEA, that encourages the making of loans to parents of dependent undergraduate students. Before October 17, 1986, the PLUS Program also provided for making loans to graduate, professional, and independent undergraduate students. Before July 1, 1993, the PLUS Program also provided for making loans to parents of dependent graduate students. Beginning July 1, 2006, the PLUS Program provides for making loans to graduate and professional students.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078-2 )
Federal SLS loan: A loan made under the Federal SLS Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078-1 )
Federal Stafford loan: A loan made under the Federal Stafford Loan Program.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.)
Federal Stafford Loan program: The loan program authorized by Title IV-B (exclusive of sections 428A, 428B, and 428C) that encourages the making of subsidized Federal Stafford and unsubsidized Federal Stafford loans as defined in 34 CFR part 682 to undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.)
Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant (FSEOG) program: The grant program authorized by Title IV-A-2 of the HEA.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070b et seq.)
Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (Federal SLS) Program: The loan program authorized by Title IV-B, section 428A of the HEA, as in effect for periods of enrollment that began before July 1, 1994. The Federal SLS Program encourages the making of loans to graduate, professional, independent undergraduate, and certain dependent undergraduate students.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1078-1 )
Federal Work Study (FWS) program: The part-time employment program for students authorized by Title IV-C of the HEA.
(Authority: 42 U.S.C. 2751-2756b )
FFELP loan: A loan made under the FFEL programs.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq.)
Financial exigency: A status declared by an institution to a governmental entity or its accrediting agency representing severe financial distress that, absent significant reductions in expenditures or increases in revenue, reductions in administrative staff or faculty, or the elimination of programs, departments, or administrative units, could result in the closure of the institution.
Free application for Federal student aid (FAFSA): The student aid application provided for under section 483 of the HEA, which is used to determine an applicant's eligibility for the title IV, HEA programs.
Full-time student: An enrolled student who is carrying a full-time academic workload, as determined by the institution, under a standard applicable to all students enrolled in a particular educational 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. For a term-based program that is not subscription-based, the student's workload may include repeating any coursework previously taken in the program; however, the workload may not include more than one repetition of a previously passed course. For an undergraduate student, an institution's minimum standard must equal or exceed one of the following minimum requirements, based on the type of program:
Gainful employment program (GE program): An educational program offered by an institution under § 668.8(c)(3) or (d) and identified by a combination of the institution's six-digit OPEID number, the program's six-digit CIP code as assigned by the institution or determined by the Secretary, and the program's credential level.
Graduate or professional student: A student who-
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082 and 1088 )
Half-time student:
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082 and 1088 )
Institutional grants and scholarships: Assistance that the institution or its affiliate controls or directs to reduce or offset the original amount of a student's institutional costs and that does not have to be repaid. Typically, an institutional grant or scholarship includes a grant, scholarship, fellowship, discount, or fee waiver.
Independent student: A student who qualifies as an independent student under section 480(d) of the HEA.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087vv )
Initiating official: The designated department official authorized to begin an emergency action under 34 CFR 668.83.
Institutional student information record (ISIR): An electronic record that the Secretary transmits to an institution that includes an applicant's-
Length of the program: The amount of time in weeks, months, or years that is specified in the institution's catalog, marketing materials, or other official publications for a student to complete the requirements needed to obtain the degree or credential offered by the program.
Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership (LEAP) Program: The grant program authorized by Title IV-A-4 of the HEA.
Metropolitan statistical area: A core area containing a substantial population nucleus, together with adjacent communities having a high degree of economic and social integration with that core.
National Defense Student Loan program: The student loan program authorized by Title II of the National Defense Education Act of 1958.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 421-429 )
National Direct Student Loan (NDSL) program: The student loan program authorized by Title IV-E of the HEA between July 1, 1972, and October 16, 1986.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1087aa-1087ii )
National Early Intervention Scholarship and Partnership (NEISP) program: The scholarship program authorized by Chapter 2 of subpart 1 of Title IV-A of the HEA.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a-21 et seq.)
National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant (National SMART Grant) Program: A grant program authorized by Title IV-A-1 of the HEA under which grants are awarded during the third and fourth academic years of study to eligible financially needy undergraduate students pursuing eligible majors in the physical, life, or computer sciences, mathematics, technology, or engineering, or foreign languages determined to be critical to the national security of the United States.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070a-1 )
One-third of an academic year: A period that is at least one-third of an academic year as determined by an institution. At a minimum, one-third of an academic year must be a period that begins on the first day of classes and ends on the last day of classes or examinations and is a minimum of 10 weeks of instructional time during which, for an undergraduate educational program, a full-time student is expected to complete at least 8 semester or trimester hours or 12 quarter hours in an educational program whose length is measured in credit hours or 300 clock hours in an educational program whose length is measured in clock hours. For an institution whose academic year has been reduced under § 668.3, one-third of an academic year is the pro-rated equivalent, as measured in weeks and credit or clock hours, of at least one-third of the institution's academic year.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1088 )
Output document: The Student Aid Report (SAR), Electronic Student Aid Report (ESAR), or other document or automated data generated by the Department of Education's central processing system or Multiple Data Entry processing system as the result of the processing of data provided in a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Parent: A student's biological or adoptive mother or father or the student's stepparent, if the biological parent or adoptive mother or father has remarried at the time of application.
Participating institution: An eligible institution that meets the standards for participation in Title IV, HEA programs in subpart B and has a current program participation agreement with the Secretary.
Professional degree: A degree that signifies both completion of the academic requirements for beginning practice in a given profession and a level of professional skill beyond that normally required for a bachelor's degree. Professional licensure is also generally required. Examples of a professional degree include but are not limited to Pharmacy (Pharm.D.), Dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.), Chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), Law (L.L.B. or J.D.), Medicine (M.D.), Optometry (O.D.), Osteopathic Medicine (D.O.), Podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), and Theology (M.Div., or M.H.L.).
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082 and 1088 )
Poverty Guideline: The Poverty Guideline for a single person in the continental United States, as published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and available at https://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty or its successor site.
Prospective student: An individual who has contacted an eligible institution for the purpose of requesting information about enrolling in a program or who has been contacted directly by the institution or by a third party on behalf of the institution about enrolling in a program.
Qualifying graduate program:
Show-cause official: The designated department official authorized to conduct a show-cause proceeding for an emergency action under 34 CFR 668.83.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070c et seq.)
Student: For the purposes of subparts Q and S of this part and of § 668.43(d) , an individual who received title IV, HEA program funds for enrolling in the program.
Student aid report (SAR): A report provided to an applicant by the Secretary showing his or her FAFSA information and the amount of his or her EFC.
Subscription-based program: A standard or nonstandard-term program in which the institution charges a student for each term on a subscription basis with the expectation that the student completes a specified number of credit hours (or the equivalent) during that term. Coursework in a subscription-based program is not required to begin or end within a specific timeframe in each term. Students in subscription-based programs must complete a cumulative number of credit hours (or the equivalent) during or following the end of each term before receiving subsequent disbursements of title IV, HEA program funds. An institution establishes an enrollment status (for example, full-time or half-time) that will apply to a student throughout the student's enrollment in the program, except that a student may change his or her enrollment status no more often than once per academic year. The number of credit hours (or the equivalent) a student must complete before receiving subsequent disbursements is calculated by-
Substantially similar program: For the purposes of subpart Q and S of this part, a program is substantially similar to another program if the two programs share the same four-digit CIP code. The Secretary presumes a program is not substantially similar to another program if the two programs have different four-digit CIP codes, but the institution must provide an explanation of how the new program is not substantially similar to the ineligible or voluntarily discontinued program with its certification under § 668.604 .
Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education (TEACH) Grant Program: A grant program authorized by title IV of the HEA under which grants are awarded by an institution to students who are completing, or intend to complete, coursework to begin a career in teaching and who agree to serve for not less than four years as a full-time, highly-qualified teacher in a high-need field in a low-income school. If the recipient of a TEACH Grant does not complete four years of qualified teaching service within eight years of completing the course of study for which the TEACH Grant was received or otherwise fails to meet the requirements of 34 CFR 686.12, the amount of the TEACH Grant converts into a Federal Direct Unsubsidized Loan.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070g )
TEACH Grant: A grant authorized under title IV-A-9 of the HEA and awarded to students in exchange for prospective teaching service.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070g )
Third-party servicer:
Three-quarter time student: An enrolled student who is carrying a three-quarter-time academic workload, as determined by the institution, that amounts to at least three quarters of the work of the applicable minimum requirement outlined in the definition of a full-time student.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1082 and 1088 )
Two-thirds of an academic year: A period that is at least two-thirds of an academic year as determined by an institution. At a minimum, two-thirds of an academic year must be a period that begins on the first day of classes and ends on the last day of classes or examinations and is a minimum of 20 weeks of instructional time during which, for an undergraduate educational program, a full-time student is expected to complete at least 16 semester or trimester hours or 24 quarter hours in an educational program whose length is measured in credit hours or 600 clock hours in an educational program whose length is measured in clock hours. For an institution whose academic year has been reduced under § 668.3, two-thirds of an academic year is the pro-rated equivalent, as measured in weeks and credit or clock hours, of at least two-thirds of the institution's academic year.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1088 )
Undergraduate student:
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070g )
U.S. citizen or national:
(Authority: 8 U.S.C. 1101 )
Valid institutional student information record (valid ISIR): An ISIR on which all the information reported on a student's FAFSA is accurate and complete as of the date the application is signed.
Valid student aid report (valid SAR): A student aid report on which all of the information reported on a student's FAFSA is accurate and complete as of the date the application is signed.
(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq., unless otherwise noted)
William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan (Direct Loan) Program: The loan program authorized by Title IV, Part D of the HEA.
34 C.F.R. §668.2
1. For FEDERAL REGISTER citations affecting § 668.2, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.