Section 29-7099. DEFINITIONS

 

7099.1For purposes of this chapter, the following terms and phrases shall have the meanings ascribed:

 

Academic year - has the same meaning as set forth in 34 C.F.R. §668.2 (1999), as amended from time to time.

 

Annual award - the maximum amount of grant funds a student may receive during a full academic year for a given enrollment status and includes the cost of tuition and fees.

 

Award year - the period beginning July 1 and ending June 30 of the following year.

 

Cost of Attendance - the cost of the student’s education expenses including, but not limited to, tuition, fees, books, supplies and student living expenses while he or she is attending college. If the student does not file a FAFSA, COA is assumed to be the average cost of attendance for undergraduate students as determined by the institution.

 

Emancipated minor - a person under the age of 18 whose parent(s) or legal guardian have surrendered the right to his or her care, custody, and earnings and who no longer claim him or her as a dependent for tax purposes.

 

Fees - the mandatory charges imposed on all undergraduate students as a condition of enrollment toward a degree or certificate. It does not include particular charges that may vary by course or student, such as course-specific lab fees, studio fees or parking fees or fines, or room and board.

 

Grant - unless otherwise stated, the funds provided by the D.C. Tuition Assistance Grant Program.

 

Incarcerated - the applicant is serving a criminal sentence in a Federal, State, or local penitentiary, prison, jail, reformatory, work farm, or other similar correctional institution. An applicant is not considered incarcerated if the applicant is in a halfway house or home detention or is sentenced to serve only weekends.

 

Independent applicant - an applicant 18 years of age or older whose parents or legal guardian have surrendered the right to his or her care, custody, and earnings, do not claim the student as a dependent on federal or state income tax returns, and have ceased to provide the applicant with substantial financial support. This definition is not the same as the Title IV definition for independent applicant.

 

Institution of higher education - an educational institution that:

 

(a)

 

(1)Admits as regular students only persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate;

 

(2)Is legally authorized within a State to provide a program of education beyond secondary education;

 

(3)Provides an educational program for which the institution awards a bachelor’s degree or provides not less than a 2-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree;

 

(4)Is a public or private nonprofit institution; and

 

(5)Is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association, or if not so accredited, is an institution that has been granted preaccreditation status by such an agency or association that has been recognized by the Secretary for the granting of preaccreditation status, and the Secretary has determined that there is satisfactory assurance that the institution will meet the accreditation standards of such an agency or association within reasonable time.

 

(b)The term “institution of higher education” also includes:

 

(1)Any school that provides not less than a one-year program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation and that meets the provisions of paragraphs (1), (2), (4), and (5) of this subsection; and

 

(2)A public or nonprofit private educational institution in any State that, in lieu of the requirement in subsection (a)(1), admits as regular students persons who are beyond the age of compulsory school attendance in the State in which the institution is located.

 

Legal guardian - a person who is appointed by court order and who is charged with the care, custody, and responsibility of a person under the age of 18 years.

 

Mayor - the Mayor of the District of Columbia or his or her designee.

 

Parent - the applicant’s natural or adoptive mother or father.

 

Payment Period - has the same meaning as set forth in 34 C.F.R. §668.4, as amended from time to time.

 

Period of Enrollment - the academic period established by the institution for which institutional charges are generally assessed (i.e., length of the student’s program or academic year).

 

Private eligible institution - an institution that:

 

(a)

 

(1)Is a private, nonprofit, associate or baccalaureate degree granting, institution of higher education, as defined in §101(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. 1001(a)), the main campus of which is located:

 

(A)In the District of Columbia;

 

(B)In the city of Alexandria, Falls Church, or Fairfax, or the county of Arlington or Fairfax, in the Commonwealth of Virginia, or a political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Virginia located within any such county; or

 

(C)In the county of Montgomery or Prince George’s in the State of Maryland, or a political subdivision of the State of Maryland located within any such county;

 

(2)Is eligible to participate in the student financial assistance programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. §§1070 et seq.); and

 

(3)Enters into an agreement with the Mayor containing such conditions as the Mayor may specify, including a requirement that the institution use the funds made available under this section to supplement and not supplant assistance that otherwise would be provided to eligible students from the District of Columbia; or

 

(b)Is a private historically Black college or university (for purposes of this subparagraph such term shall have the meaning given the term “part B institution” in §322(2) of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. §1061(2)), the main campus of which is located in the State of Maryland or the Commonwealth of Virginia.

 

Public eligible institution - an institution that:

 

(a)Is a public institution of higher education located:

 

(1)In the State of Maryland or the Commonwealth of Virginia; or

 

(2)Outside the States of Maryland or the Commonwealth of Virginia, but only if the Mayor:

 

(A)Determines that a significant number of eligible students are experiencing difficulty in gaining admission to any public institution of higher education located in the States of Maryland or the Commonwealth of Virginia because of any preference afforded in-State residents by the institution;

 

(B)Consults with the Committee on Government Reform of the House of Representatives, the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate, and the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education regarding expanding the public school program under the College Access Act to include such institutions located outside of the State of Maryland or the Commonwealth of Virginia; and

 

(C)takes into consideration the projected cost of the expansion and the potential effect of the expansion on the amount of individual tuition and fee payments made under §3 of the College Access Act in succeeding years;

 

(b)Is eligible to participate in the student financial assistance programs under title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 U.S.C. §§1070 et seq.); and

 

(c)Enters into an agreement with the Mayor containing such conditions as the Mayor may specify, including a requirement that the institution use the funds made available under the College Access Act to supplement and not supplant assistance that otherwise would be provided to eligible students from the District of Columbia.

 

Recognized equivalent of a secondary school diploma -

 

(a)A General Education Development Certificate (GED);

 

(b)A State certificate received by a student after the student has passed a State-authorized examination that the State recognizes as the equivalent of a secondary school diploma;

 

(c)An academic transcript of student who has successfully completed at least a two-year program that is acceptable for full credit towards a bachelor’s degree; or

 

(d)For a person who is seeking enrollment in an educational program that leads to at least an associate degree or its equivalent and who has not completed secondary school but who excelled academically in secondary school, documentation that the student excelled academically in secondary school and has met the formalized, written policies of the institution for admitting such students.

 

Secretary - the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Education.

 

State - all states within the United States of America, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

 

Substantial financial support - the applicant receives over half of his or her financial support from the applicant’s parent(s) or legal guardian.

 

Third-party servicer - has the same meaning as set forth in 34 C.F.R. §668.2 (1999), as may be amended from time to time.

 

Title IV - Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. §§1070 et seq.)

 

Tuition - the charges imposed to attend an eligible institution of higher education as a student.

 

Unemancipated minor - a person under the age of 18 who is under the legal control of and is financially supported by either of his or her parents or legal guardian.

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 48 DCR 5013, 5031 (June 1, 2001).