WAC 250-20-021
Program definitions. (1) The term "needy
student" shall mean a post-high school student of an
institution of postsecondary education who demonstrates to the
higher education coordinating board the financial inability,
either parental, familial, or personal, to bear the total cost
of education for any semester or quarter. The determination
of need shall be made in accordance with federal needs
analysis formulas and provisions as recognized and modified by
the board.
(2) The term "disadvantaged student" shall mean a student
who by reasons of adverse cultural, educational,
environmental, experiential, or familial circumstance is
unlikely to aspire to, or enroll in, higher education. Generally, this shall mean a dependent student whose parents
have not attained a college education and/or whose family
income is substantially below the state's median or has
participated in a means tested early awareness program
designed to qualify him or her for enrollment as a full-time
student at a postsecondary institution in the state of
Washington.
(3) The term "postsecondary institution" shall mean:
(a) Any public university, college, community college, or
vocational-technical institute operated by the state of
Washington political subdivision thereof, or any other
university, college, school or institute in the state of
Washington offering instruction beyond the high school level
which is a member institution of an approved accrediting
association.
(b) If such institution agrees to participate in the
program in accordance with all applicable rules and
regulations.
(c) Any institution, branch, extension or facility
operating within the state of Washington which is affiliated
with an institution operating in another state must be a
separately accredited member institution of an approved
accrediting association.
(d) The separate accreditation requirement is waived for
branch campuses of out-of-state institutions if the branch
campus:
(i) Is eligible to participate in federal student aid
programs; and
(ii) Has operated as a nonprofit college or university
delivering on-site classroom instruction for a minimum of
twenty consecutive years within the state of Washington; and
(iii) Has an annual enrollment of at least seven hundred
full-time equivalent students.
(4) The term "approved accrediting association" shall
mean the following organizations:
(a) Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities;
(b) Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools,
Commission on Higher Education;
(c) New England Association of Schools and Colleges;
(d) North Central Association of Colleges and Schools;
(e) Southern Association of Colleges and Schools;
(f) Western Association of Schools and Colleges;
(g) Accrediting Bureau of Health Education Schools;
(h) Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and
Training;
(i) Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges
of Technology;
(j) Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and
Schools;
(k) National Accrediting Commission of Cosmetology Arts
and Sciences.
(5) "Washington resident" shall be defined as an
individual who satisfies the requirements of RCW 28B.15.012
(2)(a) through (d) and board-adopted rules and regulations
pertaining to the determination of residency.
(6) "Dependent student" shall mean any post-high school
student who does not qualify as an independent student in
accordance with WAC 250-20-021(7).
(7) "Independent student" shall mean any student who
qualifies as an independent student for the receipt of federal
aid. These qualifications include a student who has either:
(a) Reached his or her twenty-fourth birthday before
January 1st of the aid year; or
(b) Is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces; or
(c) Is an orphan or ward of the court; or
(d) Has legal dependents other than a spouse; or
(e) Is a married student or a graduate/professional
student; or
(f) Is determined to be independent for the receipt of
federal aid on the basis of the professional judgment of the
aid administrator.
(8) Definitions of "undergraduate students" will be in
accord with definitions adopted for institutional use by the
board.
(9) "Student budgets" are determined by institutions and
approved by the board. 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. This should be the
amount used to calculate the student's total need for all
state and federal funds.
(10) "State need grant cost-of-attendance" is the
standard student cost per sector, as developed by the board.
(a) The costs-of-attendance for each sector are
calculated by adding together a standard maintenance allowance
for books, room, board, transportation and personal items, for
all undergraduate students statewide as developed by the
Washington Financial Aid Association, and the sector's regular
tuition and fees for full-time, resident, undergraduate
students.
(b) In no case may the costs-of-attendance exceed the
statutory ceiling established by RCW 28B.92.060(4). The
ceiling is calculated by adding together the same standard
maintenance allowance used in determining the state need grant
cost-of-attendance, plus the regular tuition and fees charged
for a full-time resident undergraduate student at a research
university, plus the current average state appropriation per
student for operating expenses in all public institutions.
(c) For example, in the 1992-93 academic year, the value
of the statutory ceiling is $13,783. This value is composed
of the Washington Financial Aid Association's maintenance
budget of $6,964, plus the regular tuition and fees charged
for a resident undergraduate student at a research university
of $2,274, plus the current average state appropriation per
student for operating expenses in all public institutions of
$4,545.
(d) The value of each element used in the construction of
the statutory ceiling will be updated annually.
(e) The higher education coordinating board will consult
with appropriate advisory committees and the representative
association of student financial aid administrators, to
annually review and adjust the costs-of-attendance. The
costs-of-attendance for each sector will be published
concurrent with annual guidelines for program administration.
(11) "Family income" is the student's family income for
the calendar year prior to the academic year for which aid is
being requested.
(a) Income means adjusted gross income and nontaxable
income as reported on the federally prescribed application for
federal student aid.
(b) For the dependent student family income means
parental income.
(c) For the independent student family income means the
income of the student and any other adult, if any, reported as
part of the student's family.
(d) The institutional aid administrator may adjust the
family's income up or down to more accurately reflect the
family's financial situation during the academic year. When
such adjustments are made they shall be consistent with
guidelines for making changes to determine federal student aid
eligibility.
(12) "Income cutoff" means the amount of family income
below which a student is determined to be eligible for the
state need grant.
(a) The cutoff shall be expressed as a percent of the
state's median family income. The exact point of cutoff shall
be determined each year by the board based on available
funding.
(b) The board will endeavor to award students, in order,
from the lowest income to the highest income, within the
limits of available funding.
(c) At the discretion of the institution's aid
administrator, a student who is eligible for a state need
grant in a given academic year may be deemed eligible for the
ensuing academic year if his or her family income increases by
no more than three percent, even if the stated median family
income cutoff for grant eligibility is lower than that amount.
(13) "Median family income" is the median income for
Washington state, adjusted by family size and reported
annually in the federal register.
(14) "Base grant" is the state need grant award for each
sector before the addition of a dependent care allowance. The
base grant per student will be no less than the published base
grant in 1998-1999. The base grant may be further adjusted
according to the student's family income level and rate of
enrollment as described in WAC 250-20-041.
For certain students who have completed board-approved
early awareness and preparation programs such as, GEAR-UP or a
Trio program, the base grant will be an amount fixed annually
by the board. Generally the base grant, in these cases, will
be no less than the current value of the federal PELL grant
program.
(15) "Dependent care allowance" is a flat grant amount,
to be determined by the board, which is in addition to the
eligible student's base grant.
(a) The allowance is awarded to those students who have
dependents in need of care. The dependent must be someone
(other than a spouse) living with the student.
(b) Care must be that assistance provided to the
dependent by someone outside of the student's household and
not paid by another agency.
(c) Eligible grant recipients must document their need
for the dependent care allowance.
(16) "State need grant award" is the base grant adjusted
according to level of family income, plus a dependent care
allowance, if applicable.
(17) "Academic year" is that period of time between July
1 and the following June 30 during which a full-time student
would normally be expected to complete the equivalent of two
semesters or three quarters of instruction.
(18) "Clock hours" means a period of time which is the
equivalent of either:
(a) A 50 to 60 minute class, lecture, or recitation; or
(b) A 50 to 60 minute period of faculty-supervised
laboratory shop training or internship.
(19) "Gift equity packaging policy" is the institution's
policy for assigning gift aid to all needy, eligible students.
(20) "Satisfactory 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 state need grant recipients
must define satisfactory as the student's completion of the
minimum number of credit or clock hours for which the aid was
disbursed.
(a) The minimum satisfactory progress standard for
full-time students is twelve credits per term or 300 clock
hours per term. Satisfactory progress for three-quarter time
students is nine credits per term or 225 clock hours per term.
Satisfactory progress for half-time students is six credits
per term or 150 clock hours per term.
(b) Each school's policy must deny further disbursements
of the need grant at the conclusion of any term in which he or
she fails to complete at least one-half of the minimum number
of credits or clock hours for which the aid was disbursed or
otherwise fails to fulfill the conditions of the institution's
satisfactory progress policy.
(c) The school may make disbursements to a student who is
in a probationary status. "Probation" is defined as
completion of at least one-half, but less than all of the
minimum number of credits for which the aid was calculated and
disbursed. The school must have a probation policy, approved
by the board, which limits the number of terms in which a
student may receive the need grant while in a probationary
status.
(d) The school's aid administrator may at any time, using
professional judgment exercised on a case-by-case basis,
reinstate a student back into a satisfactory progress status,
in response to an individual student's extenuating
circumstances.
(21) The term "full institutional accreditation" shall
mean the status of public recognition that an accrediting
agency recognized by the U.S. Department of Education grants
to an educational institution that meets the agency's
established standards and requirements. Institutional
accreditation applies to the entire institution, indicating
that each of an institution's parts is contributing to the
achievement of the institution's objectives.
(22) The term "eligible program" for a public or private
nonprofit educational institution, shall mean a certificate,
associate or baccalaureate degree program; at least a two-year
program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor's
degree, or a program that provides at least a 15-week
undergraduate program of 600 clock hours, 16 semester hours,
or 24 quarter hours that leads to a degree or certificate and
prepares the student for gainful employment in a recognized
occupation. To be an "eligible program," a program must be
encompassed within the institution's accreditation and be an
eligible program for purposes of the federal Title IV student
financial aid programs.
(23) The three "public sectors of higher education" are
the research universities, comprehensive universities, and the
community and technical colleges.
(24) A "for-profit institution" is a postsecondary
educational institution other than a public or private
nonprofit institution which provides training for gainful
employment in a recognized profession.
(25) A "postsecondary vocational institution" is a public
or private nonprofit institution which provides training for
gainful employment in a recognized profession.
(26) The "less-than-half-time pilot project" is defined
as follows:
(a) The pilot project is authorized for 2007-2011 in
chapter 404, Laws of 2007 and is meant to test the feasibility
of providing state need grant awards to students who enroll in
three, four or five credits.
(b) All rules and guidelines that govern student and
school participation in the state need grant program shall
apply to pilot project except the following:
(i) The student may enroll for three, four or five
credits per term.
(ii) The grant award is equal to one-quarter of the
regular base grant amount.
(iii) Students otherwise enrolled in credit bearing
coursework may receive the grant for up to one academic year
before being accepted into a program that leads to a degree or
certificate.
(27) The term "former foster youth" means a person who is
at least eighteen years of age, but no more than twenty-four
years of age, who was a dependent of the department of social
and health services at the time he or she attained the age of
eighteen.
[Statutory Authority: Chapter 28B.92 RCW. 08-15-156, §
250-20-021, filed 7/22/08, effective 8/22/08. Statutory
Authority: Chapter 28B.80 RCW. 06-17-046, § 250-20-021,
filed 8/8/06, effective 9/8/06. Statutory Authority: Chapter 28B.80 RCW and RCW 28B.10.822. 02-24-041, § 250-20-021, filed
12/2/02, effective 1/2/03. Statutory Authority: 2813.80
[Chapter 28B.80 RCW]. 99-16-015, § 250-20-021, filed 7/23/99,
effective 8/23/99. Statutory Authority: Chapter 28B.80 RCW. 96-18-024, § 250-20-021, filed 8/27/96, effective 9/27/96;
96-04-019, § 250-20-021, filed 1/30/96, effective 3/1/96;
95-17-045, § 250-20-021, filed 8/11/95, effective 9/11/95;
95-10-007, § 250-20-021, filed 4/24/95, effective 5/25/95;
93-08-010, § 250-20-021, filed 3/25/93, effective 4/25/93. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.10.800 through 28B.10.822. 92-11-022, § 250-20-021, filed 5/13/92, effective 6/13/92;
90-04-067, § 250-20-021, filed 2/5/90, effective 7/1/90. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.10.806. 88-10-001 (Order 2/88,
Resolution No. 88-11), § 250-20-021, filed 4/21/88; 87-16-046
(Order 2/87, Resolution No. 87-59), § 250-20-021, filed
7/29/87; 86-12-077 (Order 5/86), § 250-20-021, filed 6/4/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 28B.10.822. 82-15-058 (Order 9-82,
Resolution No. 82-52), § 250-20-021, filed 7/20/82. Statutory
Authority: RCW 28B.10.806. 81-13-038 (Order 2/81, Resolution
No. 81-67), § 250-20-021, filed 6/16/81; 80-05-025 (Order
3-80, Resolution No. 80-56), § 250-20-021, filed 4/14/80;
79-11-031 (Order 11-79, Resolution No. 80-18), § 250-20-021,
filed 10/11/79; 79-07-021 (Order 5-79, Resolution No. 79-33),
§ 250-20-021, filed 6/15/79; 78-05-063 (Order 2-78), §
250-20-021, filed 4/27/78, effective 6/1/78; Order 2-77, §
250-20-021, filed 4/13/77; Order 3-75, § 250-20-021, filed
4/25/75; Order 1-75, § 250-20-021, filed 3/7/75; Order 1-74, §
250-20-021, filed 4/9/74; Order 1-73, § 250-20-021, filed
7/2/73.]