Financial Aid

Academic Standing/Standards: The purpose of academic standards is to ensure students are progressing toward completing their program in a timely manner. A student’s academic standing affects their ability to enroll in classes. All students will be evaluated for their academic standing at the conclusion of each term. Academic difficulty results when a student is not maintaining academic standards. Academic Standing is separate from financial aid Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP).

Academic Year: The period during which school is in session. RCC’s academic year runs summer term through spring term.

Alternative/Private Loans: Education loan programs established by private lenders to supplement the student loan programs available from the federal government. Unlike federal student loans, private loans may require collateral, co-signer(s), and/or a particular debt-to-income ratio. Private loans may also not offer fixed interest rates or flexible repayment options.

Award Letter/Award Offer: An official document issued by the Financial Aid Office that lists all the financial aid awarded to the student. This letter provides details on the analysis of your financial need and the breakdown of your award package according to the amount, source, and type of aid. It will also include information about Cost of Attendance.

Calendar Year: The calendar year runs January 1 through December 31.

Campus-Based Aid: Financial aid programs administered by the school, such as Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG) and Federal Work-Study. Note: there is no guarantee that every eligible student will receive financial aid through these programs, because awards are made from a fixed pool of money.

Capitalization: The addition of unpaid accrued interest to the principal balance of a loan. Over time, this can increase the student’s monthly payment.

Change in Income Appeal: For students and/or parents who have had a significant decrease to income since the tax year reported on the FAFSA, this appeal is the student and/or parent asking the RCC Financial Aid Office to consider using a more recent tax year to determine your financial need on the FAFSA. Documentation is required.

Collection Agency: A company often hired by the lender to recover defaulted loans (or money owed to the school)

Cost of Attendance (also known as “budget” or COA): The total amount it should cost the student to go to school, including tuition and fees (direct costs) housing and food, books and supplies, transportation, and personal and incidental expenses (indirect costs). Child care expenses may also be included if you’re seeking loans at RCC. RCC will determine your COA based on your enrollment level, living in-district or out of district, and dependency status. Awarded aid cannot exceed the COA and, at RCC, often your total awarded aid doesn’t meet your whole COA. Your actual cost of living could differ significantly from the school’s calculated COA, as the school is using average housing/food/transportation costs.

Default: A loan is in default when the borrower fails to pay several regular installments on time or otherwise fails to meet the terms and conditions of the loan. Most federal student loan default occurs when a payment isn’t made in more than 270 days. It can result in legal consequences and a loss of eligibility for additional federal student aid. A loan in default also becomes due in full immediately and the lender may pursue more aggressive collection techniques, such as sending the account to a collection agency, garnishing wages, withholding income tax returns, or filing suit against the borrower.

Deferment: Occurs when a borrower is allowed to temporarily postpone repaying the loan. Subsidized loans do not accrue interest during eligible deferment. Unsubsidized loans do accrue interest during deferment. Most federal loan programs allow students to defer their loans while they are in school at least half time (In-School Deferment). If you don’t qualify for a deferment, you may be able to get a forbearance. You can’t get a deferment if your loan is in default.

Degree Partnership Program: Students can generally only get aid from one school at a time. If a student is taking courses at two schools at the same time and seeking aid for the combined credits, they can seek a Degree Partnership Program. It can also be called a “Dual Enrollment” or “Consortium Agreement.”

Delinquent: If the borrower fails to make a payment on time, the borrower is considered delinquent and late fees may be charged. If the borrower misses several payments, the loan goes into default.

Dependency Status: Your dependency status determines whose information you must report when you fill out the FAFSA (or state aid application like ORSAA). A Dependent student is assumed to have the support of parents, so the parents’ information must be assessed along with the student’s to get a full picture of the family’s financial resources. Parents of dependent students are not required to pay anything toward the student’s education; the information is simply used to determine the student’s aid eligibility.

Dependent: For a child or other person to be considered your dependent, they must live with you, plan to live with you for the whole academic year, and you must provide them with more than half of their financial support. Spouses do not count as dependents in the Federal Methodology.

Direct Costs: Charges billed to the student by the school, such as tuition and fees. Generally awarded aid applies to direct costs first then any excess refunds to the student via BankMobile to use on indirect costs.

Disbursement: Disbursement is the release of financial aid funds to the school for delivery to the student. At RCC, grant, loan and scholarship funds are first credited to the student’s account for payment of tuition, fees, and bookstore charges (if applicable). Any excess funds for the term are refunded to the student via BankMobile.

Emancipated (Minor): To legally release a child from the control of a parent or guardian. Declaring a child to be legally emancipated is not sufficient to release the parents or legal guardians from being responsible for providing for the child’s education. Legal emancipation must happen in the courts.

Enrollment Change Form: When an RCC student’s enrollment doesn’t match their award level, they should submit an Enrollment Change Form to a FinAid Advisor to adjust their aid to match their enrollment. An Enrollment Change Form is also needed if the student plans to attend summer term, since RCC doesn’t assume students will attend summer courses.

Enrollment Status/Level: An indication of whether you are a full-time or part-time student. In many cases, but not all, you need to enroll in at least 6 credits (half-time) to qualify for aid..

Entrance Counseling: Explains your rights and the obligations you agree to meet as a condition of accepting a Direct Loan.

Exit Counseling: Provides important information to prepare you to repay your federal student loan(s). Topics include: Contact Settings, My Loans, Preparing to Repay, and Determining Your Repayment Strategy.

FAFSA: Free Application for Federal Student Aid, the form used to apply for federal (and some state) aid. No fee should be charged to file a FAFSA.

FAFSA Submission Summary (formerly known as a Student Aid Report or “SAR”): A document from the Department of Education that lists answers to the questions on the student’s FAFSA form and gives basic estimates about the student’s eligibility for federal student aid. It is NOT a financial aid offer.

Federal Work-Study (FWS): Program providing undergraduate students with part-time employment during the school year. The federal government pays a portion of the student’s salary, and awarded Work-Study shows up on an Award Letter (though the funds are paid directly to the student). Eligibility for FWS is based on need. Money earned from FWS is not counted as income for the subsequent year’s need analysis process. If you don’t qualify for or max-out your Work-Study, you can still potentially get a student employment job at RCC and RCC would pay you directly (which is NOT considered Work-Study and is taxable income).

Financial Aid: Money provided to the student to help them pay for their education expenses. Major forms of financial aid include grants, scholarships, Work-Study and loans.

Financial Aid (FinAid) Advisor: Staff at RCC who can assist you with questions or issues you have with financial aid or financing college. Each student has an assigned FinAid Advisor based on their pathway or major.

Financial Need: The difference between the Cost of Attendance and the SAI is the student’s financial need-the gap between the cost of attending school and the student’s resources. The financial aid package is based on the amount of financial need.

First-Time Borrower: A first-year undergraduate student who has never borrowed federal student loans. First-time borrowers may be subjected to a delay in the disbursement of the loan funds. The first loan payment is disbursed 30 days after the first day of the enrollment period.

Forbearance: Allows you to temporarily stop making your monthly student loan payments or temporarily make smaller payments. Interest charges continue to accrue, even on subsidized loans. The borrower must continue paying the interest charges during the forbearance period. Forbearances are granted at the lender’s discretion, usually in cases of extreme financial hardship or other unusual circumstances when the borrower does not qualify for a deferment. You can’t receive a forbearance if your loan is in default.

Federal Direct Loans/Stafford Loans: Federal loans that come in two forms, subsidized and unsubsidized. Subsidized loans are based on need; unsubsidized loans aren’t. The interest on the subsidized loan is paid by the federal government while the student is in school and during the 6-month grace period. The unsubsidized loan accrues interest as soon as it’s disbursed and therefore is more expensive in the long run. Both kinds of loans are subject to annual and lifetime maximums, as well as being aid-eligible at the school you’re seeking the loans from.

Financial Aid Repay: If a student receives aid to attend a class but never attends that class, or if a student is dropped from a class after awarded aid for it and that changes their enrollment level, they will likely owe a repay of financial aid.

FSA ID: An account username and password that gives you access to the U.S. Department of Education’s online systems and can serve as your legal signature when completing electronic documents.

Grace Period: A short time period after graduation during which the borrower is not required to begin repaying student loans. The grace period may also kick in if the borrower leaves school for a reason other than graduation or drops below half-time enrollment. For Federal Direct (Stafford) loans, both subsidized and unsubsidized, you should have a grace period of six months.

GPA/cGPA: Grade Point Average is the average of a student’s grades converted to a 4.0 scale. Term GPA is used when determining a student’s Academic Standing and cumulative GPA (cGPA) is used to determine a student’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) status for financial aid.

Grant: A monetary gift for people pursuing higher education. It is often based on financial need and does not need to be repaid (unless you withdraw from school and owe a repay).

Homeless: An individual without a home who generally lives in shelters, parks, motels, hotels, cars, or with someone else due to not having anywhere else to go. Homeless individuals can still receive federal student aid.

Independent: An independent student is a student that can answer “yes” to at least one of the dependency questions on the FAFSA or ORSAA. Independent students are not required to provide parent information on their application. A parent refusing to provide support for their child’s education is not sufficient for the child to be declared independent.

Indirect Costs: Costs associated with attending school but that are not directly billed by the school. At RCC, indirect costs include: housing and feed, books and supplies, transportation and personal expenses. Indirect costs vary by student.

Interest: The interest on a loan is a fee charged periodically in exchange for the use of a lender’s money. It is paid in addition to repaying the amount borrowed. Interest is usually calculated as a percentage of the outstanding principal balance of the loan. The percentage rate may be fixed for the life of the loan, or it may be variable, depending on the terms of the loan. Since July 1, 2006 all federal education loans have involved fixed interest rates.

Legal Guardianship: A designation by a court that authorizes someone to care for an individual in pace or absence of parents. For financial aid purposes, it must be “legal” guardianship, as in assigned by a judge in a court. Letters (notarized or not) from parents giving someone else guardianship over their dependent or ability to make decisions for their dependent are not acceptable for financial aid.

Loan: A type of financial aid which must be repaid, with interest. The federal student loan programs are generally better than most consumer loans because they have lower interest rates and do not require a credit check or collateral. Federal Direct subsidized and unsubsidized loans RCC currently offers eligible students also provide a variety of deferment options and extended repayment plans.

Loan Request/Revision Form: RCC does not assume students want to borrow loans. If a student wishes to apply for loans, they must complete loan application steps, which always includes a Loan Request/Revision form for the academic year in question.

Loan Servicer: A company assigned to handle the billing and other services of a loan on the lender’s behalf. A loan servicer can work with you on repayment options and explain details of your loan. When you borrow Federal Student Loans from the Department of Education, you’ll be assigned a specific loan servicer that you’ll make payments to when required. Find your Federal Loan Servicer on studentaid.gov.

Master Promissory Note (MPN): A binding legal document in which you promise to repay your loan(s) and any accrued interest and fees. The MPN must be signed by the student borrower before loan funds are disbursed by the lender. It also explains the terms and conditions of the loan and requires at least two references of people who have know you for at least three years. MPNs are generally valid for 10 years.

Merit-based: Financial aid that depends on your academic, artistic or athletic merit or some other criteria, and does not depend on the existence of financial need. Merit-based awards could use your grades, test scores, hobbies and special talents to determine your eligibility.

Need-based: Financial aid that depends on your financial situation and having financial need. Most government sources of financial aid are need-based.

ORSAA: Oregon Student Aid Application, the form used to apply for state aid in the state of Oregon. Should be filed by students who don’t qualify to submit the FAFSA and who are Oregon residents.

Oregon Opportunity Grant: The largest state-funded, need-based grant program for college students. It is awarded to Oregon residents of all ages who are pursuing their first degree or certificate at an eligible Oregon school. Amounts vary based on financial need and type of institution. To be considered for the grant, students must submit their FAFSA or ORSAA by the deadline each academic year.

Oregon Promise Grant: State grant that helps cover tuition costs at any Oregon community college for recent Oregon high school graduates and GED test graduates. Students must apply during their senior year or immediately after completing the GED in Oregon. It is merit-based and, per the state’s discretion and funding status, could be subject to an SAI cap.

Origination Fee: Fee paid to the bank to compensate them for the cost of administering the loan. The origination fees are charged as the loan is disbursed, and typically run to 3% of the amount disbursed.

ORSAA: Oregon Student Aid Application, an alternative to the FAFSA for Oregon residents who don’t meet citizenship requirements of the FAFSA. Students should submit one or the other, not both.

OSAC: Office of Student Access and Completion, the entity who administers Oregon aid, such as Oregon Opportunity & Oregon Promise Grants and Oregon scholarships.

PACE/cPACE: A student’s successful completion percentage, as in the number of credits they’ve successfully completed divided by attempted credits. PACE is calculated on a term-by-term basis for Academic Standing and calculated based on cumulative or “cPACE” for Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) for financial aid.

Pell Grant: Grant usually awarded to undergraduate students who display exceptional financial need and have not earned a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Principal: The principal or loan balance is the amount of money borrowed or remaining unpaid on a loan. Interest is charged as a percentage of the principal.

Prior-Prior Year: Change effective 2017/2018 that requires students/parents/contributors to the FAFSA or ORSAA to report tax information from the prior-prior tax year. For example, the 2023/2024 FAFSA requires tax information for tax year 2021.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program: Forgives the remaining balance on your Direct Loans after you have made 120 (10 years) qualifying monthly payments under a qualifying repayment plan, while working full-time for a qualifying employer. You must apply specifically for PSLF and frequently certify your eligible employment.

Refund: If the student has excess financial aid or is owed a refund due to dropping a class, RCC will sent the funds to the student via BankMobile. It is important for all students to have a refund preference selected so they can access any refunded funds we owe them.

Rehabilitated Loan: One method of getting your student loan out of default. To begin the rehabilitation process, you must contact your loan servicer.

Repayment: Paying back money you borrowed by making scheduled payments to a loan holder or servicer.

Return to Title IV: Students who receive federal financial aid and then withdraw (officially or unofficially) from all approved financial aid eligible classes may have to repay some or all of the federal funds they received. The amount the student must repay is based on how much of the term they completed and how much of their federal aid they earned.

SAP Appeal: Students who are in financial aid suspension at RCC may have the option to submit a Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) appeal to request reinstatement of aid eligibility on a probationary status.

Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): A student must make this in order to continue receiving federal/state aid. Failure to maintain SAP may jeopardize a student’s eligibility for aid. RCC’s SAP policy consists of minimum cGPA and cPACE requirements as well as the ability for the student to complete their major within a Maximum Time Frame.

Scholarship: A form of financial aid students can apply for and receive to help pay for their education. Scholarship donors decide on the criteria for winning the scholarship, maintaining eligibility for it, and for what expenses it can be used for. Many are based on merit but others could be based on financial need or other criteria. Scholarships are a form of gift aid and do not have to be repaid.

Special Circumstance Appeal: A request for RCC Financial Aid to review your aid eligibility due to changes in your circumstances, such as: marriage/divorce/separation/death after completing the FAFSA, unusual expenses, or other significant changes to household size or assets.

Student Aid Index (SAI): A number, generated by a student’s FAFSA or ORSAA, the college uses to calculate how much and what kind of financial aid the student is eligible to receive (formerly called Expected Family Contribution or EFC). The SAI is not the amount of money a family will have to pay for college or the amount of aid the student will receive. The SAI is subject to change with updates or corrections to the application.

Subsidized Loan: With a subsidized loan, the government pays the interest on the loan while the student is in school, during the six-month grace period and during any deferment periods. Subsidized loans are awarded based on financial need and, if a student qualifies, are subject to annual and lifetime maximums.

Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG): Federal grant program for undergraduate students with exceptional financial need. SEOG funds are awarded by the school’s financial aid office. Students need only submit their FAFSA early to apply for SEOG; there is no separate application.

Tax Return Transcript (TRT): Transcript from the IRS that lists everything that was on a particular federal tax return. If filed “married/jointly” it would include information for both the main filer and spouse but it doesn’t break down the income per individual. Often requested along with Wage and Income Transcripts. Available from irs.gov.

Title IV: Short for “Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965” and refers to the financial aid programs for postsecondary (college) students.

TRIO EOC: Federally funded project that is dedicated to helping all students find a path to college. They assist high school seniors, adults, and veterans in enrolling and completing an educational program beyond high school. They can help with your financial aid application and more. TRIO EOC Specialists are available by appointment in person on all three campuses or by phone/Zoom.

Unaccompanied Homeless Youth (UHY): For financial aid purposes, unaccompanied means not living in the physical custody of your parent or guardian. Homeless means lacking fixed, regular and adequate housing (such as living in shelters, parks, motels, camp grounds, cars, or temporarily living with other people because you have nowhere else to go). “Youth” refers to aid applicants who are under 24. If you answer yes to the UHY question on your aid application, you will need to verify your status with documentation.

Unsubsidized Loan: A loan for which the government does not pay the interest. The borrower is responsible for the interest on an unsubsidized loan from the date the loan is disbursed, even while the student is still in school. If student’s do not pay the accrued interest, every quarter the interest will capitalize and add to the principal balance. Unsubsidized loans are not based on financial need but students must be aid-eligible at their school to request them.

US Department of Education (ED or USED): Government agency that administers several federal financial aid programs, including Federal Pell Grant, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Direct (Stafford) loans.

Verification: A review process in which the school determines the accuracy of the information provided on the student’s financial aid application. During Verification the student and/or parent will be required to submit required documentation. Such documentation may include confirmation of family size, federal tax return information, and proof of the student’s identity and Statement of Educational Purpose. Any discrepancies uncovered during Verification must be resolved before any aid can be awarded. Such discrepancies may cause changes to the FAFSA data and aid eligibility. Refusal or inability to submit required documentation will result in cancelled aid or no aid awarded.

Veteran: For Federal financial aid purposes such as determining dependency status, a veteran is a former member of the US Armed Forces (Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines or Coast Guard) who served on active duty (not active duty for training only) and was discharged other than dishonorably. ROTC students, members of the National Guard and most reservists are not considered veterans for financial aid purposes.

W2 Form: The form listing an employee’s wages and tax withheld. Employers are required by the IRS to issue a W2 form for each employee each tax year.

Wage and Income Transcript (WIT): Transcript available from the IRS that lists an individual’s W2s and 1099s for the given tax year. Often requested along with a Tax Return Transcript. Available at irs.gov.

Ward of the Court: Someone under the protection of the courts. Often a minor becomes a ward of the court when the court determines the child will be subject to abuse or neglect if they remain with the parent or guardian. Incarceration does not automatically make someone a ward of the court. Some individuals who are wards of the court may be placed with a temporary guardian, in “foster care.”