| Term | Acronym | Definition | For further assistance, contact: |
|---|---|---|---|
| A-133 Audit | This annual audit is required for all organizations that receive grants or other awards in excess of $500,000 from a federal agency. The specific rules for the audit are set by the Federal Office of Management and Budget. The focus of the audit is a financial report on all federal funds received and a report on our compliance with the rules and regulations of the granting agencies. | Comptroller, Office of the | |
| Academic Competitiveness Grant | ACG | Grant created by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 providing funds for students enrolled full-time as a first- or second-year student in a qualifying program of study. Funding for this grant program was first made available for the 2006–07 award year. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| American Institute of Certified Public Accountants | AICPA | The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants is the national professional organization for all Certified Public Accountants. Its mission is to provide members with the resources, information and leadership that enable them to provide valuable services in the highest professional manner to benefit the public, as well as employers and clients. One of its specific objectives is to issue professional standards, including accounting guides like “Not-for-Profit Organizations” that provide guidance to private colleges and universities on the application of FASB statements. | Comptroller, Office of the |
| Approved Policy Index | API | The Approved Policy Index is an approved static allocation of passive investments intended to represent an acceptable level of risk for a desired long-term return. | Endowment Office |
| Book Value | The book value of endowed fund is the original gift, plus any other additions to the account. The book value is a key factor in determining the initial spendable amount. | Endowment Office | |
| Campus-based Aid | Financial aid programs are administered by the university. The federal government provides the university with a fixed annual allocation, which is awarded by the financial aid administrator to deserving students. Such programs include the Perkins Loan, Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant and Federal Work Study. Note that there is no guarantee that every eligible student will receive financial aid through these programs because the awards are made from a fixed pool of money. This is a key difference between the campus-based loan programs and the Direct Loan Program. Do not confuse the two, even though both loans are issued through the schools | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Capitalization (of student loan interest) | The practice of adding unpaid interest charges to the principal balance of an educational loan, thereby increasing the size of the loan. Interest is then charged on the new balance, including the unpaid principal and the accrued interest. Capitalizing the interest increases the monthly payment and the amount of money you will eventually have to repay. If you can afford to pay the interest as it accrues, you are better off not capitalizing it. Capitalization is sometimes called compounding. See also Unsubsidized Loans. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Central Processing System | CPS | The Central Processing System, or CPS, is the U.S. Department of Education's application data processing facility. The CPS uses student information from FAFSA processors to calculate the student’s official EFC. It returns the student’s eligibility information to the student and the schools the student indicated on his or her FAFSA. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Common Origination and Disbursement | COD | Department of Education database that includes the process of origination and disbursement reporting for Federal Pell Grant, Academic Competitiveness Grant, National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant, Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education Grant, and Federal Direct Loan funding, as well as student-level reporting for federal campus-based awards. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Consolidation Loan | Also called Loan Consolidation, a consolidation loan combines several student loans into one bigger loan from a single lender. The consolidation loan is like a refinance and is used to pay off the balances on the other loans. The primary intention is to replace multiple loans with a single consolidated loan to simplify repayment. For federal student loans, a consolidation loan can also provide access to alternate repayment terms and the ability to lock in a rate on older variable rate student loans. For private student loans, a consolidation loan can also offer the opportunity to get a better interest rate or release a co-signer if the borrower's credit score has improved significantly. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Cost of Attendance |
COA | (Also known as the cost of education or budget) The total amount it should cost the student to go to school, including tuition and fees, room and board, allowances for books and supplies, transportation, and personal and incidental expenses. Loan fees, if applicable, may also be included in the COA. Child care and expenses for disabilities may also be included at the discretion of the financial aid administrator. Schools establish different standard budget amounts for students living on and off campus, married and unmarried students, and in-state and out-of-state students | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Deferment | Occurs when a borrower is allowed to postpone repaying the loan. If you have a subsidized loan, the federal government pays the interest charges during the deferment period. If you have an unsubsidized loan, you are responsible for the interest that accrues during the deferment period. You can still postpone paying the interest charges by capitalizing the interest, which increases the size of the loan. Most federal loan programs allow students to defer their loans while they are in school at least half-time. If you do not qualify for a deferment, you may be able to get a forbearance. You cannot get a deferment if your loan is in default. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Eligibility and Certification Approval Report | ECAR | A summary of an institution’s eligibility/certification information (Title IV program participation, institution’s accreditor, state authorization, staff, additional locations and eligible vocational programs). | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Eligible Non-citizen | Someone who is not a U.S. citizen but is nevertheless eligible for federal student aid. Eligible non-citizens include U.S. permanent residents who are holders of valid green cards, U.S. nationals, and holders of form I-94 who have been granted refugee or asylum status and certain other non-citizens. Non-citizens who hold a student visa or an exchange visitor visa are not eligible for federal student aid. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Endowment | An endowment is a permanently restricted net asset in which the principal is invested and a portion of the investment earnings are spent. Any additional gains are retained by each account to provide a perpetual inflation-protected source of funding. An endowment is controlled by donor restriction(s) or, in the absence of a donor restriction, by Marquette while considering the donor's relationship with the university. | Endowment | |
| Endowment Income Used in Operations | This reflects the endowment spending policy for the fiscal year that is to be spent from endowment earnings to cover normal operating activities. If endowment income is higher than needed to fund the spending policy, the excess is shown below the subtotal for operating income. | ||
| Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act |
FERPA | FERPA restricts the disclosure of student records to other parties and requires the school to give a student the opportunity to review his or her records. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Federal Direct Loan | DL | A federally subsidized, low-interest student loan, awarded on the basis of financial need. As part of the Direct Loan Program, these loans are made directly by the federal government (rather than by a private lender) through participating institutions. The program offers four types of loans: Federal Direct Subsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Direct Unsubsidized Stafford Loan, Federal Direct PLUS Loan and Federal Direct Consolidation Loan. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Federal Direct Student Loan Program | FDSLP | Similar to the Federal Family Education Loan Program, the funds for these loans are provided by the U.S. government directly to students and their parents through their schools. Benefits of the program include a faster turnaround time and less bureaucracy than the old bank loan program. The FDSLP includes the Federal Direct Stafford Loan (Subsidized and Unsubsidized) and the Federal Direct Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students (PLUS). | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Federal Family Education Loan Program | FFELP | FFELP is one of two parallel federal education loan programs. The other is the Direct Loan program. Both offer the same sets of loans (e.g., Stafford, PLUS and Consolidation loans) with only slight differences. The main difference is in the source of funds. In the FFEL program, the funds normally come from private capital such as banks, credit unions and other financial institutions, while Direct Loan program funds come from the U.S. Treasury through the U.S. Department of Education. The federal government guarantees FFELP loans against borrower default and ensures that the lenders receive a market rate of return on the loans despite the lower interest rates paid by borrowers of education loans. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Federal Methodology | The need-analysis formula used to determine the EFC. The Federal Methodology takes family size, the number of family members in college, taxable and nontaxable income, and assets into account. Unlike most Institutional Methodologies, however, Federal Methodology does not consider the net value of the family residence. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Federal Student Aid | FSA | Financial help to those enrolled is an eligible program as a regular student at an institution participating in our federal student aid programs. (An institution is a four- or two-year public or private college, university, career institution, or trade school.) | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant |
FSEOG | A campus-based program that provides grant assistance to undergraduate students with need. Priority is given to students who have exceptional financial need and are Federal Pell Grant recipients. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Federal Work-Study | FWS | A federally funded campus-based employment program providing jobs for students with financial need. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| FFEL/Direct PLUS | PLUS | Unsubsidized loans available to parents of dependent students and to students enrolled in graduate or professional programs. These loans are available regardless of financial need, and the amount of eligibility depends on the total cost of education. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Financial Accounting Standards Board | FASB | Was created in 1973 as part of the Financial Accounting Foundation and is an independent standard setting body. FASB establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for all private sector commercial and nonprofit entities. | |
| Financial Aid Notification | FAN | An official document issued by a school's financial aid office that lists all financial aid awarded to the student. The letter provides details on the analysis of a student's financial need and the breakdown of the financial aid package according to amount, source, and type of aid. The award letter includes terms and conditions for the financial aid and information about the cost of attendance. Students are required to sign a copy of the letter, indicating whether they accept or decline each source of aid, and return it to the financial aid office. Some schools call the award letter the Financial Aid Notification. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Fiscal Operations Report and Application to Participate in Campus-based Programs |
FISAP | An annual report of expenditures in the campus-based programs during an award year, combined with an application to participate in campus-based programs in the upcoming award year. Must be submitted to ED online by any school receiving campus-based funds. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| GAAP Hierarchy | This hierarchy gives the order in which the various accounting rules are to be applied. There are separate hierarchies of authoritative accounting literature for FASB (nongovernmental) constituencies and GASB (state and local government) constituencies; however both hierarchies contain four levels: officially established accounting principles, such as FASB and GASB statements; pronouncements of bodies comprising expert accountants, such as FASB or GASB technical bulletins; pronouncements of bodies organized by the FASB, GASB or AICPA; and prevalent practice or knowledge application, such as FASB or GASB, Q&A Guides and Industry Guidance, such as NACUBO APC Advisory Reports and the NACUBO Financial Accounting and Reporting Manual. | Comptroller, Office of the | |
| Generally Accepted Accounting Principles | GAAP | The accounting rules that all entities follow based on a defined hierarchy based on the issuing body of the rules. | Comptroller, Office of the |
| Governmental Accounting Standards Board | GASB | Created in 1984 by the Financial Accounting Foundation to establish generally accepted accounting principles for state and local governments and their component units, which include government-controlled organizations such as colleges and universities. GASB establishes accounting and financial reporting standards for all state and local governmental entities including governmentally controlled nonprofit organizations. | Comptroller, Office of the |
| Grade Point Average | GPA | An average of a student's grades, converted to a 4.0 scale (4.0 is an A, 3.0 is a B, and 2.0 is a C). Some schools use a 5.0 scale. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Grant Administration and Payment System | GAPS | System in which flags are added to and removed from award authorizations. These flags include HCM2, Reimbursement, and Stop Pay. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Grants Management System | GMS | A component of the MyJob (Oracle) HR and Finance system, used to manage the accounting, billing/receivables and financial reporting relative to the university’s grant awards. |
Grant Accounting |
| Health Professions Student Loan | HPSL | A low-interest loan administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is now known as the Primary Care Loan. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Higher Education Act | HEA | Federal legislation passed in 1965, with amendments and reauthorizations subsequently passed, authorizing federal postsecondary student financial aid programs and mandating that the programs be regulated and administered by the U.S. Secretary of Education. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Independent | An independent student is at least 24 years old as of January 1 of the academic year, is married, is a graduate or professional student, has a legal dependent other than a spouse, is a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, or is an orphan or ward of the court (or was a ward of the court until age 18). A parent refusing to provide support for his/her child's education is not sufficient for the child to be declared independent. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Information for Financial Aid Professionals | IFAP | The Information for Financial Aid Professionals website consolidates guidance, resources, and information related to the administration and processing of Title IV federal student aid into one site for use by the entire financial aid community. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Internal Order Form | IOF | A document to place an internal order. | Comptroller, Office of the |
| ISIR — Institutional Student Information Record |
ISIR | A summary of information from the student's Free Application for Federal Student Aid submitted electronically to institutions and state agencies. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Market Value | The market value of an endowment is the book value plus the impact of realized and unrealized gains and losses, less the annual spendable. | Endowment Office | |
| Marquette Budget System | MBS | A component of the MyJob (Oracle) HR and Finance system, used to manage and develop the university’s annual budget. | Budget Office |
| Marquette Central Access Number | MCAN | Special number that all students need to gain access to their account information over the phone. Students may give this special number to other people if they want them to have access to their personal information. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Marquette Financial System | MFS | Marquette Financial System or MyJob, the Oracle financial system that supports HR/payroll, general ledger, purchasing, accounts payable, and fixed asset system. | Comptroller, Office of the |
| ÃÛÌÒÓ°Ïñ Student Government | MUSG | Marquette's student government. | |
| National Association of College and University Business Officers Association | NACUBO | Provides professional development for university best practices. | |
| National SMART Grant — National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent Grant | SMART | Grant created by the Higher Education Reconciliation Act of 2005 providing funds for the third and fourth years of study to needy students who are pursuing a four-year degree with a major in a physical science, computer science, engineering, mathematics, technology or a critical foreign language. Funding for this grant program was first made available for the 2006–07 award year. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| National Student Loan Data System |
NSLDS | Department of Education-integrated database system that collects and maintains student loan and grant data on Title IV federal student aid recipients, available to the financial aid community. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Net Assets | Used by nonprofit organizations in place of the for-profit term equity or retained earnings. Assets = liabilities + net assets. Generally, net assets are separated into different categories. | ||
| Net Assets Released from Restriction | Temporarily restricted assets are released to unrestricted to cover expenses. This occurs as the specific temporary restriction is met (i.e., scholarship is awarded or time restriction passes). | ||
| Office of General Counsel | OGC | Go to the Office of General Counsel webpage for more information. | |
| Office of Research and Sponsored Programs | ORSP | Office of Research and Sponsored Programs | Office of Research and Sponsored Programs |
| Office of Student Financial Aid | OSFA | Marquette Central website | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| 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 percent of the amount disbursed. A portion of this fee is paid to federal government to offset the administrative costs of the loan. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Permanently Restricted | Gifts to the university where the donor restricts the corpus for investment purposes and only the interest earnings may be spent in support of the university. | ||
| PPA — Program Participation Agreement |
PPA | A signed agreement between the secretary and the president/owner/CEO of an institution allowing participation in the Title IV programs. Institutions may not award Title IV funds until the PPA has been signed and countersigned. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Professional Judgment |
PJ | A provision in the law allowing financial aid administrators to make individual adjustments to override a student’s dependency status (from dependent to independent), to adjust the components of a student’s cost of attendance and to adjust the data elements used to calculate the student’s expected family contribution. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Purchase Order | PO | The authorized purchasing form issued by the purchasing office for purchases of all equipment and supplies. Items over $10,000 require competitive bids from at least three vendors unless the product is sole source. | Purchasing |
| Reinvestment Income | For endowments with a book value below the minimum threshold, the spendable funds are reinvested into the book value until the minimum threshold is met. | Endowment Office | |
| Request for Information | RFI | Obtaining information from vendors. | Purchasing |
| Request for Proposal | RFP | Obtaining quotes from vendors. | Purchasing |
| Return of Title IV Funds | R2T4 | When a student withdraws from an institution without completing a payment period or period of enrollment, the institution must determine the amount of Title IV funds earned for the student’s attendance. Unearned federal student aid must be returned. Earned grant funds that the student has not yet received must be paid to the student by the institution as a post-withdrawal disbursement. Earned loan funds that the student has not yet received must be offered to the student by the institution as a post withdrawal disbursement. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Satisfactory Academic Progress | SAP | A sufficient rate of student course completion determined using qualitative and quantitative measures. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Social Security Number | SSN | A nine-digit number assigned by the Social Security Administration. The SSN helps SSA maintain an accurate record of wages or self-employment earnings that are covered under the Social Security Act and monitor records once a person begins to start receiving Social Security benefits. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Spendable | The spendable is the movement of cash from an endowment account to an expenditure account. The funds in the expendable account are used in strict accordance with the terms of the donor agreement. | Endowment Office | |
| Spendable Calculation | The spendable portion of an individual endowment fund will equal the prior year's spendable amount plus 5 percent of any new contributions. As predicated by investment returns, the spendable amount can increase by a variable inflation component not to exceed 3 percent. | Endowment Office | |
| Student Aid Record | SAR | A federal output document sent directly to a student from the Department of Education's Central Processing Center summarizing a student’s application and eligibility status. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Temporarily Restricted | Gifts to the university in which the donor restricts the gift to a specific purpose (i.e., scholarship) or by a time (i.e., money to be spent in the next three fiscal years). | ||
| Title IV Federal Student Aid |
Title IV | Financial aid programs for postsecondary students, authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (Title IV, HEA) and administered by the U.S. Department of Education. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| Title IV School Code | When you fill out the FAFSA, you must supply the Title IV Code for each school to which you are applying. This code is a six-character identifier that begins with O, G, B or E. The financial aid information page provides a searchable database of Title IV School Codes. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Tuition Discount | The total amount in dollars of institutional financial aid grants awarded to students for the fiscal year. It includes restricted endowment grants and athletic scholarships. It does not include the institution's match for other externally funded student aid grants, nor should it include tuition remission. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| United States Department of Education | ED | A federal agency of the U.S. government that regulates and enforces policies and procedures for the U.S. education system. | Student Financial Aid, Office of |
| University Policies and Procedures | UPP | A formal written policy or procedures designed by members of the university to be practiced by university employees. | Office of General Counsel |
| Unrestricted | Unrestricted funds of the university. | Comptroller, Office of the | |
| Variable Rate | A variable rate is an interest rate that resets periodically, such as monthly, quarterly or annually. Variable rates are often defined as the sum of a variable rate index, such as the LIBOR index or Prime Lending Rate, and a fixed rate margin. The margins are often determined based on the borrower's credit score, where credit scores are grouped into a small set of five or six tiers and each tier is associated with a different interest rate and fees. | Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Verification | Verification is a review process in which the FAO determines the accuracy of the information provided on the student's financial aid application. During the verification process, the student and parent are required to submit documentation for the amounts listed (or not listed) on the financial aid application. Such documentation may include signed copies of the most recent federal and state income tax returns for a student, a student's spouse (if any), and parents, proof of citizenship, proof of registration with Selective Service, and copies of Social Security benefit statements, and W2 and 1099 forms, among other things. Financial aid applications are randomly selected by the federal processor for verification, with most schools verifying at least one-third of all applications. If there is an asterisk next to the EFC figure on your Student Aid Report), your SAR has been selected for verification. Schools may select additional students for verification if they suspect fraud. Some schools undergo 100 percent verification. If any discrepancies are uncovered during verification, the financial aid office may require additional information to clear up the discrepancies. Such discrepancies may cause your final financial aid package to be different than the initial package described on the award letter you received from the school. |
Student Financial Aid, Office of | |
| Agency Fund/Account | Funds provided by an external agency for which the university is contractually required to serve as custodian or fiscal agent on behalf of the external agency. | Budget Office | |
| Encumbrance | The recognition of funds committed before the actual disbursement. An encumbrance reduces budget availability. | Budget Office | |
| Endowment Income Used in Operations | This reflects the endowment spending policy for the fiscal year that is to be spent from endowment earnings to cover normal operating activities. If endowment income is higher than needed to fund the spending policy, the excess is shown below the subtotal for operating income. | Budget Office | |
| F&A | Financial and administrative cost recoveries from grants and contracts. Can also be referred to as indirect cost recovery. | Budget Office | |
| Fiscal Year | A one-year period created for accounting purposes separate from the calendar year. The university fiscal year is July 1–June 30. | Budget Office | |
| FTE (full-time equivalent) | A term used to identify the percentage of time that an employee regularly works within his/her assignment. Thirty-seven and a half hours per week would reflect a 1.0 FTE, while 20 hours per week reflects a .5 FTE. | Budget Office | |
| Gift Letter | This form is to be used when gifting stock certificate(s) to a different individual or entity (must be used in tandem with the Stock Power). | Budget Office | |
| Net Assets | Used by nonprofit organizations in place of the for-profit term equity or retained earnings. Assets = liabilities + net assets. Generally, net assets are separated into different categories:
|
Budget Office | |
| Permanent Budget Transfer | An adjustment that is made to the Permanent Budget to address changes in future needs. Transfers processed this year affect the beginning operating budget for the next fiscal year. | Budget Office | |
| Permanent Budget | Also referred to as the Original Budget. This is the beginning July 1 budget for personal and non-personal services. The permanent budget is funding that is anticipated every year, unless budget reductions or other adjustments occur. | Budget Office | |
| Permanently Restricted Net Assets | Net assets subject to donor-imposed restrictions to be maintained permanently by the university. Items included are gifts and contributions for which donors stipulate that the corpus be held in perpetuity and only the income from those assets be made available for scholarships or program operations and annuity and life income gifts for which the ultimate purpose is permanently restricted. | Budget Office | |
| Revised Budget | Also referred to as the Current Budget, this represents the current year's operating budget, July 1–June 30. The revised budget includes the July 1 permanent budget and any current year adjustments (temporary budget transfers). | Budget Office | |
| Temporarily Restricted Net Assets | Net assets subject to donor-imposed restrictions that will be met by actions of the university, the passage of time or both. When a donor restriction expires, that is, when a stipulated time restriction ends or purpose restriction is accomplished, temporarily restricted net assets are reclassified to unrestricted net assets and reported in the consolidated statement of activities as net assets released from restrictions. Contributions of property and equipment are recorded at fair value at the date of donation. In the absence of donor stipulations detailing how long the contributed assets must be used, the university has adopted a policy of implying a time restriction on contributions of such assets that expires over the assets’ useful lives. As a result, all contributions of property and equipment, and assets contributed to acquire property and equipment, are recorded as temporarily restricted net assets. | Budget Office | |
| Temporary Budget Transfer | An adjustment that will affect only the current-year budget and will not be included in determining the permanent budget/base budget for the next fiscal year. The adjustments are one time and are only available for current-year activities. Temporary budget transfers are reflected in the monthly financial reports under revised budget. | Budget Office | |
| Temporary Budget | A temporary or current-year budget is the amount of budget available to spend in the current fiscal year. | Budget Office | |
| Temporary Employee | An employee who is hired for a position with a predetermined duration of no more than 12 months of service. | Budget Office | |
| Tuition Discount | The total amount in dollars of institutional financial aid grants awarded to students for the fiscal year. It includes restricted endowment grants and athletic scholarships. It does not include the institution's match for other externally funded student aid grants, nor should it include tuition remission. | Budget Office | |
| Unrestricted Net Assets | Net assets that are not subject to donor-imposed restrictions. | Budget Office |
SITE MENU
Student Financial Services
