[Code of Federal Regulations] [Title 34, Volume 3] [Revised as of July 1, 2004] From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access [CITE: 34CFR600.2] [Page 173-175] TITLE 34--EDUCATION CHAPTER VI--OFFICE OF POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION PART 600_INSTITUTIONAL ELIGIBILITY UNDER THE HIGHER EDUCATION ACT OF 1965, AS AMENDED--Table of Contents Subpart A_General Sec. 600.2 Definitions. The following definitions apply to terms used in this part: Accredited: The status of public recognition that a nationally recognized accrediting agency grants to an institution or educational program that meets the agency's established requirements. Award year: The period of time from July 1 of one year through June 30 of the following year. Branch Campus: A location of an institution that is geographically apart and independent of the main campus of the institution. The Secretary considers a location of an institution to be independent of the main campus if the location-- (1) Is permanent in nature; (2) Offers courses in educational programs leading to a degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential; (3) Has its own faculty and administrative or supervisory organization; and (4) Has its own budgetary and hiring authority. Clock hour: A period of time consisting of-- [[Page 174]] (1) A 50- to 60-minute class, lecture, or recitation in a 60-minute period; (2) A 50- to 60-minute faculty-supervised laboratory, shop training, or internship in a 60-minute period; or (3) Sixty minutes of preparation in a correspondence course. Correspondence course: (1) A ``home study'' course provided by an institution under which the institution provides instructional materials, including examinations on the materials, to students who are not physically attending classes at the institution. When students complete a portion of the instructional materials, the students take the examinations that relate to that portion of the materials, and return the examinations to the institution for grading. (2) A home study course that provides instruction in whole or in part through the use of video cassettes or video discs in an award year is a correspondence course unless the institution also delivers the instruction on the cassette or disc to students physically attending classes at the institution during the same award year. (3) A course at an institution that may otherwise satisfy the definition of a ``telecommunications course'' is a correspondence course if the sum of telecommunications and other correspondence courses offered by that institution equals or exceeds 50 percent of the total courses offered at that institution. (4) If a course is part correspondence and part residential training, the Secretary considers the course to be a correspondence course. Educational program: A legally authorized postsecondary program of organized instruction or study that leads to an academic, professional, or vocational degree, or certificate, or other recognized educational credential. However, the Secretary does not consider that an institution provides an educational program if the institution does not provide instruction itself (including a course of independent study), but merely gives credit for one or more of the following: instruction provided by other institutions or schools; examinations provided by agencies or organizations; or other accomplishments such as ``life experience.'' Eligible institution: An institution that-- (1) Qualifies as-- (i) An institution of higher education, as defined in Sec. 600.4; (ii) A proprietary institution of higher education, as defined in Sec. 600.5; or (iii) A postsecondary vocational institution, as defined in Sec. 600.6; and (2) Meets all the other applicable provisions of this part. Federal Family Education Loan (FFEL) Programs: The loan programs (formerly called the Guaranteed Student Loan (GSL) programs) authorized by title IV-B of the HEA, including the Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS, Federal Supplemental Loans for Students (Federal SLS), and Federal Consolidation Loan programs, in which lenders use their own funds to make loans to enable students or their parents to pay the costs of the students' attendance at eligible institutions. The Federal Stafford Loan, Federal PLUS, Federal SLS, and Federal Consolidation Loan programs are defined in 34 CFR part 668. Incarcerated student: A student who is serving a criminal sentence in a Federal, State, or local penitentiary, prison, jail, reformatory, work farm, or other similar correctional institution. A student is not considered incarcerated if that student is in a half-way house or home detention or is sentenced to serve only weekends. Legally authorized: The legal status granted to an institution through a charter, license, or other written document issued by the appropriate agency or official of the State in which the institution is physically located. Nationally recognized accrediting agency: An agency or association that the Secretary recognizes as a reliable authority to determine the quality of education or training offered by an institution or a program offered by an institution. The Secretary recognizes these agencies and associations under the provisions of 34 CFR part 602 and publishes a list of the recognized agencies in the Federal Register. Nonprofit institution: An institution that-- (1) Is owned and operated by one or more nonprofit corporations or associations, no part of the net earnings of [[Page 175]] which benefits any private shareholder or individual; (2) Is legally authorized to operate as a nonprofit organization by each State in which it is physically located; and (3) Is determined by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service to be an organization to which contributions are tax-deductible in accordance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3)). One-academic-year training program: An educational program that is at least one academic year as defined under 34 CFR 668.2. Preaccredited: A status that a nationally recognized accrediting agency, recognized by the Secretary to grant that status, has accorded an unaccredited public or private nonprofit institution that is progressing toward accreditation within a reasonable period of time. Recognized equivalent of a high school diploma: The following are the equivalent of a high school diploma-- (1) A General Education Development Certificate (GED); (2) 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 high school diploma; (3) An academic transcript of a student who has successfully completed at least a two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor's degree; or (4) 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 high school but who excelled academically in high school, documentation that the student excelled academically in high school and has met the formalized, written policies of the institution for admitting such students. Recognized occupation: An occupation that is-- (1) Listed in an ``occupational division'' of the latest edition of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles, published by the U.S. Department of Labor; or (2) Determined by the Secretary in consultation with the Secretary of Labor to be a recognized occupation. Regular student: A person who is enrolled or accepted for enrollment at an institution for the purpose of obtaining a degree, certificate, or other recognized educational credential offered by that institution. Secretary: The Secretary of the Department of Education or an official or employee of the Department of Education acting for the Secretary under a delegation of authority. State: A State of the Union, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the Republic of Palau. The latter three are also known as the Freely Associated States. Telecommunications course: A course offered in an award year principally through the use of television, audio, or computer transmission, including open broadcast, closed circuit, cable, microwave, or satellite, audio conferencing, computer conferencing, or video cassettes or discs. The term does not include a course that is delivered using video cassettes or disc recordings unless that course is delivered to students physically attending classes at an institution providing the course during the same award year. If the course does not qualify as a telecommunications course it is considered to be a correspondence course, as provided for in paragraph (c) of the definition of correspondence course in this section. Title IV, HEA program: Any of the student financial assistance programs listed in 34 CFR 668.1(c). (Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1071 et seq., 1078-2, 1088, 1099b, 1099c, and 1141 and 26 U.S.C. 501(c).) [59 FR 22336, Apr. 29, 1994, as amended at 63 FR 40622, July 29, 1998; 64 FR 58615, Oct. 29, 1999]