Glossary

Award Letter: Document issued by the Financial Aid Office that lists all financial aid awarded to a student for a given academic year.

Convenience Fee: A service fee assessed to the customer that serves as compensation for the company facilitating the transaction.

Direct Deposit: The deposit of funds directly into a bank account as a form of payment. Common uses for direct deposit include paychecks.

Disbursement: The release of funds to the school for application to a student account.

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT): A system of transferring money from one bank account directly to another without any paper money changing hands. One of the most widely-used EFT programs is Direct Deposit, in which payroll is deposited straight into an employee’s bank account, although EFT refers to any transfer of funds initiated through an electronic terminal. Other examples are credit card, ATM and point-of-sale (POS) transactions.

Entrance Interview: A debt management session prior to the first disbursement of loans that educates the borrower on the rights and responsibilities regarding loan funding.

Exit Interview: A debt management session prior to graduation or withdrawal to review the terms and obligations associated with receiving student loan funding.

FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid): The federal student aid application that must be completed annually in order to be considered for financial assistance that is available through the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Federal Student Aid.

Federal Direct PLUS Loan for Graduate and Law Students  Loans available to Graduate and professional degree students through the Direct PLUS Loan Program. Students can request a loan for up to the cost of attendance minus all other financial assistance.

Federal Direct PLUS Loan: The Federal Direct PLUS Loan is a part of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. Direct PLUS Loans are available to parents or legal guardians of dependent undergraduate students. Direct PLUS Loans are designed to cover any portion of the student’s estimated cost of attendance not already being covered by other types of financial aid.

Federal Direct Loans Federal Direct Loans are part of the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program and are available to students regardless of demonstrated financial need. Subsidized loans, awarded to students who demonstrate financial need, do not accrue interest during periods of at least half-time enrollment, the six-month grace period, and deferments. Unsubsidized loans accrue interest beginning at the time the loan is disbursed. Interest may be paid during periods of enrollment or may be capitalized and added to the principal amount of the loan when the loan enters repayment.

Federal Work-Study:  A federal program that provides jobs to undergraduate and graduate students, allowing them to earn money to pay educational expenses.

Grant: A type of financial aid award based on need or merit that does not require repayment.

Green Power Fee: The Green Power Fee is a result of a student initiative to purchase renewable energy to support 100% of campus energy usage. Any remaining funds support initiatives and projects that promote renewable or sustainable energy. 

Guarantee Fee: Insurance fee that the guaranty agency may charge a borrower. This fee, no more than 1 percent, is deducted from the loan principal amount before the borrower receives the loan funds.

Late Fee: A fee assessed to a student account as a result of past due balance.

Loan Repayment Assistance Program (LRAP) Fee:  LRAP helps Lewis & Clark Law School graduates who take low paying public interest jobs cover their law school student loan payments. Assistance is provided to qualified graduates through forgivable loans that are canceled after one year of public interest work. The LRAP Fee is assessed to law students’ accounts and provides funding for this program.

Loan Deferment: An authorized period of time during which a borrower may postpone principal and interest payments while they are in school at least half time, enrolled in a graduate fellowship program, a rehabilitation training program, military deployment, and during periods of unemployment or economic hardship.

Loan Forbearance: An authorized period of time which a borrower may postpone their principal repayment obligation. Interest continues to accrue and usually must be paid during the forbearance period.

Loan Grace Period: The period between the time the borrower leaves the school or drops below half time and the time they are obligated to begin repaying their loans.

Master Promissory Note: A legal document signed by the borrower that lists the conditions under which the funds are borrowed, and the terms under which the borrower agrees to repay the loan with interest.

Media Fee:  All student-produced media are supported in whole by the Student Media Fee. A complete list of student media groups comprising in the Media Fee are available through the above link. 

Origination Fee: A fee charged to the borrower (usually 3 percent) by the federal government that is deducted from the principal of a loan prior to disbursement.

Private Loan: A non-need based loan borrowed from a private lender.

Sponsor: Refers to a third party payer who has a formal billing arrangement with Lewis & Clark. Such a billing arrangement will outline the educational expenses the third party will be paying on behalf of the student. Examples of sponsors are a student’s employer or a government agency.

Student Account: A Lewis & Clark student account is a repository for the charges and credits associated with a student’s enrollment at the school. Examples of charges are tuition, fees, room and board. Examples of credits are payments made to school, deposits for residence halls and disbursements of financial aid.

Student Refund Check: After all necessary adjustments have been made to a student’s account, any resulting excess funds are returned in the form of a refund check in accordance to Lewis & Clark’s refund policy.

Student Activity Fee: A fee that supports student organizations, services and events, counseling and testing, career services, and campus facilities. At Lewis & Clark, College of Arts and Sciences students incur a student activity fee in the form of the Student Body Fee charged each semester.

Third Party Payer: Refers to a person or an organization, other than the student, who will pay part or all of the costs associated with the student’s enrollment at Lewis & Clark.

Title IV Funds: Title IV funds include all federal financial aid program funds. Examples are: Pell Grant, SEOG, ACG, National SMART, Direct Loans and Direct PLUS.

WebAdvisor: The self-serve web interface Lewis & Clark students use to manage many aspects of their enrollment at the school. For example: waive student initiatives, view restrictions, add/drop courses, access their transcripts, view their class schedule, and get a list of required textbooks for their courses.