Section 4Sec./Art. 4

Definition of Terms. For purposes of this Act:

(a) Beneficiary refers to the recipient of any modality of Student Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP), such as Scholarship, Grant-in-Aid, or Student Loan;

(b) Cost of Tertiary Education refers to (1) tuition, miscellaneous and Other School Fees, (2) Educational Expenses, and (3) the cost of living allowance;

(c) Educational Expenses refer to expenses related to the education of a student, such as books, school supplies, and electronic devices necessary for education, but excluding tuition and miscellaneous and Other School Fees;

(d) Grantee refers to the student-beneficiary of a Grant-in-Aid program;

(e) Grant-in-Aid refers to a modality of financial assistance to poor but eligible students which generally requires a minimum level of competence to complete Tertiary Education;

(f) Higher Education refers to the stage of formal education, or its equivalent, requiring completion of secondary education and covering programs of study leading to bachelor and advanced degrees;

(g) Higher Education Institution (HEI) refers to an institution of higher learning, primarily offering bachelor and advanced degree programs;

(h) Other School Fees refer to those fees which cover other necessary costs supportive of instruction, including, but not limited to, medical and dental, athletic, library and laboratory fees;

(i) Qualifying Examination System for Scoring Students refers to the appropriate annual examination and assessment of potential Beneficiaries, which may be separately designed for undergraduate and graduate students and adopted by the Board for all prospective applicants for any one of the modalities of StuFAP, as referred to in Section 15(h);

(j) Rationalized Access refers to improved efficiency in the implementation of UniFAST pursuant to the principles of increased participation of the economically disadvantaged and marginalized sectors, equity in the regional distribution of economic resources, congruence of the qualifications of Tertiary Education graduates and labor market needs, and relevance to the countrys national development and global competitiveness, among others;

(k) Registry of Programs and Institutions refers to quality-assured academic and research programs and tertiary institutions which have been certified by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) and/or the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) as complying with acceptable standards;

(l) Scholar refers to a student-recipient of a Scholarship grant based on merit and/or talent;

(m) Scholarship refers to a modality of financial assistance given to eligible students on the basis of merit and/or talent, such as laudable academic performance, and special technical proficiencies and skills and intellectual pursuits of a Scholar that give rise to research and development, and innovations as well as other creative works;

(n) Special Purpose Education Assistance refers to financial assistance for the conduct of undergraduate and graduate research, scientific studies, including funding assistance for the writing and publication of books, manuscripts, theses, dissertations, scientific and technical journals, or for production, filming and digital technology documentation of research and studies or development of instructional and academic materials, and science prototypes, among others;

(o) State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) refer to public HEIs established by national laws which are financed and maintained by the national government, and are governed by their respective independent boards of trustees or regents;

(p) Student-Borrower refers to a student-beneficiary of the National Student Loan Program, as defined in Section 8;

(q) Student Financial Assistance Program (StuFAP) refers to a system of Scholarships, Grants-in-Aid, Student Loans, subsidies and other incentives which are or shall be made available to eligible students;

(r) Student Loan refers to a modality of student financial assistance consisting of short-term or long-term loans which shall be extended to students facing liquidity problems, regardless of economic status, which shall be paid by the student, his/her parents, guardians, or co-makers;

(s) Technical-Vocational Education and Training (TVET) refers to the post-secondary education or training process which involves, in addition to general education, the study of technical and related fields and the acquisition of practical skills relating to occupations in various sectors, comprising formal (organized programs as part of the school systems) and nonformal (organized classes outside the school system) approaches;

(t) Technical-Vocational Institutes (TVIs) refer to learning institutions offering post-secondary TVET;

(u) Tertiary Education refers to the stage of education following the secondary cycle which subsumes post-secondary nondegree diploma, TVET, and Higher Education programs; and

(v) Unified Student Financial Assistance System for Tertiary Education (UniFAST) refers to the harmonized, state-run and administered system of Higher Education and technical-vocational Scholarships, Grants-in-Aid, Student Loans, and other modalities of StuFAP under this Act.