Student Finance Glossary

Field Name Or Term: Description:
ABN Australian Business Number.
Account Code Is a general ledger Account Code specific to a financial reporting period.
Allocation Method Describes the methods for determining the number of elements for use in a Disbursement Calculation. The options are STUDENT, PERCOURSE, PERUNIT, EFTSL, CRPOINT.
Assess Fees check box Indicates whether a Course Attempt is Fee Assessable, based on its status. Currently Fee Assessable Statuses are determined by the System.
Base Balance Indicates the amount upon which a Percentage Disbursement Formula is based. The options are GROSS (total income to be disbursed for a Fee Type/Calendar Instance), NET (amount available after Disbursement by the last 'fixed' formula), REMAINDER (amount after all previous formulas have been applied).
BOTPLS Bridging for Overseas Trained Professionals Loan Scheme. Replaced 1st January, 2005 with FEE-HELP. The arrangements remain unchanged.
Calculation Data Is a general term used in the documentation to describe the Charge Rates, Charge Elements, Charge Methods, Rules and Load Apportionment that are used in calculating fees.
Categorisation See Disbursement Categorisation.
CGS Commonwealth Grant Scheme.
Charge Element Is a component of the Fee Calculation, in which a rate per element is multiplied by the number of elements representing the student's study load over the Fee Period for the Fee Liability concerned.
Charge Method Describes the methods for determining the number of Charge Elements for use in a Fee Calculation. The options are FLATRATE, EFTSL, PERUNIT, CRPOINT.
Charge Method Apportion Is the relationship of a Fee Period with a Load Period or periods in order to determine a student's study units and study load (in EFTSL, credit points or number of units) for the Fee Period.
Charge Method Type See Charge Method.
Charge Rate Describes a 'per element' rate applying to a fee. 
CHESSN Commonwealth Higher Education Student Support Number.
Classification Code Is used to link Organisational Unit Accounts with formulas used to disburse Fee Income.
COFI Callista Open Finance Interface.
Commonwealth Assistance Notice This function is used to create an extract containing all of the relevant information that Higher Education Providers (HEPs) require to include on a hardcopy Statement Of Account (SOA) Notice.
Commonwealth Supported Places This is a higher education place for which the Commonwealth makes a financial contribution
Concession A type of concession (for example, Aged Pension) can be applied to a student if they are eligible, to reduce the amount of fees they are required to pay. A Concession Type must be set up for the student (in ENRF02T0), this is then used during the Fee Assessment process (FINJ3500) to determine whether fee capping applies and the amount a student is required to pay.
Contract Rate Describes a Fee Rate negotiated with the institution for an individual student.
Course Fee Trigger Is a Course Code recorded against a Fee Liability to indicate that students in that course are to be assessed for the fee.
Course Group Fee Trigger Is a grouping of courses recorded against a Fee Liability to indicate that students in those courses are to be assessed for the fee. Course groups are defined by an institution.
Course Type Fee Trigger Is a Course Type (representing courses to which the type has been assigned) recorded against a Fee Liability to indicate that students in courses of that type are to be assessed for the fee. Course Types are institution defined but map to element 310. Examples: 01 Higher Doctorate, 20 Diploma.
Creation Date Is a System supplied date indicating when a record was created.
Currency Code Indicates the Currency (e.g. Australian dollars) in which Fee Assessments and payments are made.
Default Period Is the default operating period for a Disbursement Formula, derived from the Start and End Date Alias Instances of the associated Fee Period. See also Override Period.
Deferred Payment Option See Government Student Status.
Deletion Date Is a System supplied date indicating when a record was logically deleted.
Derived Value/Nominated Value Applies to the course attributes Location Code, Attendance Mode and Attendance Type, where the value is said to be 'derived' if the System determined it by examining the Student's Unit Attempts for that course. It is said to be 'nominated' if it is the value recorded in the relevant fields in the Enrolment or Admission forms.
Disbursement Alternative Alternative Disbursement to normal process. See Special Note on Alternative Disbursement in FININTR3 - Understanding Student Finance.
Disbursement Categorisation Enables Disbursement Categories to be linked to a formula in order to aggregate amounts by category for reporting purposes.
Disbursement Category Can be assigned to a Disbursement Formula to meet the specific needs of an institution to aggregate disbursed amounts by category for reporting purposes. See also Disbursement Categorisation.
Disbursement Fixed Is a pre-determined rate 'per element' where the nature of the elements are determined by the Allocation Method.
Disbursement Journal Contains summaries of fee Disbursement information available to an external Finance system. 
Disbursement Method Indicates the method of disbursing a Student's Fee Income - direct to a specified Organisational Unit, to Organisational Units that 'own' the course studied or to those responsible for Teaching Units in it.
Disbursement Percentage (%) Is the proportion of either a gross, net or remainder amount available for Disbursement, that amount then being split between a number of elements as per the Allocation Method.
Disbursement Snapshot Summarises the point in time Disbursements for a Fee Type in a Fee Period (FTCI).  
Disbursement Snapshot Detail Allocations Summarises the point in time Disbursements for each Fee Type in a Fee Period at student/student course/student unit level.
Disbursement Snapshot Details Summarises the point in time Disbursements for each Fee Type in a Fee Period at Organisational Unit level.
Discontinue Enrolment check box Is set to alert staff that for a particular pending fee Encumbrance, it is necessary to discontinue a student's Enrolment before authorising the Encumbrance. 
Discount Full Payment check box If set, indicates that a discount only applies when payment is made in full for a Fee Liability.
Discipline Band The Government Discipline Band. Replaces Govt HECS Contribution Band.
eCAF Electronic Commonwealth Assistance Form.
Effective Date Can be specified as a parameter in several processes and allows the process to access the database as at a date which is not necessarily the current date. 
Effective Date - Currency Is the date from which the rate of exchange for the Currency is effective.
Elected Student Status For FINF9100 this field only displays the Course Student Status an not any other value - like the Student Status Snapshot. Do not confuse with the Student Status. For other Finance Inquiry forms this shows the Elected Student Status defined at the course level and any Student Status defined at the Unit Level as an override. It does not show Student Status Snapshot. See below for explanation.
Element See Charge Element.
Element Range Is a range delimited by lower and upper values against which a rate can be recorded to apply only to students with study loads within that range. See also Charge Element, Charge Method, Charge Rate.  
Element Range Rate Is a rate attached to a particular Element Range.
Eligible Student Is a term used in the documentation when discussing particular aspects of Fee Assessment. Read the term as an acknowledgment that criteria under discussion may not be the only ones that affect a student's eligibility for assessment. The over-arching determinant of eligibility is that the student has/had/will have an Enrolment in the Fee Assessment Period concerned.
Encumbrance See Fee Encumbrance.
Encumbrance Schedule Is a 'template' schedule from which dates can be derived after which particular Fee Encumbrances are recorded in a pending state for students defaulting on payment of a fee.
End Date - Fee Period (Calendar Instance) Is the last day of a Fee Period. 
End Date (Alias) - for assessment processing Is the End Date delimiting the period within which an Effective Date for Fee Assessment processing can be set.
Evaluation Order Is the sequence in which Disbursement Formulas are to be resolved, as determined at formula setup
External Reference Is a reference generated outside Callista's Student Finance Subsystem.
External Reference Type Classifies references originating outside the Student Finance Subsystem. Example: RECEIPT - a record of this type holds the receipt number of a Fee Payment.
FCCI See Fee Category Calendar Instance.
FCFL See Fee Category Fee Liability.
Fee Assessable Check Box Fee Assessable check box - allows a fee to be charged for a specific service to a student. For example, a fee attached to a mail out to a student requesting the institution send a Student Union Membership form. See 'Validations' under the first 'Rules/Notes' for criteria on selecting this check box. Set in Maintain Services (ENRF01Y0).
Fee Assessment Is the term used either to describe the process of assessing a student's Fee Liabilities or to describe the outcome of that process (as in 'a student's Fee Assessment'). 
Fee Assessment Effective Date See Effective Date.
Fee Assessment Period See Fee Period.
Fee Assessment Rate Is a Charge Rate applying to a fee under a designated set of conditions.
Fee Assessment Routine Is the process that assesses whether students are liable for particular fees or eligible for adjustment to fees already assessed, and creates assessment or adjustment transactions accordingly. Two different 'front-end' jobs use the routine
Fee Cap The mimimum and maximum assessment amount that a student can be charged for a particular period. Fee capping occurs during the fee assessment process (FINJ3500).
The Fee Cap check box on the Maintain Fee Types (FINF2100) form is used to indicate whether capping will be processed for the Fee Type.
Currently, fee capping only applies to VET or VET-TUIT Fee Types. (For more information, see Fee Capping.)
Fee Category Identifies a distinct Fee Assessment Group of students who are potentially liable for the set of fees attached to the Fee Category. Fee Categories are assigned to Student Course Attempts. Examples: INTERNATNL, DOM-HECS (domestic students liable for Student Contribution Amount).
Fee Category Calendar Instance Is the term used to describe a Fee Category operating in a specific Fee Period (Calendar Instance). See also Inquire on Fee Category Calendar Instance (AUDF3136) as an example.
Fee Category Fee Liability Is a term used to describe a specific Fee Type within a Fee Category. See Fee Liability. See also Inquire on Fee Category Fee Liability (AUDF3137) as an example.
Fee Disbursement Formula Is one of a set of formulas used to calculate and allocate Disbursement amounts from the income derived from a student's fee in a specific Fee Period. See also Allocation Method, Disbursement Method, Evaluation Order, Base Balance, Disbursement Percentage, Disbursement Fixed, System Formula Type.
Fee Encumbrance Is an Encumbrance applied to a student as a result of non-payment or under-payment of fees. 
Fee Encumbrance Status Describes the state of activity of a Fee Encumbrance recorded against a student, and maps to a System Status.
FEE-HELP Income contingent loan scheme from the Australian Government designed to assist eligible fee-paying students to pay for all or part of their tuition fees for certain courses of study. Originally only available for the HE sector, it is also available to VET as VET FEE-HELP.
Fee Liability Is the term used for a single Fee Type within a single Fee Category - for example, a Fee Type P/G TUITN in a Fee Category INTERNATL.
Fee Period A term used in the documentation to describe a period during which particular fees, particular categories and associated data apply.
Fee Sponsor Status Describes the standing in the institution of a particular sponsor.
Fee Sponsorship Status Describes the state of activity of the sponsorship of a Student Course Attempt, and maps to a System Status.
Fee Structure Status Describes the activity of a Fee Type, Category or Liability.
Fee Type Is the name of a fee. Examples: HECS, GSF, MEDIBANK. A Fee Type may be assigned as a Fee Liability of many Fee Categories.
Fee Type Calendar Instance Is the term used to describe a Fee Type operating in a specific Fee Period (i.e. Calendar Instance).
See also Fee Type Calendar Instance History (AUDF313E) as an example. 
Financial Period Represents the institution's financial year.
Fixed Disbursement See Disbursement Fixed.
Formula Number Is supplied automatically by the System to identify each Disbursement Formula in a set. See also Fee Disbursement Formula.
Formula Type See System Formula Type.
FTCI See Fee Type Calendar Instance.
Government Funding Source The unique identifier for the Government Funding Source.
Government Funding Source Level The level (National or State) associated with a Government Funding Source. For example, institutions are able to record funding source mapping at internal, state and national levels for Vocational Education/Further Education (VE/FE) courses and internal level for HE courses. (Also, see the Course Structure and Planning Glossary.)
Government HECS Contribution Band Refers to bands representing different HECS rates designated by the Australian Government and applying to students liable for differential HECS. From 2005, this will be called the Discipline Band.
Government HECS Payment Option Refers to a Government defined option for payment of HECS. Examples: 10 Deferred payment, 11 Up Front with Discount. From 2005, this will be called Government Student Status.
Government Student Status Government Payment Option. Replaces Govt HECS Payment Option.
Grace Days Signifies the number of days added to the Payment Due Date or dates of individual students in order to defer payments.
GST Goods and Services Tax.
HECS Higher Education Contribution Scheme. Changes from 1st January 2005 mean that HECS places now are called Commonwealth Supported Places. The name HECS will continue until eventually phased out.
HECS-HELP Provides students with a loan to cover their student contribution amount and/or a discount if they choose to pay all, or at least $500, of their student contribution amount up-front.
HEP Higher Education Provider. (See ORG0115.)
Include Deleted check box Can be set to display records that have been logically deleted.
Income Type Indicates whether Disbursement is of assessed (debt) amounts or payment amounts.
Institution Fee Is a fee that applies institution-wide and is levied only once even if a student has concurrent Course Attempts.
Last Reminder Date See Reminder Date.
Levels Operate for much data within the Student Finance Subsystem. The level at which data is recorded determines the scope of its applicability.
Liability When referring to a student, implies the Currency amount of the fee or fees that are due from that student as a result of assessment. When used to refer to fees, it means a Fee Type when assigned to a Fee Category.
Loan Scheme The Government Loan Scheme - PELS/BOTPLS. From 2005, this will be known as HECS-HELP.
Local Currency check box Indicates if the Currency Code represents the Currency in normal use in the institution.
Lower Normal Rate Override check box Specifies whether, if the normal rate for a fee is lower than a Contract Rate, the rate should revert to normal.
Lower Range See Element Range.
Management Level This field determines how each Fee Type is managed. This indicates to the system how to group individual Fee Assessment Transactions for each student. The field is optional, but validations ensure the field is populated for particular Fee Type Definitions. A null value is interpreted as ‘COURSE’ for processing purposes.
Manual Assessment, Manual Adjustment Are terms used to distinguish Assessment Transactions created for an individual student via the form Manual Fee Assessment, rather than by 'automatic' or 'system' processing using the Fee Assessment routine.
Manual Entry check box Specifies whether the Fee Assessment was a manual or System calculated assessment.
Nominated Value See Derived Value/Nominated Value
Notification Date Describes the date a debtor was notified regarding a Fee Assessment.
Offset Days - schedules Is a mechanism for specifying a number of days after a given date, in order to calculate a further date. Example: in the Fee Payment Schedule, Offset Days represents a number of days after the Fee Assessment Notification Date, used in calculating the date when payment is due.
OLDPS Open Learning Deferred Payment Scheme. Replaced 1st January, 2005 with FEE-HELP.
Optional Payment check box Specifies whether a fee is Optional or Mandatory. Debt management in the form of penalties and/or Encumbrances does not apply to optional payments.
Order of Precedence Allows the evaluation of which rate should apply when a student's method of studying a course fulfils the conditions recorded against more than one Fee Assessment rate.
Organisational Unit Account Is an account linked to an Organisational Unit, used to receive Disbursement Income.
OS-HELP For eligible Commonwealth supported students who wish to study overseas. OS-HELP provides students with a loan to cover expenses such as accommodation and travel.
Override Period Allows adjustment (within the Default Period) of the dates between which a Disbursement formula operates. See also Default Period.
Payment Advice Number Is a number recorded against a student or sponsor for use in identifying a Fee Payment received through a bank.
Payment Due Date Indicates the Date upon which payment of a Fee Liability, or installment thereof, is due.
Payment Rank Determines the order in which payment amounts received should be applied to a student's Fee Liabilities.
Payment Schedule Is a 'template' schedule from which payment Due Dates for a fee can be derived.
PELS Postgraduate Education Loan Scheme. Replaced 1st January, 2005 with FEE-HELP.
Percent Disbursement Is used when processing journals to determine the portion of calculated Disbursement amounts that should be available to recipient budget centres at a point in time. Not to be confused with Disbursement Percentage. 
Percentage Disbursement See Disbursement Percentage

Priority (for Sponsorship)

A numerical value which determines the order in which the sponsorship of a fee is allocated to each sponsor (e.g. A Sponsor with Priority=1 will be assigned debt for a fee ahead of a sponsor with Priority=2). See also Sponsorship Base.
Range Number Is a number assigned by the System to an Element Range. 
Rate See Charge Rate
Rate Number Is a number assigned by the System to a Fee Assessment rate.
Refund Group Number A number assigned to each Refund record created in FINF6420.
Refund Payment Type A Refund Payment Type defines the manner in which a refund will be paid to a student. There are four existing Refund Payment Types (ON-HOLD, ELECTRONIC, WIRE, CHEQUE), however, institutions can create their own (additional) institution-defined Refund Payment Types via FINF1L00.
Refund Status Is a code indicating the progress of processing a refund for a student or sponsor and maps to a System Status.
Refunds See Retention Schedule, System Credit, Unmatched Payments
Reminder Date Is the most recent date on which a student has been sent a Reminder Notice for overdue fees.
Reported Student Status The Student Status Snapshot reported to Government. See Student Status below.
Response This field reflects a students response to a Service request from an institution. The response can be YES-NO or MULTI-CHOICE and is set up in Maintain Services (ENRF01Y0) and displayed in Define Fee Assessment Rates (FINF2853)
Retention % Method See Retention Method Type.
Retention Method Type Distinguishes retention based on the amount by which a student's study load reduces, from retention of an amount based on their previous debt.
Retention Schedule Is a 'template' schedule from which dates can be derived after which the institution retains all or a proportion of an amount assessed for a fee, in the event that a student's liability reduces on reassessment. By implication, amounts paid and not retained are available for refund.
Retro Date Is a date up to which the Fee Assessment routine can physically be run with a retrospective 'Effective Date'.
Rollover Destination Calendar Instance Is the Fee Period into which a Fee Structure is to be rolled.
Rollover Source Calendar Instance Is the Fee Period from which a fee structure is to be rolled.
Rule Replaces Cohort Code.
Rule Description Gives the name of a Disbursement rule.
Rule Sequence Number Uniquely identifies the rule to be used in the assessment of fees. 
Rule Text Defines the operation of a Disbursement rule.
Schedules See Payment Schedule, Retention Schedule, Encumbrance Schedule
Service Found in the T-list of Maintain Fee Types (FINF2100) after selecting the Fee Type Calendars button from the main menu. This T-list displays the Service Code from what is set up in Maintain Services (ENRF01Y0) and is part of the five step process (FININTR3) for creating a Fee Assessment or printing a Fee Assessment Trace Report for Fee Type.
Service Code An institution defined code found in Maintain Services (ENRF01Y0) that defines a service provided by the institution to students. For example, a student parking permit.
Sponsor Code Uniquely identifies a person or organisation acting as a sponsor for a student.
Sponsor Inquiry Enables a query on a single sponsor code and check details connected with the sponsor's sponsorship, including debts, credits, payments, refunds, etc. See FINF9300.
Sponsor Status Is a code indicating the standing of a sponsor within the institution, and maps to a System Status.
Sponsor Summary Statement Is a request for payment from a sponsor for all students being sponsored. See also Statement of Account.
Sponsor Type Classifies sponsors. Examples: CORPORATE, FACULTY.
Sponsorship Is an arrangement whereby a person or organisation undertakes to pay part or all of a fee or fees for a student.
Sponsorship Base For an SCA Fee Sponship, the Sponsorship Base indicates whether, for a Fee split between sponsors, the contribution from this sponsor is calculated using the whole assessed amount or the amount remaining after sponsors with a higher priority value have contibuted. May be ASSESSED or REMAINING. See also Priority.
Sponsorship Limit An amount which a sponsor is not prepared to exceed when undertaking payment of a student's liabilities over a defined period.
Start Date - Fee Period (Calendar Instance) Is the first day of a Fee Period. 
Start Date (Alias) - for assessment processing Is the Start Date delimiting the period within which an Effective Date for Fee Assessment processing can be set.
Statement of Account Is the term used for the document requesting payment, sent to students as the result of Fee Assessment. See also Sponsor Summary Statement or FINJ6120 for Extract information.
Student Learning Entitlement Replaces HECS from the 1st January, 2005. Gives students up to seven years of equivalent full-time study in a Commonwealth Supported Place.
Student Status A terminology that can be used for an institution's Student Status Codes, Student Status Snapshot values or Government Student Status that replaces Government HECS Payment Option from 1st January, 2005. The later are designated numbers. When reporting the Student Status Snapshot, it is known as Reported Student Status. See ENRF0161. Do not confuse with Elected Student Status.
System Account Type Distinguishes accounts used to receive fee revenue and tax paid by students or sponsors from accounts used to disburse Fee Income to the institution's Organisational Units.
System Charge Method Type See Charge Method 
System Credit Is the Currency amount by which a student's payments (less any refunds already approved) exceed all their assessed debts.
System Fee Encmb Status (System Fee Encumbrance Status) Is a System defined status. Each institution defined Fee Encumbrance Status is mapped to a System Status. Examples: WAIT APRVL, APPLIED, CANCELLED.
System Fee Sponsorship Status Is a System defined status. Each institution defined Fee Sponsorship Status is mapped to a System Status. Examples: ACTIVE, EXPIRED, CANCELLED.
System Fee Structure Status Provides values of ACTIVE, INACTIVE, PLANNED and FINALISED which must be mapped to user defined statuses. These user defined values can operate at Fee Type, Fee Category and Fee Liability levels to describe the activity of a fee.
System Fee Trigger Category Restricts the triggers that may be applied to a Fee Liability of a particular Fee Type. Currently operational values are INSTITUTN (institution-wide fees with no triggers attached to Fee Liability) and COURSE.
System Fee Type Describes the System recognised Fee Types. Examples: ADVSTND, GRADUATION, VET, COMSUPPORT, (HECS), TUITION, OTHER. Fee Types of (HECS), TUITION and COMSUPPORT are reportable to Government. See also Fee Type.
System Formula Type Distinguishes a set of formulas used to disburse Assessment Amounts from a set used to disburse retained amounts.
System Refund Status Marks the progress of refund processing through the stages of PENDING, APPROVED, APPLIED or CANCELLED. These statuses must be mapped to institution defined statuses.
System Sponsor Status Is a System defined status. Each institution defined Sponsor Status is mapped to a System Status. Examples: ACTIVE, CANCELLED. 
Tax An amount levied according to legislation on certain fees and charges.
Tax Exempt check box If set, indicates that a fee is not taxable.
Tax Reference As shown on statements (for example, in Australia, the ABN - Australian Business Number).
Tax Rule Number Uniquely identifies the rule used in the calculation of tax.
Test Run Is a parameter enabling the Fee Assessment routine (when initiated from the job FINJ3500) to be run without updating the database while still supplying a trace report of the processing decisions made.
Transaction Describes a positive or negative amount stored as an entry of a particular type to reflect assessment and payment activity in regard to a Fee Liability for a student. 
Transaction Type Classifies transactions. Examples: ASSESSMENT, MANUAL ADJ, PAYMENT, RETENTION, TAX DEBT.
Trigger Is a course, grouping of courses, Unit Set, Unit, or Trigger Group recorded against a Fee Liability, which is matched against a student's Course, Unit Set or Unit Attempt(s) in order to determine if a student is liable for the particular fee. See also Course Fee Trigger, Course Group Fee Trigger, Course Type Fee Trigger, Unit Set Trigger, Unit Trigger, Trigger Group
Trigger Group Is a group comprising any of Course and/or Unit Set(s) and/or Unit(s) Triggers acting as a single collective trigger.
Unit Set Trigger Is a Unit Set Code recorded against a Fee Liability to indicate that students in that Unit Set are to be assessed for the fee. 
Unit Trigger Is a Unit Code recorded against a Fee Liability to indicate that students in that unit are to be assessed for the fee.
Unmatched Payments Is the total of all payments not currently matched to invoices by processes interfacing with an external financial System.
Upfront Payment Option See Government HECS Payment Option
Upper Range See Element Range
VET FEE-HELP See FEE-HELP, above.
Write Off Bad Debt check box Indicates whether the debt should be written off when a Fee Encumbrance is applied. 

Last Modified on 13 March, 2018 4:44 PM History Information

Release Version Project Change to Document
20.0.0.2 2310 - DU Multiple Sponsors Added Sponsorship Basis and Priority.
20.0.0.1 2262 - Compliance Removed references to SLE.
15.0 1400 - Calipso 32865 Added HEP.
12.1.1.2, 13.0.0.3, 14.0 1808 - FinanceOne Refund Added 'Refund Payment Type'.
12.0.0.2 1617 - VU - SV Fee-Help Added VET Fee-Help, Government Funding Source Level, and Fee-Help.
12.0 1540 - VU Fees Added Fee Cap and Concession
10.1.0.0.0.0 1346 - Extended Fee Functionality Added 'Fee Assessable check box', 'Service' 'Service Code' and description
8.1.0.0.0.0 1192 - Compliance SSPPU Added 'Elected Student Status' and 'Reported Student Status'
8.1.0.0.0.0 1147 - Disbursements - Formulae Changes Add Disbursement Alternative