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, EFTSU, CRPOINT.
Assess Fees indicator	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).
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
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, EFTSU, 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 EFTSU, 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.
Classification Code	is used to link organisational unit accounts with formulas used to disburse fee income.
COFI	Callista Open Finance Interface.
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 DEST 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 HECS Payment Option
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 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 indicator	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 indicator	if set, indicates that a discount only applies when payment is made in full for a fee liability.
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.
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 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 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 HECS).
Fee Category Calendar Instance	is the term used to describe a fee category operating in a specific fee period (calendar instance).
Fee Category Fee Liability	see Fee Liability
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 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	is 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 (calendar instance).
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 HECS Contribution Band	refers to bands representing different HECS rates designated by the Australian government and applying to students liable for differential HECS.
Government HECS Payment Option	refers to a government defined option for payment of HECS. Examples: 10 Deferred payment, 11 Upfront with Discount.
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.
Include Deleted indicators	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.
Local Currency indicator	indicates if the currency code represents the currency in normal use in the institution.
Lower Normal Rate Override indicator	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
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 indicator	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.
Optional Payment indicator	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.
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 instalment 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.
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
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 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
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 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
Sponsor Code	uniquely identifies a person or organisation acting as a sponsor for a student.
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 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
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: HECS, TUITION, OTHER. Fee types of HECS and TUITION 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 indicator	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
Write Off Bad Debt indicator	indicates whether the debt should be written off when a fee encumbrance is applied.

Updated 11 March 2002