Section 1640-01-03-.02 - DEFINITIONS(1) As used in these rules (Chapter1640-01-03 ):(a) Cost of Attendance: T he combined cost of tuition, mandatory fees, room and board, books, and other educational expenses as determined by the financial aid office of the eligible postsecondary institution.(b) Default: The failure of a recipient in repayment status to make installment payments for a period of two hundred seventy (270) consecutive days.(c) Deferment: A period of time in which the student's payments may be postponed, pursuant to Rule 1640-01-03-.08.(d) Eligible Academic Program: A graduate program accredited by the National League for Nursing Accrediting Commission (NLNAC) and/or by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) and approved by the Tennessee Board of Nursing which leads to a master's or post-master's degree in a field of study which will qualify the graduate to become a teacher or administrator in a college or university nursing education program.(e) Eligible Postsecondary Institution:1. A Tennessee institution that is operated by the Tennessee Board of Regents of the state university and community college system;2. An institution in the University of Tennessee system;3. A Tennessee private postsecondary institution that is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS); and4. An out-of-state institution that is accredited by a regional accrediting association and which uses distance education to deliver instruction to a graduate nursing loan recipient residing in the state of Tennessee.(f) Full-time enrollment: The minimum number of credit hours per term necessary to be considered a full-time student, as defined by the eligible postsecondary institution.(g) Grace period: The three (3) month period of time that begins when the recipient either completes his or her eligible academic program or no longer meets the graduate nursing loan eligibility requirements, and during which period of time interest accrues, but repayment is not required.(h) Graduate Nursing Loan: The loan-scholarship referenced in T.C.A. § 49-4-702.(i) Loan forgiveness: The partial or complete cancellation of a graduate nursing loan, as described in these rules.(j) Part-time enrollment: Enrollment in fewer credit hours per term than the number necessary to be considered a full-time student, as defined by the eligible postsecondary institution.(k) Priority Date: March 1 preceding the intended academic year of attendance, or such other date as TSAC may require.(l) Program Administrator: The TSAC staff member assigned administrative responsibility for the graduate nursing loan forgiveness program by the Associate Executive Director for Grant and Scholarship Programs.(m) Regional Accrediting Association: Approved accrediting agencies including the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges, the North Central Association of Colleges and Schools, the Northwestern Association of Schools and Colleges, the Southern Association of College and Schools, and the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.(n) Satisfactory Academic Progress: A standard of progress toward completion of the eligible academic program during which the student meets minimum academic requirements and progresses towards a degree as required by the nursing education program at the eligible postsecondary institution attended.(o) TSAC: Tennessee Student Assistance Corporation.(p) Year of continuous full-time employment: Nine (9) to twelve (12) months of continuous employment considered by the employer to be full-time.(q) Year of continuous part-time employment: Nine (9) to twelve (12) months of continuous employment considered by the employer to be at least half-time but less than fulltime.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 1640-01-03-.02
Original rule filed January 23, 1976; effective April 15, 1976. Repeal and new rule filed as a public necessity rule on December 11, 2006; effective through May 25, 2007. Original rule filed December 11, 2006; effective April 30, 2007. Repeal and new rule filed March 1, 2013; effective August 29, 2013. Amendment filed December 27, 2013; effective 5/31/2014.Authority: T.C.A. §§ 49-4-201, 49-4-203, 49-4-204, and 49-4-702.