Overview

This page offers a detailed outline of the options available for eligibility criteria coding.

Content:

General Eligibility Criteria Usage

This section outlines general usage for the Eligibility Criteria entity.

• Any eligibility statement or assertion in the narrative Blurb should be expressed in the structured Eligibility Criteria for the program. To be clear, not every individual Eligibility Criterion will appear in the narrative — but any criteria mentioned in the narrative should be in the record’s Eligibility Criteria, at least in some form. The goal is to enable an automated system to filter the program for applicants who are likely eligible, but let the applicant decide from narrative elements such as the Blurb and the Eligibility Criteria Description that visiting this scholarship is worth their precious time.

• Not every element or rule can be expressed in the Eligibility Criteria. Where important criteria cannot be encoded, use the Eligibility Criteria Description element to express the requirement in human-readable form.

• Not every criteria can be expressed exactly using the Eligibility Criteria. So, as a matter of principle, coding should err on the side of inclusivity. For example, if a geographic area spans multiple cities, towns, and counties in a state, it's appropriate to simply use the state as the location Eligibility Criteria. The general idea is to allow a system to filter out the program for applicants who are clearly not eligible, while presenting the opportunity to everyone who is plausibly eligible. 

Academics

Represents academic achievements required for eligibility such as test scores, grade point averages, and so forth. Contains an Academic Eligibility element which defines the test or other achievement and an Academic Eligibility Value which defines a numeric threshold. 

Example Values:

• Academic Eligibility: Minimum GPA, Academic Eligibility Value 3.0

• Academic Eligibility: Maximum GPA, Academic Eligibility Value 3.5

• Academic Eligibility: Minimum Overall SAT, Academic Eligibility Value 1530

• Academic Eligibility: Minimum Class Rank Percentage, Academic Eligibility Value 25  (See additional values under For NSPA Admins section)

• Academic Eligibility: Minimum CEGEP R Score, Academic Eligibility Value 38 (Canada specific)

• Academic Eligibility: Minimum Postsecondary GPA , Academic Eligibility Value 3 (Canada specific)

Usage Notes:

• The values assume greater-than-or-equal-to. Generally, we assume values expressed by program requirements are intended to be greater than or equal to a specific number. But, if program requirements clearly mean greater-than a stated value, we'll translate that into a greater-than-or-equal-to value. So, in the Overall SAT example above, if a program's requirement was explicit about being greater than 1530, it would be listed as 1531 in the NSPA Exchange system.

• Note that with Minimum Class Rank Percentage, 1 is highest. (Therefore, 2% would look awesome, 98% would not.)

• Note the numerical value for class rank in Eligibility Criteria Description (e.g., Top 25% of class) is equal to the value entered in Minimum Class Rank Percentage (e.g., Minimum Class Rank Percentage, Academic Eligibility Value 25). No decimal or percent sign needed. 

• If a program provides a range of values, we enter the minimum and maximum of the range. For example, a scholarship with “GPA between 3.0 - 3.5” should be entered as Minimum GPA, Academic Eligibility Value 3.0 and Maximum GPA, Academic Eligibility Value 3.5.

• If a program lists multiple values, we enter the lowest value provided. For example, a scholarship with “minimum 2.75 GPA for high school seniors, minimum 3.0 GPA for college students” should be entered as Minimum GPA, Academic Eligibility Value 2.75.

• Note the Country in the Location coding defines the country context. When Canada is selected under Location, Canadian values will be visible under Academics.

For NSPA Admins:

• For programs showing a letter or percent grade, team members should use the GPA Conversion Tables offered by NSPA to convert the criteria to a decimal.

• Additional example values are listed below for Class Rank.

Activity     

This list allows a student to detail their involvement in community service, hobbies, volunteering, and other extracurricular activities. The list contains sports, games, and active recreations. 

Example Values: 

• Acting, Badminton, Riflery, Stamp Collecting

• Extracurricular Activities and Community Service are frequently used criteria by organizations

Usage Notes:

• Multiple activities can be chosen.

Affiliation

The list of affiliations describes a specific organization, company, or other proper-noun entity. Examples include Boy Scouts of America (BSA), Rent-A-Center, U.S. Postal Service, and the Ute Tribe.

Example Values:

• A scholarship benefitting Walmart employees directly would have the Direct Relation Employee Of and the Affiliation Entity Walmart, while a scholarship benefitting the children of Walmart employees would have the Indirect Relation Child Of, the Direct Relation Employee Of, and the Affiliation Entity Walmart. 

• A scholarship benefitting direct family descendents of members of Knights of Columbus would have Indirect Relation: Descendent Of; Direct Relation: Member Of; Affiliation Entity: Knights of Columbus. 

• A scholarship benefitting a volunteer of the SPCA would have Indirect Relation: [empty] Direct Relation: Volunteer Of; Affiliation Entity: SPCA.

Usage Note:

• The applicant must describe their Direct Relationship to the entity. (An Indirect Relationship to the Direct Relationship from a similar list is optional.) 

• Note the distinction between affiliation and armed forces, specifically with Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC). ROTC is a leadership training program for college-enrolled students for service opportunities in the armed forces. Only after graduation does the student become an active commissioned officer in the military. Code Direct Relation: Member Of; Affiliation Entity: ROTC.

• Note the distinction between affiliation and activity. Membership in organizations such as nonprofits, corporations, national and local unions, Greek letter organizations, associations, and so forth should be coded as an affiliation. Membership in local high school clubs should be coded as an activity. For example, “member of the Saginaw High School football team,” “student council,” or “chess team” are activities. 

Age

An indicator of any age restrictions related to eligibility.

Example Value:

• Aged 18 or older

• Aged 24 or younger

• Aged 21 to 25

• Age 20

Usage Notes:

• Ages are expressed in whole years.

• Ages are inclusive.

• The Age criterion supports minimum and maximum age. If both are present, the criterion indicates a range.

• Age is only present if part of the stated eligibility criteria for a specific program.

  • The majority of programs typically use Current Grade Level as a proxy for age. 

  • The value should not be inferred from grade level, nor from terms of service on an application site.

• For a singular Age of 20 select Minimum Age 20 and Maximum Age 20

Application Restriction

A restriction for applying to a scholarship program.

Example Values:

• Restriction: Recommendation Only

• Restriction: Invitation Only

Usage Notes:

• Nomination Only is also a criteria listed by organizations and should be coded as Recommendation Only.

• Recommendation Only should be used when students cannot directly apply for a scholarship and not when a recommendation is required as supplemental documentation for an application.

Armed Services

The list of the armed and uniformed services with which an applicant may be associated. More than one entity can be chosen. A wizard is available for fast coding of the Branch, Status, and Relation sections.

Example Values:

• To express a scholarship available to family members of retired Coast Guardians, use Branch: Coast Guard; Status: Retired; Relation: Family

• To express a scholarship available to children of retired or veteran service members of all branches of service (including NOAA and USPHS), use Status: Retired, Relation: Child Of, or Status: Veteran, Relation: Child Of. Of note: in this example, omitting the Branch indicates that any service qualifies.

• To express a scholarship available to children of NOAA members, use Branch: NOAA; Status: Active Duty; Relation: Child Of

• To express a scholarship available to an active duty Marine Corps service member, use Branch: Marine Corps; Status: Active Duty; Relation: Include Service Member

Usage Notes:

• All elements are optional – though you must include one, of course.

• If no service is chosen, then assume all.

• If no relation is chosen, then assume self.

• If no status is chosen, then assume all.

• When armed services are the criteria, typically, this would include Army, Army National Guard, Air Force, Air Force National GuardCoast Guard, Marine Corps, Merchant Marine, Navy, and National Guard.

• When uniformed services are the criteria, typically, this would include Army, Air Force, Coast Guard, Marine Corps, Navy, NOAA and USPHS.

• When non-armed uniformed services are the criteria, typically, this would include NOAA and USPHS.

• Dependent Of includes Child Of (i.e., you wouldn't typically enter both)

• Family Of includes Dependent Of and Child Of, and Spouse Of (i.e., you can simply enter Family Of instead of the three included relations)

• Select Branch: Air Force if the program specifies "Space Force."

Award Use Locations

Consists of city, county, state/province, and country.

Example Values:

• To enter the entire state of California, simply enter the Country: United States, State/Province: California.

• To enter the provinces of Alberta and Quebec, simply enter Country: Canada, State/Province: Alberta and Quebec

• To enter criteria for states and counties: enter Country: United States, State/Province: New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and County: Allegheny, under Pennsylvania.

• To enter criteria to attend school in a specific country, simply enter Country: United States

Usage Notes:

• Award Use Location should be used to document specific location criteria for college attendance and not where a student currently lives.

• An entire state can be indicated by selecting just a State value. 

• City and County are optional.

Data Client Notes:

• When only a Country value is coded, the program is available to students planning to study anywhere within that Country.

Citizenship Status

The student's citizenship status at the time of application. 

Example Values:

• Citizenship Status: Conditional Permanent Resident, Current DACA Status

• Citizenship Status: Candian Resident or Temporary Resident (Canada-specific)

Usage Note:

• This list is based on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) form.

• Multiple selections may be chosen.

• Select the following values for legal resident, legal permanent resident, or lawful permanent resident: Permanent Resident, Conditional Permanent Resident

• Select the following values for U.S. Citizen or legal resident should be coded as U.S. Citizen, Permanent Resident, or Conditional Permanent Resident

• Select the following for “Not a citizen”: Current DACA Status, Pending DACA Application, FAFSA-Eligible Non-Citizen, Not a U.S. Citizen, California AB 540

• Note the Country in the Location coding defines the country context. When Canada is selected under Location, Canadian values will be visible under Citizenship Status.

College Plan

This criteria is for selecting a school or schools that the applicant hopes to attend or has an interest in attending. Does not indicate that future or current enrollment exists. 

Example Values:

• College: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University; NCES: 133650; CEEB: 5215

Usage Notes:

• When a school is added to this criteria selection, the School and College entity conveys a CEEB code, which is an organization identifier maintained by The College Board. A 4-digit CEEB code is used to identify colleges.

• The exact and full name of the school must be used in order to obtain a CEEB code. For example, if one types “SMU” for Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas, no code is shown. Note: some schools have NCES numbers, and some not. Colleges and Universities outside of the U.S. are not listed.

• API currently only matches programs to students via the School Name, not College Type or College Category (see below).

For NSPA Admins:

• Some scholarships are limited by attendance at a particular college or group of colleges. For example, The Thurgood Marshall College Fund is open to students enrolled or planning to enroll in one of the forty-seven historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the TMCF network. Of note, not all HBCUs are included in the TMCF network. Each school in the network must be selected individually when adding this criteria.

• Hint: When searching for a high school or college under College Plan, the State field can be used to help narrow down options within that particular state but remember this field does not serve as coding for Location criteria.

College Type

Many programs have criteria related to the type of institution. College Type includes properties of the institution such as 4-Year College, 2-Year College, Trade School, Technical School, and so forth.

College Category

Many programs have criteria related to the category of institution. Schools serving a specific population of students (e.g., requiring attendance at an HBCU or a Hispanic-serving Institution).

For NSPA Admins:

• College Type and College Category will sometimes be pre-populated.

  • College Type should be added/edited if explicitly outlined in the criteria.

  • College Category should be ignored by Admins at this time.

College Readiness Program

The list of common college readiness programs in which the applicant may have participated.

Example Values:

• Program: Noble Network

Usage Notes:

• More than one program may be selected.

Condition

The list of conditions, usually medical in nature, that an applicant may have or have had. 

Example Values:

• Condition: Wheelchair User

Usage Notes:

• The values are not necessarily negative. The list includes items such as left-handedness that are not an affliction but merely a state of being.

• More than one condition may be listed for a program.

• The criteria should be treated as an "or" when multiple conditions are listed. For example, a program that lists the Conditions "Visual Disability" and "Deafness" mean that an applicant with either or both Conditions is eligible to apply.

Current Grade Level

This list represents the current grade at the time of application. 

Example Values:

• Level: High School Sophomore

Usage Notes:

• Contrast with Graduation Status, which records past promotions and graduations.

• Select Graduate Student if the program requires the applicant to be a current graduate student or enrolled in graduate school. Although graduate degree programs include any degree after an undergraduate degree, for our purposes do not select Graduate Student for any of the following as they have their corresponding values: doctoral-level degrees, postgraduate law school, and postgraduate medical school.

• Please note the distinction between “graduate degree” and the broader term “advanced degree.” Select the following values if the program requires applicants to be currently pursuing an advanced degree: Doctoral Candidate, Postgraduate Medical School, Postgraduate Law School, and Graduate Student. 

• Select Postgraduate Law School if a program is open to students currently enrolled in law school. Values like “School of Law,” “JD,” and “College of Law” should use Postgraduate Law School. 

• Select 5th Year College Undergraduate and Nth Year College Undergraduate if a program is open to current college students, provided the college is not a trade or vocational school or a 2-year college. Note that Nth Year College Undergraduate refers to students enrolled in a 4-year college or university past their fifth year. 

• Select Not Enrolled if the program is open to nontraditional, adult learners, or adult re-entry students returning to college. Not all programs will use “nontraditional student.” Many will use similar values such as “adult re-entry,” “previous graduate,” “returning student,” “never attended college,” “past graduates,” and “high school graduate.”

• Note that “professional degree” often refers to postgraduate degrees preparing students for a career in specific fields. Scholarships mostly use “professional degree” along with “graduate degree” (i.e., "pursuing a graduate or professional degree”), and should be coded as Doctoral Candidate, Postgraduate Medical School, Postgraduate Law School, and Graduate Student. In rare cases, scholarships are open to students pursuing specific professional degrees such as architecture, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, or pastoral ministry. A professional degree in architecture, for example, can include a 5-year undergraduate degree (B.Arch.) and a master’s (M.Arch.) Given the array of diverse options, don’t hesitate to reach out to your team lead/manager with questions.

Current School

Adding the name of the school currently attended calls forth a corresponding NCES and/or CEEB identifying code.

Example Values:

• School: Hawaii Community College; NCES: 383190; CEEB: 1801

Usage Notes:

• The name entered must match NCES or CEEB name exactly or code is not shown.

• College Type and College Category as also available under Current School. See College Plan for details.

Demographics    

The list of demographic eligibility and qualification criteria. Student Gender refers to the current biological sex of the applicant. The LGBTQIA+ section provides details about the student’s orientation. Optional. Also includes the student's race or races. Optional.

Example Values:

• Gender: Female

• LGBTQIA+: Bisexual

• Race: American Indian

• Ethnicity: Hispanic

• Ancestry: Swiss

Usage Notes:

• The Race selections align with the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. DoE values.

• In keeping with the Census Bureau approach, the NSPA Exchange data model supports one or multiple selections.

• Similar to the Census Bureau approach, the NSPA Exchange data model does not have a "primary" indicator. If an application supports a primary indicator, simply enter that value first in the Race enumeration. Thus, if an application system that only supports a single selection receives a file with multiple selections, the application should select the first value that appears.

• If the term “minority” has been used by the scholarship provider, but the ethnicity or race has not been defined, select the following values for Race: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian, Black or African American, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander and Ethnicity: Hispanic and Latino.

For NSPA Admins:

• The omission of a particular category only means that it has not yet been encountered among scholarships amassed.

Enrollment Status

Many programs specify whether a student must attend school full- or part-time. In particular, programs serving nontraditional, returning, or working students often explicitly allow part-time attendance to accommodate the needs of those students.

Example Values:

• Status: Full-Time Only

• Status: Full-Time or Part-Time

Fields of Study

The NCES/IPEDS Classification of Instructional programs (CIP) code for the field of study. Currently aligned with the 2010 CIP Code list. In 2021, the Exchange began using an abbreviated version of the CIP Code list shared by the College Board.

Example Values:

• Name: Engineering CIP: 14

• Name: Aerospace Engineering; CIP: 14.0201

• Name: Architectural Engineering Technician; CIP: 15.0101

Usage Notes:

• Broad categories, such as Biology, are broken down into subcategories. For example, Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Medicine

  (26.0102) contains Biology (26.0101), and Biochemistry, Biophysics, and Molecular Biology (26.02). It's generally understood that a program coded at a general level is inclusive of itself and all levels contained underneath.

• Unfortunately, there's not a brief list of STEM codes. At a minimum, a STEM-related scholarship should be inclusive of Engineering (14), Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Medicine (26.0102), Mathematics (27.0101), and Physical Sciences (40) fields of study. However, for appropriately complete coverage, many fields in other categories should be included, such as Crop and Soil Sciences (1.1202) and Computer Science (11.0701). The U.S. Department of Homeland Security provides a lengthy and not-unreasonable list of what it considers to be STEM fields.

For NSPA Admins:

• Select the highest level that describes the area to be studied. It’s better to include too broad a category rather than too narrow a category.

• It's often appropriate to add a broad category (such as Engineering, 14) along with related specific categories from other areas (such as Combat Engineering, 29.0301). 

• For the present, we take a broad definition of STEM, including all top-level categories that contain STEM elements. These are:

  • Agriculture Production Operations (01.03)

  • Natural Resources Conservation and Management (03.01, 03.02)

  • Architectural Engineering (14,0401)

  • Digital Communication and Media/Multimedia (09.0702)

  • Animation, Video Graphics and Special Effects (10.0304)

  • Computer and Information Systems Security (11.1003)

  • Education (13.0101)

  • Engineering (14)

  • Engineering Technologies (15.9999)

  • Biomedical Sciences and Molecular Medicine (26.0102, 26.14)

  • Biology (26.0101)

  • Mathematics (27.0101)

  • Military Science

  • Interdisciplinary Studies

  • Physical Sciences (40)

  • Psychology (42)

  • Homeland Security and Disaster Management (43.0301,43.0302)

  • Social Sciences (45.0101)

  • Aeronautics and Aviation Technology (49.0101)

  • Health Professions

  • Business and Management (52)

Financial Information

Financial information used to determine scholarship eligibility or qualification.

Example Values:

• Type: Maximum EFC; Financial Eligibility Value: 4700

Usage Notes:

• AGI in the Financial Eligibility Criteria stands for Adjusted Gross Income. EFC stands for Expected Family Contribution.

• The financial eligibility should be defined as their U.S. FAFSA equivalents if possible but can be used more generally if the program is not specific.

• The Financial Eligibility Amount should represent U.S. Dollars. Although FAFSA fields are expressed in USD rounded to the nearest dollars, the amount is a decimal. 

For NSPA Admins:

• The amount entered must be numerical. Don't include the dollar sign, for example.

Graduation Status

The list of graduation status eligibility and qualification criteria.

Example Values:

• Graduation Status: High School; Community College Sophomore

Usage Notes:

• Graduation Status is intended to reflect a graduation event that has already happened.

• Although a GED is equivalent to a high school diploma, we do not automatically select GED or High School Equivalency in conjunction with High School. We only code GED or High School Equivalency when noted by the scholarship. 

Interests

These values imply study, appreciation, or future intent.

Example Values:

• Interest: Healthy Living

Usage Notes:

• Contrast with Activity Criteria, which imply active participation or current involvement.

• More than one interest may be chosen.

Locations

Consists of city, county, state, and country.

Example Values:

• To indicate the city of Effingham, IL, one would enter City: Effingham, County: Effingham, State: Illinois.

• To enter the entire state of IL, simply enter the State: Illinois.

• The system will default to coding Country: United States for newly entered programs.

Usage Notes:

• Location may be used to describe the current location of the applicant; for example, scholarships for students living in Rhode Island. Location should not be used to describe all colleges in a particular state. Admins should use Award Use Locations to document specific location criteria for college attendance.

• An entire state can be indicated by selecting just a State value. 

• City and County are optional.

• Note that when Country is set to Canada, additional eligibility coding options will appear under Academics & Citizenship.

• If applicants must be graduates of a particular school or schools, then the Location may be optional (useful, e.g., when the area enclosing the schools would be particularly difficult to define). Note that if the requirements directly state (or strongly imply) that the applicant must also be from the specific location containing the school(s), then we typically add a location as well.

Data Client Notes:

• When only a Country value is coded, the program is available to all students residing in the Country, commonly referred to as ‘Nationwide’ programs.

Miscellaneous

An extended list of criteria not fitting in other structures.

Example Values:

• Misc.: Role in Potato Industry

Usage Notes:

• The non-'Other' values are generally from existing scholarships found by the NSPA Exchange data team or its partners.

Parent Profession

Parent Profession is a common criterion used by many programs. An NSPA-maintained list of careers and occupations relevant to scholarship programs. This list is more colloquial than the statistical U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics SOC and European ISOC lists and represents how eligibility criteria are typically phrased.

The system allows for a way to indicate requirements for a current or previous profession of an applicant's parent.

The system also allows for a SOC code.

Example Values:

• For a parent who is currently employed or qualified to be a registered nurse: 

  • Profession: Registered Nurse

  • Current Profession: Yes

• For a parent who is currently or previously in the advertising trade: 

  • Profession: Advertising Professional

  • Current Profession: [None] (displayed as Unknown in the NSPA Admin site

• For a parent who was previously a teacher: 

  • Profession: Teacher

  • Current Profession: No

Usage Notes:

• If a qualifying occupation is not in the NSPA-defined list, use the Other description accompanied by a SOC code as a fallback.

For NSPA Admins:

• If a profession can be either a current profession or a profession for which the parent previously worked, use Current Profession: Unknown. We’ll change the display to something more sensible like “Either” in the future. Behind the scenes, the site does the right thing, which is to simply omit the Current Profession value from the data.

• Don’t enter a SOC Code — even if you’re entering an “Other” value. The Data Team Lead and/or the system will enter these codes for you.

Profession

An NSPA-maintained list of careers and occupations relevant to scholarship programs. This list is more colloquial than the statistical U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics SOC and European ISOC lists and represents how eligibility criteria are typically phrased.

The system allows for a way to indicate requirements for a planned profession (i.e., a profession related to an applicant’s college major or field of study) and a current profession (i.e., the profession in which an applicant is currently employed or for which an applicant has a qualification such as a degree).

The system also allows for a SOC code, however we are not using it at this time.

Example Values:

• For a scholar who is studying to be a teacher:

  • Profession: Teacher

  • Current Profession: No

• For a scholar who is currently employed or qualified to be a registered nurse: 

  • Profession: Registered Nurse

  • Current Profession: Yes

• For a scholar who is studying for, or is currently in the advertising trade: 

  • Profession: Advertising Professional

  • Current Profession: [None] (displayed as Unknown in the NSPA Admin site)

Usage Notes:

• If a qualifying occupation is not in the NSPA-defined list, use the Other description.

• If an applicant can either be studying for or currently employed in a profession, omit the Current Profession value.

For NSPA Admins:

• If a profession can be either a current profession or a profession for which the applicant is studying, use Current Profession: Unknown. We’ll change the display to something more sensible like “Either” in the future. Behind the scenes, the site does the right thing, which is to simply omit the Current Profession value from the data.

• Don’t enter a SOC Code — even if you’re entering an “Other” value. The Data Team Lead and/or the system will enter these codes for you (in the future - not at this time).

Seeking Degree

The list of degrees being sought.

Example Values: 

• Seeking Degree: Bachelor's Degree

Usage Notes:

• More than one degree may be chosen.

• Generally refers to a current degree being sought, not a future plan to go to graduate school for example.

• Values like "2-year college" or "Community college" should be coded with Associate degree.

• Values like "4-year college," "4-year university," "BA," "Bachelor's in a STEM field," and similar should use Bachelor's degree.

• Values like “undergraduate degree” should be coded with Associate degree and Bachelor's degree if no context is provided (i.e., a scholarship does not specify whether it is for a 2- or 4-year undergraduate degree).

• Values like "postgraduate degree" and “advanced degree” should be coded as Graduate Degree, Doctor of Medicine, Law Degree, MBA, MFA, and Ph.D.

• Values like “professional degree” should be coded as Doctor of Medicine, Law Degree, and MBA unless further context is provided. For example, a “professional law degree” should (obviously) be coded as Law Degree, while a “professional degree in pharmacy” should (not obviously) be coded as Ph.D. When faced with the unobvious, do not hesitate to reach out to your team lead/manager. 

• Values like "technical program" should include Professional certification and also 1-year certificate. In addition, include Associate degree unless is specifically excluded or clear from the context that the program is a professional certification and not a general college degree.

• While graduate school, trade or vocational schools, and certificate programs fall under the broad umbrella of colleges and universities, most programs will only provide scholarships for these if specifically mentioned. In other words, do not select Professional certification, 1-year certificate, or Graduate degree unless noted in the program description or a provider’s FAQ.

• Do not enter any values if we cannot infer from the program description and/or scholarship FAQs what type of degree is being sought (usually applies to Associate degree and Bachelor’s degree). 

• Micro-credential. Micro-credentials are certifications that verify an individual's competence in a specific skill or skill set. Our friends at Credential Engine define them as "Credential that addresses a subset of field-specific knowledge, skills, or competencies; often developmental with relationships to other micro-credentials and field credentials."

• Professional Badge. Similar to a Micro-credential, a Professional Badge is a type of certification of a specific skill or skill set, the distinctive characteristic is that the “badge” is meant to be displayed (e.g., on the earner’s website, résumé, or similar). Again, quoting the Credential Engine definition for their analogous credential, "Recognition designed to be displayed as a marker of accomplishment, activity, achievement, skill, interest, association, or identity.”

• Both Micro-credential and Professional Badge should only be coded if clearly outlined in the criteria.

Situation

The list of situations served by a program. An applicant's situation qualifies the applicant for a scholarship. 

Example Values:

• Situation: Breadwinner in Family

• Situation: Foster Child, Current Ward of the Court

Usage Notes:

• Some situations are generally happy circumstances (e.g., Mother, Married), and some are not (Accident Survivor, Victim of Crime).

Study Abroad

The Study Abroad section offers the ability to indicate the host or destination country for the program, along with a state or province, county, and city, if applicable.

Example Values:

• General Study Abroad: Study Abroad Required

• Study Abroad: Country: Italy

• Study Abroad: Country: France, City: Versailles

• Study Abroad: Country: Canada, Country: Germany

Usage Notes:

• The destination or host country is indicated in the Study Abroad Destination. The specific country of origin requirements — if any — are indicated in the Location Eligibility Criteria.

• The Study Abroad indicator is reserved for truly international studies. It is not intended for use to, for example, indicate programs in another state within the same country.

• The Study Abroad Destination should always contain a country. Optionally, it may contain a state or province, county, and city, if the program has a specific location within a country.

• If the program is for a particular institution in the destination country, then the Study Abroad Destination can be assumed to share the specific county or city in which the institution resides, semantically speaking. However, data exchange implementers may opt to simply list the country and provide additional location details with the institution or institutions associated with the program.

Unforeseen Event

The Unforeseen Event field tracks criteria, such as natural disasters and terrorism events. General categories like floods, hurricanes, wildfires, and domestic terrorism are available. Recent events have been further defined and labeled accordingly (e.g., Hurricane Harvey, Sandy Hook Elementary Shooting, September 11 Attacks, Covid-19).

Example Values:

• Event: Hurricane Katrina

• Event: Terrorism, Tornado, Wildfire

• Event: Covid-19, September 11 Attacks

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