Family and consumer sciences education: Consists of courses intended to prepare students for roles outside the paid labor market, including home economics, child development, foods and nutrition, and clothing courses.

Family income: The combined income of all family members age 14 and above living in the household for the period of 1 year. Income includes money income from jobs; net income from business, farm, or rent; pensions; dividends; interest; social security payments; and any other money income.

Federal funds: Amounts collected and used by the federal government for the general purposes of the government. There are four types of federal fund accounts: the general fund, special funds, public enterprise funds, and intragovernmental funds. The major federal fund is the general fund, which is derived from general taxes and borrowing. Federal funds also include certain earmarked collections, such as those generated by and used to finance a continuing cycle of business-type operations.

Federal student aid: Student financial aid provided through the federal government. This aid can either be provided by or administered by a federal agency. Federal agencies providing aid include the Department of Education, Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Defense, Veterans Administration, and the National Science Foundation. Federal student aid can be in the form of grants, loans, and work-study aid.

Financial dependency: For purposes of determining eligibility for federal student aid, students are normally considered financially dependent on their parents or guardians (regardless of the amount of support actually provided) unless they meet one of the criteria for independence. A student is considered to be independent if he or she is age 24 or older, a veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, enrolled in a graduate or professional program beyond a bachelor’s degree, married, an orphan or ward of the court, or has legal dependents other than a spouse. Students under 24 who do not meet any of these conditions but are receiving no parental support may be classified as independent by campus financial aid officers using their professional judgment. Most undergraduates under 24 are considered dependent.

First-professional degree: An award that requires completion of a degree program that meets all of the following criteria: (1) completion of the academic requirements to begin practice in the profession; (2) at least 2 years of college work before entering the degree program; and (3) a total of at least 6 academic years of college work to complete the degree program, including previously required college work plus the work required in the professional program itself. First-professional degrees may be awarded in the following 10 fields: chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), osteopathic medicine (D.O.), dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), pharmacy (Pharm.D.), law (L.L.B. or J.D.), podiatry (D.P.M., D.P., or Pod.D.), medicine (M.D.), theology (M.Div., M.H.L., B.D., or Ordination), optometry (O.D.), and veterinary medicine (D.V.M.).

First-professional enrollment: The number of students enrolled in a professional school or program requiring at least 2 years of academic college work for entrance and a total of at least 6 years for a degree, including both previously required college work and the professional program itself. These programs include dentistry (D.D.S. or D.M.D.), medicine (M.D.), optometry (O.D.), osteopathic medicine (D.O.), pharmacy (D.Phar.), podiatric medicine (D.P.M.), veterinary medicine (D.V.M.), chiropractic (D.C. or D.C.M.), law (J.D.), and theological professions (M.Div. or M.H.L.).

Fiscal year: The yearly accounting period for the federal government, which begins on October 1 and ends on the following September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 1992 begins on October 1, 1991 and ends on September 30, 1992. (From fiscal year 1844 to fiscal year 1976, the fiscal year began on July 1 and ended on the following June 30.)

Foreign languages: A group of instructional programs that describes the structure and use of language that is common or indigenous to individuals of the same community or nation, the same geographical area, or the same cultural traditions. Programs cover such features as sound, literature, syntax, phonology, semantics, sentences, prose, and verse, as well as the development of skills and attitudes used in communicating and evaluating thoughts and feelings through oral and written language.

Formal learning: Formal work-related adult education is defined by the presence of an instructor and includes a college degree or post-degree certificate program for work-related reasons, a vocational degree/diploma program for work-related reasons, an apprenticeship program leading to journeyman status in a skilled trade or craft, and work-related courses (training, workshops, seminars, courses, or classes taken for work-related reasons).

Four-year institution: Denotes a postsecondary institution that can award a bachelor’s degree or higher. (See also supplemental note 9.)

Free lunch eligibles: (See National school lunch program.)

Full-time enrollment: The number of students enrolled in postsecondary education courses with a total credit load equal to at least 75 percent of the normal full-time course load.

Full-time-equivalent (FTE) enrollment: For institutions of higher education, enrollment of full-time students, plus the full-time equivalent of part-time students as reported by institutions. In the absence of an equivalent reported by an institution, the FTE enrollment is estimated by adding one-third of part-time enrollment to full-time enrollment.

Full-time instructional faculty: Those members of the instruction/research staff who are employed full time as defined by the institution, including faculty with release time for research and faculty on sabbatical leave. The full-time category excludes faculty who are employed to teach less than two semesters, three quarters, two trimesters, or two 4-month sessions; replacements for faculty on sabbatical leave or those on leave without pay; faculty for preclinical and clinical medicine; faculty who are donating their services; faculty who are members of military organizations and who are paid on a different pay scale from civilian employees; academic officers whose primary duties are administrative; and graduate students who assist in the instruction of courses.

Full-time worker: One who is employed for 35 or more hours per week, including paid leave for illness, vacation, and holidays. Hours may be reported either for a survey reference week or for the previous calendar year, in which case they refer to the usual hours worked.