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Glossary The education benefits included in this publication were enacted over many years, leading to a number of common terms being defined differently from one benefit to the next. For example, an eligible educational institution means one thing when determining if earnings from a Coverdell education savings account aren't taxable and something else when determining if a scholarship or fellowship grant isn't taxable. For each term listed below that has more than one definition, the definition for each education benefit is listed. Academic period: A semester, tri- mester, quarter, or other period of study (such as a summer school ses- sion) as reasonably determined by an educational institution. If an educa- tional institution uses credit hours or clock hours and doesn't have aca- demic terms, each payment period can be treated as an academic period. Adjusted qualified education ex- penses (AQEE): Qualified education expenses (defined later) reduced by any tax-free educational assistance, such as a tax-free scholarship or em- ployer-provided educational assis- tance. They must also be reduced by any qualified education expenses de- ducted elsewhere on your return, used to determine an education credit or other benefit, or used to determine a tax-free distribution. For information on a specific benefit, see the appropriate chapter in this publication. Candidate for a degree: A student who meets either of the following re- quirements. 1. Attends a primary or secondary school or pursues a degree at a college or university. 2. Attends an accredited educational institution that is authorized to pro- vide: a. A program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bache- lor's or higher degree, or b. A program of training to pre- pare students for gainful em- ployment in a recognized occu- pation. Designated beneficiary: The indi- vidual named in the document creating the account/plan who is to receive the benefit of the funds in the account/ plan. Eligible educational institution: 1. American opportunity credit. Any college, university, vocational school, or other postsecondary ed- ucational institution eligible to par- ticipate in a student aid program administered by the U.S. Depart- ment of Education. It includes vir- tually all accredited public, non- profit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecon- dary institutions. 2. Coverdell education savings account (ESA). Any college, uni- versity, vocational school, or other postsecondary educational institu- tion eligible to participate in a stu- dent aid program administered by the U.S. Department of Education. It includes virtually all accredited public, nonprofit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecondary institutions. Also in- cluded is any public, private, or re- ligious school that provides ele- mentary or secondary education (kindergarten through grade 12), as determined under state law. 3. Education savings bond pro- gram. Same as American opportu- nity credit in this category. 4. IRA, early distributions from. Same as American opportunity credit in this category. 5. Lifetime learning credit. Same as American opportunity credit in this category. 6. Qualified tuition program (QTP). Generally, same as Cover- dell education savings account (ESA) in this category. 7. Scholarships and fellowship grants. An institution that main- tains a regular faculty and curricu- lum and normally has a regularly enrolled body of students in at- tendance at the place where it car- ries on its educational activities. 8. Student loan, cancellation of. Same as Scholarships and fellow- ship grants in this category. 9. Student loan interest deduc- tion. Any college, university, voca- tional school, or other postsecon- dary educational institution eligible to participate in a student aid pro- gram administered by the U.S. De- partment of Education. It includes virtually all accredited public, non- profit, and proprietary (privately owned profit-making) postsecon- dary institutions. Also included is an institution that conducts an in- ternship or residency program leading to a degree or certificate from an institution of higher educa- tion, a hospital, or a health care fa- cility that offers postgraduate train- ing. Eligible student: 1. American opportunity credit. A student who meets all of the fol- lowing requirements for the tax year for which the credit is being determined. • Didn't have expenses that were used to figure an Ameri- can opportunity credit in any 4 earlier tax years. • Hadn't completed the first 4 years of postsecondary educa- tion (generally, the freshman through senior years) in an earlier tax year. • For at least one academic pe- riod beginning in the tax year, was enrolled at least half-time in a program leading to a de- gree, certificate, or other rec- ognized educational credential at an eligible educational insti- tution. Page 82 Publication 970 (2021)