Glossary

Account
Account means the account that is established under the Plan to record your purchases, redemptions and refunds of Tuition Certificates under the Plan.

Account Application
The Account Application is the application, to be completed by the Purchaser and submitted to the Program Manager along with payment, to participate in the Plan and purchase Tuition Certificates. Upon its acceptance, the Account Application forms a part of the Enrollment Agreement. The Account Application can be downloaded here.

Beneficiary
The Beneficiary is the person named by the Purchaser in the Account Application (or in a Change of Beneficiary form) to be the recipient of the benefits provided by Tuition Certificates purchased under the Plan.

Code
The Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, together with the Treasury regulations, pronouncements and publications thereunder.

Contingent Owner
The Contingent Owner is the person designated by the Purchaser on the Account Application to succeed to ownership of the Tuition Certificates upon the Purchaser's death, in accordance with the terms and provisions of the Enrollment Agreement.

Discount Rate
The Discount Rate for any Participating Institution for any Program Year is the annual discount rate, as determined by such Participating Institution, that will be applied to such Participating Institution's Tuition Rate for Tuition Certificates purchased during that Program Year.

EGTRRA
EGTRRA means the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, as amended, and the Treasury regulations, pronouncements and publications thereunder.

Enrollment Agreement
The Enrollment Agreement is the agreement between you and TPC, as it may be amended, which sets forth the terms and conditions of the Plan with respect to Tuition Certificates that you purchase under the Plan. It includes your accepted Account Application. The Enrollment Agreement is incorporated into the Disclosure Booklet (PDF, 348KB) as Appendix A.

Family Member
A Family Member is a "member of the family" of the Beneficiary, within the meaning of Section 529 of the IRS Code. Under Section 529, a "member of the family" of a Beneficiary is a person related to that Beneficiary as follows: (i) a son or daughter, or a descendant of either; (ii) a stepson or stepdaughter; (iii) a brother, sister, stepbrother or stepsister; (iv) the father or mother, or an ancestor of either; (v) a stepfather or stepmother; (vi) a son or daughter of a brother or sister; (vii) a brother or sister of the father or mother; (viii) a son-in-law, daughter-in-law, father-in-law, mother-in-law, brother-in-law or sister-in-law; (ix) the spouse of the Beneficiary or of any of the other foregoing individuals; or (x) a first cousin of the Beneficiary. For this purpose, a child includes a legally adopted child and a brother or sister includes a half-brother or half-sister.

IRS
The IRS is the United States Internal Revenue Service.

Mandatory Fees
Mandatory Fees are those covered by the plan as part of "Tuition and Mandatory Fees." In general, they are fees that are required to be paid by all full-time undergraduate students attending the Participating Institution as a condition of enrollment. Mandatory Fees, however, do not include the cost of books, supplies, room or board, even if these are required, nor does it cover those fees or costs that a particular Participating Institution specifically excludes from coverage.

Participating Institution
A Participating Institution is an educational institution that has contracted to accept Independent 529 Plan certificates as payment for tuition.

Plan
The Plan is Independent 529 Plan.

Program Manager
The Program Manager is the person or entity that TPC engages to provide administrative and other services for the Plan. The current Program Manager is TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc.

Program Trust
The Program Trust is the Section 529 qualified trust established by TPC to hold and maintain the assets of the Plan.

Program Trustee
The Program Trustee is the person or entity that TPC engages as trustee of the Program Trust. The current Program Trustee is TIAA-CREF Trust Company, FSB, a federally chartered bank and a registered investment adviser.

Program Year
The first Program Year was the period beginning September 3, 2003, and ending on June 30, 2004; and each subsequent Program Year is the 12-month period beginning on July 1 and ending on the following June 30.

Purchaser
The Purchaser is the person whose Account Application is accepted and who purchases a Tuition Certificate by making Tuition prepayments to the Plan, or, in the event of the Purchaser's death, the Contingent Owner, or in certain cases, the estate of the Purchaser.

Qualified Higher Education Expenses
Qualified Higher Education Expenses include tuition, fees, books, supplies, and equipment required for the enrollment and attendance of the Beneficiary at an eligible educational institution and, under certain circumstances, room and board expenses. Qualified Higher Education Expenses also include necessary expenses of a Beneficiary who is a special needs beneficiary in connection with the Beneficiary's enrollment or attendance at an eligible institution. For this purpose, an eligible educational institution generally includes accredited postsecondary educational institutions offering credit toward a bachelor's degree, an associate degree, a graduate-level degree or professional degree, or another recognized postsecondary credential.

Refund Amount
The Refund Amount is the amount refunded to a Purchaser upon cancellation or expiration of a Tuition Certificate.

Section 529
Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Service Code, the section that specifies the requirements for tax-favored college savings programs.

TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc.
TIAA-CREF Tuition Financing, Inc., is an affiliate of Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA-CREF), and the current Program Manager of the Plan.

TPC
Tuition Plan Consortium, LLC, a not-for-profit Delaware limited liability company, is the Sponsor and Administrator of the Plan.

Tuition
Tuition is the amount of Tuition and Mandatory Fees required to be paid by undergraduate students for full-time attendance at a Participating Institution.

Tuition Certificate
A Tuition Certificate represents the amount of Tuition and Mandatory Fees prepaid by a Purchaser in a given Program Year. All payments that you make to the Plan for a single Beneficiary during a single Program Year will be aggregated and recorded as the purchase of a single Tuition Certificate under an Account.

Tuition Rate
The Tuition Rate for any Participating Institution is the amount, as determined each Program Year by that Participating Institution, that will be charged to Beneficiaries who enroll at the Participating Institution and redeem Tuition Certificates purchased during that Program Year to pay for Tuition.

Website
www.independent529plan.org

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