Acronyms & Terminology - bcgov/SIMS GitHub Wiki

General

For B.C. Government or PSFS related acronyms, visit the Acronyms page on the ministry intranet.

Acronym/Term Meaning Context/Notes
AEM Adobe Experience Manager Software used to create the FT application form.Content management system primarily used by StudentAidBC to build the forms for the current student loan application.
AEST Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training Previous acronym for our ministry. Pronounced 'aced'.
ASAP Association of Student Award Personnel Provincial professional association representing B.C.'s public post secondary institution financial aid officers (FAOs). Have an annual AGM the branch attends and presents to as stakeholders.
ATBC Assistive Technology BC SIMS connects with ATBC to help verify permanent disability status for students. We pass data to them but they will verify it and potentially give the students an effective date for PD status as some status' can be a temporary disability (e.g. broken arm).
Attestation Attestation Form A form that witnesses a student loan applicant is who they say they are. This is required for people who want to apply for a student loan for part time studies IF they do not have a Photo BC Services Card.A person with an attestation has an identity Level of Assurance (LOA) of 2.
BCSC BC Services Card The BC Services card (BCSC) is the card with your health number, address, and driver's license number if applicable. It can exist with or without a photo. Residents that are under 19 are issued non-photo BCSC through the Ministry of Health MSP Program. Currently only the Photo BCSC can be used to apply for student financial aid, but in the spring of 2019 the SABC Dashboard will be enabled to accept Non-Photo BCSC. A non-photo BCSC has a Level of Assurance equal to 2. When a BC resident turns 19 they are required by Provincial Policy to have a Photo BC Services Card which is issued through ICBC. They are eligible to obtain the Photo BCSC within 6 months of their 19th birthday. **A photo BCSC has a Level of Assurance equal to 3. **
Mobile Service Card Mobile Service Card This is the widely used option for people authenticating to services with their BCSC. Instead of having their actual physical service card enabled for login and authentication they download the BCSC app to their smart device and can use that device for authentication. Supporting mobile operating systems are Apple IOS and Google Android. The authentication device may be a smartphone or tablet as long as it is capable of downloading and running the BCSC app from the iTunes Store or Google Play.
BRRK Business Rules and Requirements Kit Used to document and translate application business rules into application functions that can be tested and deemed either true or false against the requirements. For SIMS, it is the totality of user stories.
CABRO Crown Agencies and Board Resourcing Office Education Planner term, owned by Ben Ferrel's team. These do not factor into the SIMS project, but the term may be heard in relation to MOD as a whole.
CASFA Canadian Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators The national version of ASAP (Association of Student Award Personnel).
CIP Classification of Instructional Programs The Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) is used for classifying instructional programs according to field of study (e.g. 01.0102 which means Agribusiness/agricultural business operations). This standard is set by the federal government of Canada.
CMEC Council of Ministers of Education, Canada We're a part of this federal council as an entity concerned with post-secondary education. Chaired by our Minister, Melanie Mark. All 13 provinces and territories are members. https://www.cmec.ca/11/About_Us.html
COE Confirmation of Enrolment When a student submits their financial application, the institution needs to check the student is still enrolled in the program and school. This step is known as Confirmation of Enrolment.
CoE Certificate of Eligibility CoE - the disbursement.
CRM Client Relationship Management CRM is the function performed by Microsoft Dynamics 365. Microsoft Dynamics 365 was previously called Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Direct access to Microsoft Dynamics 365 is done by AEST internal staff only. All external users (students, PSI employees, etc) is done through some form of .Net Portal. The Microsoft Dynamics 365 system interacts (or will interact) with the SIMS student portal, Institution Portal, SFAS (temporarily), Enterprise Data Warehouse (EDW) and indirectly with CSLP. Microsoft Dynamics will eventually be a primary component of the new Student Information Management Systems (SIMS) that will manage all of the functionality that is in SAIL and SFAS today, augmented with the other required components such as SQL databases, SharePoint Servers, and front end .Net servers. Because of the history of the product, many people refer to Microsoft Dynamics 365 as CRM. When they do so, they mean Microsoft Dynamics 365. CRM is a category of software and/or the function that Dynamics 365 is performing not the name of it.
DDI Digital Delivery & Integration StudentAid BC team led by Director Sally Eshuys.
ESDC Employment and Social Development Canada Employment & Social Development CanadaIndependent of CSLP are responsible for issuing Social Insurance Numbers (SIN) in Canada.The federal department where the Canada Student Loan Program (CSLP) and the National Student Loan Service Centre (NSLSC) reside.With the current student loan system, CSLP validates the SIN number through ESDC for FT loan applications. Part time loan applications will also follow this process with the launch of SIMS Phase 2.
EDW Enterprise Data Warehouse Data repository.
EQA Education Quality Assurance A government-issued designation with a seal of approval that can be displayed on marketing materials for international educators. Designation is paid and institutions must meet QA standards. Degrees are authorized and site contains a list of institutions authorized to grant degrees.
FAOs Financial Aid Officers Stakeholders who work for various educational institutions (external to government) and provide financial advice to students.
FT Full-time
Forms Library SABC Form Library Page containing links to all SABC appendices, PT loan applications, student guides, budget calculators.
GDPR General Data Protection Regulation A European compliance regulation one must be in alignment with if building for use out there. Doesn't impact us as only Canadian residents can receive student loans.
GUID Globally Unique Identifier In terms of BCeID or BCSC is referred to as a DiD (Directed Identifier). A unique identifier associated with a user login credential. System level string of characters generated when a BCeID or BCSC account is created that persists every time they login.
IA Institutional Appendix Catalog containing totality of an institution's offerings
IMTP Identity Management Transition Project Completed in April 2018. Implemented the Photo BC Services Card as a login option and identity verification tool for FT loan applicants in the existing SABC Student Dashboard/SFAS . The SIMS Student Portal will capitalize on the development done in the IMTP and enhance to meet new requirements and capabilities.
IPDT Institution and Program Designation Team This is the business team focused on working with institutions and the designation process (approvals, review, etc). Led by Philip Frias on the StudentAid BC side.
LOA Level of Assurance A number between 1 and 3 that denotes how confident we can be that a person is who they say they are. These levels also apply to the federal Canada Student Loan application process. It means the student signed up for a basic BCeID using only their email address. Because BCeID doesn't check the name against a SIN number or date of birth to verify an identity before issuing a BCeID, anyone can create one by entering a false name and email address. For this reason, students are not able to apply for a loan with an LOA of 1.
NOA Notice of Assessment A student receives notification of assessment on their account.
PD Permanent Disability A student can apply for a PD status and apply for specific grants. A PD status is usually granted via a third party and then passed to StudentAid BC.
PIA Privacy Impact Assessments A privacy impact assessment (PIA) is a step-by-step review process to make sure government projects protect the personal information we collect or use in our project. The team work with privacy experts (usually within the Ministry) to identify, evaluate and manage privacy risks.
PPD Persistent or Prolonged Disability A student can apply for a PPD status and apply for specific grants. A PPD status is usually granted via a third party and then passed to StudentAid BC.
SCR Student Compliance and Review A business area supporting students and compliance issues.
SST Student Support Team A business area supporting students.

Awards

Full Time

Acronym Type Description
CSLF Canada Loan Canada Student Loan for Full-time Studies
CSGP Canada Grant Canada Student Grant for Student with Permanent Disability
CSGD Canada Grant Canada Student Grant for Students with Dependents
CSGF Canada Grant Canada Student Grant for Full-time Studies
CSGT Canada Grant Canada Student Grant for Full-time Top-up
BCSL BC Loan B.C. Student Loan
BCAG BC Grant B.C. Access Grant
BGPD BC Grant B.C. Permanent Disability Grant
SBSD BC Grant B.C. Supplemental Bursary with Disabilities
BCSG BC Grant B.C. Student Grants (This is a rolled up code which equals the sum of the other BC Grants)

Part Time

Acronym Type Description
CSLP Canada Loan Canada Student Loan for Part-time Studies
CSGP Canada Grant Canada Student Grant for Student with Permanent Disability
CSPT Canada Grant Canada Student Grant for Part-time Studies
CSGD Canada Grant Canada Student Grant for Students with Dependents
BCAG BC Grant B.C. Access Grant
SBSD BC Grant B.C. Supplemental Bursary with Disabilities
BCSG BC Grant B.C. Student Grants (This is a rolled up code which equals the sum of the other BC Grants)

Word & Spelling Usage

The B.C. Government defaults to "Canadian spelling" which is a combination of American and British spelling. Below are guidelines to help determine the spelling or words to support consistent usage. For reference, see the B.C. Government Content Web Standards.

General usage: only capitalize the word in names or a page title, unless specified below.

Word in question Word to use instead Notes
Canceled Cancelled Use British spelling with two "l's"
Dependents Dependants Use British spelling with "a"
Enrollment Enrolment Use British spelling with one "l"
Legal signing authority Legal Signing Authority Capitalize as it is a noun
Full time Full-time Use with a dash
Part time Part-time Use with a dash
Regulating Regulatory Wording is used in policy manuals
School Institutions Not changing at this time as it is a big change for SABC