Type A: Student Financial Aid

General Instructions

The Student Financial Aid (Type A) file contains three categories of information:

Student Identifying Information
Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) Data
Details of Grants and Loans Received by the Student

Each institution must submit records for all undergraduate students who received financial aid from any source during the 2024-25 academic year. This includes students whose only financial aid was a tuition waiver.

Applicable to:

All institutions

Data Submission Requirements:

The data must cover the entire academic year, including Fall 2024, Spring 2025, and Summer 2025.
Ensure complete records for all eligible students, with all required data fields filled.
Follow the official data layout as specified in the reporting guidelines.
Format financial aid fields correctly, rounding dollar amounts to the nearest whole number (no commas or decimals).
Data must be consistent with institutional enrollment records, as it will be cross-checked with Type 1 enrollment records.
Report only disbursed aid amounts, meaning funds must have been processed through the Bursar’s Office or a verified third-party billing system.

Date Entry:

Dollar Amounts:

Reported in a five-digit format (up to $99,999).
Values must be rounded to the nearest dollar (e.g., $12,345.78 → 12346).

Negative Values:

Report negative numbers with a negative sign (no commas or decimals).

Blank Fields:

Ensure blank fields contain no spaces.

File Layout, Formats & Field Values

Start	Width	Header Title (Database Header)	Type (Formatting)	Definition
1	1	Form (form)	Alphabetic	Indicates the type of data record. Must be the first field in every detail record. Enter A for records. Cannot be blank
2	8	Institution ID (fice)	Numeric	The institution’s 8-digit FICE code. Must include all leading or trailing 0s if applicable and cannot be blank. Refer to Table 1 for FICE codes.
10	9	Social Security Number (ssn)	Numeric	The student's Social Security Number (SSN) or an alternate valid identification number. This field cannot be blank. Use the same identifier previously submitted for the student to ensure records remain linked across reporting terms. If an SSN is not available, report an alternate identifier such as the institutional student ID, SEVIS ID, or ITIN. If a valid SSN becomes available after a prior submission, notify CPE to update the student record. Each SSN must be unique within the submission; do not report the same SSN for multiple students. Valid entries must not: Begin with 000, 666, or 900–999 in the first three digits Contain 00 in the middle two digits Contain 0000 in the last four digits Contain all identical digits (e.g., 111111111) Be all zeros (e.g., 000000000)
19	25	Last Name (last_name)	Alphanumeric	Enter the student's last name as it appears on official institutional records, used to maintain consistent student identification across reporting periods. Formatting Requirements: Letters, spaces, period (.), apostrophe ('), or hyphen (-) only Left justified Cannot be blank or contain only spaces Do not enter the student's first name in this field; ensure first and last names are not transposed Name Changes - If a student's last name changes (e.g., marriage, legal name change): Report the updated last name in the current term Continue using the same student identifier so records remain linked across submissions Consistent identification: Last name spelling should match prior submissions unless a legal name change occurred; mismatches may trigger student-matching errors in KPEDS.
44	15	First Name (first_name)	Alphanumeric	Enter the student's first name as it appears on official institutional records. Formatting Requirements: See Last Name for full formatting guidelines (allowed characters, left justification, blank restrictions, and the first/last name transposition rule)
59	5	Cost of Attendance (cost_of_attendance)	Numeric	The student's most current cost of attendance (COA) used for calculating student aid during the academic year, including the FAFSA/ISIR COA or an amount adjusted by the institution. Note: Report the COA for all students, even if no FAFSA was received.
64	5	Blank	Blank	No data should be entered in this field.
69	8	Blank	Blank	No data should be entered in this field.
77	8	Blank	Blank	No data should be entered in this field.
85	8	Blank	Blank	No data should be entered in this field.
93	1	Student Dependency Status (dep_status)	Alphabetic	The student's dependency status as reported on the FAFSA (ISIR #6: Dependency Model), or as of the first term of enrollment for the academic year if a FAFSA is not available. Required if a valid and accepted FAFSA has been received for the student. Valid Values: D - Dependent I - Independent Z -Provisional Independent X - Rejected dependent Y - Rejected independent Blank - Not available or unknown
94	1	Student Marital Status (student_marital_status)	Numeric	The student's marital status as reported on the accepted FAFSA (ISIR #40/FAFSA Student Marital Status 3). Valid Values: 1 - Single (never married) 2 - Married (not separated) 3 - Remarried 4 - Divorced 5 - Separated 6 - Widowed Blank - Not available or unknown
95	2	State of Legal Residence (state_legal_resid)	Alphabetic	The student's state of legal residence as reported on the FAFSA (ISIR #65/FAFSA: Student State of Legal Residence 14a). Report using the valid two-letter state code. Leave blank if not available.
97	1	Grade Level in College (grade_level_college)	Numeric	The student's grade level in college as reported on the FAFSA (ISIR #41/FAFSA: Student College or Career School Plans 4a). Valid Values: 1 — First Year (Freshman) 2 — Second Year (Sophomore) 3 — Other Undergraduate (Junior or Senior) 4 — College Graduate, Professional, or Beyond (MBA, M.D., Ph.D., etc.) Blank — Not available or unknown
98	1	Blank	Blank	This field should be left blank.
99	1	Blank	Blank	This field should be left blank.
100	1	Blank	Blank	This field should be left blank.
101	1	Blank	Blank	This field should be left blank.
102	5	Pell Grants (pell_grants)	Numeric	The total amount of the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
107	5	Subsidized Stafford Loans (sub_stafford_loans)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
112	5	Unsubsidized Stafford Loans (unsub_stafford_loans)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
117	5	PLUS Parent Loans (plus_parent_loan)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
122	5	Perkins Loans (perkins_loan)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
127	5	Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grants (SEOG) (fed_seog_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
132	5	Federal Work Study (fed_work_study)	Numeric	The total amount of Federal Work Study funds the student received during the award year, including institutional matching funds and any amount reported as financial aid. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive any aid in this category.
137	5	Robert Byrd Honors Scholarships (byrd_scholarship)	Numeric	Total amount of Robert Byrd Honors Scholarships the student received during the academic year. Do not enter decimals. Round to the nearest integer. Include institutional matching funds and any amount the student reported as financial aid. If the student did not receive any aid in this category, enter 0.
142	5	Federal Health Professions Loans (fed_hlth_prof_loans)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
147	5	Federal Health Professional Disadvantaged Students Scholarships (fed_hlth_prof_disadvantaged)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
152	5	The National Science and Mathematics Access to Retain Talent (SMART) Grant (nat_smart_grant)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
157	5	Federal Academic Competitiveness Grant (fed_acad_comp_grant)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
162	5	College Access Program Grants (CAP) (cap_grant)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
167	5	Kentucky Educational Excellence Scholarships (KEES) (kees)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
172	5	Kentucky Tuition Grants (ky_tuition_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
177	5	Kentucky Teacher Awards (ky_teach_awards)	Numeric	Total amount of Kentucky Teacher Awards the student received during the academic year. Do not enter decimals. Round to the nearest integer. Do not include other loans. If the student did not receive any aid in this category, enter 0.
182	5	Early Childhood Development Scholarships (early_child_dev_scholar)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
187	5	Kentucky National Guard Tuition Award Program (ky_nat_guard_tuition)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
192	5	Kentucky Minority Educator Recruitment and Retention Scholarships (ky_minority_scholar)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
197	5	KHEAA Work Study (kheaa_work_study)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
202	5	Other State Grants (other_state_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
207	5	Institutional Need-Based Grants and Scholarships (inst_need_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
212	5	Institutional Need/Non-Need-Based Grants and Scholarships (inst_need_nonneed_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
217	5	Institutional Non-Need-Based Grants and Scholarships (inst_nonneed_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
222	5	Institutional Need-Based Loans (inst_need_loan)	Numeric	Total amount of Institutional Need-Based Loans the student received during the academic year. Do not enter decimals. Round to the nearest integer. Include individual departments grants and institution matching funds. If the student did not receive any aid in this category, enter 0.
227	5	Institutional Need/Non-Need-Based Loans (inst_need_nonneed_loan)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
232	5	Institutional Non-Need-Based Loans (inst_nonneed_loan)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
237	5	Institutional Need-Based Work Study (inst_need_work)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
242	5	Institutional Need/Non-Need-Based Work Study (inst_need_nonneed_work)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
247	5	Institutional Non-Need-Based Work Study (inst_nonneed_work)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
252	5	Scholarships/Grants from Third Parties (scholar_third_party)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
257	5	Employer Paid Tuition (employer_paid_tuition)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
262	5	Tuition Waivers and Discounts (tuition_waivers)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
267	5	ROTC/Armed Forces Grants (rotc_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
272	5	JTPA, Job Training, Vocational Rehabilitation (jtpa)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
277	5	Bureau of Indian Affairs Grants (bia_grants)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
282	5	Scholarships/Grants from State Agencies Outside Kentucky (state_agency_outside_ky)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
287	5	Other Loans (other_loans)	Numeric	Total amount of Other Loans (Private, Commercial, etc.) received during the academic year. Do not enter decimals. Round to the nearest integer. Include individual departments grants and institution matching funds. If the student did not receive any aid in this category, enter 0.
292	5	Kentucky's Affordable Prepaid Tuition (KAPT) (kapt)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award. For institutions that do not have the ability to report this item, leave this field blank.
297	5	Veteran's Benefits (veterans_benefits)	Numeric	Total amount of Veteran's Benefits received during the academic year. Do not enter decimals. Round to the nearest integer. Include individual departments grants and institution matching funds. If the student did not receive any aid in this category, enter 0.
302	5	Ky Coal County College Completion Scholarship (ky_coal_county_scholar)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award. Note: Only students at a limited number of institutions and locations are eligible for this scholarship; only institutions listed below should report in this field: Alice Lloyd College, University of Pikeville, Morehead State University (Prestonsburg campus only), Lincoln Memorial University (Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College site only), Lindsey Wilson College (Big Sandy and Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College sites only)
307	6	Academic Year (sem)	Numeric	Must be 2 consecutive years between 2000 and today. Example: Academic Year 2025-2026 -> 202526
313	15	Middle Name (middle_name)	Alphanumeric	Enter the student’s middle name. Must be left justify. Allowed characters: letters, spaces, periods (.), apostrophes (’), and hyphens (-).
328	5	Name Suffix (name_suffix)	Alphanumeric	The student's name suffix (e.g., Jr., II, III). A period may be included. Left-justify. Leave blank if not applicable.
333	10	Student’s Institutional ID (inst_id)	Numeric	The institution's unique identifier for the student. Do not include periods (.), apostrophes ('), hyphens (-), or underscores (_).
343	5	Dual Credit Scholarship (Dual_Credit_Scholar)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
348	5	KY Work Ready Scholarship (Work_Ready_Scholar)	Numeric	The total amount the student received during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive this award.
353	1	Student Housing Flag (StuHousing)	Alphabetic	Indicates whether the student lived in institution-provided housing during the aid year. Y - Student was charged for institution-provided housing in at least one term during the aid year N - Student did not live in institution-provided housing
354	5	Student Campus Housing Annual Charge (StuCampusHousingAnnualCharge)	Numeric	The total campus housing charged to the student for all terms attended during the award year. Only report if Student Housing Flag = Y. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. If exact amounts are not available, enter estimates. Enter 0 if no charges apply.
359	5	Annual Lab and Course Fees (AnnualLabCourseFees)	Numeric	The total lab and course charges/fees charged to the student for all terms attended during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. If exact amounts are not available, enter estimates. Enter 0 if no charges apply.
364	5	Annual Meal Charges (AnnualMealCharges)	Numeric	The total meal costs charged to the student for all terms attended during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. If exact amounts are not available, enter estimates. Enter 0 if no charges apply.
369	5	Annual Tuition Charged (AnnualTuitionCharged)	Numeric	The actual tuition charged to the student, for all terms attended during the award year. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if no tuition was charged.
374	5	Annual Comprehensive Fees (AnnualComprehensiveFees)	Numeric	The total comprehensive fees charged to the student for all terms attended during the award year. Comprehensive fees are institution-wide fees not charged per course (e.g., technology, student activities, orientation). Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. If exact amounts are not available, enter estimates. Enter 0 if no charges apply.
379	5	Federal Grant Other (fed_grant_other)	Numeric	The total amount of all other federal grants and awards the student received during the award year, specifically including funds dispersed from the CARES Act/HEERF or any other federal emergency grant funds. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive any other federal grants.
384	5	Innovative Scholarship (Innovative_Scholarship)	Numeric	The total amount of Innovative Scholarship (Displaced Students) funds the student received during the award year, including individual department grants and institutional matching funds. Round to the nearest whole dollar; do not include decimals. Enter 0 if the student did not receive any aid in this category.
389	6	Student Aid Index (StudentAid_Index)	Numeric	The student's primary Student Aid Index (SAI), reflecting the most current amount used for calculating student aid during the award year, including the FAFSA/ISIR SAI or an amount adjusted by the institution. If a student's SAI is "None Calculated," report this under the dependency code. Because 0 is a valid value, do not use 0 for missing values; leave missing values blank. Valid range: -1500 to 999999
395	1	Either Parent Attend College (parents_ed_lvl)	Numeric	The parental college attendance status as reported on the FAFSA (Parent Education Status #15 or ISIR Field #67). Valid Values: 1 - Neither parent attended college 2 - One or both parents attended college, but neither completed college 3 - One or both parents completed college 4 - Don't know Blank - Not available or unknown
396	1	FAFSA Does the Student have Dependents (Dependents)	Numeric	Whether the student has dependents as reported on the FAFSA (ISIR #46: Child or Other Dependents?/FAFSA #5c). Required if a valid and accepted FAFSA has been received for the student. Valid Values: 1 - Yes, students has dependents Blank - Not available or unknown
397	5	Prison Education Programs (PEPs) Pell (PELL_PEP)	Numeric	Total amount of Prison Education Programs (PEPs) Pell grants the student received during the award year. Do not enter decimals. Round to the nearest integer. If the student did not receive this type of Pell grant, enter 0.
403	5	Work Force Pell (PELL_WF)	Numeric	Total amount of Work Force Pell grants the student received during the award year. Do not enter decimals. Round to the nearest integer. If the student did not receive this type of Pell grant, enter 0.

Metric Validations

Total Degree awarded to Low-Income students

Definition: The number of degrees or credentials awarded to low-income students. Applies to both four-year institutions and KCTCS, with separate metric line codes.

Low-Income Definition: Students are identified as low-income if they received a Pell Grant (pell_grants + WF_Pell + PEP_Pell > 0).

Logic:

For non-KCTCS institutions: Includes only baccalaureate degrees awarded to low-income students.
For KCTCS institutions: Includes all credentials awarded to low-income students.

Metric SQL:

For non-KCTCS institutions: Includes only baccalaureate degrees awarded to low-income students.
For KCTCS institutions: Includes all credentials awarded to low-income students.

Metric SQL:

-- Non-KCTCS: Baccalaureate Degrees Only
SELECT 
  metric_line_code = 'Low_Income_DEGREES', fice, inst_description,
  Metric_Value = COUNT(*)
FROM #Temp_LI A
WHERE @inst != 'KCTCS'
  AND Degree_Level = 'B'
  AND LowIncome = 'Y'
GROUP BY inst_description, fice;

-- KCTCS: All Credentials
SELECT 
  metric_line_code = 'Low_Income_CRED', fice, inst_description,
  Metric_Value = COUNT(*)
FROM #TempDeg9B_LI A
WHERE @inst = 'KCTCS'
  AND LowIncome = 'Y'

First to Second Year Retention Rates of Low-Income students

Definition: The percentage of low-income students (identified by Pell Grant receipt) in their first year who were retained to the second year.

Low-Income Definition: WHEN Type A.pell_grants > 0 THEN LowIncome = 'Y'

Logic:

Only students flagged as low-income are included.
Retention is defined by continued enrollment or credential completion as specified in retention metric logic.
Validated using the Type A Financial Aid submission.

Metric SQL:

SELECT
  metric_line_code = 'LOW_INCOME_RETENTION_TABLE',
  fice, inst_description,
  Cohort_Count = SUM(CASE WHEN low_income = 'Y' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END),
  LI_Retained_Count= SUM(CASE WHEN Retained = 'Y' AND low_income = 'Y' THEN 1 ELSE 0 END)
FROM #Cohort_Table
GROUP BY fice, inst_description;

Overall Average Unmet Need

Definition: The average dollar amount of unmet financial need (Cost of Attendance minus all aid) for students with a valid FAFSA record and a cost of attendance greater than zero.

Eligibility Logic:

Cost of Attendance must be great than 0
Dependency status cannot be X or Y or Null/blank
One valid financial aid record per student
Recent High School Graduate
Kentucky Resident
First-time student (Y or S)

Unmet Need Formula:

Unmet_Need = (StudentAid_Index - inst_need_grants - inst_nonneed_grants - inst_need_nonneed_work 
- inst_need_work - inst_nonneed_work - inst_need_nonneed_grants - tuition_waivers - pell_grants 
- fed_seog_grants - fed_work_study - byrd_scholarship - nat_smart_grant - fed_acad_comp_grant 
- cap_grant - kees - ky_tuition_grants - ky_teach_awards - early_child_dev_scholar - ky_minority_scholar 
- kheaa_work_study - other_state_grants - ky_coal_county_scholar Work_Ready_Scholar - scholar_third_party 
- employer_paid_tuition - state_agency_outside_ky - fed_hlth_prof_disadvantaged - kapt - bia_grants – jtpa 
- rotc_grants - ky_nat_guard_tuition - Innovative_Scholarship - veterans_benefits - pell_pep - pell_wf)

Metric SQL:

SELECT 
  'UNMET_NEEDS' AS metric_type_code,
  'UNMET_NEEDS' AS metric_line_code,
  fice,
  inst_description,
  AVG(Unmet_Need)      AS Metric_Value,
  SUM(Unmet_Need)      AS numerator_value,
  COUNT(*)             AS denominator_value
GROUP BY fice, inst_description;

Last Updated: 10/9/2026

General Information

Collections

Tables

Appendices

Type A: Student Financial Aid

General Instructions

Applicable to:

Data Submission Requirements:

Date Entry:

File Layout, Formats & Field Values

Metric Validations

First to Second Year Retention Rates of Low-Income students

Overall Average Unmet Need