Academic year means the period of time in which a full-time student would normally complete two semesters, two trimesters, three quarters, or their equivalent of study.

Act means the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Act.

College means an institution of higher education offering only a baccalaureate degree or the undergraduate division of a university in which a student is pursuing a baccalaureate degree.

Credit Hour Equivalent means the number of graduate credit hours obtained in credits, courses or units during a quarter, a trimester, or a semester which are needed to equal a specific number of semester graduate credit hours.

Fee means a typical and usually non-refundable charge levied by an institution of higher education for a service, privilege, or use of property which is required for a Fellow's enrollment and registration.

Fellow means a recipient of a fellowship from the Foundation.

Fellowship means an award, called a James Madison Fellowship, made to a person by the Foundation for graduate study.

Foundation means the James Madison Memorial Fellowship Foundation.

Full-time study means study for an enrolled student who is carrying at least 9 credit hours a semester or its equivalent.

Graduate study means the courses of study beyond the baccalaureate level, which are offered as part of a university's master's degree program and which lead to a master's degree.

Incomplete means a course which the Foundation has paid for but the Fellow has received an incomplete grade or the Fellow has not received graduate credit for the course.

Institution of higher education has the meaning given in Section 1201(a) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1141(a)).

Junior Fellowship means a James Madison Fellowship granted either to a college senior or to a college graduate who has received a baccalaureate degree and who seeks to become a secondary school teacher of American history, American government, social studies, or political science for full-time graduate study toward a master's degree whose course of study emphasizes the framing, principles, history, and interpretation of the United States Constitution.

Master's degree means the first pre-doctoral graduate degree offered by a university beyond the baccalaureate degree, for which the baccalaureate degree is a prerequisite.

Matriculated means formally enrolled in a master's degree program in a university.

Repayment means if the fellowship is relinquished by the fellow or is terminated by the Foundation prior to the completion of the Fellow's degree, and/or the Fellow fails to fulfill the teaching obligation after the graduate degree is awarded, the Fellow must repay to the Foundation all Fellowship costs received plus interest at a rate of 6% per annum and, if applicable, reasonable collection fees.

Resident means a person who has legal residence in the state, recognized under state law. If a question arises concerning a Fellow's state of residence, the Foundation determines, for the purposes of this program, of which state the person is a resident, taking into account the Fellow's place of registration to vote, his or her parent's place of residence, and the Fellow's eligibility for in-state tuition rates at public institutions of higher education.

Satisfactory progress for a Junior Fellow means the completion of the number of required courses normally expected of full-time master's degree candidates at the university that the Fellow attends, with grades acceptable to that university, in not more than two calendar years from the commencement of that study. Satisfactory progress for a Senior Fellow means the completion each year of a specific number of required courses in the Fellow's master's degree program, as agreed upon each year with the Foundation and outlined on the Plan of Study form, with grades acceptable to the Fellow's university, in not more than five calendar years from the commencement of that study.

Secondary school means grades 7 through 12.

Senior means a student at the academic level recognized by an institution of higher education as being the last year of study before receiving the baccalaureate degree.

Senior Fellowship means a James Madison Fellowship granted to a secondary school teacher of American history, American government, social studies, or political science for part-time graduate study toward a master's degree whose course of study emphasizes the framing, principles, history, and interpretation of the United States Constitution.

State means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and, considered as a single entity, Guam, the United States Virgin Islands, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.

Stipend means the amount paid by the Foundation to a Fellow or on his or her behalf for the allowable costs of graduate study which have been approved under the fellowship.

Teaching Obligation means that a Fellow, upon receiving a master's degree, must teach American history, American government, social studies, or political science on a full-time basis to students in secondary school for a period of not less than one year for each year for which financial assistance was received.

Term means the period - semester, trimester, or quarter - used by an institution of higher education to divide its academic year.

Termination means the non-voluntary ending of a fellowship by the Foundation when the Fellow has not complied with the rules and regulations of the fellowship or has not made satisfactory progress in his or her program of study.

University means an institution of higher education that offers post-baccalaureate degrees.

Withdrawal means the voluntary relinquishment or surrender of a Fellowship by the Fellow.