New York Codes, Rules and Regulations › Title 8 - EDUCATION DEPARTMENT › Chapter II - Regulations of the Commissioner › Subchapter I - Scholarships and Grants › Part 145 - Higher Education Student Financial Aid Program › Subpart 145-2 - Educational Requirements For Awards And Loans › Section 145-2.1 - Full-time and part-time study and remedial workload

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 28, July 10, 2024
(a) For programs at degree-granting
					 institutions which measure study in terms of credit hours or a comparable
					 measure, the following definitions shall apply:
(1)
(i) For
					 State student financial aid programs, except the supplemental tuition
					 assistance program (STAP), full-time study, where required by law, shall mean
					 enrollment in credit-bearing courses applicable to the students' program of
					 study, for at least 12 semester hours for a semester of not less than 15 weeks
					 or 100 calendar days, inclusive of examination periods; or eight semester hours
					 a quarter; or, in programs not organized on a semester or quarter basis, 24
					 semester hours for an academic year of not more than 12 months or the
					 equivalent, as determined by the commissioner. Provided, however, that for the
					 2020-2021 academic year, a student shall meet the definition of full-time study
					 in accordance with this subparagraph where a student is unable to enroll in
					 credit-bearing courses applicable to the student's program of study for at
					 least 15 weeks for a semester due to the COVID-19 crisis, provided that the
					 student is enrolled in such credit-bearing courses for a minimum of 12 weeks
					 for a semester and otherwise meets the semester hour requirements prescribed in
					 this subparagraph.
(ii) A student
					 shall be considered full-time for a program organized on an academic-year basis
					 only if the student has filed a plan of study with the institution for the
					 entire academic year. Except as otherwise defined in paragraph (4) of this
					 subdivision, part-time study, for general awards, other than tuition awards for
					 veterans and tuition awards for part-time undergraduate students, and for
					 academic performance awards, shall mean enrollment in credit-bearing courses
					 applicable to the students' program, for at least 6, but less than 12, semester
					 hours or the equivalent for a semester of not less than 15 weeks or 100
					 calendar days, inclusive of examination periods; or at least four, but less
					 than eight, semester hours a quarter. Provided, however, that for the 2020-2021
					 academic year, a student shall meet the definition of part-time in accordance
					 with this subparagraph where a student is unable to enroll in credit-bearing
					 courses applicable to the student's program for at least 15 weeks for a
					 semester due to the COVID-19 crisis, provided that the student is enrolled in
					 such credit-bearing courses for a minimum of 12 weeks for a semester and meets
					 the semester hour requirements prescribed in this subparagraph.
(iii) The definition of the term semester
					 hour shall be that provided in section
					 50.1(o)  of this
					 Title. Independent or individualized study, practice teaching, graduate
					 assistantships, thesis or dissertation research, preparation for language or
					 qualifying examinations, and noncredit or remedial courses, may all be
					 considered as contributing toward full-time or part-time study on an
					 hour-for-hour equivalent basis, if the student effort required is the same as
					 would be required for a credit-bearing course in conformity with section
					 50.1(o)  of this
					 Title, and if required or approved by the school, in a plan of study prefiled
					 by the student with the school, as an integral part of the student's program.
					 Credit for independent or individualized study shall be computed in accordance
					 with full-time or part-time requirements. Effective for academic terms
					 beginning after January 1, 1978, a student carrying a full-time program that
					 includes noncredit remedial courses shall carry at least six semester hours a
					 semester, except that in the first semester of study such a student need carry
					 only three semester hours. Effective for academic terms beginning on or after
					 July 1, 1984, a student carrying a part-time program that includes noncredit
					 remedial courses shall carry at least three semester hours a semester. A
					 combination of such credit and remedial work shall equal the minimum student
					 effort requirement for full- time study or part-time study, respectively, in
					 nonremedial programs. However, courses taken solely to meet teacher
					 certification, licensing, or other external requirements, and not recommended
					 or required by the school as an integral part of the student's program, shall
					 not contribute to full-time or part-time study.
(iv) Except as otherwise provided in
					 subdivision (e) of this section and subparagraph (v) of this paragraph, when
					 determining full-time or part-time status, credit-bearing courses must be
					 applicable to the student's program of study as a general education
					 requirement, major requirement, or specified or free elective. Credit-bearing
					 courses not applicable to the student's program of study cannot be included as
					 part of the minimum full-time or part-time study requirement.
(v)
(a) An
					 institution may grant a waiver of the requirements of subparagraph (iv) of this
					 paragraph for purposes of determining full-time status, where the institution
					 certifies, and maintains documentation, that such waiver is in the best
					 interest of the student, and where the student submits an application for such
					 waiver that:
(1) demonstrates that their
					 inability to meet such requirements is due to circumstances beyond the
					 student's control, such as the student having earned advanced placement or
					 other college credits earned in high school, having transferred into the
					 institution, encountering obstacles posed by course sequence requirements, or
					 changing majors;
(2) includes an
					 individual academic graduation plan, developed with the student's advisor at
					 such institution, that prescribes how the student will fulfill degree
					 coursework if granted the waiver. Such plan must document a detailed path
					 toward degree completion while maintaining the minimum number of credit hours
					 required for full-time study status toward the approved program of
					 study.
(b) Institutions
					 shall develop criteria and procedures to consider and grant waivers, consistent
					 with the provisions of this subparagraph. Prior approval by the commissioner of
					 such criteria and procedures shall not be required; however, the institution
					 shall make such criteria and procedures available to students and the public,
					 either in writing or on its website. The commissioner may review such criteria
					 and procedures and require an institution to revise those found to be not
					 aligned with the provisions of this subparagraph.