Academic Start Dates

 
  • Students receiving Federal Student Aid (FSA) must follow an academic calendar consisting of an ‘Academic Year’ and two ‘Academic Semesters’
  • For Financial Aid purposes:

    • The academic year is defined as 32 weeks of instructional time
    • The academic semester is defined as 16 weeks of instructional time
    • Many courses are 8 weeks long, allowing students to take 2 courses consecutively (one after another) in one semester vs. simultaneously (at the same time). Both courses, however, must fit within the 16-week semester
  • All courses taken must fit within the start and end dates of the ‘Academic Semester’. See sample academic year below
  • Once you have selected your academic start date, your Academic Year and Semesters are locked. Registrations will be limited to your selected Academic Year and Semesters
  • Students are funded for only what they register for prior to the semester start date (at least 1 week prior.) Students adding courses to that semester after that deadline will lose some funding. So even if you are taking two, 8-week sessions, you must register for both sessions at least 1 week prior to the first session start date
  • See Enrollment Status to understand the minimum course credits needed to receive Federal Student Aid            

Academic Year Start Dates

Start Date1st Semester2nd Semester
April 2, 20124/2/2012 to 7/29/20128/6/2012 to 11/25/2012
May 7, 20125/7/2012 to 8/26/20129/3/2012 to 12/30/2012
June 4, 20126/4/2012 to 9/30/201210/1/2012 to 1/27/2013
July 2, 20127/2/2012 to 10/28/201211/5/2012 to 3/3/2013
August 6, 20128/6/2012 to 11/25/201212/3/2012 to 3/31/2013
September 3, 20129/3/2012 to 12/30/20121/7/2013 to 4/28/2013
October 1, 201210/1/2012 to 1/27/20132/4/2013 to 5/26/2013
November 5, 201211/5/2012 to 3/3/20133/4/2013 to 6/30/2013
December 3, 201212/3/2012 to 3/31/20134/1/2013 to 7/28/2013
January 7, 20131/7/2013 to 4/28/20135/6/2013 to 9/1/2013
February 4, 20132/4/2013 to 5/26/20136/3/2013 to 9/29/2013
March 4, 20133/4/2013 to 6/30/20137/1/2013 to 10/27/2013
April 1, 20134/1/2013 to 7/28/20138/5/2013 to 12/1/2013
May 6, 20135/6/2013 to 9/1/20139/2/2013 to 12/29/2013
June 3, 20136/3/2013 to 9/29/201310/7/2013 to 1/26/2014
July 1, 20137/1/2013 to 10/27/201311/4/2013 to 3/2/2014
August 5, 20138/5/2013 to 12/1/201312/2/2013 to 3/30/2014
September 2, 20139/2/2013 to 12/29/20131/6/2014 to 4/27/2014
October 7, 201310/7/2013 to 1/26/20142/3/2014 to 6/1/2014
November 4, 201311/4/2013 to 3/2/20143/3/2014 to 6/29/2014
December 2, 201312/2/2013 to 3/30/20144/7/2014 to 7/27/2014



Sample Academic Year

One Academic Year
(32 weeks, excluding breaks)
First Semester
16 weeks		Second Semester
16 weeks
Session I
(16 week class)		Session I
(16 week class)
Session II
(8 week class)		Session III
(8 week class)		Session II
(8 week class)		Session III
 (8 week class)
Session IV
(8 week class)
Session IV
(8 week class)

Course sessions may not overlap between the first semester and second semester of an academic year or extend beyond the end of an academic year.

Need Help with Financial / Tuition Assistance?

- Watch brief videos with answers to many of your financial assistance questions on Financial Aid TV
- Attend an online Financial Aid Orientation session with the experts
- For additional assistance, contact our Financial Aid Help Desk:  877-372-3535 | Send an e-mail
 

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