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Academic Semester and Academic Year

  Watch brief videos with answers to all your financial aid questions on Financial Aid TV.

Students receiving Federal Student Aid (FSA) must follow an academic calendar which consists of an ‘Academic Year’ and two ‘Academic Semesters’. All courses taken must fit within the start and end dates of the ‘Academic Semester’. Once an Academic Year is started (Academic Start dates are listed below), registrations will not be accepted outside the student’s Academic Year.  Students are encouraged to work with their student advisor or the Provost’s Office if courses critical to their graduation are needed.

For Financial Aid purposes, the student academic year at either of our universities is defined as 32 weeks of instructional time.  Within the weeks of the academic year, a full-time undergraduate student must be expected to complete at least 24 semester hours (12 hours each semester) and a graduate student must complete 18 semester hours (9 hours each semester).

American Public University System uses this table to determine the grade level of an undergraduate student for FSA purposes.