Programs
As	we	explained	under	<Disbursement	timing	in	subscription-based	programs=	earlier	in	this	chapter,	there	is	no
requirement	for	a	student	to	have	completed	a	specified	amount	of	coursework	before	receiving	a	disbursement	of	
Title	IV
funds	for	the	first	two	subscription	periods	(terms)	in	a	subscription-based	program.	However,	to	receive	a	disbursement
for	the	third	subscription	period	and	for	each	subsequent	subscription	period	in	the	program,	a	student	must	have
completed	a	cumulative	number	of	credit	hours	equal	to	the	total	number	of	hours	for	which	the	student	was	enrolled	in
all	previously	attended	subscription	periods	in	the	program,	excluding	the	number	of	hours	for	which	the	student	was
enrolled	in	the	most	recently	attended	subscription	period.
The	cumulative	number	of	hours	that	a	student	must	have	completed	to	receive	a	disbursement	for	the	third	subscription
period	and	for	each	subsequent	subscription	period	is	based	on	the	student's	enrollment	status	for	the	program.	Each
subscription	period	that	a	student	attends	is	associated	with	a	number	of	credit	hours	based	on	the	student's	enrollment
status.	A	school	establishes	an	enrollment	status	(for	example,	full-time	or	half-time)	that	will	apply	to	a	student
throughout	the	student's	enrollment	in	a	subscription-based	program,	except	that	a	student	may	change	their	enrollment
status	no	more	often	than	once	per	academic	year.	For	example,	if	the	program	is	a	full-time	program	and	the	school's
full-time	standard	is	12	semester	or	quarter	hours,	each	subscription	period	will	be	associated	with	12	hours.	For	a
student	receiving	Pell	Grants	in	a	subscription-based	program,	the	student9s	enrollment	intensity	would	correspond	to	the
enrollment	status	established	for	the	program	and	would	not	vary.	For	example,	in	a	full-time	subscription-based	program
the	student9s	enrollment	intensity	would	be	set	at	100%,	and	in	a	half-time	program	it	would	be	set	at	50%.	(See	Volume
7,	Chapter	3	for	guidance	on	determining	Pell	Grant	enrollment	intensity	in	other	types	of	programs.)	As	a	student
progresses	through	a	subscription-based	program,	the	number	of	hours	associated	with	each	term	are	added	to	the
cumulative	total	needed	for	the	student	to	receive	a	disbursement.
For	the	first	two	terms	in	a	subscription-based	program,	a	school	can	make	a	disbursement	of	Title	IV	funds	up	to	10	days
before	the	beginning	of	the	subscription	period.	Beginning	with	the	third	subscription	period,	early	disbursement	10	days
before	the	beginning	of	the	term	is	allowed	only	if	at	that	point	the	student	has	completed	the	required	number	of	credit
hours	to	receive	a	disbursement	for	the	term.	Otherwise,	the	school	cannot	make	a	disbursement	until	the	student	has
met	the	coursework	completion	requirement.
Note	that	a	student	who	has	not	begun	attendance	in	any	new	coursework	during	a	particular	subscription	period	is
ineligible	to	receive	
Title	IV	program	funds	for	that	period,	even	if	the	student	would	otherwise	qualify	to	receive	a
disbursement	based	on	coursework	completion	requirements.	This	means,	for	example,	that	although	there	is	no
coursework	completion	requirement	for	a	student	to	receive	a	disbursement	for	the	second	term	of	a	subscription-based
program,	the	student	would	not	be	eligible	for	the	disbursement	if	they	simply	continue	attendance	in	coursework	that
they	began	during	the	first	subscription	period	without	having	begun	attendance	in	any	new	coursework	during	the
second	subscription	period.	If	a	disbursement	is	made	to	a	student	who	did	not	begin	attendance	in	any	new	coursework
during	a	subscription	period,	the	requirements	described	under	"When	a	Student	Fails	to	Begin	Attendance"	in	Volume	4,
Chapter	3	of	the	FSA	Handbook	apply.
Once	the	cumulative	number	of	credit	hours	from	earlier	subscription	periods	that	is	required	to	receive	a	disbursement
for	a	later	subscription	period	equals	or	exceeds	the	total	number	of	credit	hours	required	to	complete	the	program,	a
student	is	no	longer	eligible	to	receive	Title	IV	funds	for	the	program.
The	principles	described	above	are	illustrated	in	the	examples	that	follow.
Volume	3,	Chapter	1,	Appendix	B,	Example	1:	Subscription-Based	Program	Course	Completion	Requirement	(Student
Maintains	Same	Enrollment	Status)
A	school	offers	a	two-year	subscription-based	program	of	consisting	of	48	semester	hours,	with	the	academic
year	defined	as	24	semester	hours	and	30	weeks	of	instructional	time.
The	academic	year	consists	of	fall	and	spring	semesters,	with	an	optional	summer	term.	In	this	example,	the
student	does	not	attend	in	the	summer	term.
The	school	defines	full-time	as	12	semester	hours	per	term.	The	student	is	enrolled	in	the	full-time	version	of
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