2.	 Nonstandard	terms	that	are	substantially	equal,	but	one	or	more	of	the	terms	in	the	academic	year
contains	fewer	than	nine	weeks.
Non-
SE9W
3.	 Nonstandard	terms	that	are	not	substantially	equal	in	length	(one	or	more	of	the	terms	in	the	academic
year	differs	in	length	from	another	term	by	more	than	two	weeks).
Non-
SE9W
We	refer	to	the	first	type	of	nonstandard	term	as	<SE9W=	nonstandard	terms.	We	group	the	second	and	third	types
together	and	refer	to	them	as	<non-SE9W=	nonstandard	terms.
Programs	with	SE9W	nonstandard	terms	are	treated	the	same	as	standard-term	programs	for	purposes	of	determining
minimum	loan	period	length	and	monitoring	annual	loan	limits.	However,	programs	with	non-SE9W	nonstandard	terms	are
treated	the	same	as	non-term	programs	for	these	purposes.
Note	that	substantially	equal	nonstandard	terms	(the	first	two	types	of	nonstandard	terms	described	above)	are	treated
differently	for	purposes	of	determining	Direct	Loan	payment	periods	than	for	determining	minimum	loan	period	length
and	monitoring	annual	loan	limits.	As	explained	in	
Volume	1,	Chapter	1,	if	a	program	is	offered	in	standard	terms	or	in
nonstandard	terms	that	are	substantially	equal	in	length	(regardless	of	the	length	of	the	nonstandard	term),	the	payment
period	is	the	term.
However,	for	purposes	of	determining	the	minimum	loan	period	for	a	Direct	Loan	and	monitoring	Direct	Loan	annual	loan
limits,	substantially	equal	nonstandard	terms	that	contain	fewer	than	nine	weeks	are	treated	the	same	as	nonstandard
terms	that	are	not	substantially	equal.	This	means	that	if	a	program	has	substantially	equal	nonstandard	terms	that	are
less	than	nine	weeks	in	length,	you	must	make	a	Direct	Loan	disbursement	each	term	(the	same	as	would	be	the	case	if
the	program	were	offered	in	standard	terms),	but	the	minimum	loan	period	and	the	type	of	academic	year	used	to
monitor	Direct	Loan	annual	loan	limits	must	be	determined	in	accordance	with	the	rules	that	apply	to	non-term	programs.
For	detailed	information	on	standard	term,	nonstandard	term,	and	non-term	programs,	see	
Volume	1,	Chapter	1.
Minimum	Loan	Period:	Standard	Term	and	SE9W	Nonstandard	Term	Programs
For	credit-hour	programs	with	standard	terms	(semesters,	quarters,	or	trimesters),	or	with	SE9W
nonstandard	terms,	the	minimum	loan	period	is	a	single	academic	term.	For	example,	if	a	student	will	be	enrolled	in	the
fall	semester	only	and	will	skip	the	spring	semester,	you	may	originate	a	loan	with	a	loan	period	that	covers	only	the	fall
term.
Minimum	Loan	Period:	Clock-Hour,	Non-Term,	and	Non-SE9W	Nonstandard	Term	Programs
For	all	other	programs	(i.e.,	clock-hour,	non-term,	and	non-SE9W	nonstandard	term	programs),	the	minimum
loan	period	is	generally	the	lesser	of	the	program	length	(or	remainder	of	the	program,	if	there	is	less	than	full	academic
year	remaining)	or	the	academic	year.	There	are	exceptions	to	this	minimum	loan	period	rule	when	originating	loans	for
transfer	students,	or	for	students	who	complete	or	otherwise	cease	enrollment	in	one	program	and	then	begin	a	different
program	at	the	same	school.	We	discuss	these	exceptions	in	detail	in	Chapter	7	of	this	volume.
Minimum	Loan	Period:	Programs	Offered	in	Modules
If	a	program	is	offered	in	modules,	this	does	not	change	the	minimum	loan	period	rules	for	Direct	Loans.	For	example,	if	a
standard	or	SE9W	nonstandard	term	is	divided	into	two	or	more	modules,	the	minimum	loan	period	for	a	Direct	Loan	is
still	the	term,	even	if	the	student	does	not	attend	all	modules	within	the	term.	Similarly,	if	a	clock-hour,	non-term	credit-
Minimum	Loan	Period
34	CFR	685.301(a)(10)(i)
{"producer": "GPL Ghostscript 10.00.0", "creator": "wkhtmltopdf 0.12.6", "creationdate": "D:20250605165703Z00'00'", "moddate": "D:20250605165703Z00'00'", "source": "data/raw/The_Direct_Loan_Program.pdf", "total_pages": 71, "page": 24, "page_label": "25", "loader_type": "pdf", "load_timestamp": "2025-07-05T11:43:14.400022"}