amount.
Direct	Loan	Disbursements	When	the	Loan	Period	is	a	Single	Payment	Period
As	explained	in	
Volume	3,	Chapter	1,	all	Title	IV	program	funds	(including	Direct	Loan	funds)	except	for	Federal	Work-
Study	payments	must	be	disbursed	on	a	payment	period	basis.	Except	in	certain	cases	for	Direct	Loans	made	to	cover	the
costs	of	a	study	abroad	program	(see	below),	if	the	loan	period	for	a	Direct	Loan	covers	more	than	one	payment	period,	a
school	must	make	at	least	one	Direct	Loan	disbursement	in	each	payment	period.
If	the	loan	period	for	a	Direct	Loan	is	a	single	payment	period,	a	school	must	generally	make	at	least	two	disbursements
of	a	Direct	Loan	(see	below	for	two	exceptions	to	this	requirement).	The	following	requirements	apply	for	the	timing	of	the
second	disbursement:
For	credit-hour	programs	offered	in	standard	terms	or	offered	in	nonstandard	terms	that	are	substantially	equal	in
length	with	no	term	less	than	nine	weeks	of	instructional	time	in	length,	the	second	disbursement	may	not	be	made
until	the	calendar	midpoint	between	the	first	and	last	scheduled	days	of	class	in	the	loan	period.
For	all	other	programs,	including	clock-hour	and	non-term	credit-hour	programs,	and	nonstandard	term	programs
with	terms	that	are	not	substantially	equal	or	with	terms	that	are	substantially	equal	and	less	than	nine	weeks	of
instructional	time	in	length,	the	second	disbursement	may	not	be	made	until	the	student	successfully	completes	half
of	the	weeks	of	instructional	time	in	the	payment	period,	and	half	of	the	clock	or	credit	hours	in	the	payment	period.
Exceptions	to	the	Multiple	Disbursement	Requirement	When	the	Loan	Period	is	a	Single	Payment	Period
If	the	loan	period	is	not	more	than	one	semester,	one	trimester,	one	quarter	or,	for	non-term-based	schools	or	schools
with	nonstandard	terms,	four	months,	a	school	with	a	cohort	default	rate	of	less	than	15%	for	each	of	the	three	most
recent	fiscal	years	for	which	data	are	available	may	disburse	a	Direct	Loan	in	a	single	installment.
In	addition,	if	the	loan	period	is	a	single	payment	period	and	more	than	half	of	the	payment	period	has	elapsed	before	the
school	has	made	a	disbursement,	the	school	may	include	in	the	disbursement	loan	proceeds	for	the	entire	payment
period.
Exception	to	the	Multiple	Disbursement	Requirement	for	Study	Abroad	Programs
Substantially	Equal	Disbursements
34	CFR	685.303(d)(5)
Regulatory	Citations
Loan	period	is	more	than	one	payment	period:	34	CFR	685.303(d)(3)(i)
Loan	period	is	one	payment	period:	34	CFR	685.303(d)(3)(ii)
Exception	based	on	cohort	default	rate:	34	CFR	685.303(d)(6)(i)(A)
More	than	half	of	payment	period	has	elapsed:	34	CFR	685.303(d)(4)(ii)
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