period	are	separated	by	one	or	more	terms	in	which	the	student	is	ineligible.	For	example,	if	a	student	is	expected	to	be
enrolled	on	at	least	a	half-time	basis	in	the	fall	and	spring	quarters	of	an	academic	year	consisting	of	the	fall,	winter,	and
spring	quarters,	but	the	student	indicates	that	they	do	not	plan	to	attend	the	winter	quarter	(or	that	they	plan	to	be
enrolled	on	a	less	than	half-time	basis	during	that	quarter),	the	school	may	still	originate	a	loan	for	a	loan	period	covering
the	fall,	winter,	and	spring	quarters.	Of	course,	no	costs	associated	with	winter	quarter	may	be	included	in	the	student9s
COA	when	determining	the	loan	amount	the	student	is	eligible	to	receive	for	the	fall	and	spring	quarters.	Similarly,	if	a
school	initially	originates	a	loan	for	a	fall-winter-spring	loan	period	based	on	a	student9s	anticipated	enrollment	status	of
at	least	half	time	during	all	three	quarters,	but	the	student	subsequently	does	not	attend	the	winter	quarter	or	temporarily
drops	below	half-time	status	for	that	term,	and	then	resumes	at	least	half-time	enrollment	in	the	spring,	the	school	is	not
required	to	make	any	changes	to	the	original	fall-winter-spring	loan	period.	However,	it	may	be	necessary	for	the	school
to	adjust	the	originally	approved	loan	amount	if	that	amount	is	no	longer	supported	by	the	reduced	costs	for	the	fall	and
spring	quarters	only.
In	the	first	scenario	described	above	the	school	could	also	choose	to	originate	two	separate	loans	for	fall-only	and	spring-
only	loan	periods.	In	the	second	scenario	the	school	would	also	have	the	option	of	adjusting	the	original	fall-winter-spring
loan	period	to	fall-only,	and	then	originating	a	new	spring-only	loan.	Note,	however,	that	in	both	cases	the	school	would
then	be	required	to	separately	subtract	the	student9s	full	SAI	from	the	fall-only	and	spring-only	costs	when	determining
the	student9s	Direct	Subsidized	Loan	eligibility	for	those	terms	(see	<No	Alternate	SAI	When	Originating	Loans	for	Periods
Other	Than	Nine	Months=	earlier	in	this	chapter).	In	some	cases	this	could	significantly	reduce	or	even	eliminate	a
student9s	need	for	Direct	Subsidized	Loans.	In	contrast,	using	a	fall-winter-spring	loan	period	(excluding	all	costs
associated	with	the	winter	quarter)	would	allow	the	school	to	subtract	the	full	SAI	from	the	higher	combined	costs	for	the
fall	and	spring	terms,	partially	mitigating	the	effect	of	not	having	alternate	SAIs	for	periods	of	enrollment	other	than	nine
months.
The	limited	exception	described	above	applies	only	if	a	student	is	eligible	to	receive	a	Direct	Loan	during	the	first	and	last
terms	within	the	loan	period.	The	term	in	which	the	student	is	ineligible	cannot	be	the	first	or	last	term	in	the	loan	period.
For	instance,	a	school	may	not	originate	a	loan	for	a	fall-winter-spring	loan	period	if	the	student	does	not	attend	the	fall
term	or	the	spring	term.
Note:	See	the	guidance	at	the	end	of	this	chapter	for	certain	exceptions	to	the	normal	loan	period	rules	that	apply	when
periods	of	clinical	work	are	included	in	a	standard	term.
Minimum	Loan	Periods
The	minimum	period	for	which	a	school	may	originate	a	Direct	Loan	varies	depending	on	the	school9s	academic	calendar.
As	explained	below	and	in	Chapter	7,	different	rules	apply	for	purposes	of	determining	the	minimum	loan	period	for	a
Direct	Loan	and	the	type	of	academic	year	that	a	school	may	use	to	monitor	Direct	Loan	annual	loan	limits	depending	on
whether	a	program	is	term-based	(including	subscription-based	programs;	see	
Volume	3,	Chapter	1)	with	either	standard
or	nonstandard	terms,	or	is	a	non-term	program	(all	clock-hour	programs	are	treated	as	non-term	programs),	and	in	the
case	of	a	term-based	program	with	nonstandard	terms,	depending	on	the	type	of	nonstandard	term,	as	described	below.
Nonstandard	terms	may	be	one	of	the	following	types:
1.	 Nonstandard	terms	that	are	substantially	equal	(no	term	in	the	academic	year	differs	in	length	from	any
other	term	by	more	than	two	weeks),	and	each	of	the	terms	is	at	least	nine	weeks	in	length.
SE9W
Period	of	Enrollment	(Loan	Period)	Definition
34	CFR	685.102(b)
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