KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY
POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
Every eligible program must have a defined academic year.
For FSA purposes, the academic year is defined in weeks of instructional time and credit or clock hours.
For both undergraduate and graduate programs, the law and regulations require an academic year to include a minimum number of weeks of instructional time.
For a program offered in credit hours, the academic year must include at least 30 weeks of instructional time.
For a program offered in clock hours, the academic year must include at least 26 weeks of instructional time.
For all FSA programs, a week of instructional time is any period of seven consecutive days in which –
At least one day of regularly scheduled instruction or examinations occurs, or, after the last scheduled day of classes for a term or payment period, at least one scheduled day of study for examinations occurs. OR
In a program offered using asynchronous coursework through distance education or correspondence courses, the school makes available the instructional materials, other resources, and instructor support necessary for academic engagement and completion of course objectives; and
In a program using asynchronous coursework through distance education, the school expects enrolled students to perform educational activities demonstrating academic engagement during the week.
[I]n a program using a standard term academic calendar you may combine two or more consecutive shorter nonstandard terms (often called modules) and treat them as a single standard term such as a semester or quarter.
Nonstandard terms. Generally, nonstandard terms are terms that are not semesters, trimesters, or quarters. For example, a 5-week term or a 23-week term would be considered a nonstandard term because no standard term can be fewer than nine weeks or greater than 21 weeks in length.
The school defines an FSA academic year. It must meet the regulatory minimums for both credit hours and weeks of instructional time.
The IPEDS online glossary includes definitions relevant to the data collection system:
“The period of time generally extending from September to June; usually equated to 2 semesters or trimesters, 3 quarters, or the period covered by a 4-1-4 calendar system.”