[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 34, Volume 3]
[Revised as of July 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 34CFR668.3]

[Page 410-411]
 
                           TITLE 34--EDUCATION
 
                         DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
 
PART 668--STUDENT ASSISTANCE GENERAL PROVISIONS--Table of Contents
 
                           Subpart A--General
 
Sec. 668.3  Academic year.

    (a) General. Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, an 
academic year is a period that begins on the first day of classes and 
ends on the last day of classes or examinations during which--
    (1) An institution provides a minimum of 30 weeks of instructional 
time; and

[[Page 411]]

    (2) For an undergraduate educational program, a full-time student is 
expected to complete at least--
    (i) Twenty-four semester or trimester credit hours or 36 quarter 
credit hours for a program measured in credit hours; or
    (ii) 900 clock hours for a program measured in clock hours.
    (b) Definitions. For purposes of paragraph (a) of this section--
    (1) A week is a consecutive seven-day period;
    (2) A week of instructional time is any week 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 day of study for final examinations occurs; and
    (3) Instructional time does not include any vacation periods, 
homework, or periods of orientation or counseling.
    (c) Reduction in the length of an academic year. (1) Upon the 
written request of an institution, the Secretary may approve, for good 
cause, an academic year of 26 through 29 weeks of instructional time for 
educational programs offered by the institution if the institution 
offers a two-year program leading to an associate degree or a four-year 
program leading to a baccalaureate degree.
    (2) An institution's written request must--
    (i) Identify each educational program for which the institution 
requests a reduction, and the requested number of weeks of instructional 
time for that program;
    (ii) Demonstrate good cause for the requested reductions; and
    (iii) Include any other information that the Secretary may require 
to determine whether to grant the request.
    (3)(i) The Secretary approves the request of an eligible institution 
for a reduction in the length of its academic year if the institution 
has demonstrated good cause for granting the request and the 
institution's accrediting agency and State licensing agency have 
approved the request.
    (ii) If the Secretary approves the request, the approval terminates 
when the institution's program participation agreement expires. The 
institution may request an extension of that approval as part of the 
recertification process.

(Approved by the Office of Management and Budget under control number 
1845-0022)

(Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1088)

[67 FR 67071, Nov. 1, 2002]