Academic Year Definition - Massasoit Community College

For federal student aid purposes, Massasoit Community College defines its academic year as a period that begins with the start of the Fall semester and ends with the conclusion of the Spring semester. This period includes a minimum of 30 weeks of instructional time, during which a full-time student is expected to complete at least 24 semester credit hours.

A week of instructional time is defined as any seven consecutive day period in which at least one day includes scheduled instruction, examinations, or (after the last day of classes) study for final exams. Periods of orientation, counseling, vacation, or homework do not count toward instructional time.

While the academic year is limited to Fall and Spring semesters for Title IV purposes, Summer sessions are considered part of the same financial aid award year and are treated as a trailer term. This means they are funded by the same FAFSA (e.g., the 2025–2026 FAFSA applies to Fall 2025, Spring 2026, and Summer 2026), but Summer does not count toward the academic year structure used to determine eligibility requirements such as weeks of instruction or annual loan limits.

Enrollment Status for Financial Aid Purposes

Full-time: 12 or more credit hours
Three-quarter time: 9–11 credit hours
Half-time: 6–8 credit hours
Less-than-half-time: 1–5 credit hours

Financial Aid Grade Level

First-year student: 0–29 completed credit hours toward a degree or certificate
Second-year student: 30 or more completed credit hours

This academic year structure is used to award and disburse federal and state financial aid and may differ from academic policies used for other institutional purposes.