Office of Student Financial Aid & Student Employment

Loan Procedures

"The Scheduled Academic Year"

The Office of Student Financial Aid processes Federal Stafford Loans on a "Scheduled Academic Year".

A scheduled Academic Year dictates the frequency by which a borrower regains eligibility for annual loan limits. (Fall/Spring is a scheduled Academic Year).

The federal government allows schools to treat the summer term as an "add-on" to the scheduled Academic Year. The University of Akron adds the summer term to the front of our Scheduled Academic Year.

For the purposes of loan processing, this procedure allows the summer term to be a "leader." The following example should assist you in understanding how this new procedure affects your annual borrowing.

Example: Joe is a dependent, junior student 4-year program, with an annual loan limit of $5500 beginning Summer 2007

He may borrow the $5500 as follows:

1. Over three semesters: summer 2007/fall 2007/spring 2008
2. Over two semesters: summer 2007-fall 2007 or more typically, fall 2007-spring 2008

(in unusual cases a student could also take the eligibility summer 2007-Spring 2008, but the student would want to sit with a financial aid director for guidance as to how to arrange this, especially if the student were enrolled in the intervening Fall term.)

However Joe decides to use his annual loan eligibility, he will not regain annual loan eligibility until the following summer 2008 semester--and in order to do so, he will need to complete the 2008-2009 FAFSA form (ideally by 2/14/08!)


Students advancing from Freshman to Sophomore or Sophomore to Junior (in a 4-year program) status during the course of the academic year should contact the financial aid office to find out how to access any increased eligibility.

Note that if Joe wanted to borrow for Summer 2008, he would also need to complete a Summer Aid Application (available early to mid-March 2008) in order to do so.

Please be very careful when borrowing Federal Stafford Loans in the summer. Remember that it will reduce your loan eligibility for the entire 2007-2008 Academic Year!