Title 38
SECTION 21.5870
21.5870 Measurement of courses.
§ 21.5870 Measurement of courses.(a) Credit hour measurement: undergraduate, standard term. An individual who enrolls in a standard quarter or semester for 12 undergraduate credit hours is a full-time student. An individual who enrolls in a standard quarter or semester for less than 12 undergraduate credit hours is a part-time student.
(Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2144(c))(b) Credit hour measurement: Undergraduate, nonstandard term. (1) If an individual enrolls in a nonstandard term, quarter or semester, and the school measures the course on a credit-hour basis, VA will determine whether that individual is a full-time student by -
(i) Multiplying the credits earned in the term by 18 if credit is granted in semester hours, or by 12 if credit is granted in quarter hours, and
(ii) Dividing the product by the number of whole weeks in the term.
(2) In determining whole weeks VA will -
(i) Divide the number of days in the term by 7;
(ii) Disregard a remainder of 3 days or less, and
(iii) Consider 4 days or more to be a whole week.
(3) If the number obtained by using the formula in paragraphs (b)(1) and (2) of this section is 12 or more, the individual is a full-time student. If that number is less than 12, the individual is a part-time student.
(c) Credit hour measurement: graduate. (1) If it is the established policy of a school to consider less than 12 credit hours to be full-time for graduate students, VA will accept the statement of a responsible school offical as to whether the student is a full-time or part-time student. If the school does not have such a policy, VA will measure the student's enrollment according to the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section.
(2) VA will measure undergraduate courses required by the school according to the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section, even though the individual is enrolled as a graduate student. If the individual is taking both graduate and undergraduate courses, the school will report the credit-hour equivalent of the graduate work. VA will first measure the undergraduate courses according to the provisions of paragraphs (a) and (b) of this section and combine the result with the credit-hour equivalent of the graduate work in order to determine the extent of training.
(d) Clock hour measurement. (1) If an individual enrolls in a course measured in clock hours and shop practice is an integral part of the course, he or she is a full-time student when enrolled in 22 clock hours or more per week with not more than a 2 1/2 hour rest period allowance per week. For all other enrollments the individual is a part-time student. VA will exclude supervised study in determining the number of clock hours in which the individual is enrolled.
(2) If an individual enrolls in a course measured in clock hours and theory and class instruction predominate in the course, he or she is a full-time student enrolled in 18 clock hours or more per week. He or she is a part-time student when enrolled in less than 18 clock hours per week. Customary intervals not to exceed 10 minutes between classes will be included in measuring net instruction. Shop practice, rest periods, and supervised study are excluded. Supervised instruction periods in schools' shops and the time involved in field trips and individual and group instruction may be included in computing the clock hour requirements.
(Authority: 10 U.S.C. 2144(c))