515.5 Full-Time Attendance (FTA) Defined

Sep 14, 2026

Defines full-time attendance (FTA) at an educational institution (EI) as enrollment in an in-person day or evening noncorrespondence program lasting at least 13 school weeks, with a subject load considered full time and a scheduled attendance rate of at least 20 hours per week. Clarifies that the 13-week requirement covers the full academic year, describes what attendance includes (e.g., labs and supervised study), and provides rules for registration periods, drops before 13 weeks, final course stage, exceptional situations, work-study, and post-secondary settings.

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515.5 Full-Time Attendance (FTA) Defined

School Registration Period

Attendance Stops Before End of 13 Weeks

Student in Last Part of Course of Study

Exceptional Situations

Student in Work-study Program

Post-Secondary Level Courses

515.5 Full-Time Attendance (FTA) Defined Full-time attendance at an EI means enrollment in a day or evening noncorrespondence course at least 13 weeks in duration, carrying a subject load which is considered full time under the school's standards and practices for day students, with a scheduled rate of attendance of at least 20 hours per week. The 13 school weeks duration requirement refers to the entire year of study (e.g. , a senior year of highschool), and not a semester, trimester, summer school session or other segment of the course. Attendance includes time spent in regularly scheduled laboratory work, supervised study which is available to all students taking the particular course, required changes in student or teacher stations and work which is an integral part of the program of study. Home schooling cases (see FOM-I-510.5.3) generally are required to meet the same standard. The home study course should be at least 13-weeks duration and at least 20 hours of study per week. 515.5.1 School Registration Period A student, who registers for classes in one month and begins classes in the following month, is considered to be in FTA beginning with the month of registration if the school considers the student to be in FTA during registration and there is no break between the end of the registration period and the beginning of classes. Example 1: A student's registration period runs from August 26 to August 31. The school's classes begin on September 1, and the student's first class is on September 3. The school considers the student in FTA during the registration period. The student is considered to be in FTA for the month of August. Example 2: A student's registration period runs from August 26 to August 29. The school's classes begin on September 3 and the student's first class is on September 3. The student cannot be considered to be in FTA for the month of August because there was a break between the end of the registration period and the first day of classes (August 30 to September 2) . 515.5.2 Attendance Stops Before End of 13 Weeks If a student is attending a course at least 13 school-weeks' duration, but drops out, or is dropped before completing 13 school weeks, he may still receive an annuity or be included in the O/M computation of the employee's annuity for the months of full time attendance. 515.5.3 Student in Last Part of Course of Study In some cases, a student who is in the last part of his course of study may need fewer hours or credits than the number of hours or credits required by the school to be in fulltime attendance. When such a student is also engaged in study or related activity for which no credit is given (e.g. , independent study), he can be considered as being in fulltime attendance. 515.5.4 Exceptional Situations Effective August 1, 1991, student may be considered in full-time attendance with less than 20 hours as long as the student is in full-time attendance pursuant to the school's standards and practices in exceptional situations. Examiners will accept a reasonable explanation of why the student is enrolled for less than 20 hours weekly classroom attendance. Examples of acceptable and unacceptable situations are shown below. Example 1 : John stopped attending school at age 16. At age 18 he enrolled for 16 1/2 hours scheduled classroom attendance in an evening high school program. John explained that he had stopped attending school at age 16 because of illness and now at age 18 was too old to attend a conventional high school. He added that he had enrolled for the maximum number of hours available at the evening high school and that the school considers the evening program equivalent to the day program. John is considered to be in FTA if the school verifies him to be full-time according to its standards and practices. This is an exceptional situation and John has provided a reasonable explanation for his scheduled classroom attendance of less than 20 hours weekly.

FAQs

What qualifies as full-time attendance (FTA) at an EI?

FTA requires enrollment in a day or evening noncorrespondence course of at least 13 school weeks, with a subject load treated as full time and scheduled attendance of at least 20 hours per week.

Does the 13 school weeks requirement apply to a semester or a shorter term?

No. The 13 school weeks duration refers to the entire year of study, not a semester, trimester, summer session, or other segment of the course.

When is a student considered in FTA during a school registration period?

A student is in FTA during registration if the school considers the student FTA during registration and there is no break between the end of registration and the time the school begins classes.

Sep 14, 2026

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