For a student whose disability substantially limits their capacity to take a full-time courseload, a Reduced Credit Load accommodation provides the option to take as few as 6 credits per term while still being considered full-time through OSU.
Undergraduate Students
Students whose disability substantially limits their ability to complete a full-time course load may be eligible for a reduced credit load accommodation of either 6-8 credits (½ time) or 9-11 credits (¾ time). If approved for this reduced credit accommodation, a student may be considered a full-time student for most OSU scholarships, but not all types of financial aid.
Once DAS determines eligibility for a reduced credit accommodation, the eligibility information will be shared with the OSU Office of Financial Aid and the Scholarship Office indicating the student’s approval of this reduced credit accommodation. Students who are approved for reduced credit accommodation are responsible for meeting with the OSU Office of Financial Aid and the Scholarship Office to discuss the impact of a reduced credit load on their financial aid package. The Office of Financial Aid is responsible for individual financial need assessment including budget allowance, family contribution, and program eligibility. Federal and state financial aid credit requirement guidelines are not under OSU or DAS control.
Scholarship funds may be “pro-rated” depending on the term the student is approved for the reduced credit accommodation. Students are expected to complete the number of credits they signed up to take prior to receiving this accommodation and cannot use the reduced credit accommodations to address deficiencies in credit completion rate.
While a Reduced Credit Load will not impact OSU-controlled scholarships, there may be an impact on federal financial aid packages, as federal financial aid credit requirements are not under OSU or DAS control.
- Students accessing this accommodation in conjunction with federal financial aid are responsible for connecting with the Financial Aid Office to determine the specific impact.
- The Financial Aid office is responsible for individual financial needs assessments, including budget allowance, family contribution, and program eligibility.
Scholarship allotments may be distributed proportionally for the duration of a student’s time at OSU, depending on the term that the Reduced Credit Load is implemented.
Students are expected to complete the number of credits they register for prior to implementation and cannot use this accommodation to address previous deficiencies in credit completion rates.
Effective fall term 2025, undergraduate students with DAS reduced credit load accommodations will be eligible for their accepted tuition remission funding at a prorated amount in line with their enrollment level and tuition charges each term. This is consistent with our disbursement policies for all other students who have tuition remission funding. The proration of this institutional aid is separate from the renewal criteria that may apply to University Scholars Program (USP) scholarships. Renewal criteria for those scholarships will be adjusted to reflect the reduced credit load accommodations established by DAS.
Federal and State financial aid programs have regulatory requirements regarding enrollment and disbursement of those funds. The Office of Financial Aid must follow those regulations and will adjust those aid programs in accordance with those regulations.
Where possible, OSU Foundation scholarships will be disbursed in full for at least half-time enrollment and not prorated so long as the donor agreement does not stipulate a minimum enrollment level for the award. Scholarships awarded by external donors will not be eligible for reduced credit load accommodations and must follow the donor’s enrollment requirements to receive that funding.
For international students-
- International students may not be eligible for this accommodation due to visa requirements. Students should contact DAS directly to discuss specifics.
For graduate students
- Graduate students work directly the DAS Director or a designee to implement this accommodation.
- Graduate Research Assistants (GRA) or Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTA) may have additional steps to complete through the Office of Equal Opportunity and Access (EOA) due to employment requirements.
- Factors considered when implementing this accommodation include:
- GRA funding
- GTA funding
- Departmental funding
- Program/credit requirements
- Self-funding, as many master's and doctoral programs do not have a minimum credit requirement
Page updated: 1/2026