What Does "For a Limited Duration" Mean In the Cost of Attendance For Less-Than-Half-Time Students?

In short, “for a limited duration” means that a school can choose to provide housing and food costs (living expenses) in a less-than-half-time student’s cost of attendance (COA) for a maximum of three semesters (or equivalent), with no more than two consecutive semesters at a single school. Inclusion of the living expenses allowance for less-than-half-time students applies on an institution-by-institution basis (i.e., it is not a lifetime limit). Therefore, institutions are not required to monitor COA components from other institutions attended by the student.

For more information related to a less-than-half-time COA in Volume 3, Chapter 2 of the FSA Handbook. The school's policies for the development of the COA components must be reflected in its written policies and procedures.

Note: Effective with the 2023-24 award year and application processing cycle, the COA component for “room and board” has been renamed "living expenses." "Room" has been renamed "housing" and "board" has been renamed "food."