According to the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education, credit for independent or individualized study may be used to determine whether you are full time or part time for financial aid purposes.

To be acceptable as part of your minimum full-time or part-time course load, the amount of effort for the independent study must be the same, on an hour-for-hour equivalent basis, as that required for a credit-bearing course. The independent study must also be required or approved by your college in a plan of study that is developed as an integral part of your educational program.

Your college’s faculty determines whether the student effort required for the independent study is the same as that required for a regular credit-bearing course, and the faculty has the responsibility to establish a credit-equivalent value for the independent study based on the definition of a semester hour in the Commissioner’s Regulations. Your college should maintain documentation of your work and/or other activity completed as a record of your independent study effort.