Student Loans

Schedule of Reductions (Effective July 1, 2026)

Loan prorations for student less than Full Time

Beginning July 1, 2026, Federal Direct Loans will be reduced based on the number of credits in which a student is enrolled. This process is called the Schedule of Reductions (SOR).

Federal student loans that will be affected by the new loan reduction requirements:

• Federal Subsidized Loans (undergraduate)
• Federal Unsubsidized Loans (undergraduate and graduate)
• Federal Graduate PLUS Loans (graduate – eligible under legacy provisions)

(Federal Parent PLUS Loans are not subject to reduction for less than full-time enrollment.)

Similar to the Pell grant, students will now be offered the maximum amount of Federal Direct Loan funding per year based on full-time enrollment. 

With the new Federal Direct Loan SOR requirement, full-time students will receive the full amount of their annual loan offer. If a student is enrolled less than full-time, or drops below full-time, they will not be eligible to receive the full-time amount of loans offered to them. Instead, CU Denver will calculate the amount of loan funding the student is eligible to receive in proportion to the number of credits a student is enrolled in. 

For example: If full-time is 24 credit hours and a student enrolls for 18 credit hours for the academic year, the student will receive 75% of their annual loan limit eligibility (18/24 = 75%).

Schedule of Reductions is an on-going process. Final enrollment statuses at the end of the Fall semester will impact federal loan disbursement amounts in the Spring semester (increase or decrease). Acceptance of additional loans throughout the academic year also impact Schedule of Reductions calculations. 

If you have any questions regarding your eligibility, disbursement, or have plans to be enrolled less than full-time in any semester please contact Financial Aid & Scholarships.

CU Denver | Anschutz Cohort Default Rate (CDR) Disclosure