Schedule of Reductions (SOR)

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduced major changes to federal student aid programs. Several provisions, including the Schedule of Reductions (SOR), became effective July 1, 2026.

Beginning with the 2026 fall semester, annual Federal Direct Student Loan amounts are subject to the Schedule of Reductions (SOR) provision which requires federal student loan eligibility to be reduced based on enrollment level. 

Student Loan Disbursements

Students are initially offered federal student loans based on an expectation of full-time enrollment for both fall and spring semesters. Full time enrollment is defined as a minimum of 12 credits per semester (24 credits per academic year). Students must enroll in at least 6 credits to be eligible for Federal Direct Loans.

• Students enrolled for 12 or more credits for the fall semester will be offered a loan amount that is based on the maximum annual loan amount. 

• Students enrolled for 6-11 credits for fall semester will be offered a prorated loan amount. If a student is not yet registered for the spring semester, an assumption of 12 credits for the spring semester will be used when determining the prorated total loan amount. 

Financial Aid will monitor enrollment during the add/drop period at the start of each semester. At the conclusion of the add/drop period, a student’s total eligible credits will be evaluated, and loan amounts will be adjusted based on actual enrollment.

Enrollment Changes

The impact of dropping courses or withdrawing from courses will be considered when calculating loan eligibility. Enrollment changes after the add/drop period may impact the amount of loan you are eligible to receive for the current semester or subsequent semester.  Students are strongly encouraged to discuss the impact of withdrawing or dropping a course with the Office of Financial Aid. 

Calculation Examples

Example 1 - Same fall and spring enrollment

James is a freshmen student eligible for $3,500 of subsidized loan and $2000 of unsubsidized loan.

James is enrolled in 12 credits for the fall semester and an anticipated 12 credits for the spring semester for a total of 24 credits. Full-time enrollment is defined as 24 credits in an academic year, so James will be offered the full amount of his $3,500 subsidized loan and $2000 unsubsidized loan.

Example 2 - Different fall and spring enrollment

Mary is a junior eligible for $7,500 of unsubsidized loan.

Mary is enrolled in 9 credits for the fall semester and estimated 12 credits for the spring semester. A total of 21 credits for the academic year. Because Mary will not be enrolled in at least 24 credits for the academic year, the Schedule of Reductions (SOR) applies to his loan. 

• Step 1: Determine maximum loan amount: $7,500
• Step 2: Calculate SOR Percentage:
• 21/24 = .875 - rounded to 88%
• Step 3: Determine new prorated maximum loan amount:
• 88% x 7,500 = $6,600 maximum loan for year
• Step 4: Determine proportional loan amounts:
• Fall at 9 credits = $2,829, Spring at 12 credits = $3,771

Example 3 - Withdrawing from a course during fall semester

Tyler is a sophomore eligible for $4,500 of subsidized loan and $2000 unsubsidized loan.

Tyler is enrolled in 12 credits for the fall semester and estimated 12 credits for the spring semester. A total of 24 credits.

Tyler withdraws from 6 credits during the fall semester. His new fall enrollment with the withdrawn courses is now 6 credits, not 12. Since Tyler was enrolled in 12 credits at the time his fall loan was disbursed, he was overpaid in the fall. His enrollment is now 6 credits fall + 12 credits spring = 18 credits total. A reduction must be made to the spring loan disbursement.

• Step 1: Determine maximum loan amount: $4,500 subsidized loan and $2000 unsubsidized loan.
• Step 2: Calculate SOR percentage:
• 18/24 = .75 or 75%
• Step 3: Determine new prorated maximum loan amount:
• 75% x $4,500 = $3,375 and 75% x 2000 = $1500
• Step 4: Determine proportional loan amounts:
• $3,375 subsidized loan and $1500 unsubsidized loan are the adjusted annual loan maximums

Payment adjustments: Since Tyler was at 12 credits at the time his fall semester loan was disbursed, ($2,250 subsidized loan and $1000 unsubsidized loan), the adjustment must be made with his spring loan disbursement.

• Step 5: Adjust spring semester loan disbursement: 
• $3,375 is adjusted annual subsidized loan maximum. $2,250 was disbursed in the fall semester. $3,375 - $2,250 = $1,125 adjusted amount of spring loan disbursement
• $1500 is adjusted annual unsubsidized loan maximum. $1,000 was disbursed in the fall semester. $1,500 - $1000 = $500 adjusted amount of spring loan disbursement