After its publication in the Commonwealth Register, the new credit requirement will be fully implemented starting fall 2012 semester.
The board resolved the issue on credit requirement after some scholars who only obtained nine full-time credits asked the SHEFA board for reimbursements.
In his report to the board, SHEFA Administrator Henry Hofschneider said there was no document that showed the credit requirement was officially reduced.
However, he said the previous SHEFA board discussed the recommendation of its committee on awards to lower the full-time credit requirement for graduate and postgraduate degree seekers from 12 to 9 credits in December 2008.
But he said the proposed amendment to the SHEFA rule on credit requirement was not published in the Commonwealth Register.
“As these documents show, the SHEFA rules and regulations on full-time status for graduate and postgraduate students, contrary to information a former SHEFA board member shared with the board earlier this year, were never amended,” Hofschneider said.
On April 27, 2009, Hofschneider said a set of proposed amendments to the SHEFA rules and regulations were published in the Commonwealth Register but the amendments were never adopted.
“Because the amendments were never adopted, they remain as of today unenforceable,” he added.
