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172 (07/2026) Chapter 2:Eligibility • Section 3: Individual information Students of higher education Who is subject to student eligibility criteria? This policy addresses eligibility for students enrolled in higher education. For SNAP, the special student criteria is applied to an individual when their age is at least age 18 and not yet 50 and enrolled in an institution of higher education at least half- time. • Enrollment status of a student begins on the first day of the school term. • A student is considered enrolled through normal periods of class attendance, vacation and recess. This applies unless the student graduates, is suspended or expelled, drops out, reduces credit hours to less than half-time or does not intend to register for the next normal school term (excluding summer school). An institution of higher education is any public or private educational institution that: • Normally requires a high school diploma or equivalency certificate for enrollment in the school or the program. • Must be legally authorized to provide an educational program beyond secondary education or to provide a training program that will prepare students for gainful employment. Institutions of higher education include but are not limited to: • Public or private colleges, universities or community colleges • Correspondence schools • Online schools • Business or technical schools, or vocational programs. A student of higher education residing in a dormitory or on-campus housing with a meal plan that is intended to provide more than 50 percent of the student’s three daily, or 21 weekly meals, is ineligible for SNAP. Example: Jonah has a meal plan that provides 2 meals on each weekday, and no meals on weekends. This will allow him to receive 10 meals a week. This is not over 50 percent of his three daily meals each week, and Jonah may be eligible for SNAP if all other eligibility factors are met. Who is not subject to student eligibility criteria? Student eligibility does not apply to individuals who are: • Under age 18 or age 50 or older • Attending high school, adult basic education (ABE) or a GED program • Participating in a training program provided by an employer • Enrolled in schools and training programs that are not institutions of higher education such as vocational, technical, business or trade schools that do not require a high school diploma or equivalency for enrollment in the program of curriculum • Enrolled for the exclusive purpose of obtaining training in English as a second language (ESL), provided that the courses are not taken for credit as part of a total program