Future UA students may be required to take 15 units instead of 12 in order to maintain full-time student status.

The idea of increasing credit hour requirements has only been briefly discussed and is far from being moved to the Arizona Board of Regents’ Academic Affairs Committee, according to Sarah Harper, a spokeswoman for the board.

The idea was brought up during the regents’ Financial Aid Task Force meeting, where they discussed the potential benefits of changing full-time student status for those who qualify for financial aid. Members of the task force in favor of the idea said it could be a “performance incentive” for these types of students to graduate on time or early if they are required to take a larger amount of credits per semester.

Changing full-time student status may encourage students to want to graduate quicker, which would save them money and allow them to pay back student loans faster and easier, said Bob McLendon, vice chairman of the board. The idea was originally addressed, he said, because of how much money students end up paying back to the state through loans upon graduating. For students on financial aid, this change could prevent student loan debts, he added.

Some students, like athletes, said they could be negatively impacted by the change if implemented.

“It’s perfect taking 12 credits because it allows us to get good grades in our courses while also being able to focus on football,” said Ben Sullivan, a UA football player and pre-business freshman. “We don’t get behind either from just taking 12 credits, because most of us enroll in summer classes as well.”

With practice and meetings nearly every day in addition to class and homework, Sullivan said the change could hurt his and his teammates’ grade point averages.

Other students who are used to taking 15 credits or more per semester said they would be unaffected by the change if it were to go into effect.

Ashley Inouye, a business sophomore, said she has to take a minimum of 15 credits in order to keep her scholarship in the Honors College.

“This change would not impact me directly,” she said.

The issue will be presented to the board’s Academic Affairs Committee and brought to the board itself for voting if passed by the committee. There has been no discussion within the board as to whether the change could cause students to take more or less time to graduate.