The Office of Graduate Studies requires that a student be enrolled during the term of an assistantship in an academic year. No enrollment is required in the summer. However, doing so may be desired (i) to not affect pay since to be exempt from FICA and Medicare withholding, graduate assistants must be enrolled for at least 4 or more credit hours in each academic semester, including summer, or (ii) to access services including building access, library services, and campus recreational facilities.
Most fellowships require maintenance of full-time status (nine hours each semester and six hours during summer with at least one of the six in each of two sessions, preferably the eight-week and second five-week session). With approval of the Dean of the Office of Graduate Studies, Master’s thesis students in their final year and doctoral students in candidacy may hold full-time status and be registered for fewer credit hours during that time provided they are not employed more than 20 hours per week (half-time). Details here. Students in the final semester of an M.S. degree or candidates for the Ph.D. degree may hold full-time status and be registered for fewer credit hours during the fall and spring semesters. An electronic form “Certification of Full Time Graduate Status,” must be submitted each semester of eligibility in which the student is not enrolled full time to request the Graduate Dean’s approval. Master’s thesis students may use the Certification for a total of three consecutive terms; Doctoral students in candidacy may use it for two years from first use.
Details are at https://www.unl.edu/gradstudies/connections/questions-frequently-asked-….
Enrollment in the summer means graduate students will have to pay for registration fees. Some students may need to register for more credit hours during the summer to meet specific requirements (e.g., those set by health insurance or educational loan companies). Besides keeping full-time status, registering for the summer hours avoids being assessed FICA and Medicare withholdings from payroll checks during the summer. It is usually cheaper to register for the hours than to pay FICA and Medicare taxes. Once candidacy is achieved, the student must register for at least one credit hour each fall and spring until they graduate, even after meeting the total dissertation hours on their Program of Studies.
Graduate students are urged to read the Graduate Student Registration section of the Graduate Catalog regarding employment guidelines and full-time student status.