State-Established Academic Standards for New York State Financial Aid - Undergraduate and Graduate Policy

Policy Statement

This policy explains the New York State academic requirements to maintain eligibility for state financial aid programs.

Purpose/Scope

There is no purpose/scope provided for this policy at this time

Applicability

There is no applicability provided for this policy at this time

Definitions

 There are no definitions for this policy at this time.

Policy Procedures

Grants, Scholarships, and Special Awards

A. Full-time Awards:

• Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

• Flight 3407 Memorial Scholarships

• Flight 587 Memorial Scholarships

• Military Service Recognition Scholarship (MSRS)

• NYS Math & Science Teaching Incentive Scholarship

• NYS Memorial Scholarships for Families of Deceased Firefighters, Volunteer Firefighters, Police Officers, Peace Officers, and Emergency Medical Service Workers

• NYS Scholarships for Academic Excellence

• NYS World Trade Center Memorial Scholarship

• Senator Patricia K. McGee Nursing Faculty Scholarship

• NYS Aid to Native Americans

• NYS Regents Awards for Children of Deceased and Disabled Veterans

• Segal AmeriCorps Education Awards

• Veterans Tuition Awards

B. Part-time Awards (special requirements apply in some instances):

• NYS Aid for Part-time Study (APTS)

• Part-time T AP

• Veteran Tuition Awards

Students who receive New York state financial awards are required to maintain good academic standing in order to remain eligible. The State Education Department, for these purposes, defines a student in good academic standing as one who (1) pursues the program of study in which he is enrolled (Pursuit of Program); and (2) makes satisfactory academic progress toward the completion of his or her program’s requirements (Satisfactory Academic Progress). These are defined as follows:

Pursuit of Program

State regulations define program pursuit as receiving either a passing or a failing grade in a certain percentage of a full-time course load. For undergraduates, the percentage increases from 50 percent of the minimum full-time load in each semester of the first year of award (6 credits each semester), to 75 percent each semester of the second award year (9 credits each semester), to 100 percent each semester of the third and fourth award years (12 credits each semester). Students who fail to meet these standards become ineligible to receive an award during the succeeding semester, and remain ineligible until good standing is regained. (For details on regaining eligibility or waiving eligibility standards, see below.) Generally, the State Education Department will accept any grade that indicates that the student attended the course for the entire semester and completed all necessary assignments. By these standards, both passing and failing grades are acceptable. However, “W” (Withdrawal) grades are not acceptable. Grades of “I” and “PR” are acceptable because they are automatically changed to either a passing or failing grade before the completion of the succeeding semester.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

Satisfactory Academic Progress is defined both in terms of the number of credits completed and the grade point average attained at the end of a given semester. To remain eligible for awards, students must meet the following minimum standards: (Special conditions apply for part-time student awards.)

Satisfactory Academic Progress Standards for Awards:

Semester	*Fall 2010 or after	*Fall 2010 or after	2006-2010	2006-2010	**1981-2006	**1981-2006
1	0	0.0	0	0.0	0	0.0
2	6	1.5	3	1.1	3	0.50
3	15	1.8	9	1.2	9	0.75
4	27	1.8	21	1.3	18	1.2
5	39	2.0	33	2.0	30	2.0
6	51	2.0	45	2.0	45	2.0
7	66	2.0	60	2.0	60	2.0
8	81	2.0	75	2.0	75	2.0
9	96	2.0	90	2.0	90	2.0
10	111	2.0	105	2.0	105	2.0

(Only students in specially approved five-year programs are eligible for TAP awards beyond eight semesters of undergraduate study.) 

As shown in the above table, full-time students are not expected to have earned college credits in order to be eligible for their first award payment. For the second payment, an undergraduate student must have earned six credits toward graduation, with a GPA of 1.50 or better, for the third, to have completed fifteen credits with a cumulative GPA of 1.8 and so on. Grades of “I” and “PR” are not counted toward either completion rate or GPA until they are changed to a passing or failing grade.

*Remedial and Aid for Part Time Study (APTS) students are not subject to the fall 2010 standards. Remedial (EOP) & APTS students are under the 2006-2010 requirements.

** These standards apply only to students who received their TAP award in September 1981 or later. Students who received their first TAP award prior to September 1981 can be advised of applicable standards by the Office of Academic Advisement.

*** Graduate students who receive Veterans Tuition Awards can be advised of applicable standards by the Office of Academic Advisement.

Transfer and Readmitted Students:

Transfer students and students readmitted to the University after an absence of at least one year will be placed on the above scale either in accordance with the number of credits earned toward graduation or the number of TAP payments previously received, whichever is more beneficial to the student. For example, a transfer student who received their first TAP payment after Fall 2010 and has received six TAP payments and earned 45 credits would be placed at (payment) semester four, rather than (payment) semester five.

Loss and Reinstatement of Student Eligibility:

Students who fail to maintain good academic standing, either through failure in Pursuit of Program or in making Satisfactory Academic Progress, become ineligible for further awards. Eligibility may be regained (and payments restored) by any of the following methods:

1. Achieving the required GPA and/or number of credits during a semester of attendance in which no state award is paid.
2. Transferring to another institution.
3. Being readmitted to Brockport after an absence of one calendar year or more. (Acceptance at Brockport or another institution is deemed evidence of a student’s ability to complete successfully an approved program.)
4. Waiver of eligibility.

Waiver of Eligibility Standards for State Awards:

Students who fail to meet state standards for either Pursuit of Program or Satisfactory Academic Progress may request a waiver of these standards that will allow them to continue to receive award payments for the succeeding semester. When such a waiver has been granted for failure to make Satisfactory Academic Progress, the student is expected to use the semester to advance to the level he could not achieve without the waiver. The waiver may be used if the student fails in Pursuit of Program, fails to make Satisfactory Academic Progress, or fails by both standards. However, Pursuit of Program and Satisfactory Academic Progress may not be waived separately for different semesters.

Students are eligible for only one waiver as an undergraduate student (not one for each institution attended). However, the granting of such a waiver is not automatic; it is intended only to accommodate extraordinary or unusual situations. The waiver process must include an assessment of the reasons for a student’s failure to meet the established requirements for good standing, and the decision to grant the waiver must be based upon a reasonable expectation that the student will meet future requirements.

Notification of Ineligibility for State Financial Awards:

Students who fail to maintain good academic standing, and therefore are ineligible for a state award, will be notified by The University at the end of the semester once grades have been posted. Students affected are encouraged to discuss their status with a member of the Financial Aid staff, Academic Advisement staff or with the TAP Certifying Officer located in the Office of Student Accounts.

Additional Requirements to Maintain State Financial Aid Eligibility:

Repeat of “D” Grades

Repeat of any course in which a passing grade (D- or above) has already been received and which the University does not require the student to repeat may not be considered as part of that student’s minimum course load for financial aid purposes. In other words, the student would have to be registered for 12 or more different credits in order to be considered as a full-time student. In addition, the repeated course may not be considered in determining whether the student has met the Pursuit of Program requirement and is in good academic standing.

“C” Average Requirement

Effective fall 1996, undergraduate students are required to achieve a “C” average (2.0 GPA at Brockport) prior to receiving their fifth TAP payment, and must maintain a “C” average in each succeeding semester in order to continue receiving state financial aid. Please note that students who received their first TAP payment fall 2010 or after are required to achieve a “C” average before receiving their fourth payment in order to maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress.

Declaration of Major

In order to maintain eligibility for New York state financial aid, the State Education Department requires undergraduate students to declare an academic major no later than the beginning of the junior year of the baccalaureate program. The University defines a junior as any student who has attained 54 or more credits toward the baccalaureate.

Graduate Awards

TAP funding for graduate students is no longer available. Veterans Tuition Awards are the only graduate awards available. Graduate students who receive Veterans Tuition Awards can be advised of applicable standards by the Office of Academic Advisement.

Requesting a Waiver

One method of regaining eligibility for TAP or other State awards after failure to meet standards of good academic standing is the “Waiver of Eligibility,” which is administered by the office of Academic Advisement.

When the State Education Department established provisions for a one-time waiver of this requirement, stringent guidelines were imposed upon institutions granting waivers to insure that waivers were approved only for students who could demonstrate extenuating or unusual circumstances and an ability to successfully regain good academic standing in the succeeding semester.

Extenuating circumstances must be documented by on-campus professional staff members or by appropriate off-campus professionals or agencies. Even with documentation, however, a waiver will not be approved unless there is a reasonable expectation that the student will be able to regain good academic standing in the succeeding semester. Reasons for which waivers may be granted included:

1. Personal medical problems
2. Family medical problems
3. Severe personal problems

Waivers will not be granted to students who reduce their credit load to avoid academic difficulty.

If you wish to request a waiver, please submit a written statement to the Office of Academic Advisement detailing the reasons why special consideration should be given. A statement simply requesting a waiver is insufficient.

Documentation supporting stated reasons for special consideration must be provided and should be included with your written statement or should be forthcoming from appropriate professional staff or agencies. It is the student’s responsibility to request that all documentation be forwarded to Academic Advisement. All requests will be reviewed by the Waiver Committee, and if additional information is needed, you will be contacted. Please be advised, however, that the Committee’s decision on the waiver request is final.

Links to Related Procedures and Information

 There are no links for this policy at this time.

Contact Information

If you have any questions of if you need additional information regarding this matter, don’t hesitate to contact Academic Advisement at (585) 395-2711.

History (in descending order)

Item	Date	Explanation
Next Review Date	2018-02	Five-year review
Adoption Date	2013-02	Policy Adopted
Draft Review Date		Draft Policy under 30-day Campus Review

Approval

There are no approvals for this policy at this time.