State Financial Aid Requirements
To be eligible for NYS grants and scholarships, students must meet the academic progress (GPA) and program of pursuit (earned hours) as indicated in the charts below. The Financial Aid Office will evaluate student’s academic progress each semester and notify students of any loss of state aid programs.
Chart A - This chart is for all students who first received a TAP award prior to the 2010-2011 academic year.
| Before being certified for payment a student must have | 1st Award | 2nd Award | 3rd Award | 4th Award | 5th Award | 6th Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Accrued at least this many credits (earned hours) |
0 |
3 |
9 |
18 |
30 |
45 |
|
At least this grade point average (GPA) |
0.0 |
.5 |
0.75 |
1.3 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
|
Completed at least this many credit hours in the previous semester of study (quality hours) |
0 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
12 |
Chart B - This chart is for all students receiving a TAP award beginning with the 2010-2011 academic year and thereafter.
| Before being certified for payment a student must have | 1st Award | 2nd Award | 3rd Award | 4th Award | 5th Award | 6th Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Accrued at least this many credits (earned hours) |
0 |
6 |
15 |
27 |
39 |
51 |
|
At least this grade point average (GPA) |
0.0 |
1.3 |
1.5 |
1.8 |
2.0 |
2.0 |
|
Completed at least this many credit hours in the previous semester of study (quality hours) |
0 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
9 |
12 |
Note: Remedial credits are counted as attempted hours but are not calculated under earned hours and transfer hours are counted as attempted and earned.
All three criteria in the above chart must be met in order to retain state financial aid in the subsequent semester. A final grade of other than "I", “W” or “AW” must be earned for credit to be included. If a student withdraws from a course, it may affect aid for the next semester.
Time Frame Eligibility
Students accrue TAP points every semester that they are enrolled and eligible for NYS grants. A full time TAP eligible student (12 credit hours) will accrue 6 TAP points per semester. Students may accrue a total of 48 points of eligibility but may only use 36 of those points at a two-year institution. Students attending part time who are eligible for Aid for Part Time Study will accrue 3 TAP points per semester.
C Rule
A 2.0 cumulative GPA must be maintained after accumulating four full-time semesters of TAP (24 points).
Duplicate Benefits
Duplicate benefits are those benefits that duplicate the purpose of state grants or scholarships. Generally, this refers to funds that are specifically intended to cover tuition charges. The total of TAP/state grants and duplicate benefits cannot exceed a student’s actual tuition liability. Therefore students may have their TAP award reduced or cancelled due to these benefits. Examples of duplicate benefits are tuition waivers, tuition scholarships and some veteran’s benefits.
One Time Waiver of State Aid
A student may appeal the loss of state aid eligibility if the required New York State progress or pursuit standards are not met. Only one waiver can be granted during undergraduate studies. The student must document that there were extraordinary circumstances such as a family death, crisis or medical situation which prevented the student from meeting the standards.
Repeating a passed course
For state aid eligibility, students who repeat a class that they have previously passed (D- or higher grade), this course(s) cannot be included as part of the student's minimum credit hours to receive state financial aid. Students are eligible for state aid if they are repeating a “W” or “F” grade.