UB Undergraduate Catalog 2006-2007

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To be eligible to receive the state Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award, students must be full-time, matriculating New York State residents making satisfactory academic progress and not in violation of Program Pursuit (see below).

Once junior status is reached (normally the fifth semester of study or 60 credit hours or more earned), students must have a declared major on file. After receiving four TAP payments, students must have a minimum combined GPA of 2.0.

Repeated Courses

Courses in which the student has already received a passing grade cannot be included in meeting full-time study requirements for state-sponsored financial aid (TAP). Repeated courses may be counted toward full-time study requirements if a student repeats a failed course, if a student repeats the course for additional credit, or when a student has received a grade that is passing at the institution but is unacceptable in a particular curriculum.

Academic Progress Regulations, Including Program Pursuit

One standard has been established for each level of study (undergraduate, graduate, etc.) throughout the State University of New York. The academic progress guidelines call for the completion of a minimum number of hours at a minimum GPA to be eligible to receive state financial assistance. The chart below lists these standards for baccalaureate degrees.

The Program Pursuit guidelines require completion of a prescribed percentage of coursework each semester for students receiving state financial assistance.

The chart below describes the Program Pursuit criteria for the purpose of eligibility to continue to receive state financial assistance. The criteria may be subject to change based on the passage of the new state budget.

Standard of Satisfactory Academic Progress for Determining Eligibility for New York State Student Aid

Baccalaureate Degree Programs (Semester Calendar)

• Noncredit remedial instruction can be counted toward a full-time academic load as set forth in 145-2.1 of the Commissioner's Regulations. The number of credit hours in this chart refers to work completed toward the degree.
• The credit hours indicated above assume the student is enrolled in full-time academic study, a minimum of 12 credit hours per semester.
• * Only students in an approved EOP program are eligible for State Student Aid in their ninth and tenth semesters. Non-EOP students are only eligible for eight semesters of state aid.

Waivers of Criteria for Satisfactory Academic Progress for New York State Financial Aid

There is a provision in the regulations for a one-time waiver of program pursuit satisfactory academic progress requirements if a student is determined to be ineligible to receive the state award. The waiver is to be used only in exceptional cases (e.g., illness, death in the family) in accordance with the TAP Waiver Policy Guidelines and Procedures as stated on the waiver application.

A waiver may not be granted because an incomplete ("I") grade is received. If an incomplete is included in the number of hours required to be completed during the previous semester (see chart), the student will not be eligible to receive the state award for the subsequent semester. The incomplete grade must be changed to a passing or failing grade by the end of the subsequent semester or the state award is lost for the semester in question.

Financial Aid and Study Abroad

To be considered for financial aid, students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form. They must also be enrolled for a minimum of 6 credits and be matriculated in a degree program in which all credits earned will be applied to degree requirements. Students who are currently receiving financial aid are probably eligible for financial assistance for the term abroad.

When participating in a UB- or four-year SUNY school-sponsored program, students can apply the financial aid package (excluding work-study) to the costs of the study abroad program. For students participating in a program sponsored by an out-of-state school, there may be portions of the financial aid that cannot be applied to the out-of-state programs.