Eligibility Requirements

1. Students must be enrolled in a degree or certificate program (matriculated) to receive financial aid.
2. To qualify for TAP, you must be halt-time (6 or more credits). First time recipients who require remedial coursework must take at least three (3) college level credits, and six (6) college level credits in all subsequent terms.
3. To qualify for APTS, students must enroll in at least three (3) college level credits each semester.
4. State financial aid is not awarded for repeated courses for which you have received a passing grade.
5. Financial aid is not awarded for courses that are being "audited."
6. Financial aid is awarded only for courses that are required for the student's degree or certificate program. Financial aid does not cover prerequisites.
7. Students are expected to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress standards to maintain financial aid eligibility. Refer to progress standards for Academic Progress charts.

Repeat Coursework

Federal financial aid will pay for only one repeat if you have previously earned credit in a course with a passing grade (A, B, C, D, etc.). You are only eligible to receive financial aid the first time the course is repeated. For example, if you are registered for 12 credits, and one of your 3-credit courses is a third attempt (after receiving a passing grade in an earlier attempt) your financial aid will be based on 9 credits and you will not be able to receive aid based on full-time enrollment. A second repeat is counted even if you received an incomplete grade.

State financial aid will not pay for repeated courses if you have previously earned credit with a grade of A, B, C, D, etc.

Federal Requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress

To receive federal aid programs (Pell, SEOG, Work Study, Direct Subsidized/Unsubsidized student loans, and parent PLUS loans), students must achieve minimum progress standards. Suffolk County Community College evaluates both qualitative and quantitative standards at the conclusion of each payment period (i.e. fall, spring, summer). Students who are not meeting the minimum progress standards are notified by email and their status is displayed in the student portal. Students may appeal the determination. Refer to the appeal information below the progress chart.

Qualitative Standards

The qualitative measurement is the student’s cumulative grade point average.  SCCC uses a graduated progression based on the number of credits attempted.  Students must achieve and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 once they have attempted 46 credits.  Refer to the progress chart below for additional information.

Quantitative Standards

The quantitative measurement evaluates the student’s completion rate.  Students are expected to successfully pass 67% of their cumulative coursework.  This completion rate is measured by dividing the student’s cumulative credits passed by total attempted credits.

Example 1: Student A has attempted 42 credits and earned 36. Student A's completion rate is calculated using the following formula: 36 / 42 = 85.7%. Student A is meeting the minimum requirement.

Example 2: Student B has attempted 24 credits and earned 15. Student B's completion rate is calculated using the following formula: 15 / 24 = 62.5%. Student B is not meeting the minimum 67% completion rate.

In addition to achieving a minimum completion rate of 67%, students are expected to complete their degree requirements within a maximum time frame.  Per federal regulations, the maximum time frame is defined as 150% of the credits required for the degree program.

Example:  Student C is enrolled in the Veterinary Science Technology program which requires completion of 64 credits.  The maximum time frame for student C is 96 attempted credits (64 x 1.5 = 96).

The chart below outlines the number of credits a student must generally pass based on the number of credits they have attempted. Please note, transfer credits accepted to a student's current degree program are counted as both attempted and earned.

All withdrawals, after the add/drop (refund) period, including "unofficial withdrawals" (no longer attending class), will be counted as attempts.

Students are allowed to receive financial aid for up 30 credit hours of remedial coursework. The successful completion of remedial coursework is not counted toward the 150% completion rule.

 

*Total	Successful	Grade		*Total	Successful	Grade
Course Hours	Accrued	Point		Course Hours	Accrued	Point
Attempted	Credits	Average		Attempted	Credit	Average
8 – 9	6	1.6		53 – 54	36	2.0
10	7	1.6		55	37	2.0
11 – 12	8	1.6		56 – 57	38	2.0
13	9	1.6		58	39	2.0
14 – 15	10	1.6		59 – 60	40	2.0
16	11	1.7		61	41	2.0
17 – 18	12	1.7		62 – 63	42	2.0
19	13	1.7		64	43	2.0
20 – 21	14	1.7		65 – 66	44	2.0
22	15	1.7		67	45	2.0
23 – 24	16	1.7		68 – 69	46	2.0
25	17	1.7		70	47	2.0
26 – 27	18	1.7		71 – 72	48	2.0
28	19	1.7		73	49	2.0
29 – 30	20	1.7		74 – 75	50	2.0
31	21	1.8		76	51	2.0
32 – 33	22	1.8		77 – 78	52	2.0
34	23	1.8		79	53	2.0
35 – 36	24	1.8		80 – 81	54	2.0
37	25	1.8		82	55	2.0
38 – 39	26	1.8		83 – 84	56	2.0
40	27	1.8		85	57	2.0
41 – 42	28	1.8		86 – 87	58	2.0
43	29	1.8		88	59	2.0
44 – 45	30	1.8		89 – 90	60	2.0
46	31	2.0		91	61	2.0
47 – 48	32	2.0		92 – 93	62	2.0
49	33	2.0		94	63	2.0
50 – 51	34	2.0		95	64	2.0
52	35	2.0		96+	No longer eligible - max time limit

 

Appeals

Students not meeting minimum progress standards due to extenuating circumstances may submit an appeal.  Examples of extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to:

• Student illness, injury, or other medical issue
• Death of an immediate family member
• Domestic violence or victim of a crime

Students may also appeal the maximum time frame.  For example, a student may choose to return for a second-degree program which often results in a student exceeding the maximum time frame.

Students wishing to appeal the loss of financial aid, may submit the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form (available under Printable Forms) to their campus financial aid office.  While SCCC makes every effort to review appeals in a timely fashion, during peak processing times, it may take up to 30 days.  Therefore, students are encouraged to submit their appeal when they are notified about the loss of eligibility.

NYS Requirements for Satisfactory Academic Progress

NYS aid programs require students achieve minimum progress standards. There are different progress standards depending on the NYS aid program the student received. The information below is specific to the Tuition Assistance Program (TAP). For details about other NYS aid programs, such as Aid for Part-time Study (APTS) or Excelsior, students are encouraged to contact their campus financial aid office.

To be eligible for subsequent TAP payments, students must achieve a minimum completion rate, or pursuit of program, in the semester for which they receive a TAP payment. The assessment of a student’s completion rate includes courses with grades of A through F, S, U, and R. Grades of W, FN, and UN indicate the student did not complete the course and is therefore excluded from the calculation.

The charts below display the minimum pursuit of program requirements. Students who enrolled full-time and receiving TAP, the percentage applies to the minimum full-time requirement (12 credits). Students enrolled part-time and receiving TAP, the percentage applies to the minimum part-time requirement (6 credits).

In addition to pursuit of program requirements, students must accrue a minimum number of college level credits based on the number of TAP payments received and maintain a specific cumulative GPA. Students receiving part-time TAP awards are required to maintain a cumulative 2.0 GPA after their first payment.

Chart A: Students not enrolled in the EOP program who received their first NY State Award in fall 2010 or thereafter

Before Being Certified for This Payment	Minimum Cumulative College Level Credits Accrued	Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average	Minimum Credits Completed in the Prior Term	Percentage of Courses Completed in the Prior Term
Second payment	6	1.3	6	50%
Third payment	15	1.5	6	50%
Fourth payment	27	1.8	9	75%
Fifth payment	39	2.0	9	75%
Sixth payment	51	2.0	12	100%

 

Chart B: Students who first received TAP in 2007 through 2009, remedial students taking or having already taken six (6) remedial credits in their first semester, and EOP students.

Note: Only EOP students are eligible to receive a seventh or eighth payment at the community college level.

Before Being Certified for This Payment	Minimum Cumulative College Level Credits Accrued	Minimum Cumulative Grade Point Average	Minimum Credits Completed in the Prior Term	Percentage of Courses Completed in the Prior Term
Second payment	3	.5	6	50%
Third payment	9	.75	6	50%
Fourth payment	18	1.3	9	75%
Fifth payment	30	2.0	9	75%
Sixth payment	45	2.0	12	100%
Seventh payment	60	2.0	12	100%
Eighth payment	75	2.0	12	100%

 

Appeals

Students not meeting minimum progress standards due to extenuating circumstances may submit an appeal.  Examples of extenuating circumstances include, but are not limited to:

• Student illness, injury, or other medical issue
• Death of an immediate family member
• Domestic violence or victim of a crime

When there are documentable extenuating circumstances, NYS allows for a one-time waiver.  If it is determined the student cannot meet the minimum requirements for the next payment. the appeal will be denied.

Students wishing to appeal the loss of financial aid, may submit the Satisfactory Academic Progress Appeal form (available under Printable Forms) to their campus financial aid office.  While SCCC makes every effort to review appeals in a timely fashion, during peak processing times, it may take up to 30 days.  Therefore, students are encouraged to submit their appeal when they are notified about the loss of eligibility.