SUNY Potdam

There are both Federal and State academic progress requirements for maintaining financial aid eligibility:

• Federal Aid
• State Aid

Appeals Process

If deemed ineligible for aid under this policy, a student may file an appeal for a waiver. To file an appeal, please download the Appeal Form and carefully follow the instructions.

Federal Aid

Federal regulation mandates that a recipient of Federal Title IV aid (Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, Federal Perkins Loan, Federal Work-Study, and Federal Parent Loan for Undergraduate Students and Federal Stafford Loan) make satisfactory progress toward the completion of a degree to maintain eligibility for that funding.  Progress must be reviewed, on a cumulative basis, after each term of enrollment, including periods for which the student did not receive financial aid.

GPA Requirement

Federal aid recipients must maintain a GPA satisfactory for enrollment as a matriculant, as defined by the Academic Standards Committee, in the “Academic Standards Policy” in the 2008-2010 SUNY Potsdam Undergraduate Catalog.

Credit Hour Requirement

Federal aid recipients are required to earn a minimum of 67% of all attempted credit hours.  Transfer credits will be included in the evaluation of this requirement.  Withdrawals, Incompletes and Repeated coursework must also be considered in the analysis, and will be included in the calculation of cumulative attempted credit hours.

Maximum Time Frame

Undergraduate students may receive aid for a maximum of 150% of the degree program requirements.  The average length of an undergraduate program of study at SUNY Potsdam is 124 credit hours (120 academic hours plus 4 physical education credits). The maximum time frame for most SUNY Potsdam students to receive aid is 186 attempted credit hours.  Some music students will have up to a maximum time frame of 199 attempted credit hours.  Students in music-related degree programs as well as those in dual degree programs will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.  Students enrolled in double majors are bound by the same maximum limitations as students in standard programs.

Readmission and Academic Forgiveness

Students who are readmitted or students who have been granted academic forgiveness for previous coursework are subject to the standards defined in this policy for federal aid eligibility.  Academic progress will be reviewed upon readmission and receipt of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).  All previous coursework at SUNY Potsdam must be included in each review of academic progress for federal aid; therefore, even coursework “forgiven” academically must be considered in the review.   

Appeals

Students who have been deemed ineligible for federal aid, on the basis of this policy, may appeal the status through the Financial Aid Office.  Ineligibility based on maximum time frame may not be appealed.  Appeals will be considered on the basis of mitigating circumstances, such as personal illness or injury, or the death of an immediate family member.  The Satisfactory Academic Progress Committee will review appeals; decisions of the committee will be forwarded to each appellant in writing, and will be final. 

State Aid

TAP Eligibility

There are also New York State regulations pertaining to the TAP grant. For more information on these requirements, please visit HESC (Higher Education Services Corporation). The following charts shows academic standards required for each term to maintain your TAP grant eligibility:

Standards for Students Who Received TAP PRIOR to the 2006-2007 Year:

Standards for Students Who FIRST Received TAP in the 2006-2007 Year: