TAP Coach - Regaining Eligibility

A student who fails to maintain good academic standing for financial aid purposes—for failure to make satisfactory academic progress or failure to pursue or both—loses eligibility for a subsequent award.

Section 145-2.2 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education specifies that “Following a determination that the recipient of an award has lost good academic standing, further payments under the award shall be suspended until the student is restored to good academic standing by either:

(i) pursuing the program of study in which he is enrolled and making satisfactory progress toward the completion of his program’s academic requirements for a period of one term;or

(ii) establishing in some other way, to the satisfaction of the commissioner, evidence of his ability to successfully complete an approved program.”

In practice, there are four ways by which a student who has lost good academic standing can regain eligibility:

(1) make up deficiencies without benefit of State student aid (as specified in subparagraph (i) above). For example, if a student was at the 75 percent pursuit level but received a grade in only six semester hours rather than the nine hours needed, the student can take and complete at least a three-credit course and make up the deficiency to regain eligibility;

(2) apply for and be granted a waiver in accordance with the institution’s established waiver policy;

(3) be readmitted to the institution after an absence of at least one calendar year (and without receiving State student aid at another institution) by meeting the institution’s academic requirements for readmission. (Note: if a student has met the TAP standard of satisfactory academic progress but is academically dismissed based on an institution’s academic standard that is higher than the TAP minimum, the student is eligible for State student aid immediately upon return, regardless of the length of the student’s absence from the institution.);

(4) transfer to another institution where the student must meet the new institution’s admission requirements.

A student cannot regain eligibility by changing programs within an institution. Such students can regain eligibility only by being granted a waiver, by making up deficiencies at their own expense, or by being readmitted to the institution after an absence of at least one calendar year.