A student who fails to meet our SAP Policy, and is placed on Financial Aid Suspension, may appeal this determination if there were extenuating circumstances beyond their control that prevented them from meeting the standards of the Satisfactory Academic Progress policy.  A student will be invited to submit an Appeal Form for Federal Financial Aid (T4A) appeal form.

Reasons that may be acceptable for an appeal:

• Personal injury, illness, physical disability, or victim of a crime
• Death and/or illness of an immediate family member(s)
• Separation/Divorce
• Fire or other catastrophic events
• Legal issues
• Other circumstances beyond a student’s control that occurred during the term for which a student lost eligibility

Your appeal must include the following items:

• The reasons why you did not meet Satisfactory Academic Progress, and
• What has changed now that will allow you to make satisfactory academic progress at the next evaluation, and
• You must provide supporting documentation with your appeal statement. Appeals submitted without supporting documentation will be denied.
  
  
  1. Examples of supporting documentation: Letters from disinterested third parties on letterhead including all contact information, medical or hospitalization records, obituary or death certificate, police or fire reports, etc.  Students who submit an appeal without supporting documentation will be automatically denied.

If additional information is requested, the Financial Aid Office will send the student an email and post the requirement in the student’s mySUNYOrange Banner Self-Service for them to upload the additional documentation.

Once all documentation is submitted, the appeal will then be reviewed by the SAP committee which is comprised of two (2) members of the Financial Aid Office and one (1) member of the Academic Advising. Students who are approved will be placed on Financial Aid Probation.

A record of the appeal and the final determination will be maintained in the student’s financial aid file.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• SAP Appeals submitted after the deadline will automatically be denied for that term.
  
  
• SAP Appeals submitted without supporting documentation will be automatically denied. 
  
  
• There is no appeal for Maximum Time Frame (150%) rule.

In order for an appeal to be approved, it must be mathematically possible for a student to return to a good financial aid SAP standing within one semester and the student will be given the status of Financial Aid Probation.  During this probationary period, a student will regain federal financial aid eligibility for one semester.   Students who failed to meet the terms of their probation period, or meet established conditions, will lose their federal aid eligibility.  After the probationary period, the student must be making satisfactory academic progress or successfully following an academic plan that has been developed for you.

In limited circumstances, the committee may grant a student more than one term of probation and place them on an Academic Plan in order to allow them to return to good financial aid SAP standing.  This is on a case-by-case basis and at the discretion of the SAP Appeal Committee.

At the end of the probation period, the financial aid office will do a review to confirm that you are either back on track or have met the terms of the Academic Plan.  If the student fails to return to a good financial aid standing or meet the conditions outlined in the academic plan at the end of the semester in which they are placed on probation, the student will return to a status of Financial Aid Suspension and will lose federal financial aid eligibility.  A student in this situation may submit a new appeal but it cannot be for the same reason as the previous appeal.

The appeal form(s) you are required to complete will be posted on your mySUNYOrange Banner Self-Service financial aid outstanding requirements. If you are unsure how to check your outstanding requirements, please review our step-by-step guide here: How to Check your Outstanding Requirements. Please only submit the form that is being requested.

Financial Aid Suspension Appeal Form (SAPAPP)

SAP appeal reviews may take a minimum of 7 to 15 business days to review.  During busy times of the year, reviews will take longer. Submitting an appeal does not guarantee approval or reinstatement of financial aid eligibility. If you have a balance due you should either pay in full or be enrolled in a payment plan.  Waiting on an appeal decision will not prevent you from being dropped from classes. 

FEDERAL AND STATE DEADLINES

SUMMER SEMESTER:  July 1st
FALL SEMESTER:  October 1st
WINTER/SPRING SEMESTER:  March 1st

Submitting an appeal does not automatically save your courses from being dropped for non-payment.  Payment arrangements must be in place by the deadlines posted on the Student Accounts Payment Deadline website or you may be dropped from your upcoming courses.  Classes will not be held due to an appeal pending review.

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

• SAP Appeals submitted after the deadline will automatically be denied for that term.
  
  
• SAP Appeals submitted without supporting documentation will be automatically denied. 
  
  
• There is no appeal for Maximum Time Frame (150%) rule.

Appeals can only be approved if the Financial Aid Appeals Committee determines that the student will be able to meet SUNY Orange’s Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) policy after the next payment period.  If an appeal is approved, the student must sign an appeal agreement which outlines their academic plan & conditions in order to meet our SAP policy.  The appeal agreement will ensure that the student can meet the college’s satisfactory academic progress guidelines by a specific point in time. 

Appeal agreements, in most cases, are for one semester only. You will receive aid on a conditional basis and this is known as the probationary period. Depending on the situation, a multi-semester plan may be needed.  Multi-semester plans are not guaranteed and are at the discretion of the appeals committee. 

Students who fail to meet the conditions outlined in their individualized appeal agreement during their conditional semester will not be allowed to submit a subsequent appeal.

Students are limited to the number of approvals they are allow to.  

For federal aid, students limited to two (2) appeals while attending SUNY Orange.  Student who have already received their two appeal approvals will automatically be denied. 

For state aid, there are two types of waivers: Good Academic Standing Waiver (One-Time) and C-Average Waivers. 

New York State permits only one (1) Good Academic Standing Waiver at the undergraduate level and one at the graduate level.  This applies to all institutions attended.  

Unlike the good academic standing waiver, it is possible, should circumstances warrant it, for a student to receive more than one C-Average waiver. In order to maintain eligibility, a student must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 after receiving two academic years, or 24 points, of TAP. TAP points used at other institutions count toward the 24 points. Therefore, a student who has used TAP at another New York State college will reach the 2.0 GPA standard faster than a new student at SUNY Orange who has not previously received TAP at any other institution.

The State Standards of Progress (Satisfactory Academic Progress) are reviewed each semester and unlike the federal policy, only ONE waiver may be granted. Other than these differences, the TAP/APTS appeal process is the same as the Federal Appeal Process.

*New York State Aid Program Requirements are subject to NYS Budget approval.

Changes in your class schedule or failure to attend courses on a regular basis can impact current & future aid. Consult the financial aid office before making any changes

In the context of State student financial assistance programs, there are two types of waivers: (1) good academic standing waivers and (2) C-average waivers.

GOOD ACADEMIC STANDING (ONE-TIME) WAIVER

You only can use a good academic standing waiver one (1) time. 

The Regulations of the Commissioner of Education permit a waiver of good academic standing requirements in certain circumstances.

When the New York State Education Department proposed amended financial aid regulations in 1980, there was no provision for waivers. However, during public hearings (part of the State regulatory process when major regulation changes are proposed), there were persuasive arguments made that students who were otherwise successful could experience one "bad" term due to circumstances beyond their control and that the regulations should make some provision for such situations. In response, the State agencies involved in the administration of student financial aid programs agreed to the inclusion of a waiver provision for students who failed to make satisfactory academic progress or pursue the program of study, or both in the same term.

Section 145-2.2 stipulates that the good academic standing requirements “may be waived once for an undergraduate student and once for a graduate student if an institution certifies, and maintains documentation, that such waiver is in the best interests of the student. Prior approval by the commissioner of the criteria and procedures used by an institution to consider and grant waivers shall not be required; however, the institution must make its criteria and procedures for waivers available to students and the public, either in writing or on its website. The commissioner may review such criteria and procedures in use, and require an institution to revise those found to be not acceptable.”

State Education Department guidelines on the use of waivers recommend that institutions appoint a waiver officer who will be responsible for reviewing waiver applications, making waiver decisions, and maintaining the necessary case record. Institutions are cautioned that not all students who fail to satisfy the good academic standing requirements are necessarily candidates for a waiver. For example, “difficulty adjusting to college life” is not a reasonable basis for a waiver, since that circumstance might apply to many students. Situations that caused a student to lose good academic standing should be beyond the student’s control, not chronic circumstances that cannot be remedied. With the additional term that results from approval of the waiver, a student should be able to regain good standing.

C-AVERAGE WAIVER

Can only be used after 2 years of study and your NYS STATE AID GPA requirement has reached 2.0 minimum.

Section 661 (4)(b) of the Education Law was amended for the 1995-1996 academic year and thereafter to require that students achieve a cumulative C average or the equivalent after receiving four semester award payments. 

The Law also provides that “The President [of the NYS Higher Education Services Corporation] may waive the requirement that a student have a cumulative C average or its equivalent for undue hardship based on: (i) the death of a relative of the student; (ii) the personal injury or illness of the student; or (iii) other extenuating circumstances. . .”

Unlike the good academic standing waiver, it is possible, should circumstances warrant it, for a student to receive more than one C-average waiver.