Financial Aid Requirements

Federal and Institutional Aid Requirements

Students receiving federal, state, and/or Keuka College aid must maintain satisfactory academic progress as defined in the College Record.

If students are suspended from the College (unless they successfully appeal the decision), they are no longer considered to be making satisfactory academic progress. These students are not eligible to receive financial aid from federal or institutional sources. This includes students on suspension who have been given approval by the Provost or designee to continue enrollment.

Students who have been suspended must reapply and follow the guidance provided under the Suspension Appeal Process.

New York State Aid Eligibility Requirements

For state financial aid purposes, “full-time” is defined as being enrolled for 12 or more credits during each fall semester and each spring semester. Three credits from January or Summer Field Period^® do not influence the fall or spring credit hours. Students who fail to enroll as stated above forfeit their New York State TAP awards and face a possible reduction in other federal, state, and institutional awards.

*This applies to full-time attendance (12 or more credit hours). Students attending half-time (6, 7, or 8 credit hours) are expected to meet 50 percent of the above standards for minimum credits earned. Students attending three-quarters time (9, 10, or 11 credit hours) are expected to meet 75 percent of the above standards for minimum credits earned.

Graduate students must maintain a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 throughout their program of study.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

In addition, students must maintain “satisfactory academic progress” to remain eligible for financial aid. Loss of good academic standing means that a student has failed to meet the standards outlined above and as approved by the commissioner of education. The academic records of financial aid recipients are reviewed at the end of the fall and spring semesters to verify compliance with these standards. Please read and be familiar with this chart.

To receive New York State Aid (Aid for Part-Time Study [APTS], Child of Veteran Award [CV], Veterans Tuition Award [VTA], Regents College Scholarship [RNS], Empire State Mathematics and Science Teacher Scholarship [ESMSTS], Tuition Assistance Program [TAP], etc.), a student must pursue a program and maintain satisfactory progress as defined by the New York State commissioner of education.

These standards, set by the commissioner, are as follows: “...institutions should be guided by the knowledge that the commissioner will not approve a standard which allows a student more than ten semesters... to accumulate 120 credits, with a grade point average of 2.0, in a typical baccalaureate degree program.” The maximum timeframe for an undergraduate program measured in credit hours is a period no longer than 150 percent of the published length of the program.

The requirements of this policy follow: 

Academic Progress

Satisfactory academic progress includes:

1. GPA, or required cumulative (overall) minimum Grade Point Average
2. Pace, or required cumulative (overall) completion rate, computed by dividing total Units Completed by Total Units Attempted
3. Timeframe, or maximum time allowed a student to reach their educational objective, set at 150% of program length.

GPA

Undergraduate students are required to have a 2.0 minimum cumulative GPA. The GPA will include all aided and unaided terms. Students with fewer than 18 units (all prior coursework included) are required to have a 1.75 minimum cumulative GPA. 

Pace

Pace is the rate at which a student completes requirements for their educational goal. Pace is calculated by dividing the number of cumulative units completed by the number of cumulative units attempted. A fixed percentage of all cumulative units attempted is required. For 0-17.9 cumulative units attempted, 50% is the minimum needed. For 18+ cumulative units attempted, 66.66% is the minimum needed. All units count as attempted units, whether they were completed with a 'W', were repeated for a better grade, or eliminated from the GPA calculation through the Academic "Fresh Start" policy. As per federal policy, units transferred from schools previously attended count as both units attempted and units completed.

Timeframe

Time frame is used to determine the maximum number of units for which you may remain eligible for financial aid for your Education Goal and Academic Program. Time frame includes transfer units and all unaided terms of attendance.

Program Pursuit (NYS TAP)

The regulations define program pursuit as receiving a passing or failing grade in a certain percentage of a full-time course load (for TAP), as follows:

1st year - Must pass or fail 6 credits per semester.

2nd year - Must pass or fail 9 credits per semester.

3rd year - Must pass or fail 12 credits per semester.

4th year - Must pass or fail 12 credits per semester.

A passing or failing grade is defined as the grades A through F or any grade that indicates that the student:

1. Attended the course for the entire semester or payment period; and
2. Completed all the necessary requirements.

• An S for developmental coursework would be acceptable.
• A grade of W would not count as a pass or fail (toward Program Pursuit).
• A grade of Incomplete would be acceptable only if it is automatically changed to a standard passing or failing grade before completion of the next term of study. (Incompletes require submission of the Keuka College Incomplete Form.)

Note: Keuka College certifies a student’s eligibility for TAP and APTS before each payment (in other words, each semester); therefore, the above must be checked and standards developed for each semester. The policy must include treatment of transfer, full-time (for students receiving TAP), and part-time (for students receiving APTS) students. The federal and New York State financial aid funds listed in this section could be reduced or withdrawn based on the approval of proposals in the federal and New York State budgets.