Financial Information

New York State Tuition Assistance Program (TAP)

This state program is available if you are a New York State resident attending college full-time (12 credits or more) in New York State. Part-time students who meet additional requirements may also be eligible.

You must be in Good Academic Standing to continue eligibility. Awards are based on family income. Maximum awards may be reduced based on the New York State budget.

To apply, complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You will be directed to the electronic New York State Student Aid Payment Application at www.hesc.ny.gov at the end of the FAFSA process. You must list at least one school in New York State and complete the New York State Student Aid Payment Application form provided.  This online application process allows you to apply for New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and for payment of a NYS scholarship for which you have already been approved.

If you still need to complete a New York State Student Aid Payment Application as part of your online FAFSA, apply for TAP. This online application process allows you to apply for New York State’s Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) and for payment of a scholarship for which you have already been approved.

Cayuga’s TAP code is 2005.

Your award notification will be e-mailed to you. You will be paid through the Financial Services Office once your attendance is certified. A TAP award may only be used to defer tuition costs. No repayment is required.

Part-Time TAP

Part-Time TAP is for students enrolled in 3-11 credits who are New York State Residents. You must be in Good Academic Standing to continue eligibility. Part-time TAP requires a cumulative GPA of 2.0.

To apply, complete and submit the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). You will be directed to the electronic New York Student Aid payment application at the end of the FAFSA process. You must list at least one school in New York State and complete the New York Student Aid Payment Application at www.hesc.ny.gov.

Awards are based on family income, number of credits, and tuition costs and may not exceed tuition. Part-Time TAP awards may be used to defer tuition costs only.

Excelsior Scholarship

This scholarship, in combination with other student financial aid programs, allows students to attend Cayuga Community College tuition-free. The scholarship is a “last award.” As such, the scholarship will cover the remaining tuition balance after payments of TAP, Pell, and other grant and scholarship programs received by the student are considered. Therefore, if you receive grant and scholarship funds that cover the cost of tuition, you will not be eligible for the monetary Excelsior Scholarship.

To receive payments, students must be enrolled full-time in both the Fall and Spring semesters and earn 30 credits, which count toward the student's degree. There is a separate application process and contract that students must complete online with the NYS Higher Education Services Corporation at https://www.hesc.ny.gov/find-aid/nys-grants-scholarships/excelsior-scholarship-program.

NYS Part-Time Scholarship Award

The NYS Part-Time Scholarship Award is for students who are attending college part-time. Students must be enrolled in at least 6 credits but less than 12 credits. Applicants must have and maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or better. You are eligible to receive this award even if you receive a NYS Part-time TAP or Aid for Part-time Study award. Students are limited to four semesters. This award is based on the availability of funds. This award will not exceed the tuition cost of six credit hours per semester at Cayuga.

Part-Time TAP for Students with Disabilities in NYS

On July 14, 1998, Governor Pataki signed Senate Bill 7072 into law as Chapter 332 of the Laws of 1998. This law provides that students who are disabled, as defined by the 1990 Federal Americans with Disabilities Act, do not have to be in full-time attendance to be eligible for Tuition Assistance Program payments. These students are now eligible for TAP if they attend part-time, as defined by the Commissioner of Education.

Under prior law, regulation, and policy, students with disabilities who attended school part-time because of their disability were eligible for a TAP award payment only after the number of credits they took equaled the number necessary to be considered a full-time student. Chapter 332 provides that these students are eligible for a partial TAP award payment in the first term, during which they attend part-time. The law does not require students with disabilities to attend part-time; students with disabilities who attend full-time continue to be eligible, as any other student, for a full TAP award.

Other than full-time enrollment, ADA Part-Time TAP recipients must meet all TAP eligibility requirements. The State will calculate TAP awards as a percentage of the award the ADA student would be eligible to receive if the student were enrolled full-time. Students will need to provide documentation of this disability to the appropriate office. For application processing, students with disabilities should follow the same procedures as those applying for a full-time TAP by completing the New York State Student Aid Payment Application.

Additional Aid Programs

The Financial Services Office provides information on other aid programs. These include the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs Aid to Native Americans, Foster Youth, Pathways, Regents Award for Children of Deceased or Disabled Veterans, Regents Award for Children of Deceased Police Officers and Firemen, and State Aid to Native Americans.

This information is accurate as of the date of publication. For further information on state financial aid programs, please refer to the New York State Higher Education Services website.

TAP Standards to Achieve

The following TAP standards are to be achieved by the end of each semester based on the number of awards the student has received. Credits completed may be actual credits or equivalent credits, passed or failed. Actual credits accumulated must be actual credits passed. GPA is the student’s cumulative GPA. GPA is the student’s cumulative GPA. Students may receive the equivalent of six full-time semesters of TAP at a community college (36 points).

Students who received their first TAP award in Fall 2010 and after and are not defined as “remedial” need to meet these standards: *

* A remedial student is defined as a student taking at least six (6) developmental courses in the first semester of enrollment.

For students who received a first TAP award before Fall 2010 and students taking 6 or more developmental courses in the first semester or who are enrolled in a certificate program:

Repeated Courses

New York State regulations mandate that if a student repeats a course in which a passing grade acceptable to the institution has been received previously, the course cannot be included as part of the student’s minimum full-time course load for New York State financial aid purposes. However, in the following instances, repeated courses may count toward full-time or part-time study: (1) when a failed course is repeated, and (2) when a grade received is passing at the College, but is not acceptable in a particular student’s major field of study. 

Second Degree

TAP is available if students have remaining eligibility. However, the law limits a student to three years of TAP if enrolled in a certificate or Associate Degree program.

Incomplete Courses

Incomplete courses are considered attempted courses but with unearned credits when calculating earned credit hours. Students are encouraged to complete all incompletes before the beginning of the following semester. If a student completes their courses after Satisfactory Academic Progress has been determined for the next semester, the student may request in writing a re-evaluation of their academic progress.

Loss of Good Academic Standing for State Financial Aid

Students who have not fulfilled the chart requirements listed above in a term when they received a state grant or scholarship are not eligible for an award for the next semester. At the end of each semester, the Financial Services Office will notify students determined to be ineligible for state financial aid.

The satisfactory academic progress requirements for state aid may be waived for undue hardship based on the following:

• The death of an immediate family member.
• The personal injury or illness of the student.
• Other extenuating circumstances.

The waiver only accommodates extraordinary or unusual cases directly related to academic performance and the student’s failure to achieve the requirements. Submission of a completed Loss Eligibility and Waiver request form does not guarantee that the request will be approved. Students must complete the Lost Eligibility and Waiver Request Form or in the Financial Services Office. Students will be asked in their waiver to:

• Explain the reasons the student failed to meet satisfactory academic progress.
• Provide supporting documentation as to the reason for the waiver.
• Describe what actions the student plans to take to ensure their academic success next semester.

A waiver will be granted only when there is a reasonable expectation that the student will meet future satisfactory academic progress requirements. According to New York State Law, a student can receive only one waiver for failure to achieve program pursuit.

Students who have lost their state financial aid and have not been granted a waiver can restore their aid eligibility in one of the following ways:

• Attend Cayuga Community College without financial aid. The Financial Services Office will review academic progress every semester. When past academic deficiencies have been addressed, aid can be reinstated. Financial Aid cannot be retroactively reinstated for semesters if the student is not achieving satisfactory academic progress.
• If satisfactory academic progress based on earning the required number of credits has not been achieved, a student could attend another institution and earn credits that could be transferred back to Cayuga.
• Students who leave the College for two full semesters can apply for a waiver. Summer is considered a partial semester.
• Students who received TAP funds while not attending Cayuga must submit an official transcript from their prior college.

Transfer Student Eligibility for Federal and State Aid

Transfer students will be considered using slightly different procedures than those of students in continuing status. For example, when a student transfers to Cayuga from another institution, the College will evaluate the student’s academic record and determine a certain number of credits it is willing to accept in transfer from the student’s previous study. That assessment and the number of awards received by the student will be used to place the student at an appropriate point in the institution’s schedule of academic progress. Placement for state aid purposes is flexible; it may be in accord with the number of payments received or the number of credits earned, whichever is more beneficial to the student. Placement for federal aid purposes corresponds with the number of credits earned and accepted by the College.