ADA Part-Time TAP: Financial Aid for Students with Disabilities in New York State

The following is adopted from the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation website:

The Tuition Assistance Program (TAP), New York's largest grant program, helps eligible New York state residents attending in-state postsecondary institutions pay for tuition. TAP grants are based on the applicant’s and his or her family’s New York state taxable income. Part-Time TAP helps eligible New York state residents attending in-state postsecondary institutions on a part-time basis pay for tuition.

Education Law section 661(d)(4) provides that for students who are disabled as defined by the Americans with Disability Act of 1990, “the full-time attendance requirement is eliminated. Such disabled students may be in part-time attendance, as defined by the commissioner in order to be eligible to receive payments...“

According to section 145-2.1(a)(4) of the “Regulations of the Commissioner of Education,” for a student with a disability, “part-time study or attendance shall mean enrollment for at least three but less than 12 semester hours per semester or the equivalent, or at least two but less than eight semester hours per quarter.”

Other than full-time enrollment, ADA Part-Time TAP recipients must meet all TAP eligibility requirements.

What Does This Mean?

If you are a student with a disability attending SUNY Empire State College, you may be eligible for Part-Time TAP if you:

• are a New York state resident
• meet the New York state requirements for TAP eligibility
• have a disability that prevents full-time study
• can provide documentation of this disability to the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services
• complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
• submit the application for ADA Part-Time TAP Eligibility to the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services

Once the completed application, including documentation, has been received, the Office of Accessibility Resources and Services reviews it to determine the presence of a disability. The office then will notify the student and financial aid of the decision in writing.

Please visit the college's financial aid office to explore other resources, including their collection of recorded presentations about financial aid.

ADA Part-Time TAP and Summer Enrollment

If you are considering enrolling for a summer term and want your ADA Part-Time TAP award to be applied, you must satisfy the following specific criteria in addition to the general TAP and ADA Part-Time TAP eligibility requirements:

• must be enrolled full time in the prior spring term
• must earn 24 credits from the college where you are matriculated in the prior two terms
  • 3-credit equivalents in remedial study in each term are permitted as part of the total 24 credits; that is 18 credits plus 6-credit equivalents
  • this requirement must be met each time you apply for an accelerated summer award
  • this would require overlapping part-time enrollments, noted here:
    • Fall = 12
    • Spring = 12
      Grand total = 24
• Note from the New York State Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC):
  The 24 semester hours must be credits earned at the same institution and must apply to your program of study. Transfer credits cannot be used to meet this requirement.
  
  If you change programs at your college, the 24 credits must apply to the program in which you were enrolled when the credits were earned.

For more information, visit HESC Student TAP Coach–Summer Study and HESC Student TAP Coach – Accelerated Study.

Return to Student Handbook or continue to Determining the Functional Limitation of Your Disability.