Part Time TAP Eligibility and Certification

• Matriculated in an eligible program of study at a TAP eligible degree granting NYS college.
• Enrolled in at least 3 but fewer than 12 credits degree-applicable undergraduate coursework.
• Have a cumulative C-Average. Good Academic Standing Waivers cannot be used to qualify students who do not meet the C-Average requirement.
• Must apply for and be approved for TAP through a traditional TAP application, the Alternative Eligibility Path or NYS DREAM Act TAP application. 

• Beginning with 2025-26, students must be enrolled in at least 3 but fewer than 12 credits of degree-applicable coursework to qualify for a Part-time TAP award.
• New guidelines, enacted July 1, 2022, allow full-time students who have at least 6 to 11 credits of degree-applicable coursework to receive a Part-time TAP award for their eligible part-time enrollment and tuition charges.
• For schools with modular/short term programs, students must be registered and enrolled in all coursework at the start of the term and one course must be 15 weeks in length to meet full-time requirements. Students who cancel/drop their enrollment in the full 15-week course are not eligible.  Students cannot add courses to be paid after the end of the add/drop period.
• Students taking remedial courses may be eligible for Part-time TAP, provided the student takes at least one 3-credit course for the term.
• Advanced Placement (AP), pre-college, or non-matriculated credits cannot be applied toward enrollment status for Part-time TAP eligibility.
• While new guidelines enacted July 1, 2022, have eliminated the prior full-time enrollment requirement for Part-Time TAP, there still is a 24-credit previous enrollment requirement for TAP awards subject to the Accelerated Study requirements for students who were full-time at any point during the academic year.
• The ‘Last Semester’ and ‘Semester Prior to Last Semester’ leniency for course applicability does not apply to part-time TAP. This guidance is only for full-time study.
• Students are capped at a maximum of 12 TAP payment points (equivalent of two full-time semesters) for the year (excluding accelerated study TAP awards). 

• Students cannot be certified until after the school’s 100% tuition liability date has passed.
• For schools with modular terms (including at least one course that spans the full 15 weeks), students cannot be certified until the 100% tuition liability date for enrollment across all modules.
• Students will appear on the same Payment Roster with full-time TAP awards.
• Eligible Part-time TAP awards should be certified with a Certification Status of “Eligible.” Do not use “Not Full Time” as this will decertify the award.
• If the student is rostered for TAP along with a scholarship that requires full-time enrollment, such as the Scholarship for Academic Excellence (SAE), then the Certification Status of “TAP – No Scholarship” may be used to certify only the Part-time TAP award and not the accompanying scholarship award. 
• In the Tuition field, enter the student’s actual part-time tuition charges for their eligible part-time enrollment. The maximum value of this field is $9,999.99. If the part-time tuition liability is above $9,999.99, then there is no need to change the tuition amount indicated.
• In the Enrollment Status field, select the number of eligible part-time credits the student is enrolled in. The options in the drop-down box that may be selected are 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, or 11.
• Do not use the “HT” or “PT” options, as these are used only for Accelerated Study half-time awards. If the drop-down box only has “HT” or “PT” for the Enrollment Status choices, then our system is indicating the student does not qualify for Part-time TAP. Check the student’s first year receiving TAP or contact HESC support to help review the account.

Certifications are processed once weekly on Thursday evenings. After certifications are processed, Part-time TAP award amounts will be indicated on the corresponding Remittance Advice. Remittance Advices are produced every Friday morning.

• Part-time TAP recipients must meet the same Good Academic Standing requirements as full-time TAP recipients, including Pursuit of Program (POP) and Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP)
• To meet Program Pursuit, the student must complete and receive a grade in a percentage of the three-credit minimum part-time course load for Part-time TAP. A Part-time TAP recipient’s POP is based on the minimum amount of study (course load), as indicated.  As such, the pursuit percentage, 50%, 75% or 100%, would be assumed to be applicable to three credits.  When applying this concept, it would require institutions to use the percentage of the minimum requirement for assessment. (e.g., A Part-time TAP recipient who is a first-year recipient would be assumed to be required to successfully meet the POP requirement for 1.5 credits - 50% of the minimum part-time course load).  Since institutions cannot split credits for a course taken for this purpose, part-time students would need to meet the minimum three credit requirement for all percentages of the POP. 
  
  The pursuit percentages for each payment year are as follows:
  • 50 percent in each term of the first year (3 credits)
  • 75 percent in each term of the second year (3 credits)
  • 100 percent in each term of the third year and thereafter (3 credits)
• Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP): Part-time TAP recipients are evaluated on the same SAP Charts are evaluated on the same SAP Charts as full-time TAP recipients.
  • Because students receive partial payments, schools must round down point totals to the nearest full payment position on the SAP Chart. 
  • For example, a first-time student receiving a six-credit part-time TAP award (three points charged) will have at least two part-time terms on the first position of the SAP cart before they need to be evaluated at the second position.