The Daily Bulletin Archive

This week’s FACTS article features pertinent information to help at-risk students and students with disabilities persist to graduation.

With regard to financial aid, an at-risk student is a student who, by virtue of his or her circumstances, is more likely than others to lose eligibility for federal, state, or institutional aid. In addition, federal aid regulations do not provide additional accommodations for students with disabilities; said students must perform at the same level as all other students.

Listed below are three common roadblocks to establishing and maintaining aid eligibility for at-risk students:

1. Legal Parent(s) for FAFSA – Dependent students must provide parental information on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The student’s parent is defined as the biological and/or adoptive parent(s). Grandparents, foster parents, legal guardians, older brothers or sisters, and aunts and uncles are not considered parents unless they have legally adopted the student. For students who experience extreme unusual circumstances, such as an abusive family environment or abandonment by parent(s), a Dependency Appeal may be approved if credible documentation that merits a dependency override is submitted to the Financial Aid Office.

2. Textbook Deferments – Many students are ineligible for a textbook deferment because of their failure to complete all financial aid requirements in a timely manner. As a result, these students attend classes without the required textbooks, and this may result in poor academic performance, thereby jeopardizing their future aid eligibility.

3. Class Attendance /Course Registration – Federal financial aid is processed for a student under the assumption that the student will attend courses for the entire semester for which the financial assistance is provided. Students who withdraw from all classes (regardless of reason: approved LOA; medical or any other legitimate reason) may be required to repay aid they received. Additionally, a student’s failure to complete the semester may affect future aid eligibility.

Additionally, it is very important that all students (especially at-risk students) register for required courses each term to diminish the possibility of losing their aid.

For more information and ways you can help these student groups, please refer to the Financial Aid for At-Risk Students Guide and Financial Aid for Disability Services Guide.

If you have questions regarding this article, please contact us at finaid@buffalostate.edu or ext. 4902. All questions and answers will be posted in the “You Asked for It” section of the FAO website. Click on the “Faculty and Staff” link (bottom left).