If you have been awarded excess financial aid, you can add Wildcat Dollars to your SUNY Poly ID Card for the current semester. Doing this allows you to use your financial aid to purchase textbooks and supplies through the SUNY Poly Online Bookstore at the start of the semester. You may not use Wildcat Dollars to purchase gift cards for the online bookstore.

Please note the following guidelines:

• Wildcat Dollar processing becomes available the week before classes start
• You can request a maximum of $700 for fall semester, $700 for spring semester, or $300 for summer semester depending on your excess aid
• You must be registered for 6 or more credit hours to obtain Wildcat Dollars
• Please review the refund policy carefully before requesting Wildcat Dollars

Instructions to add Wildcat Dollars to your SUNY Poly ID Card:

1. Log into your Banner Web Self-Service Account
2. Click Student & Financial Aid menu
3. Select Student Records
4. Select E-Billing and Payments
5. Select Current Semester and click Submit
6. Scroll down, click Request Wildcat Dollars
7. Please allow up to 2 hours for the Wildcat Dollars to become available on your SUNY Poly ID Card
8. Visit get.cbord.com/sunypoly to view your Wildcat Dollar balance

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) (20 U.S.C. § 1232g; 34 CFR Part 99) is a Federal law that protects the privacy of student education records. The law applies to all schools that receive funds under an applicable program of the U.S. Department of Education.

FERPA prohibits access to student records by any third party, including parents and spouses, with certain limited exceptions, unless the student gives written authorization to do so.

In order to discuss a student's financial aid with a third party, a student must complete a FERPA release form known as the SUNY Poly Student Consent to Release Educational and Financial Records Form (pdf) and submit it to the Financial Aid Office. Without the written authorization of the student, the Financial Aid Office is unable to discuss a student’s financial aid with any individual.  

Please note that a FERPA release will remain in effect for one academic year only (summer/fall/spring) unless revoked, in writing, by the student.  In the event a student wishes to continue to authorize a third party to have access to their information, a new FERPA form must be completed each academic year.

Additional information on SUNY Poly’s FERPA policy is available in our Student Handbook (pdf).

The SUNY Poly Financial Aid Office is committed to the highest standards of professional conduct. As a member of the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA), we abide by our professions code of conduct as follows.

An institutional financial aid professional is expected to always maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of carrying out his or her responsibilities, specifically including all dealings with any entities involved in any manner in student financial aid, regardless of whether such entities are involved in a government sponsored, subsidized, or regulated activity. In doing so, a financial aid professional should:
 

• Refrain from taking any action for his or her personal benefit.
• Refrain from taking any action he or she believes is contrary to law, regulation, or the best interests of the students and parents he or she serves.
• Ensure that the information he or she provides is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect any preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
• Be objective in making decisions and advising his or her institution regarding relationships with any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.
• Refrain from soliciting or accepting anything of other than nominal value from any entity (other than an institution of higher education or a governmental entity such as the U.S. Department of Education) involved in the making, holding, consolidating or processing of any student loans, including anything of value (including reimbursement of any expenses) for serving on an advisory body or as part of a training activity of or sponsored by any such entity.
• Disclose to his or her institution, in such manner as his or her institution may prescribe, any involvement with or interest in any entity involved in any aspect of student financial aid.

Students are required to be matriculated into a degree program and meeting satisfactory academic progress in order to be eligible for federal and state financial aid.

While students may be eligible to enroll in classes that are not part of their degree program, students should be aware that federal and state financial aid cannot be used to cover expenses (i.e., tuition, fees, etc.) incurred as a result of their enrollment in such courses.

It is the responsibility of the student to consult with their academic advisor and/or the Registrar’s Office to confirm that classes count toward their degree program.

Refunds are processed multiple times throughout each semester (summer, fall, spring). After charges owed to SUNY Poly have been satisfied, any balance due to the student is refunded to the student as the funds arrive on campus. View refund guidelines.

In order for students to receive federal and state financial aid, they must be making “satisfactory academic progress” (SAP) toward a degree. View the SAP Policy.

SUNY Polytechnic Institute maintains scholarship policies for students who were awarded a scholarship at the time of admission. Please be sure to view the Scholarship Policy that is applicable to you based on your student type and matriculation term.

• Undergraduate Scholarship Policy (pdf) - for scholarship students who matriculated prior to fall '21
• Undergraduate Scholarship Policy (pdf) - for scholarship students who matriculate in fall '21 or later 
• Graduate Scholarship Policy (pdf)  

You have the right…

• To know what financial aid programs are available at your school.
• To know the deadline for submitting applications for each of the financial aid programs available.
• To know how financial aid will be distributed, how decisions on that distribution are made, and the basis for these decisions.
• To know how your financial need was determined. This includes how costs for tuition and fees, housing and food, travel, books and supplies, personal and miscellaneous expenses, etc., are considered in your budget.
• To know what resources (such as family contribution, other financial aid, your assets, etc.) were considered in the calculation of your need.
• To know how much of your financial eligibility for financial aid has been met.
• To request an explanation of the various programs in your student aid package.
• To know your school's refund policy.
• To know what portion of the financial aid you received must be repaid and what portion is grant aid. If the aid is a loan, you have the right to know what the interest rate is, the total amount that must be repaid, the payment procedures, the length of time you have to repay the loan, and when repayment is to begin.

You are responsible…

• To complete all application forms accurately and submit them on time to the right place.
• To provide correct information. In most cases, misreporting information on financial aid application forms is a violation of law and may be considered a criminal offense which could result in indictment under the U.S. Criminal Code.
• To return all additional documentation, verification, corrections, and/or new information requested by either the Financial Aid Office or the agency to which you submitted your application.
• For reading and understanding all forms that you are asked to sign and for keeping copies of them.
• For all agreements that you sign, including repayment of all student loans.
• To perform the work that is agreed upon in accepting a Federal Work-Study award.
• To be aware of and comply with the deadlines for application or reapplication for aid.
• To be aware of your school's refund procedures.

Once you have been issued a SUNY Poly email account, it will become the only email used by the Financial Aid Office for communication with you.

Current SUNY Poly students that send correspondence from a non-SUNY Poly email account to the Financial Aid Office (finaid@sunypoly.edu) will receive a request to resend their inquiry from their SUNY Poly email address. Once the email has been received from their SUNY Poly email address, the Financial Aid Office will respond as promptly as possible.

It is the responsibility of the student to monitor their SUNY Poly email account for communication(s) from the Financial Aid Office. Failure to do so may jeopardize the awarding of financial aid and/or the disbursement of aid.

This policy is in accordance with the “Methods of Communication” as documented in the Student Handbook.

Federal verification is a process which requires institutions to verify the accuracy of the information provided on a student’s FAFSA application.  To complete this process the student, parent(s) of a dependent student and/or spouse of an independent student, if applicable, will be required to submit documentation to the Financial Aid office for the verification process to be completed.

A student’s FAFSA may be selected by the US Department of Education or by the SUNY Poly Financial Aid Office for a verification review. Those students whose FAFSA was selected for verification by the US Department of Education will see this listed on their FAFSA Submission Summary. Please review your FAFSA Submission Summary carefully to see if your FAFSA was selected for verification.

All students whose FAFSA was selected for verification will have items posted to their online Banner Web Self-Service financial aid checklist that must be submitted to the SUNY Poly Financial Aid Office. 

The financial aid Verification Worksheet and Instruction page, which lists the required documentation that must be submitted, may be found on the Financial Aid Forms page. (Click on the forms link for the appropriate academic year, and then click on “Verification Worksheet”).

 The SUNY Poly Financial Aid Office recognizes two types of student withdrawals.
 

Official Withdrawal
An official withdrawal occurs when a student submits a SUNY Poly Withdrawal Form to the Registrar's Office to request a withdrawal from all courses for which they are currently registered.
 

Unofficial Withdrawal
An unofficial withdrawal occurs when a student fails to provide an official notification of their intent to withdraw from the college. In most circumstances, a student stops attending classes. Please note that faculty/academic offices are required to advise the Financial Aid Office when a student stops attending classes. When this occurs, the Financial Aid Office contacts each faculty member whom the student was registered for a course with to determine a last day of attendance.

In both of these withdrawal situations, the Financial Aid Office is required to perform a Return of Title IV (Federal) Aid calculation. Based on the withdrawal date and any adjustments to the student’s bill for the semester, the Financial Aid Office may be required to return all or a portion of the federal financial aid received. 

After the Financial Aid Office has determined the types and amount of federal aid that must be returned, the student may owe a balance to the college. Should that happen, the student will receive an electronic bill from the Bursar’s Office requesting payment for the balance owed the college.

For more detailed information regarding Return to Title IV calculations, view the full policy:
Return to Title IV Full Policy (pdf)