By ALLISSA KLINE
akline@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1612

Another casualty of the 2010-11 New York state budget: the wallets of college students.

The spending plan approved last week cuts into the state's Tuition Assistance Program funding and raises requirements for TAP eligibility. The state, currently calculating students' awards, expects to reveal the amount of the awards Aug. 20. That means financial aid offices around Western New York are scrambling to revise financial aid packages and inform students about the changes just a few days prior to the start of the fall semester.

Fredonia State College is in the midst of re-evaluating which students remain eligible for TAP now that academic requirements are higher. Some students will lose TAP funding because they don't meet the new criteria, said Daniel Tramuta, Fredonia's vice president for enrollment services.

"There's no doubt that when we do this, all kinds of (students) are going to lose TAP," he said. "(Students) will be on campus thinking they're receiving $2,500 in TAP and then find out they're receiving $1,500 when they get a letter saying, ‘Guess what? You're not getting this.' "

Specific changes to TAP funding:

• All TAP awards are cut by $75 for the academic year.

• Graduate students are no longer eligible for TAP funding.

• Students in default on any state or federal student loans do not qualify for TAP awards.

• Higher academic standards, such as more credit hours completed and higher grade point averages, must be met by students seeking TAP funding.

• Students attending two-year colleges may not receive more than $4,000 in TAP money if tuition at their school rises above $4,000.

Tuition at Erie Community College and Niagara County Community College does not exceed $4,000, so most students there won't see a dramatic decline in TAP aid, financial aid directors at both institutions said. But all current recipients are set to lose $75, or $37.50 per semester, ECC's Scott Weltjen said.

"Any dollars (reduced), given the economy, are going to affect the (financial aid) package," he said. "Once students start getting recalculated ... there will be some outcry."

ECC classes begin Aug. 30. NCCC classes start Sept. 1.

Graduate students, meanwhile, stand to lose as much as $550 in TAP funding. Graduate students at D'Youville College are being notified about the changes, said financial aid director Lorraine Metz.

"If graduate students received the maximum of $550, this is somewhat significant," she said, referring to the loss in aid. "Any student that had TAP awards will have to find the funding elsewhere, and that will probably be in the form of student loans."