Policy of Exception to the In-Person Requirement

UPDATE: Students required to verify their identity may send in the notarized form (B) without needing to request special approval from the Office of Financial Aid due to limited physical access to locations.

The financial aid office recognizes that in certain situations, students required to appear in person to satisfy the verification of identity and statement of educational purpose requirement may be unable to appear due to mitigating factors.

The financial aid office may approve a student’s request for an exception to appear in person if the student is registered as a student with a disability with our Office of Accessibility Services. The student will need to email financialaid@esc.edu for approval first.

The financial aid office may approve a student’s request for an exception to appear in person if the student is in the military or is a military spouse and resides out of state. The student will need to email  financialaid@esc.edu for approval first.

Upon approval, the student will be required to complete Statement of Educational Purpose B 2023-2024 (PDF 141kB) for 2023-2024, or the 2022-2023 Statement of Educational Purpose (PDF 71kB) for 2022-2023, initially intended for students who reside outside of New York state and are admitted or seeking admission to SUNY Empire Online, School for Graduate Studies or Center for International Education.