October 2024
Brian Rose, Vice President for Student Affairs
Dear parents and families,
Many years ago, the Division of Student Affairs launched the very parent newsletter
in which this letter now appears. The creation of Parent Connect marked a transition
in the approach to parent engagement at Binghamton University. Similar transitions
were taking place at many other institutions. For many years, the prevailing approach
to “parent engagement” at colleges and universities was to minimize it — the underlying
notion being that “students were adults now.”
However, many different forces coalesced to create pressure toward more engagement
of parents: the increasing cost of college meant that it often became one of the biggest
investments a family would make; competition for admission at selective colleges intensified
as did the competition for seats in special programs at those colleges; college doors
opened to more first-generation students whose parents did not have their own college
experience to draw upon; mobile phones and social media meant that students and parents
were in constant contact with one another; and changes to the job market made it less
certain that college graduates would easily find professional work.
It’s no wonder parents wanted to become more engaged in their students’ experiences
at college. The Parent Connect was one part of the response to that trend at Binghamton.
One of the limitations of Parent Connect is that the same content goes to all parent
readers. I say “limitations” because content of genuine interest to parents of new
students is different from what parents of soon to be graduates would want to focus
upon. We are now making another significant transition in parent engagement as we
launch the Bearcat Family Portal. While the portal will aggregate all parent-directed communications, the software
behind it will allow us to send more targeted content to parents based upon student
attributes. For example, we will be able to send unique messages to junior computer
science parents about an employer fair focused on CS-track jobs, or a message to all
parents of intercollegiate athletes about changes to NCAA rules and so on.
Hopefully this will support Binghamton in strengthening our approach to parent engagement
and creating better partnerships between parents and the University in support of
student success. Thirty-four years into my career in higher education, I admit to
sometimes missing the days before smart phones and all the data that goes along with
them. I imagine the advent of AI will change things yet again, hopefully post retirement
for me. Nonetheless, I am excited to see how the Bearcat Family Portal evolves as
we learn how best to use it. We welcome your ideas and suggestions.
Sincerely, Brian T. Rose Vice President for Student Affairs
Financial Aid and Student Records are here to help!
For all servicing options, hours of operation, document submission upload instructions,
and much more, visit the following websites:
Document submission: All documents can be uploaded securely through the myBinghamton portal. Click on Financial Aid and Student Records Document Submission (available links
section on the left side of the page).
Ensuring financial aid credit on the fall 2024 bill
The second fall 2024 semester bill was generated on September 6. If there are still
any unsatisfied requirements for financial aid, this can prevent your student’s aid
from crediting their bill. Your student can check if they have any unsatisfied requirements
by logging into their BU Brain account and following the steps below:
Login to the My Binghamton Portal and click on the BU Brain self service icon at the top of the page
Go to the Financial Aid tab
View Student Requirements
Information about other common reasons for aid to not appear on the bill is available
at this link.
Refunds
Is your student still expecting a refund from financial aid? Students are encouraged
to sign up for Direct Deposit to avoid waiting in the long lines. Direct Deposit allows
the Student Accounts office to deposit any excess financial aid directly into a student’s
bank account. Students sign up for Direct Deposit via the Binghamton portal at my.binghamton.edu.
For more information, visit the Student Accounts webpage.
Haven't completed the 2024–25 FAFSA application yet?
Students/parents will report 2022 tax information on the 2024-25 FAFSA. This information
will be automatically transferred from the IRS to the FAFSA using the new FAFSA Contributor
and Consent functionality.
Note: students will receive an email from the Department of Education (ED) once their FAFSA
is processed.
The Financial Aid office understands that applying for financial aid can be complex.
Watch the videos below and if you still have questions, we're always happy to provide
assistance.
2024-25 Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) changes coming – providing more access to
this funding
To help expand access to higher education, the FY 2025 Enacted Budget increases the
minimum Tuition Assistance Program (TAP) award from $500 to $1,000. Additionally,
the Budget increases the dependent student net taxable income (NTI) limit for TAP
eligibility from $80,000 to $125,000, the independent married student NTI limit from
$40,000 to $60,000, and the independent single student NTI limit from $10,000 to $30,000.
These changes are estimated to cost $66 million and benefit roughly 93,000 students
in public and private colleges and universities, including 48,000 students newly eligible
for TAP.
To apply for New York state aid, students must complete a New York state Tuition Assistance
Program (TAP) application. This application provides a single conduit for applying
for payment of all state grants, scholarships and awards, which includes TAP, Excelsior
(requires initial separate application as well), and STEM (requires initial separate
application as well).
Students and parents have the option to link directly to the application from the
FAFSA submission confirmation page or complete the application by going to the NYS
Higher Education Services Corporation (HESC) application webpage. Note that students must be full-time for most NYS grants and scholarships.
All aspects of the TAP application and applications for their respective awards must
be completed with NYS HESC in order for the awards to be sent to Binghamton University
from NYS HESC. For more information, please go to NYS HESC website.
2025-26 FAFSA and NYS TAP application open Dec. 1, 2024
The 2025-26 FAFSA will open December 1, 2024. Students and parents will report 2023
tax information on the 2025-26 FAFSA. To apply for NYS aid, you can just click on
the link provided on the confirmation page of the 2025-26 FAFSA. Keep an eye on our
ALERTS page for updated information.
Graduating seniors – Fall semester – applications for degree
Currently enrolled undergraduates intending to graduate in Fall 2024 must complete
the online Application for Degree (AFD) available on BU Brain in order to receive
their degree.
Students completing coursework at another school in Fall 2024 must email degree@binghamton.edu to complete their Application for Degree.
If you have difficulty locating or completing the Application for Degree on BU Brain,
please email degree@binghamton.edu.
Fall 2024 registration
After the add/drop deadline at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 3, students may petition to late
add individual courses. A $20 fee per course will be charged to your student’s account.
To do this, students go to BU BRAIN, Student Tab, Registration, Late Course Add/Drop/Withdrawal
Petition to complete the petition process online.
After the drop deadline, students may withdraw from a course themselves on BU BRAIN,
Student Tab, Registration, Add or Drop courses then follow instructions for a web
withdrawal. This will create a ‘W’ on the student’s record.
After the withdrawal deadline at 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 28, students may petition to withdraw
from a course using the Late Course Withdrawal Petition process outlined above.
Fall 2024 proof of enrollment will be available online through the National Student
Clearinghouse in September after the add/drop deadline once fall enrollment records
have been uploaded to the National Student Clearinghouse. Students can access this
through BU BRAIN. Click Student tab, then Student Services Tools to print an enrollment
certificate.
If you have an enrollment verification form that needs to be completed by the Student
Records office, please email the form to registrar@binghamton.edu and include your student’s name and B number.
Semester withdrawal
Students looking to withdraw completely from the University should complete the Semester Withdrawal Form found on the Student Records website. The Semester Withdrawal Form is required for
a student who wishes to drop ALL fall semester courses and who wants his/her academic
record to indicate good standing. For more information on semester withdrawal, visit
the Student Records website.
Upcoming dates for the 2025 Winter Session — Dec. 16–Jan. 17
The Winter Session 2025 schedule of classes is now viewable. Time tickets for registration will be viewable on the BU Brain as
well.
Registration for Winter Session is currently open.
Students can register for a maximum of four credits for the session.
Upcoming dates for the Spring 2025 semester — Jan. 21–May 7
The Spring 2025 schedule of classes will be viewable online in late October. Time
tickets will be issued based on earned credit hours and will be viewable on the BU
Brain at that time. Advanced registration for Spring 2025 will begin in late October
or early November.
Lost IDs
Students can request a replacement ID card through my.binghamton.edu or send an email (using their official Binghamton University email account — emails
from other accounts cannot be processed) with their name and B-number to idcard@binghamton.edu.
There is a $20 fee for all replacement ID cards, which will be assessed to the student’s
bill in Student Accounts.
Students will need a photo ID to pick up their card. Acceptable forms of ID include:
driver’s license, passport, high school or other university photo ID.
Official expedited electronic transcripts now available
In addition to free official paper transcripts, we also offer official expedited electronic
transcripts. Transcripts are sent in PDF format via email. Official electronic transcripts
are typically sent within 10 minutes of authorization. Attachments can also be uploaded
and sent with your expedited electronic transcript.
There is a $5 charge per recipient for the expedited service.
More information about electronic transcript service is available online.
Families: Follow us on social media, just for you!
Keep your contact information updated in our family database. If your address, phone
or email has changed, send a note to families@binghamton.edu to let us know. And if you're looking for more from us, check out some of our pages
targeted directly to parents and guardians:
