Frequently Asked Questions

Banner self-service. Directions are online

Banner self-service or complete a Loan Request From.

Directions are online

Forms are also online

Students can email Financial Aid or complete a Loan adjustment form. Forms are online.

For increases, student should speak to FA in order to determine what type of aid they are eligible for an increase.

First time borrowers also need to complete the Entrance Counseling and Master promissory note for the Stafford (Direct) loan online. If the student is unsure, refer them to email or speak to someone in FA.

All available positions are online.

If a student is requesting a federal work-study award, they must speak to someone in Financial Aid.

For the 2023-24 academic year, the FAFSA is available beginning October 1, 2023.

They can reach out to Sharon McDonald or email Financial Aid. Sharon will work with the supervisor to ensure all the information is received for the job to be posted.

Students need to accept their charges with Bursar and accept their aid and/or submit missing documents Financial Aid.

When a student answers that they are a NYS resident and an undergraduate student on the FAFSA, they will receive a link to the TAP application. If they forget or didn't apply they can do so at www.hesc.ny.gov. The student will need their log in which is different than their FAFSA log in.

It is the Students responsibility to be familiar with the Student Handbook and the Office of the Registrar's website. All necessary information regarding SUNY Downstate can be found there.

Current students may review their academic records by requesting to do so and providing proper identification, your current student ID card. It is usually possible to review your student record immediately upon request; however, on occasion it may be necessary to make an appointment and return the following day. See the current Student Handbook for additional information.

See the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act (F.E.R.P.A. — Buckley Amendment) section of the Student Handbook for a detailed description of FERPA and a listing of Downstate's Directory information.

Students are reported by the Office of the Registrar to the National Student Clearinghouse. However, if a student has a form from their lender, the form can be completed by the Office of the Registrar usually the same day.

Students in SOHP, Nursing and Public Health are sent an email about two weeks before registration opens letting them know when registration is open and encouraging them to meet with their advisors and review their program of study. They are also given instruction about how to log in to register. The Friday before registration opens, students are sent a reminder email about registration and a schedule of classes that are available for their program for that term. Most students have no problem with registration. If a student misses this registration period, it usually opens up again right before the beginning of the semester through the end of the first week of classes in the new semester.

For medical students, Foundations 1 first semester are "Mass" registered by the Office of the Registrar. After the first semester, students register themselves using Banner Self-Service. Foundations 2 students and Advanced Year students register themselves. Core Year students have their "Core Year" requirements registered for them through a Lottery program. However, they register themselves for their Core Year elective according to a registration calendar.

Medical students also participate in a Hospital Site Lottery program for the Core Year hospital sites.

Advanced Year Medical students may wish to apply and register for away electives at another institution. This is called an Extramural (Away) Elective. For the most part they will do this through the Visiting Student Learning Opportunities (VSLO) or by visiting the website of the institution they wish to apply to. Once an acceptance is received, students complete our Extramural (Away)/Tailor-Made/Research Elective form, attach the letter of acceptance, and have it signed by both the corresponding departmental chair and their clinical assistant dean. Detailed instructions for receiving credit for these experiences can be found on the Registrar website.

College of Medicine Advanced Year (MS 4) and Core Year (MS 3) students can view the course listings online. College of Medicine Foundations 1 and Foundations 2 student courses are determined within the Office of Medical Education. Students from all other colleges will review their Program of Study Form which lists the courses they need to complete.

What happens when you try to register? Do you have a Hold? Are you repeating a class? Is the class you want closed? Are you having difficulty finding the class you need?

First check SOAHOLD to see if the student has a hold(s). Office of the Registrar handles HIPAA holds, the Bursar's Office handles Bursar issues, FA, SA etc.). If they are repeating a class (SHACRSE), a Registrar staff member will register them. If a class is closed (SSASECT), they will have to get an add/drop form from the program adding them into the class. No student may attend a class for which they have not officially registered.

A. Students have HOLDs on their record for a variety of reasons. You can go into Banner Self-Service (like you're going to register for classes) to see the hold type and Office that placed the hold. The most common holds are for HIPAA recertification, not completing the required New Student Data Form, or a Bursar hold.

To complete the required New Student Data Form, go into Banner Self-Service and on the bottom right-side of the screen look for New Student Data Form. Once the form is completed, the student will need to notify the Office of the Registrar.

Students in SOHP, Nursing or Public Health may add/drop during the add/drop period, which is usually during the first week of classes. Check the academic calendar for add/drop dates and tuition liability rules.

Medical students have their own add/drop period which is posted on our website. Medical students cannot add courses after the course begins. Any course dropped after the course begins will be assigned a "W" grade.

The course director's signature is required for an over tally for a course. Please keep in mind the course director has the option to deny your request.

On the Office of the Registrar website, College of Medicine students can look for Course Catalog and click on information for your year you can search the Course Reference Number (CRN) to see the preceptor's name. If more detailed information is needed, you can look for the course in Catalog in Detail through Banner Self-Service.

SOHP/Nursing/Public require the approval of the professor if the course is full.

College of Medicine students can look for the course in Catalog in Detail for the location of the preceptor and/or coordinator with the location of the preceptor's office plus the telephone number. The other colleges the professor is located in the office within the program.

In the College of Medicine some courses are cross-listed with other courses, which means the course is offered for four (4) weeks and two (2) weeks every month and will only take a set number of students per rotation. For example: a course takes 2 students per rotation. There is one (1) student registered for the course for the full four (4) weeks. This means that either one (1) additional student can register for the full four (4) weeks or one student can register for the first two (2) and one can register for the last two (2) weeks of the course. This makes no more than two (2) students rotating at a time.

Students in SOHP, Nursing or Public Health must see their program advisor and submit an add/drop form to withdraw from a class. This withdrawal is prior to completing 1/3 of course work. The next withdrawal from a class will be WP or WF and that is after 1/3 but less than 2/3 completion of a class. The grade of W, WP or WF will appear on your transcript. A student should not just stop attending a class. Check the academic calendar for the deadline dates. Also, refer to the Student Handbook for the withdrawal policy.

Medical Students should see the Registrar or one of the deans in Student Affairs if they wish to withdraw from classes.

Contact assistant, Ms. Leslie Hope or associate registrar, Mr. Edward Graciano regarding this matter.

If registration is still open you should be able to make the change yourself. If registration is closed or if the course you want to add is full, then a signed Add/Drop form is required. The Add/Drop Form is signed by the preceptor/professor.

Students in SOHP, Nursing or Public Health Faculty members enter grades about 3-5 days after the semester ends. Grades are viewable online through Banner Self-Service. If students can't view their grades after this time it usually means that the faculty has not yet entered them.

Grades for medical students are released on a rolling basis. If the grade is missing for longer than 4 weeks after the end of the rotation, please contact the Office of the Registrar.

GPA's are calculated through an end of term process which is run after all grades have been submitted by all the programs in all Colleges/Schools.

For students in the College of Medicine, the GPA is not considered except for class ranking purposes during the preparation of the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (MSPE).

The College of Medicine Foundations 2 Unit 6 uses the Y grade in the Fall Semester as a place holder to identify it as a course that spans more than one semester. The final the grade is received in the Spring semester upon completion of all requirements.

Core Year medical students may appeal a clerkship grade by contacting the clerkship director within 30 days of the evaluation being received by the Office of the Registrar. If the student is unhappy with the outcome, they may appeal to the Chair of the department. The Chair's decision is final.

Advanced Year medical students should speak directly with the course preceptor. If the student is unhappy with the outcome, they should be directed to the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs. Dr. Jeanne Macrae.

Students in SOHP/Nursing/Public Health should be referred to the Chair of their program.

Students can print a schedule directly from Banner Self-Service.

Active students can request a free student copy of their transcript at any time. Active/current students are required to present a student ID to pick up a student copy of their transcript. Requests for an official transcript should be made by completing the Document Request Form, which can be found on line or on the wall outside the office and paying the necessary fee.

The cost per official transcript is $5 and is paid to the Bursar's Office using a Payment Option Form. The payment option form can be found on the their website as well using the link and then faxing or emailing the form directly to the Bursar's Office. They will forward the receipt to the Office of the Registrar. Allow 3-5 business days to process official transcript requests. At this time, official transcripts can't be e-mailed.

Currently enrolled students submit a completed Document Request Form. Processing time is 3-5 business days.

An Enrollment Verification Letter is available for students once they matriculate. Students can request a letter of acceptance from the Office of Admissions.

SUNY Downstate has authorized the National Student Clearinghouse to provide enrollment and degree verifications.

Applicants must submit a verification of medical education form, which comes from the state they are applying to, payment of $15 to the Office of the Registrar. The processing time for a licensure (state license application) is 5–7 business days.

Name Changes for Current students — Complete a Document Request Form and submit the necessary documentation. For name changes, students must present an original proof of change (e.g., court order, marriage license) to the Office of the Registrar. Name changes are not granted after graduation or separation from SUNY Downstate.

Address Changes for Current Students — Students may change their local (mailing) address online by going on Banner Self-Service and then selecting the "Update Addresses and Phones" link. However, if a student is changing his or her permanent mailing address, they must fill out Section II of the Document Request Form, provide their student ID and official proof of the permanent address change (i.e., bank statement, driver's license) before the change can be made in Banner Student Information System.

Students apply for graduation in December/January. An email will be sent from registrar@downstate.edu to all students that have an anticipated date of graduation (ADG) that is within that year (i.e., May, August, December 2018) giving them a deadline by which to submit their request to graduate. If the ADG is incorrect, the student's program should send an email to the Office of the Registrar at registrar@downstate.edu indicating the new ADG. Students are required to pay a graduation fee regardless of whether they plan to attend the Commencement Exercises in May.

For SOHP/Nursing/Public Health — Once all grades are received and the student is officially graduated from the school, diplomas are mailed directly to the student from ScriptSafe, the company we have engaged to create our diplomas. Diplomas are mailed about 10-12 weeks after the student's graduation date. Downstate's Graduation dates are May 31, August 31, and December 31. Student will be directed to log into Banner Self-Service and submit a Diploma Mailing address (DP). This is the address that they want their diploma mailed to. If a student doesn't submit a DP address in a timely fashion, their diploma will be mailed to our office. Step by step instructions on how to update one's address can be found here

For the Medical School — Once all grades are received and the student is officially graduated from the school, Medical students may up their diploma the day after the Commencement Exercises.

You can request a duplicate diploma by submitting the following information in a notarized letter:

• Full name (First, last, middle) while attending SUNY Downstate
• Last four digits of SSN
• Student ID (if known)
• Program attended
• Graduation Year
• Complete mailing address with a telephone number and e-mail address

The cost is $30 for the duplicate diploma, $9 for mailing. This takes approximately 4-to-6 weeks once the request is received by the Office of the Registrar. The diploma will be mailed directly to the student. Please note the diploma will have DUPLICATE printed on the bottom.

Graduation certification is requested by using the Document Request Form or by sending an email to registrar@downstate.edu

• Updating the online application
• Updating and publishing the commencement handbook on the website
• Communication with students including follow up
• Special Hooder request
• Collecting of academic attire order for Student Services
• Reporting of numbers of participants to Commencement Committee
• Confirming graduating student with the individual academic departments
• Ensuring graduation fees are charged properly (programmatically or manually)
• Providing the names of the students for the commencement handbook
• Editing commencement handbook to ensure students information (i.e. name, degree, residency, etc.) is correct.
• Point person to answer commencement related questions for students and staff.
• Provide Convocation labels for SOHP
• Provide and prepare labels for graduating tickets, reading cards, and match day.
• Ordering and preparing of diploma covers for commencement

For detailed information regarding graduation and our Commencement Exercises, all students and their families should be directed to the Graduating Student Handbook that is posted on the Student Life and Services website.

At this time, College of Medicine students are notified via e-mail before the clerkship begins giving the student all of the necessary reporting instructions. For electives, this information is available on the SUNY Downstate Office of the Registrar website under Catalog in Detail. You will need to enter the four digit subject code (i.e., MEDI) and the four digit course ID.

Look on the SUNY Downstate website under Student Affairs and click on Criminal Background Check and Drug Testing. If you need additional information, you can speak with Ms. Lynnette Ortega or Dr. Madiha Akhtar in Student Affairs.

All students will soon be able to run a degree audit through our new Tool, DegreeWorks. However, at this time, students in the College of Medicine can come into the Office of the Registrar and speak with Mr. Nigel Andrews, Ms. Sandra Mingo or Ms. Anne Shonbrun.

Students in the Colleges of SOHP/Nursing/Public should be referred to their Dean.

Holiday breaks are listed in the Academic Calendars. They are listed by College/School.

College of Medicine students must meet with a Dean or representative in the Office of Student Affairs. Students of the other colleges should meet with their Program Chair.

Students from SOHP/Nursing/Public Health should contact the program from which they graduated to obtain this information.

Office of the Registrar office hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 5pm; Wednesday from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm.

The Bookstore is located at 394 Lenox Road – Brooklyn, NY 11203. It's directly across the street from the Heath Science Education Building Lenox Road entrance. The telephone number is (718) 270-2486.

The Student Health Service is located at 440 Lenox Road Apt. 1S – Brooklyn, NY 11203. It's directly across the street from University Hospital entrance on Lenox Road. The telephone number is (718) 270-1995.

If you are a continuing student, you will speak with the registrar, Mr. Edward Graciano. Detailed instructions and the application to apply for in-State status for tuition billing purposes can be found here. New students should be directed to the Office of Admissions.

Please contact the Help Desk at (718) 270-HELP (4357) or at helpdesk@downstate.edu.

The fee to get a replacement Student ID Card is $40 which is paid to the Bursar's Office. Bring the receipt to the Office of the Registrar for the paperwork to receive a new Student ID Card.

Lost and Found is located on the first floor in between the colleges and the hospital near the cafeteria in Room UH A1-339; telephone number (718) 270-2626.

College of Medicine students must obtain a Leave of Absence Form from the Office of Student Affairs then submit in writing a request for the Leave of Absence which will include the length of the Leave of Absence, the reason for the Leave of Absence and a description of your Leave of Absence. Students from the other colleges must submit in writing to the Associate Dean of your program with the reason for the Leave of Absence.

College of Medicine students should contact Dean Christoforou to discuss this matter.

Speak with Ms. Sandra Mingo, our visiting student coordinator.

Follow these instructions to waive. It takes 3–5 business days to be reflected on your bill. Please note that we must be able to verify your coverage is effective. Once coverage is verified, the Office of Student Affairs will be notified to remove the charge from your account.

You may process the waiver here. Once your waiver is approved, HSAC will email our office with a request for your account to be adjusted (reimbursement). Within the first month of enrolling, as long as you have NOT used the insurance offered by HSAC, you will be reimbursed fully. Once 30 days from the first day of the semester has passed, or once you have used the coverage, you can only request a partial waiver if you have been approved for insurance sponsored by NYS (such as Medicaid or a subsidized insurance plan obtained through NY or another state). Otherwise, waivers can only be processed on August 1 or January 1 of each year.

When enrolling for yourself online, there will be an option for dependents. There, you can add your "dependents'" information and submit for enrollment. Once completed, our Bursar's office will bill you for your coverage and HSAC will send you an invoice for your dependent(s). Coverage details are available to you online, however if you may also contact our broker's office "HSAC" directly at (888) 978-8355.

Yes, if you lose your coverage at any time during the semester, you may enroll. You will receive a prorated bill from date of enrollment. Please note that it is your responsibility to maintain your insurance coverage, so you must notify us as soon as you learn that you will be losing coverage.

You won't receive a card. You can create a login at www.uhcsr.com and print out a card (or request one be mailed to you), and view the policy and coverage information.

Please note that it may take up to 24 hours after you receive the e-mail for the charge to be removed from your bill. If it has been more than 24 hours and you are still seeing a charge for health insurance on your bill, please forward a copy of the email sent to you by HSAC which confirms that you have successfully waived your health insurance to studentaffairs@downstate.edu . (Be sure to also include your Student ID number in the e-mail.) We will manually verify the waiver and remove the charge from your account.

Although New York State no longer grants automatic excuses from jury service for students, you can request to be excused as long as your summons does not indicate "must serve". (Please note that you should request an excuse letter from our office and not use the provided phone system to request a postponement.) In order to process a letter to be excused, there is a request form you need to complete (not online) and submit it to the Office of Student Affairs with the original summons. We then prepare a letter and mail it to the Court on your behalf. Please note: If the summons displays "must serve", we will prepare a letter for you, but you must go to the court in person prior to the date on your summons to request to be excused.

Our aim to process letter jury duty letters same day of submission but it can take up to 2 business days unless the student indicates an urgency. Please be advised that the letter is prepared according the date listed on the summons.

No, the court does not confirm submission of your excuse letter, however, we do maintain a copy of your summons and the excuse letter in your file should you need proof. Our office has provided these letters for students for many years and we have not had any incidents where a student was penalized for requesting a postponement, so long as the summons does not say "Must Serve."

As long as the envelope is dated prior to scheduled summons date, it is usually accepted. Every effort should be made to bring your summons to Student Affairs as soon as you receive it.

Follow the instructions here. Please note that there is a fee.

Medical Students: This depends on the elective. Some away electives only accept Background checks with a year. In order to attain a copy of your background check from matriculation, please call the certified helpdesk at 1-800-803-7860 extension 2006. Once you have the copy of the test, you can either upload it yourself or send it to me and I will verify it on VSAS.

Other Students: This depends on the elective. Some away electives only accept Background checks with a year. To obtain a copy of your background check done when you were admitted, please contact the Office of Student Affairs at studentaffairs@downstate.edu.

For further information on background checks, visit our web site.

College of Medicine: Schedule a meeting with Dean Christoforou to discuss reasons for the leave. You will then complete a "leave of absence" form and submit back to us with signatures of approval along with supporting documentation.

SOHP/Nursing/PH: Schedule a meeting with your Program Director/Chair to discuss reasons for the leave. You will then complete a "leave of absence" form and submit back to us with signatures of approval.

We can provide you with a form in our office (yellow form) or download the form directly

Once the Office of Student Affairs receives the approved Leave of Absence form, although it may take several days to process the form, your courses will be dropped effective on the date the form is received.

SUNY Downstate follows the required SUNY refund policy when processing a leave of absence which is located on the Financial Responsibility Policy page of the Bursar's Web Site. The date used to determine your tuition liability is the date that your approved Leave of Absence form is received by the Office of Student Affairs.

Students should also be aware that if they are on any form of Financial Aid, the amount of Federal FInancial Aid that you may be eligible for may change based on the date you take your leave. This may result in aid being required to be returned to your lender or the Federal Government, even if you still have a liability for the tuition charge. You should make an appointment with the Office of Financial Aid prior to submitting your request for a leave to avoid any confusion once your request for a leave is processed.

If you are a student in the College of Medicine Foundation Years, you should complete an absence form through Blackboard and send an email to studentaffairs@downstate.edu. Medical students in their clinical years should follow the instructions given to them during their clerkship orientation. Other students should contact the individual faculty member.

You need to email Dr. Madiha Akhtar at madiha.akhtar@downstate.edu .

You may leave your form in the Student Affairs Office for signature and we will send you an email when it is ready for pick up. It usually takes 2–3 business days.

Please complete the online request form. You must complete one form for each member for whom you are requesting a visa. There is no limit to how many letters you can request.