Students are identified by Admissions to be part of the Academic Support Program (ASP) via either the Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP) or National Opportunity Program (NOP). ASP participants receive supportive services through an array of retention-based opportunities, transitional programming, tutoring, skill-building seminars, educational and personal advising, and mentoring programs. In addition, HEOP students may have access to additional funding from New York State and will be contacted should that situation arise.

In addition to the above services, there is a financial aid component of a student’s participation in ASP. All ASP students have a $0 Student Contribution as part of their first year financial aid eligibility. The $0 Student Contribution is in recognition of students’ participation in Summer Bridge programming during the summer before their first-year of attendance at Columbia. In future years, an ASP student’s Student Contribution is set at $2,750.

With regards to an ASP student’s Work Expectation amount, for the first year it is an amount that is equal to the Personal Expenses and Local Transportation budgets of the Cost of Attendance. In a student’s second year and onward, it is the standard amount for all students based on year of enrollment. The following chart details the ASP Student Responsibility across four years of attendance:

Pace of Degree Completion

​Should an ASP student not graduate within eight terms of attendance at Columbia, they may petition to receive a 9th and 10th term of financial aid eligibility if needed. Coursework needs to be approved by the student’s Academic Adviser to ensure the student will complete their remaining credit load in the most efficient manner possible.