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Institutions of higher education have the ability to assist students with unusual and special circumstances by adjusting their federal student aid eligibility to reflect their unique situation more accurately. These adjustments may include updating the student’s dependency status (this may also be known as dependency override) and the information the student must provide on their FAFSA form.
Professional Judgement requests will follow the process outlined below:
- Student requests a professional judgement for Unusual or Special circumstances.
- An advisor then explains to the student they will need to provide a statement explaining their request and outlining the Unusual or Special circumstance that warrants an adjustment to their COA or SAI.
- Students should expect to provide supporting documentation to support their Unusual or Special circumstances.
- Once the student provides their statement and necessary documentation, the Professional Judgement request is submitted by an advisor for review.
- An Aid Administrator will then review the students statement and supporting documentation to determine if an adjustment is warranted.
- If approved the students file will be updated to reflect that their Professional Judgement request was approved. The Professional Judgement request approval will need to indicate the unusual or special circumstance that warranted an adjustment.
- If denied, the students file will still need to be updated to reflect their Professional Judgement request was denied and the reasoning for which the students request was denied.
Once a student has submitted their request and all required documentation, including their completed FAFSA form, the estimated timeline for a Professional Judgement review to be completed will vary on a case-by-case basis but will be reviewed by an aid administrator as soon as possible. It is important to note that extenuating circumstances may prolong the process, as aid administrators are sometimes faces with situations out of their control, such as but not limited to requiring additional documentation from the student or having to wait for a grade to post before they may complete their review process and reach a decision.
Documentation is critical throughout the Professional Judgement process. Schools must ensure that any supporting documentation they collect is adequate to substantiate the student’s circumstances. Documentation may include (but is not limited to) the following:
- A documented interview between the student and the financial aid administrator;
- Submission of a court order or official federal or state documentation that the student or student’s parents or legal guardians are incarcerated;
- A documented phone call or written statement, which confirms the unusual circumstances with:
- A state, county or tribal welfare agency;
- An independent living case worker who supports current and former foster youth with the transition to adulthood; or
- A public or private agency, facility, or program servicing the victims of abuse, neglect, assault, or violence.
- A documented phone call or written statement from an attorney, guardian ad litem, a court-appointed special advocate (or similar), or a representative of a TRIO or GEAR UP program which confirms the circumstances and the person’s relationship to the student;
- A documented determination of independence made by a financial aid administrator at another institution in the same or a prior award year; or
- Utility bills, health insurance, or other documents that demonstrate a separation from parents or legal guardians.
Unusual and Special Circumstances That May Justify a Professional Judgment
Professional judgment is an opportunity for the parent, student, or the University to account for exceptions in certain areas that might allow more financial aid eligibility. The goal of Professional Judgment is to consider whether current circumstances are hindering a student from receiving adequate financial assistance.
Students with Unusual Circumstances are defined as:
A student for whom a financial aid administrator makes a documented determination of independence by reason of unusual circumstances and in which the student is unable to contact a parent or where contact with parents poses a risk to such student, which includes circumstances of—
- Human trafficking, as described in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.);
- Legally granted refugee or asylum status;
- Parental abandonment or estrangement; or
- Student or parental incarceration.
Other students will continue to qualify as independent on their FAFSA form and not required to provide parental information if they;
- Were an orphan at the age of 13 or older;
- Were a ward of the court;
- Are or were in foster care;
- Were an emancipated minor or in a legal guardianship as determined by a court in the student’s state of legal residence; or
- Are an unaccompanied homeless youth or unaccompanied, at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting.
Special Circumstances refer to financial situations in which a Financial Aid Administrator or students may utilize Professional Judgement on a case-by-case basis to adjust specific components of a student’s Cost of Attendance (COA) or the data that was used to calculate their Student Aid Index (SAI). Some examples of special circumstances that may be considered are:
- Change in employment status, income, or assets;
- Change in housing status (e.g., homelessness);
- Tuition expenses at an elementary or secondary school;
- Additional family members enrolled in college;
- Medical, dental, or nursing home expenses not covered by insurance;
- Child or dependent care expenses;
- Severe disability of the student or other member of the student’s household; and
- Other changes or adjustments that impact the student’s costs or ability to pay for college.
Limits on the use of Professional Judgment
Professional Judgment may not be used to modify the SAI formula tables used in the SAI calculation.
Professional Judgement may also not be used to waive general student eligibility requirements or to avoid the intent of the law or regulations.
Processing Requests for Professional Judgment
Student requests for Professional Judgment should be submitted to the Student and Financial Services Team.
All requests for the use of Professional Judgment are considered on a case-by-case basis and documented in detail in the student’s file. If an adjustment is made, documentation includes the reason for the adjustment and how it relates to the special circumstances that have arisen.
Professional Judgment may be applied to adjust either the cost of attendance in the student budget or a data element in the ISIR. If the data element in the ISIR is adjusted, the University will use the resulting SAI consistently for all federal student aid funds awarded to undergraduate students.
An aid administrator’s decision regarding adjustments is final and cannot be appealed.
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