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Professional Judgment in Financial Aid. Presented by – Samantha Veeder Director of Financial Aid Hobart & William Smith Colleges Guidance Counselor Workshop Syracuse, NY 11/15/01. PJ Definition.
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Professional Judgment in Financial Aid Presented by – Samantha Veeder Director of Financial Aid Hobart & William Smith Colleges Guidance Counselor Workshop Syracuse, NY 11/15/01
PJ Definition • Higher Education Act provides authority for financial aid administrator to exercise discretion in a number of areas. • Allows the financial aid administrator to treat a student individually when the student has special circumstances that are not sufficiently addressed by the standard approach. • Special circumstances are conditions that differentiate an individual student from a class of students rather than conditions that exist across a class of students. • Often used in cases of either dependency overrides or income/data element adjustments.
Areas to Perform PJ Adjustments • Need analysis • Cost of attendance • Dependent care • Computer purchase • Satisfactory Academic Progress • Refusal or adjustment of loan certification
Areas Where PJ Does NOT Apply Currently, FAA may not: • Change a student’s status from independent to dependent • Create a new cost category • Adjust EFC directly • Change the formula itself
Dependency Override “In unusual circumstances, a student who does not meet any of the dependency criteria may still be considered to be independent on the basis of the financial aid administrator’s professional judgment.” SOURCE: SFA Handbook
Independent Criteria Federal guidelines established in Higher Education Amendments of 1992. FAFSA questions 52-58. • 24 years old by 12/31 of the award year, • Veteran of the U.S. Armed Forces, • Graduate or professional student, • Married, • Orphan or ward of the court, • Has legal dependents other than a spouse.