Information for students about Professional Judgments & Base-Year Financial Information

1. Information for students aboutProfessional Judgments &Base-Year Financial Information [Your school logo & contact information here] For more information contact:

2. BASE-YEAR FINANCIAL INFORMATION What is it? Base-year financial information is the tax year used to enter financial data associated with taxes, income, and other financial resources on the FAFSA. Special circumstances are events that make the base-year financial information you provided on your FAFSA form not reflective of your family’s ability to pay. Types of events that can impact the accuracy of your base-year financial information include: • Unusual capital gains • Marriage or divorce • A change to your employment • Change in child support agreement / payments • Change in combat pay or special combat pay • A parent being called to active duty Learn more about special circumstances here.

3. PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT REASON: LOSS OF JOB What is it? If you, your spouse, or parent was employed during the tax year used on the FAFSA and is no longer employed, you should contact your Financial Aid office to see if Professional Judgment could result in additional financial aid to cover the cost of your education.  Whether you are receiving unemployment or have decided to go back to schoolinstead of looking for a new job, the FinAid office can review your previous and current financial situations to determine if moving from the traditional base-year financial information to current year is beneficial. What should I know / have when I call the FinAid office? • How much money you were making during the base year, for this discussion a copy of your tax returns and W-2s can guide the discussion. This may not be necessary if you used the Data Retrieval Tool to complete your FAFSA.  • When your employment ended—do you have a termination letter?  • Your current sources of income: wages, unemployment, public assistance.

4. PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT REASON: CHANGE IN JOB What is it? If you, your spouse, or parent was employed during the tax year used on the FAFSA and have seen a significant reduction in your salary or hours you should contact your Financial Aid office to see if professional judgment could result in additional financial aid to cover the cost of your education. Often occurs for a person with a commission-based job, or someone who has found work with a significantly lower compensation package. Your FinAid office can review your previous and current financial situations to determine if moving from the traditional base-year financial information to the current year is beneficial. What should I know / have when I call the FinAid office? • How much money you were making during the base year, for this discussion a copy of your tax returns and W-2s can guide the discussion. This may not be necessary if you used the Data Retrieval Tool to complete your FAFSA.  • When your employment or compensation changed—do you have paystubs?  • Your current sources of income: wages, unemployment, public assistance. • Documentation of hours worked.

5. PROFESSIONAL JUDGMENT REASON: NON-RECURRING INCOME IN BASE YEAR What is it? If you, your spouse, or parent had income reported on your taxes used to file your FAFSA that will not recur.  An example could be a 401 K cash-out or one-time bonus/payout.  What should I know / have when I call the FinAid office? • What the one-time income that was reported on the FAFSA was from.  • Have documentation showing that it was a one-time source of income. 

6. If you feel your situation has changed, our financial aid office is here to help you understand your options. Please contact us at: