Professional Judgment Roundtable

Presenters:

Tracey E. Galloway,Senior Student Aid Coordinator, Penn State University

Sheila Nelson-Hensley,Director of Financial Aid, Point Park University

Matt Stokan,Director of Financial Aid, Waynesburg University

According to the Federal Student Aid Handbook, Professional Judgment is used in Special Cases:

There are unusual situations where you will need to exercise your discretion as a financial aid administrator: when modifying the student’s data that calculate the EFC, performing dependency overrides, resolving conflicting information, reporting cases of fraud, and determining a student to be an unaccompanied homeless youth.

Examples:

Dependency Override Income Changes

Increased Cost of Attendance Needs Analysis

Dependency Override

Alexander Aaronson is a 17-year-old high school student who will be a freshman during the 2013-14 school year. When he was eight, he went to live with his grandfather and grandmother because his parents divorcedand were unable to care for him. His grandparents did not legally adoptAlex, he was never declared a ward of the court, and he never had a legalguardian appointed for him.

Alex’s parents both live in other states and he communicates with themonly sporadically. Although they do occasionally send him gifts andmoney, they do not contribute regularly to his support. His mother is single and has a low-paying job. She also has a daughter who lives with her. Although she would be willing to complete and sign Alex’s FAFSA, she cannot afford to support him financially.Alex’s father is remarried and has a job that pays well. However, he hasthree other children living with him, and he claims he cannot help Alex. Infact, he has not provided any support since the divorce. He refuses to fillcomplete any forms or sign any papers.

Dependency Override

 Bianca Beltz will be a junior in 2013–14. She is 21 years old, and for the 2011–12 and 2012–13 award years she was independent because

shewas married. In October 2012, Bianca and her husband divorced andBianca moved back home with her parents. She and her husband filed ajoint federal tax return for 2012. They had a combined income of $25,000in 2012, $2,500 of which was her income from a Federal Work-Study job.She expects to earn about the same in 2013.Bianca’s parents are providing a place for her to live, but they claim theycannot contribute toward her educational costs since they are alsosupporting Bianca’s younger sisters who are both in high school. Bianca’s parents earned $40,000 in 2012.

Projected-Year Income Examples

James Jones plans to return to college during the 2013–14 award year after taking some time off. In 2012 (the base year), he worked full time and earned $25,000. He intends to quit his job in August 2013, and attend school full time. James’ 2013 projected-year income will be significantly less than his 2012 base-year income. In this case, it may not be reasonable to use an EFC based on James’ base-year income to determine his eligibility for financial aid. Therefore, you may decide to adjust the income data using his projected-year income to reflect the income reduction and to recalculate the EFC.

Projected-Year Income Examples

Sara Smith is a freshman during the 2013–14 school year. Sara’s mother, Jane, is a single parent. Jane was laid off from her job in December 2012. Her adjusted gross income on her 2012 tax return is $56,300. She is currently looking for another job, but without success so far. She has been collecting $2,500 per month in unemployment benefits since January 2013.

Increased Cost of Attendance

Bob Turner is in his senior year as an engineering major at the University. As part of his Senior Seminar, he needs a laptop with specific software to complete his projects. The cost of the laptop and the software is $2,590.

Needs Analysis Changes

Amy Arndt is 18 years old and will be a freshman in college in 2013–14. In 2012, her father received a $10,000 bonus for being his company’s top salesperson. In addition, Amy’s mother appeared as a contestant on a TV quiz show and won $5,000, which the family reported on their 2012 tax return. Amy’s father does not expect to receive a bonus in 2013. In fact, his company is downsizing and he could be laid off. In addition, the family used Amy’s mother’s winnings to pay off a car loan. Her parents’ income in 2012 was $60,000. They estimate that their 2013

income will be around$48,000.

Needs Analysis Changes

In 2013–14, Barry Ballard will be a first-year law student at The

Earl Warren Law School in Los Angeles. Barry lived in New York City and claims to have incurred considerable expenses associated with moving from New York to Los Angeles. These expenses include $4,000 for the moving company, $300 for hotel, meals, etc., on his way to Los Angeles, and $2,700 for new furniture for his new apartment. He put all of these expenses, totaling $7,000, on his credit card and would like you to adjust his cost of attendance in order to be reimbursed. In addition, Barry quit his job as a paralegal with a New York City law firm when making the move. His 2012 income was $33,000. He expects to

live off of his savings and student loans while in law school.

THANK YOU!!

QUESTIONS

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FURTHER DISCUSSION