Professional Judgement is the process of reviewing an individual student's unique circumstance(s) and exercising the option to change certain elements on the FAFSA to help determine a student eligibility for financial aid.
When there are unusual situations or circumstances that impact your federal student aid eligibility, federal regulations give a financial aid administrator discretion (or professional judgement) to make adjustments to the data elements on the FAFSA that impact your Student Aid Index (SAI) to gain a more accurate assessment of your family’s ability to contribute to your cost of education. These situations are evaluated on a case-by-case basis and with adequate documentation. The Department of Education does not have the authority to override a school’s professional judgement decision.
Types of Professional Judgement
Special Circumstances refer to financial situations (loss of a job, divorce or separation, death, etc.) that justify an aid administrator adjusting data elements in the COA (cost of attendance) or in the SAI (Student Aid Index) calculation.
Unusual Circumstances refer to the conditions that justify an aid administrator making an adjustment to a student’s dependency status based on a unique situation. Financial Aid Administrators have the authority to determine independent status (dependency override) based on unusual circumstances which must be based on instances in which the student is unable to contact a parent or where contact with parents poses a risk to the student. Examples include, but not limited to, parental abandonment, human trafficking, refugee or asylee status, incarceration.