1. Professional Judgment Roundtable
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

2. Champions of Financial Aid - 2017 ILASFAA Conference
Participants
Bruce Foote Executive Director of Financial Aid Veterans Certifying Official University of St. Francis Michelle Stipp ILASFAA President –Elect Director of Financial Aid Roosevelt University
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

3. Champions of Financial Aid - 2017 ILASFAA Conference
Participants
Yara Santana Director of Financial Aid John Marshall Law School Facilitator: Kathy Maxwell Associate Director of Student Financial Services Elmhurst College
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

4. Professional Judgment Basics
Case by Case basis
Used to address current circumstances not reflected on the student’s FAFSA
Should try to reflect the most accurate information about the ability of the student and family to pay for college
No right or wrong answer
Not unusual for FAA’s to review same situation and arrive at different but equally valid solution
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

5. Professional Judgment Basics
FAA authorized to request and use supplemental documents to make an informed and well-reasoned PJ decision
FAA may change COA or data used to calculate EFC
Reasons for the adjustment must be documented in student’s record
Nothing in federal statute shall be construed as limiting the authority of FAA to make adjustments
Thoughtful use of PJ may be critical to a student’s ability to begin or continue postsecondary education
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

6. Champions of Financial Aid - 2017 ILASFAA Conference
Common Reasons for PJ
Unemployment
Loss of income or benefits
Job change
Illness
Death
Retirement
Separation or Divorce
Non recurring income
Unusual out of pocket medical expense
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

7. Unreasonable uses of PJ
Vacation expenses
Wedding expenses
Tithing expenses
Standard living expenses- utilities, housing expenses, credit cards, children’s allowances
Standard maintenance items such as lawn care and home repair
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

8. Other considerations for PJ
Conflicting information must be resolved and verification (if applicable) must be completed before performing PJ
When submitting PJ changes to CPS, must set PJ flag to 1(EFC Adjustment Processed) If not done, students could be selected for verification.
FAA should keep in mind that Income Protection Allowance is included in EFC to account for modest living expenses. Most notably 11% of IPA for medical expense.
Other items in IPA: 30% food, 22% housing, 9% transportation, 16% clothing and personal, 12% other family expense.
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

9. Roundtable discussion
General comments from roundtable participant about PJ
How is Prior-Prior Year income data affecting PJ in ?
More PJ requests for ?
Different time frame for handling PJ’s from new or continuing students?
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

10. Roundtable discussion
Different time frame for PJ for different situations? (Permanent changes (death or divorce) processed earlier than job loss situations?
Using 2016 income or projected 2017? Give examples of when to use each.
For , how do you deal with PJ’s already done for regarding income loss in 2015?
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

11. Roundtable discussion
Other PJ situations due to 2015 income used for both and FAFSA?
Other PJ scenarios to discuss?
Questions from the audience
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference

12. Champions of Financial Aid - 2017 ILASFAA Conference
Resources
FSA Handbook , Application and Verification Guide, Chapter 5, page 119 “Special Cases”
Use of Professional Judgment when Prior-Prior Year Income is Used to Complete the FAFSA. GEN February 11, 2016
Prior-Prior Year and Professional Judgment
by PPY Implementation Task Force NASFAA News Item 12/21/16
Champions of Financial Aid ILASFAA Conference