Transcript Welcome [www.masfaa.org]

Good Afternoon! Welcome
to
Professional Judgement:
It’s Your Decision
Sit down…relax.
We will begin
shortly.
Professional Judgement:
It’s Your Decision
P.J. Basics
Fall 2002 MASFAA Conference
Scott D. Lewis, Debt Management Consultant
USA Funds Services
© NASFAA 2000
Topics Covered

Statutory Authority & Evolution

Underlying Concepts

Principles of Need Analysis

Professional Judgement Principles

Areas of Professional Judgement

Documentation
© NASFAA 2000
Statutory Authority

Section 479A of the
Higher Education Act
provides the authority
for the financial aid
administrator to
exercise discretion
known as “professional
judgement.”
© NASFAA 2000
HEA
Section
479A
Evolution
 Higher
Education Amendments of
1986 broadened professional
judgement authority
© NASFAA 2000
Underlying Concepts

Need Analysis used to
allocate limited financial aid
resources
© NASFAA 2000
Principles of Need Analysis
Family responsible for college cost
 Aid distributed based on ability to pay not willingness
 Ability to pay determined independent of
college cost
 Horizontal vs. vertical equity
 Snapshot approach
 Need Analysis results are a benchmark

© NASFAA 2000
Correction, Update or
Adjustment?
Correction = FAFSA information initially
reported incorrectly can be corrected
Update = Initial FAFSA information which
was correct when the FAFSA was filed,
but has since changed, can be updated
Adjustment = A financial aid administrator
wishing to make a change while
exercising professional judgement can
make an adjustment
© NASFAA 2000
Professional Judgement
Principles

Can use discretion in certain areas when a
student’s family has unique or
extraordinary circumstances

Circumstances must differentiate an
individual student from a class of
students
© NASFAA 2000
Professional Judgement
Principles (cont’d)
Must be made on an individual case-bycase basis
 Across the board changes are not
permitted
 Policies and procedures to objectively
identify students
 Subjective - No wrong or right answer
 You must make your own decision

© NASFAA 2000
Areas of Professional
Judgement





Dependency Status
Data Elements
Cost of Attendance
FFEL & Direct Loan
Eligibility
Satisfactory Academic
Progress
© NASFAA 2000
Cannot Use Professional
Judgement to:



Change a student’s status from
independent to dependent
Adjust the EFC directly
Alter the need analysis formula
or change table values
© NASFAA 2000
Cannot Use Professional
Judgement to: (cont’d)
Create a new category of costs
 Include expenses for post-enrollment
activities, such as bar examinations or
professional licensing fees, in the student’s
cost of attendance
 Circumvent statutory FSEOG selection
criteria

© NASFAA 2000
Documentation Requirements

You have the authority to
request and use
supplemental information

Special circumstances and
action taken must be
documented in the student’s
file
© NASFAA 2000
Purpose
of
Documentation
 Provides
additional
information and a history for
future reference
© NASFAA 2000
Two Types of Documentation
A written request from A clear record of:
the student and
– Decision made and how it
–
–
–
–
–
Letters
Bills
Receipts
Pay Stubs
Other third party
documentation
© NASFAA 2000
–
–
–
–
was reached
Decision date
Description and date of
actions taken
School policy and
procedure citation
Name and title of decision
maker
Maintaining Documentation

Documentation may be maintained in paper
or electronic files
© NASFAA 2000
Impact of Packaging Policies
and Available Funds
 Is
there additional aid available to
meet the increased need?
© NASFAA 2000
Case Studies



The Big Spender
You Never Know Who is Listening
Pickles or College
© NASFAA 2000
Professional Judgment:
It’s Your Decision
Questions?
© NASFAA 2000