09.14.09 | Professional judgement override on future earnings and income
In May, Education Secretary Arne Duncan alerted financial aid administrators that they should make students, parents, and families more aware of options for increased financial aid due to loss of job and income using the professional judgement override system. For consumers, asking for a professional judgement override on future earnings and income, along with proper documentation (tax returns denoting previous income, termination notice, and unemployment benefits paperwork) will allow families to ask for reconsideration of financial aid.
In recent professional judgements, additional help is being given by financial aid administrators by implementing guidance from the Department of Education that says unemployment benefits should also be discounted in financial aid appeals. This means that for families where unemployment benefits are the only source of sustenance income, financial aid will not be eating into your unemployment insurance.
If you’ve faced job losses recently, make sure you contact your school’s financial aid office to potentially appeal for more financial aid, and when you complete your 2010-2011 FAFSA, be sure you do NOT include unemployment benefits as additional income on your FAFSA.
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I am wondering also. I did an unusual circumstances form and my financial aid office received it on August 5, 2009, it has been 61 days so far, and I still haven’t heard anything. Was told it could take 45 to 90 days
October 5th, 2009 | #
I am just curious how long a school has to complete the professional judgement process?
September 30th, 2009 | #