Bethany's Testing

The Department of Education refers to appeals which are submitted to update or correct Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) information as professional judgments. These include....

Professional Judgment

The FAFSA Simplification Act distinguishes between different categories of professional judgment by amending section 479A of the HEA.

• Special Circumstances refer to the financial situations (loss of a job, etc.) that justify an aid administrator adjusting data elements in the COA or in the EFC 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 (e.g., human trafficking, refugee or asylee status, parental abandonment, incarceration), more commonly referred to as a dependency override.