Financial Aid Policies

Professional Judgment Policy

  A Professional Judgment Request (PJ), along with requested documentation can be submitted to the Financial Aid Office for review. The financial aid officer, on a case by case basis and consistent with federal guidelines will consider a student’s request for adjustment to their Estimated Family Contribution (EFC), based on a change to their financial circumstances after the original FAFSA has been completed. A PJ request is permitted because the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) does not afford the opportunity to provide details about special circumstances that could impact a student’s ability to pay costs associated with their program of study. The financial aid office, along with the 3^rd party processor (Weber & Associates, Inc.), is expected and required to make reasonable decisions that support the intent of the federal guidelines regarding professional judgment. Faith Evangelical College & Seminary is held accountable for all professional judgment decisions made, and for fully documenting each decision. The decision of the financial aid office is both discretionary and final; there is no appeal process to the U.S. Department of Education. This policy sets forth guidelines regarding how professional judgment in financial aid will be exercised at Faith Evangelical College & Seminary.   A PJ can be considered for the following circumstances to be considered on a case by case basis (is not an exhaustive list):

• unusually high dependent-care costs;
• changes to dependency status;

unusually high medical expenses not covered by insurance;

• eldercare expenses, including nursing home fees not covered by insurance;
• secondary-school tuition for a student’s dependent children;
• changes in a family’s reported income due to: death or disability of a wage earner; divorce; unemployment of a family member or anticipated drop in family income; termination of a child-support agreement; unusual debt incurred to cover the costs associated with a special circumstance

A PJP cannot be considered for the following circumstances (is not an exhaustive list):

• circumventing the law or regulations;
• voluntary reduction in employment to complete education;
• waiving general student eligibility requirements;
• changing a student’s status from independent to dependent;
• adjusting the EFC directly;
• altering the need analysis formula;
• creating a new category in the cost of attendance.
• vacation expenses;
• tithing expenses;
• standard living expenses (e.g., utilities, credit card expenses, children’s allowances, etc.);
• mortgage payments;
• car payments; or
• other discretionary expenses.

Requesting a Professional Judgment Review: If a student or prospective student believes he or she has a situation that would qualify to be reviewed, the student or prospective student must submit the request in writing to the financial aid office. If the financial aid officer deems that the situation is eligible for review (each situation is reviewed on a case by case basis), the financial aid officer will request specific documentation (it is at the financial aid officer’s and/or 3^rd party processor’s discretion as to what type of documentation can be requested to make a determination) from the student. All information requested, which includes but is not limited to: third party letters/affidavits; proof of unemployment benefits; death certificate(s); divorce decree; verification of federal assistance (TANF, WIC, etc); extraordinary medical expenses or dependent/elder care expenses, must be dated and signed when submitted. Once all of the documentation has been received and reviewed, the financial aid officer will submit the information to the 3^rd party processor for processing. The 3^rd party processor may require additional information to be submitted by the student and/or the institution. The 3^rd party processor, in most circumstances, will make a determination within three weeks or less. The student will be notified via email through the Virtual Financial Aid Office (VFAO), with a revised Award Notice/Disclosure Statement. In some cases, professional judgment adjustments to the FAFSA do not result in significant changes to the EFC, and therefore do not change a student’s financial aid package.

Approval of the Professional Judgment Review

If an adjustment to the student’s EFC is approved, the adjustment will be made to the student’s FAFSA by the 3^rd party processor. When the student’s corrected FAFSA returns, the student’s Direct Loans will be reallocated based on these results. Supporting documentation will be placed and maintained in the student’s financial aid file.  

Misc. information regarding a professional judgment

• A professional judgment does not transfer from one institution to another.
• Dependency overrides typically are not considered under the category of professional judgment, unless extreme conditions exist and can be document. This is determined on a case by case basis.

Adopted 1/28/12

In order to be eligible fora Book Advance Payment you must complete ALL of the following steps:

• File the FAFSA for the correct year, complete the Student Interview on the Virtual Financial Aid Office (VFAO) for the correct year, and have a valid Master Promissory Note (MPN) for the correct type of financial aid on file;
• Be Pell Grant eligible;
• Submit any requested documents to the Financial Aid Office at least THREE WEEKS prior to the last day of regular registration (the first day of the quarter);
• Have a balance (unused portion) of the Pell Grant after all tuition and fees have been applied;
• Be registered for the appropriate hours (either full-time or three-quarter time) and have your registration finalized at least TWO WEEKS prior to the last day of regular registration (the first day of the quarter).

Failure to meet ALL of the above requirement will result in not receiving a Pell Book Advance Payment. As noted above, it is of utmost importance to file your FAFSA, complete the Student Interview on the VFAO, have a valid MPN on file, follow-up with any emails or calls from the Financial Aid Office as soon as possible, as well as register and finalize your registration as early as possible to be considered for a Pell Book Advance Payment. Notes regarding the Pell Book Advance payment:

• The payment will be mailed to the address listed in Populi by the first full week of classes.
• The amount of the Pell Book Advance payment is contingent upon the credit hours for which the student is enrolled each quarter.
• The amount of the Pell Book Advance payment will be deducted from your Federal Pell Grant before any disbursement remainder refund is issued to the student.
• If additional funds remain after the payment of tuition and book charges, students will receive a financial aid disbursement remainder check no later than 2 weeks of receipt of funds to the school.

A student receiving financial aid is responsible to adhere to all college & seminary academic standards and meet minimum Satisfactory Academic Progress standards as determined by the U.S. Department of Education. Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) describes the minimum academic standards that must be met to establish eligibility for financial aid.

These minimum academic standards involve the cumulative grade point average, the total credit hours earned, and the time limits of a program. To be eligible for financial aid a student must, at the end of each evaluation period, earn at least a specified percent of the total credit hours attempted with a cumulative GPA at or above a specified minimum. The maximum number of credit hours that may be attempted with financial aid support is 150 percent of the total hours for the degree program. The maximum time limit for which an undergraduate or graduate student will be eligible for aid is 150 percent of the time frame for the given program of study. Eligibility is based also on hours attempted. Attempted hours are those classes for which credit is earned or not earned whether or not the class affects a student’s GPA. Examples of attempted hour listings: F for fail, I for incomplete, IP for in progress, and W for withdraw. Repeated courses and transfer credits are also counted in attempted hours for financial aid purposes.

Students are evaluated academically at the end of each quarter, noting specifically minimum GPA requirements. The SAP evaluations are performed by the Financial Aid Officer and are used to determine financial aid eligibility for the next quarter and/or academic year. SAP includes maintaining the minimum GPA level for the program (2.0 cumulative each quarter for undergraduate programs and 2.5 cumulative each quarter for graduate programs) and also requires that students be on pace to complete their program within the maximum time limits. If a student is not meeting the minimum SAP standards and denied financial aid, there are opportunities to regain eligibility through an appeals process or by meeting SAP standards by successfully taking additional courses. If a student is determined to have dropped below minimum SAP standards, they will be notified in writing within a reasonable amount of time (normally before the beginning of the next quarter) indicating the specific standard(s) they failed to meet, the immediate consequences of not meeting the standard(s), and their options regarding appeals and reinstatement; all appeals will be reviewed by an Appeals Committee. The appeal must include the circumstances that led to unsatisfactory academic progress and what has changed in the studentʼs situation that will allow the student to make progress by the end of the next evaluation period.

The student will be notified of either approval or denial of the appeal. If the appeal is approved the student will be placed on financial aid probation and an individualized academic plan will be developed. Students who do not follow the academic plan and fail to make required progress may submit one more appeal. There is a limit of two appeals that may be submitted per degree program, after which the student may be ineligible to receive further Federal Financial Aid funds. These policies apply to all students (full-time, 3/4 time, or part-time, undergraduate or graduate), who enroll at the institution and receive financial aid.

Note: Students who have initiated a degree program are expected to enroll for three consecutive quarters during the academic year (normally Fall, Winter, and Spring) either as half-time or less, 3/4 time (BA only), or full-time. A student also may enroll for a fourth quarter but it is not required for the purposes of Federal Financial Aid. However, if a student wishes to take any quarter off, he/she must notify the financial aid office in writing (see Leave of Absence Policy). A student not notifying the financial aid office is subject to an exit interview and will be reported to the Department of Education with a status of “withdrawn.” This will initiate loan repayment after six months (based on studentʼs current grace period status).

A student must notify the institution in writing of a Leave of Absence (LOA). LOA for financial aid students is defined as the student not enrolling in consecutive quarters (unless the degree program has been completed), including but not limited to Summer quarter. If a student does not return to the school at the expiration of an approved LOA (or if a student takes an unapproved LOA), the studentʼs withdrawal date is the LOA expiration date. A student granted a LOA is considered to remain in an inschool status for loan repayment purposes. If a student on an approved leave fails to return, the school must report the change in enrollment status as of the withdrawal date. A possible consequence of not returning from an approved leave is that the studentʼs grace period for loans might be exhausted, causing the student to go into repayment. A student who has exhausted their grace period may apply for a Deferment or Forbearance.