May 11, 2009 |
FSA Issues Updated Guidance on the Use of Professional Judgment Utah Higher Education Assistance Authority advises financial aid administrators that Federal Student Aid (FSA) has issued additional guidance on the use of properly documented professional judgment. Dear College Letter GEN-09-05 provides information regarding recipients of unemployment insurance benefits. Under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Labor, state unemployment agencies will send a letter to all recipients of unemployment insurance benefits to encourage them to consider enrolling in postsecondary education and applying for Title IV financial assistance. Financial aid professionals may use the letter as evidence that income earned from work is zero for purposes of exercising professional judgment. Unemployment benefits can also be considered zero when adjusting data items on the applicant’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Unemployed individuals will be able to present the letter for 90 days from the date of issuance of the letter. But aid administrators are instructed to not accept the letter from unemployment agencies if it is known that the applicant already has obtained other employment. FSA recognizes that appropriate use of professional judgment is likely to increase during this period of economic hardship. To allay concerns about program reviews, FSA clarified that for the 2008-2009 and 2009-2010 award years it will make adjustments to the risk-based model used to select institutions for review. The Dear Colleague Letter is available at: http://www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/GEN0905.html. Any questions related to this Bulletin should be directed to UHEAA Policy and Training at 801.321.7166, or by e-mail to mjohnson@utahsbr.edu. |
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