Ethics, Prejudice and
Professional Judgment
Catherine Boscher-Murphy
Goals of this Session
• Quickly define professional judgment
• Review current statute and areas where
professional judgment can be exercised
• Outline ethical and prejudicial stumbling
blocks to performing PJ’s
• Interactive discussion
What is Professional Judgment?
• Professional judgment is the authority
provided under the Higher Education
Act for financial aid administrators to
exercise discretion in specific areas of
student aid administration
• Professional judgment is not regulated
by the Department of Education
Why is PJ Important?
• Enables FAA to respond appropriately to
student’s individual circumstances that
were not anticipated in legislation or
regulation
– something unique
– merits individual attention
Areas where PJ does not apply
• Professional judgment may not be used
to:
– Change a student’s status from
independent to dependent
– Devise a new category of costs
– Adjust the bottom-line EFC
– Change the EFC formula itself
Areas where PJ does not apply
– Make an otherwise ineligible student
eligible for Title IV aid
– Circumvent the intent of the law or
regulations
– Include post-enrollment expenses in
COA (except where allowed in regulation)
– Circumvent FSEOG selection criteria
Cases where a dependency override is
not allowed
• Parents refusing to contribute to the
student’s education
• Parents unwilling to provide information
on the FAFSA or for verification
• Parents not claiming student as a
dependent for tax purposes
• Student demonstrating total selfsufficiency
from DCL GEN-03007 May 2003
Using Professional Judgment
• Some financial aid administrators
(FAAs) are reluctant to use professional
judgment – why?
Ethics - a definition from the Josephson Institute
• Principles that define behavior as right,
good, and proper
– provides for respect for others
– provides a means of evaluating and
deciding among competing options
– not the same as values (which can change from
person to person and over time)
Ethics in PJ
• Focus on circumstance that impacts family’s
ability to pay
• Review entire financial situation
– may be items that offset the circumstances
• Collect data from other campus staff
– can they round out or complete the picture?
• Although there is no requirement that the FAA
reach the same decision in two similar cases, an
ethical approach suggests consistency be the
guiding principle
Institutional Issues
• Does your school/director allow for
PJ’s?
• Has staff been trained?
• Is there a consistent process?
• Are you pressured to do PJ’s by
institutional colleagues?
Admission, athletics
Personal Prejudice in PJ
• Does your background or upbringing get
in the way of performing a PJ under
certain circumstances?
– Let’s explore different opportunities for PJ
and see if prejudice may exist and inhibit
decision making
Objectivity in PJ
• Are all students completing same form
• Are all students submitting similar
documentation
• Do different staff members do things
differently
Subjectivity in PJ
• Discretionary vs. non-discretionary items
– cost of living expenses, credit card expenses, allowances
• Necessities vs. lifestyle choices
– vacations, weddings, expensive cars
• Decisions made by one school are not
binding at another school
• Administrators do not have to agree
• Do your policies include or exclude
circumstances?
• Can you make a logical argument for the PJ?
Typical Examples of Unusual Circumstances
• Loss of employment of family member
• Separation/Divorce of parent or
independent student
• Disability or Death of parent or
independent student’s spouse
Typical Examples of Unusual Circumstances
• Unusual family medical or dental
expenses not covered by insurance
• Tuition expenses at elementary or
secondary school for student’s siblings
or dependents
• Prejudice?
• Extraordinary dependent care expenses
Would you consider…
• COA adjustments for:
•
•
•
•
computer or computer software
trips required by the class
equipment/tools/supplies
uniforms
Would you consider…
• Independent status:
– living with relatives due to violence, abuse
but no official intervention
• no court papers or DYFS involvement
– cultural differences related to higher
education
Would you consider…
• Reducing student income if they help
pay for family expenses?
– Student earned $12,000 last year and gave
$10,000 to parent for household expenses
Would you consider…
• A PJ for a student who willingly and
deliberately quit their job to go back to
school?
Would you consider…
• Unemployment of a dependent student?
Would you consider…
• One time events inflating the AGI:
– insurance payout
– pension distribution
– gambling winnings
Would you consider…
• Reduction in over time pay?
The Wilder Side of PJ
• Subsequent year requests?
– year 1 - loss of employment
– following year, loss of unemployment
benefits
– what about the second year of a pension
distribution (again, to pay for basic living
expenses or college)
– What about the teacher or construction
worker that is unemployed every year for
several months
The Wilder Side of PJ
• How about this one?
The Wilder Side of PJ
The Wilder Side of PJ
• Transgender student
– Unusual expenses
– Surgery
Documentation
• Documentation serves the following
purposes:
– Provides information in addition to that
reported on FAFSA and other application
documents (e.g., third-party
documentation, copies of receipts, or
canceled checks)
– Provides history of student’s circumstances
for future reference
Two Types of Documentation
• One type encompasses materials
collected to support the student’s
request
• Other type constitutes a clear record of
school’s decision, how it was reached,
and the actions taken
Things to remember:
• Performing PJ’s is optional, not mandatory
• Are the decisions following the intent of the
regulation?
• Decisions must not discriminate against the
student
• Are multiple cases treated in the same way?
Things to remember:
• For Dependency Overrides, the
situation must be revisited each year to
determine that the circumstances are
still in effect
• PJ decisions combine common sense
and economics with ethics
• What you do on the federal side cannot
always be repeated for state grant funds
For further review
• NASFAA Statement of Ethical Principles
• NASFAA Guide to Addressing Special
Circumstances (2003-04)
• www.finaid.org