Professional Judgment (PJ)

Professional Judgment refers to the authority of a university’s financial aid office to adjust the data elements on the FAFSA (special circumstances) and/or to adjust a student’s dependency status (unusual circumstances) on a case-by-case basis. The university does not have the authority to change the need analysis formula itself or to make direct adjustments to the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). Instead, the university may adjust the inputs to the formula. The changes to the inputs are dictated by the impact of the special circumstances on the family’s income and assets. The standard formula is then applied to the new data elements, producing a new EFC figure.
 
Examples:
• Reduction in household income due to layoff, furlough, job displacement
• K-12 private school tuition payments
• Deduction of one-time payments such as a 401k draw
• Dependency adjustment due to parental abandonment, human trafficking, abusive household
 
FNU Financial Aid Office recommends any student submitting an appeal to directly contact the Financial Aid Officer at your campus in order to start the PJ process.