Unusual Circumstances, Professional Judgment, & Dependency Overrides
Students may appeal to the Office of Financial Aid if unusual family circumstances occur, by requesting Professional Judgment. The Financial Aid Appeal Committee will evaluate your appeal and can possibly adjust the cost of attendance or the information used to calculate your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) to take into account your unusual circumstances. These circumstances could include your family’s income loss, unemployment, unusual medical expenses, tuition expenses, or other. The Financial Aid Appeal Committee must have good reasons and documentation to use their Professional Judgment to make adjustments because of unusual circumstances. Appeals received after October 1, for income loss will remain pending until the student and/or parent turns in a copy of the federal tax return and all W-2’s for that year.
If you believe you have a special circumstance and are unable to provide parental information on your FAFSA, you are welcome to appeal to the Office of Financial Aid at ETSU to request a dependency override. Under very limited circumstances, an otherwise dependent student may be able to submit the FAFSA without parental information due to special circumstances. You will need to provide a written statement and documentation to verify your situation to the Office of Financial Aid at ETSU.
All appeals must be submitted to the Office of Financial Aid at ETSU. Appeal requirements and forms for Professional Judgments and Dependency Overrides can be found on our website. Please provide detailed information and documentation. Students may contact a counselor with any questions or concerns regarding their eligibility. The Financial Aid Appeal Committee and The Office of Financial Aid’s decision as to whether to make changes is final and can’t be appealed to the U.S. Department of Education.
Submission and approval of a professional judgment does not a guarantee a change in the student’s financial aid eligibility.
Consortium Agreement
A Consortium Agreement is a written contract between two or more eligible institutions enabling students to take coursework at different institutions simultaneously for the purpose of completing a degree. Under such an agreement, students may take courses at a “host institution” and have those courses count toward the degree or certificate at the “home institution”. The student’s home institution (assuming ETSU) is the institution that will grant the student’s degree or certificate. It is also the institution that will process, award, and disburse the financial aid. The “host institution” (example NESCC, Pellissippi, or other institutions”) will be required to fill out a form stating the tuition and fee cost at the host institution and the number of hours the student is enrolled at the host institution. This form must be returned to ETSU.A Consortium Agreement is not an application for “extra” financial aid. It merely allows a student to get the same amount of financial aid under the cost of attendance at ETSU that he/she would normally receive for registering for classes at ETSU. ETSU does not automatically send funds to the host institution on behalf of the student.
The Office of Financial Aid has the right to approve or deny any Consortium Agreement based on the information you provide on your Agreement paperwork and our policies and procedures.