Tuition and School Fees Refunds
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This section includes information about income students may receive from refunds of tuition and school fees.
Policy
When a student who quits school receives a refund of tuition or mandatory fees, all of the following applies:
●Funds originally determined not countable that are refunded are not countable.
●Funds retained by the institution are not countable.
●The countable educational income budgeted and prorated during the period, remains countable and continues to be budgeted.
●When the refund is for an expense allowed as a deduction from countable educational income, the amount is prorated over the remainder of the period it is intended to cover.
Countable income is used to determine an income budget. (See Income Budgeting to see how FAA determines the income budget.) FAA needs to know about income that is both countable and not countable to determine whether a budgetary unit’s expenses are exceeding their income. (See Income Eligibility for more information about how FAA uses countable and not countable income.)
Procedures
Continue to count educational income budgeted during the period for which the countable income has been prorated. This includes those students who left school before a new NA application.
When the participant is present, have them sign the Authority to Release (FAA‑1765A) form to contact any companies or businesses involved. The FAA-1765A can be faxed or emailed to the participant's employer when it is not possible to use the Application for Benefits (FAA-0001A) or the HEAplus Authority to Release signed statement.
For additional policy and procedures, see Budgeting Educational Income.
NOTE Educational Income can be offset by educational expenses.
Verification
System interface and the case file(g) must be reviewed before verification is requested. No additional verification is needed when AZTECS interface or HEAplus hubs have verified the information.
The participant has the primary responsibility for providing verification. (See Participant Responsibilities – Providing Verification for additional policy.)
For NA, all of the following income is required to be verified before eligibility is determined:
●Reported on a new application, during the interview of a new application, or changes reported before the eligibility determination of a new application.
●Changes after an eligibility determination of a new application (e.g., a renewal application, mid approval contact, etc.) and any of the following apply:
The source of the income has changed.
The income is questionable(g) or unclear(g).
The reported income amount has changed by $51 or more.
The previous verification in the case file is more than 59 calendar days old.
For CA, all income is required to be verified before determining eligibility.
Educational income is offset by educational expenses.
Examples of verification that can be used for refunds of tuition and fees include, and are not limited to, any of the following:
●Award letter
●Loan paper
●School
●Student expenses
●Bank loan funds
●Participant statement verification for transportation expenses
●Expense receipts
●School budget sheet or computer printout
●Participant Statement verification when one of the following occur:
Obtaining documented or collateral contact verification may cause harm or undue hardship(g) for the participant.
When all of the following occur:
●Other attempts to obtain the verification have failed. This includes documented and collateral contact verification.
●The participant has requested assistance from FAA.
●The worker has evaluated the request for assistance and cannot obtain the verification from another acceptable source.
●The participant statement is not questionable(g).
AZTECS Keying Procedures
See the AZTECS Data Entry Guide for keying guidelines of the AZTECS income screens.
Divide the income by keying the specific number of months in the PERIOD field on EDWO. Do not change the number (1) in the PERIOD field when a monthly amount is budgeted.
Document the case file(g) thoroughly to support keyed codes, amounts, and frequencies. See the AZTECS Data Entry Guide for instructions on keying the AZTECS income screens.
NOTE Documentation must support determinations of eligibility and benefit level. Document in sufficient detail to ensure that any reviewer can assess whether the determination is reasonable and accurate. Include specific information regarding the reason the income is determined to be normal. (See Budgeting Income Documentation Requirements for additional information.)
Legal Authorities
7 CFR 273.9(c)(8)
AAC R6-12-503.
last revised 10/02/2023