Provisional Independent Status Policy

HSU’s “Provisional Independent Status” policy is for students who are not able to contact a parent, or for whom contact with parents would pose a risk to the student. 

Under the “Provisional Independent Status” policy, otherwise dependent students may complete the FAFSA as a “provisional” independent student (having incomplete parental information) if they believe they may qualify for independent student status due to unusual situations such as:

• parental abandonment,
• abuse,
• neglect,
• legally granted asylum, or
• student or parental incarceration, and
• would likely meet the criteria for a dependency override.

When a student submits the FAFSA with the parental information section blank/incomplete, the Financial Aid Director/or designee would notify these students of the institution’s process, requirements, and timeline for requesting a dependency override using professional judgement (PJ).

Dependent students who do not provide parental data on the FAFSA will not have an expected family contribution (EFC) or estimated Pell amount. If the student is granted a dependency override, the student will be notified with a final determination of their dependency status once all of the documentation has been reviewed. If the student was granted a dependency override in a previous award year, HSU will carry foreward that decision from previous award years without collecting additional documentation unless the student reaches out and indicates that their circumstances have changed.