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The United States Department of Education directs schools to determine costs associated with attendance to determine the amount of financial aid for which a student may be eligible. The Cost of Attendance (COA) estimates a student鈥檚 educational expenses for a period of academic enrollment. The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA), defines the COA components for all federal student aid (FSA) programs in section 472.
The COA is established each award year for the academic year. COA components include allowances for estimated costs for tuition/fees, books/course materials/supplies/equipment, transportation, living expenses (housing and food), personal expenses and licensure/professional certification, if applicable. These are basic COA components for all students; other cost categories may be included in a student鈥檚 COA, based on individual circumstances.
The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, Section 479A provides that aid administrations may use Professional Judgement on a case-by-case basis for special or unusual circumstances.
A student may have both a special circumstance聽and聽an unusual circumstance.聽The Financial Aid Office considers all such requests and communicates options to all students by publicly disclosing the opportunity to request adjustments based on special or unusual circumstances to all students on the institution鈥檚 financial aid webpage.