500 Ind. Admin. Code 1-1-5

Current through January 8, 2025

Section 500 IAC 1-1-5 - Dependent and independent student status

Authority: IC 21-18.5-4-9

Affected: IC 21-12

Sec. 5.

(a) The commission shall classify applicants for awards into the categories of dependent or independent.

(b) With the exception of the conditional provisions identified in section 6 of this rule, an independent student is any applicant who is:

(1) twenty-four (24) years of age or older as of the following December 31 of the award year; or

(2) less than twenty-four (24) years of age as of the following December 31 of the award year, who:

(A) is an orphan whose natural or adoptive parents are deceased;

(B) is a ward of a court or was a ward of the court until the individual reached the age of 18;

(C) is a veteran who has engaged in the active duty in the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or Coast Guard and was released under a condition other than dishonorable;

(D) is an individual with legal dependents other than a spouse; or

(E) is married on or before the date of filing a need analysis application.

(c) An applicant not meeting the requirements of subsection (b) may be classified as an independent student by the executive director, designee, or eligible institution upon a finding based on documented facts that the applicant is independent due to unusual or unique circumstances under the following guidelines:

(1) Irreparable breakdown in the family.

(2) A death of sole supporting parents.

(3) Other unique circumstances that are substantially similar to (1) and (2) above [subdivisions (1) and (2)].

(d) An applicant not classified as an independent student under subsection (b) or (c) shall be classified as a dependent student.

500 IAC 1-1-5

Commission for Higher Education of the State of Indiana; 500 IAC 1-1-5; filed Feb 26, 1986, 4:10 p.m.: 9 IR 1576; filed May 11, 1987, 8:45 a.m.: 10 IR 1869; filed Jan 4, 1989, 3:00 p.m.: 12 IR 1201; filed Jan 9, 1996, 5:00 p.m.: 19 IR 1362; readopted filed Nov 30, 2001, 10:52 a.m.: 25 IR 1293; readopted filed Nov 30, 2007, 8:58 a.m.: 20071226-IR-585070702RFA

Transferred from the State Student Assistance Commission ( 585 IAC 1-9-5) to the Commission for Higher Education of the State of Indiana ( 500 IAC 1-1-5) by IC 21-18.5-1-2(c), effective July 1, 2012.