Yes. If a program specialist determines that the expense does not meet the criteria for a scholarship expense, the expense may be denied.
DirectPay: Expense denial may happen in the DirectPay process if an invoice includes an expense that is not an approved scholarship expense. For example, if a tuition invoice includes a late fee, or the invoice from a service provider includes an optional accessory like a t-shirt or hat that are not a required component of a student’s participation in the service, those items will need to be removed from the invoice before it may be approved.
Reimbursement: If a family is seeking reimbursement for an expense paid out of pocket, we encourage families to search the UFA Expense List and expense pre-approval process in order to make the transaction as simple as possible. An Request for Pre-Approval Form is submitted with the item, vendor, cost, reason for the purchase and relation to the student’s curriculum, and any links or other information that may be helpful for ACE to make a determination on the expense. Once pre-approval is confirmed by ACE, a family may purchase that item at that cost and must provide a receipt. A parent who plans to seek reimbursement for the purchase of an item or service that may not fall into a category of an allowable scholarship expense, and does not first gain pre-approval, risks their reimbursement request being denied ore delayed. The receipt that is uploaded by the family may only include approved scholarship expenses.
Ex:
A family requests pre-approval for a science kit, and the request is granted. While at the store, they also purchase crayons for which they did not seek pre-approval. The entire receipt would be APPROVED, since crayons are a scholarship expense.
A family requests pre-approval for a science kit, and the request is granted. While at the store, they also purchase bananas, which are a prohibited item. The entire receipt would be denied, since bananas are not a scholarship expense. The bananas would need to be purchased on a separate transaction.
A scholarship parent may appeal any administrative decision by the program manager, including expense denial. Click here to review our Help Center article on appealing an expense decision. If a scholarship expense is denied, but the item or service is on the approved expense list, ACE Scholarships will resolve that issue for the scholarship parent and honor the approval.