Beginning this fall, students who have become estranged from their parents will have an easier time convincing the financial aid office that their aid packages should be increased, University President Lawrence H. Summers said earlier this month.

Speaking at the June 6 annual meeting of the Harvard Gay and Lesbian Caucus, Summers said that at his instruction the financial aid office was drafting new guidelines for the process under which students who develop irreconcilable conflicts with their parents may petition to be considered financially independent.

Being considered financially independent frees disowned students from the responsibility of making up the portion of their tuition that their parents withhold.

Members of the Harvard bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgendered (BGLT) community had criticized the current policy which required a student to withdraw from school for two years to prove their independence.

Many believed the policy had unfairly punished students who were disowned for revealing their sexuality.

At the dinner, Summers said that after hearing the issue raised during sessions with students, he had agreed that the current policy was flawed.

“I think this is an overdue change in response to a legitimate student concern,” Summers said.

Summers spoke in his speech of cutting the time off requirement to one year and waving it entirely for students who have their estrangement documented by the bureau of study counsel or another University body.

But Summers cautioned that the details of the policy change were not final and suggested students speak to the financial aid office for more information.

According to Sally C. Donahue, Harvard’s director of financial aid, work is underway on a policy that embodies the essentials Summers outlined. The key change will be the use of “third-party documentation” to pave the road for a student to be reclassified as independent.

The guidelines change, Donahue said, involves how the financial aid office deals with exceptions to their overall policy.

“Our policy does expect that parents contribute to the extent that they are able—not willing,” she said.

The two-year time off requirement has existed for around 15 years as a way of dealing with estrangement, and serves to prove students’ independence.

During the time parents are expected not to claim students as dependents on their tax forms and students must establish themselves as truly independent, Donahue said.

The two years also served as a “disincentive” for students and parents who might fake estrangement in an effort to get out of the parental contribution to aid.