Verification policy

Verification is a process requiring students to verify specific items reported on the  Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Students are randomly selected by the Department of Education to complete the process. Not all students selected for verification will be requested to verify the same items.

Notification

You will be notified by mail if you have been selected for verification. Notification will include the items required from you, acceptable documentation, a requested time frame to comply, and the consequences for not complying. Follow-up notification will be through mail and/or email accounts provided to the college.

Deadline

Students must provide verification documentation prior to the last day of the student’s enrollment for campus-based, Direct Loan, and institutional need-based aid. Verification documentation must be provided for Pell Grant applicants prior to 120 days after the last day of the students’ enrollment, or the published deadline date provided by the Department of Education.

Consequences of not submitting verification information in a timely manner

Incoming first-year students may be awarded an estimated financial aid award prior to verification being completed, but will not have aid disbursed to their billing account until verification is complete.

Continuing students will not have a financial aid award calculated until verification is complete. Current students, upon request, may ask for an estimated award prior to verification being completed. Estimated awards for current students will not be “final” or disbursed to the billing account until verification is completed.

All students who have not completed verification requirements will not have financial aid disbursed to their billing account, and risk restriction from registering for the following term.

Review of submitted verification materials

Corrections to your FAFSA may be made once verification items are submitted and reviewed. If you have an estimated financial aid award, your award may be re-calculated if there is a change to your Estimated Family Contribution (EFC) and federal need as determined by the FAFSA.

Commonly requested verification items and documents

Each student selected for verification will be notified of specific verification requirements. Commonly requested items are:

1. Tax data. Tax information can be verified either by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool in your FAFSA application or by obtaining an IRS Tax Return Transcript. To request an IRS Tax Return Transcript, choose Get Transcript By Mail.

2. Verification worksheet. Common items on the verification worksheet are confirmation of household size and number in college, verification of non-tax filing status (if a tax return was not filed), and untaxed income items.

Verification worksheets can be found on the Forms page.