Verification Procedures

Office of Financial Aid Home Page

The U.S. Department of Education may select a financial aid application for verification. This would require the college to obtain additional documentation in order to verify the information that the student and/or the parent gave on the Free Application for Federal Aid (FAFSA) prior to the disbursement of any financial aid funds. This may include signed copies of the student and/or parent federal tax returns, documentation of non-taxable income, information on household size and the number of people in the household in college, etc. The Financial Aid Office will notify students if they need to submit verification documentation.

One of the requirements for verification is that the appropriate verification worksheet must be completed with all questions answered.

Dependent students (who are required to report parent information on the FAFSA) complete the
Dependent Student Verification Worksheet.

Independent Students (who are not required to report parent information on the FAFSA) complete the
Independent Student Verification Worksheet.

These forms are in an Adobe Acrobat .pdf format. If you are unable to view .pdf files please download Adobe's free Acrobat Reader by clicking on this link: Free Adobe Acrobat Reader

Deadline Dates for Verification

.All applicants for whom the College has received a valid Student Aid Report (SAR or ISIR) while the student was enrolled must submit all required documentation by the deadline date. The deadline date for completing the verification process is August 31, or no later than 120 days after the students last day of enrollment, whichever is earlier. Any applicant who does not complete the verification process by the deadline date will forfeit all right to payment.

Notification to Student of Required Documentation of Verification

When a student's financial aid application indicates a need for verification, the student will be informed by mail, in a timely manner, what documentation is needed to satisfy the verification requirements. Any student who does not respond to requests for documentation will be contacted and informed about appropriate deadlines for verification and the consequences of failing to complete the verification process.

Notice to Student of Results of Verification

If as a result of verification, there are no errors discovered or the errors are within the approved tolerances, the student will be sent a financial aid award letter indicating eligibility. After verification has been completed, any loan applications on file will be processed. If as a result of verification, significant errors are discovered, the College will notify the student of the nature of the errors and corrections will be submitted through either the electronic financial aid processing system, or through the mail. The College must receive a valid student aid report (SAR or ISIR) by the student's last day of enrollment of the award year. Any student aid report received after that time will not be eligible for payment except in the case of students who were previously selected for verification.

Publicizing Verification Requirements and Procedures

The verification procedures and requirements listed here and published in the College catalog will also be given to the students in the Financial Aid Policies handout. This handout is provided to every student who receives a federal financial aid with the Financial Aid award letter.