|
Verification Process
Verification is a review process in which the Office of Financial Aid determines the accuracy of the
information provided on the student's financial aid application. During the verification
process the student and parent (if applicable) will be required to submit documentation for the amounts
listed (or not listed) on the financial aid application. Such documentation may include
signed copies of the most recent Federal income tax return for you, your spouse (if any)
and your parents (if you are a dependent student), proof of citizenship, proof of
registration with
Selective Service, and copies of Social Security benefit statements and
W-2 and 1099 forms, among other things.
Financial aid applications are randomly selected by the Federal processor for
verification, with most schools verifying at least 1/3 of all applications. If there is an
asterisk next to the
EFC figure on your
Student Aid Report (SAR), your SAR has been
selected for verification. Schools may select additional students for verification if they
suspect fraud. Some schools undergo 100% verification.
If any discrepancies are uncovered during verification, the Office of Financial
Aid may require additional information to clear up the discrepancies.
If you refuse to submit the required documentation, your
financial aid package will be
cancelled and no aid awarded.
Data Items to be
Verified
Items that generally must be verified by comparing
the data items on the Student Aid Report (SAR) with identical data items on the
IRS
tax return and other primary documentation are any of the following data
elements that were used in the computation of the student's EFC:
 |
Household size, |
|
|
Number enrolled
in college, |
|
|
U.S.
Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) for
base year, |
|
|
U.S. income tax
paid for base year, and |
|
|
Certain untaxed
income and benefits received in base year: |
| |
 |
Child
support if the school has reason to believe it was
received. |
|
|
Untaxed
payments to IRA and/or Keogh plans. |
|
|
Foreign
income exclusion. |
|
|
Earned
income credit. |
|
|
Interest on
tax-free bonds. |
|
|
Other
untaxed income included on the U.S. income tax return. |
|
|
Social
Security benefits. |
|
Except for Social Security and
child support, the required items of untaxed income can be
verified using the tax return or alternative tax documents.
Third party documentation of receipt of Social Security
benefits is only required if the institution has reason to
believe that benefits were received and not reported.
Otherwise the institution may accept the social security
amounts listed on a properly signed and completed Verification
Worksheet. Likewise, a completed Verification Worksheet is
sufficient to verify child support received.
Non-filers should check off that
they did not file a tax return and report the amounts and
sources of all untaxed income on a signed Verification
Worksheet.
Signature Requirements
Verification documents, other than copies of tax
returns, require the signature of the student and (if the student is
dependent) at least one of the student's parents without regard to which
parent's income was used in calculating the student's EFC. Adjusted Gross
income, income earned from work and U.S. taxes paid are verified using a copy
of a tax return signed by the filer (or at least one of the filers of a joint
return), by the preparer of the return, or officially stamped with the name
and address of the preparer of the return. Faxed or photocopied signatures on
verification documents are acceptable assuming that they are legible.
Reconciliation
When all necessary verification documents have
been obtained from the student, they should be compared with the information
originally reported on the application. If verification shows that all the
student's information is correct, and there is no conflicting information, aid
for which the student is eligible may be awarded and
disbursed.
 UP
|
