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Applicants selected for verification will be notified via email notice of:
- The documentation needed to satisfy the verification requirements
- The student responsibilities with respect to the verification application information, including the deadlines for completing the process and the consequences of failing to complete the process
- The notification methods if the award letter changes as a result of verification and the time frame for such notification
- When the verification process is complete
The Financial Aid Office will provide a written verification notice to the student of the documents required to complete the process. The student must submit these documents to the Financial Aid Office in order to receive any Title IV aid for the award year.
Students cannot avoid the verification process by choosing to decline a Pell Grant or Subsidized Stafford loan, resulting in Unsubsidized Stafford funds only.
Submission of Verification Documents
In most cases, a completed Verification Worksheet is sufficient to complete verification, when the student uses the IRS Data Retrieval Tool available when filling out the FAFSA online. As a practice, and unless the student is selected for the verification process, the Financial Aid Office does not request Form W-2 Wage and Tax Statements with tax transcripts. W-2 forms are only requested when determining a separation of income, making a professional judgment, when the student is a nontax filer, and/or resolving conflicting data.
In the event the student has a qualified IRA rollover the University will request a written statement from the tax filer indicating the amount of the distribution that was included in the IRA rollover.
A student must submit all verification documents by the earlier of 120 days after the last day of the student’s enrollment or by the deadline published in the Federal Register (generally at the end of September following the end of the award year). Verification is considered complete when all requested documentation has been received, all errors have been corrected, and a valid ISIR is on file.
If required verification documentation is not submitted by the deadline, the student will not be eligible for any Title IV aid for the period of time the selected ISIR was used to determine eligibility.
Once a student is no longer enrolled, they may still submit verification documentation (using the deadline above) and receive a late disbursement if, during the time they were enrolled, the U.S. Department of Education had processed an ISIR with an official Expected Family Contribution (EFC). If the EFC changes based on the documentation received, any Pell grant award will be based on the higher EFC. As a reminder if the student is a Pell Grant recipient, certain Lifetime Eligibility Used (LEU) restrictions may apply.
Verification Exclusions
Applicants who fall into the following categories are exempt from the verification requirements unless there is conflicting data present in the file. Use of verification exclusions will be documented in the applicant’s record.
- Spouse Unavailable – applicant’s data must still be verified according to other requirements
- This exception is only for spousal data in which the:
- Spouse is deceased or mentally incapacitated
- Spouse is residing in a country other than the United States and cannot be contacted by normal means
- Spouse cannot be located because their address is unknown and the applicant cannot obtain it
- Parents Unavailable – applicant’s data must still be verified according to other requirements
- This exception is only for parental data in which the:
- Applicant’s parents are deceased or mentally incapacitated
- Parents are residing in a country other than the United States and cannot be contacted by normal means
- Parents cannot be located because their address is unknown and applicant cannot obtain it
- Death of a student - if an interim disbursement has been made and the student dies before verification is completed, no further verification is required
- No additional funds can be disbursed, including disbursement to any of the student’s beneficiaries
- The University re-verifies students who may have completed the verification process for the same award year while attending another institution
- An exception is made for undergraduate students who transfer from Rio Salado Community College
- The applicant is eligible to receive only unsubsidized student financial assistance
- The University must still verify the student’s identity and collect the statement of educational purpose for students selected for V4 and V5 verification
- The University is not required to verify proof of high school completion status for students selected for V4 and V5 verification because its admission process requires an academic transcript that indicates the student completed at least a two-year program that is acceptable for full credit toward a bachelor’s degree
- Not a Title IV Recipient – if a student will not be receiving federal student aid for reasons other than the failure to complete verification, verification is not required
If any of these exclusions apply, the appropriate documentation is maintained in the student’s file.
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