Federal Verification Process Policy

Each year, the federal government and/or MCHP Financial Aid Services randomly selects financial aid recipients for verification. The verification process requires a review of the information reported on the FAFSA for accuracy against documentation the student provides to our office.

The U.S. Department of Education has moved towards a more individualized verification process where only certain elements of verification are performed on students. This means that MCHP may not require the same documentation from each student selected for verification.

If a student is selected for verification, the student will be asked to submit a verification worksheet and may also need to provide copies of Federal Return Transcripts from the IRS website. Federal tax information (FTI) that is transferred via the FA-DDX to the FAFSA form is considered verified for Title IV purposes. The student should not submit a tax return or other verification documentation unless it is requested by Financial Aid Services.

Applications selected by the FPS (FAFSA Processing System) must be verified for those students to receive any subsidized student financial assistance. This includes Pell, SEOG as well as Direct Subsidized loans.

Procedure:

1. Students selected for verification are indicated by an asterisk (*) next to the Student Aid Indexv(SAI) amount on the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) or if determined to bevnecessary by the Financial Aid Specialist.
2. Students selected will receive notification via email or postal mail from the Financial Aid Officevas to what information is required, depending on the verification tracking group they fall intovand their dependency status. See the attached chart for the information to be verifiedvdepending on the tracking group.
3. Verification documents should be submitted as soon after notification as possible but no later than three weeks after notification of being selected for verification.
4. There are negative consequences resulting from failure to complete verification within a timely manner, including limited funding availability. Our goal is to help students avoid these consequences. Verification regulations require the following:
   1. Verification may result in FAFSA corrections that could change student award amounts and the amount a student owes.
   2. Estimated financial aid awards may be removed if verification is not completed within specified deadlines.
   3. Financial aid funds will not be applied as payment to a student account or disbursed until the verification process is completed.
5. If all items are verified, the financial aid process continues and aid is awarded and disbursed onto the student’s account as planned. If there are discrepancies that require correction the Financial Aid office will make corrections to the ISIR (FAFSA) online through the FPS. The student will be contacted to inform them that there has been a correction and if a revision has been made to their award via a revised Award Letter.
6. Individuals who have purposely misreported information or altered documentation to obtain financial aid funds fraudulently will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General.

Verification Tracking Groups
 

Approved:______________________________________________________________________
Monika Bissell, DBA
President