What students are verified?
All students selected by the Department of Education or CSAC for Dream Applicants will be verified.
The Department of Education can select students for verification at any point within the aid year, even after a disbursement has been made. Changes to the FAFSA can trigger changes to verification status. If a student is selected for verification after receiving Pell grant funds, the student must submit all required documentation. Failure to complete the verification process will result in an over-award status for the student and the student will be placed in repayment with the Department of Education and will lose eligibility for all financial aid at any institution until the over-award status is corrected.
Students who report on their FAFSA $0 income and report they did not receive any forms of general assistance will be selected for verification by the Financial Aid Office.
If the Financial Aid Office discovers conflicting information, students will be selected for verification. If conflicting information shows up after awarding/disbursing has taken place, it still must be resolved. No additional disbursement can be made until the issue is resolved.
Student information is reviewed at the time the FAFSA is received, including name, date of birth, social security number, citizenship, residency, etc. If during the review process it is determined, that the FAFSA contains verified information that differs from stored information in the student system, this information will be updated. For instance, if a student’s name, date of birth, and social security number pass the Social Security Administration (SSA) match during the FAFSA application process but the student system has different information, this information will be updated with the SSA matched information. In some instances students will be contacted for clarification before the application review process can be continued.
All students requesting a professional judgment will be selected for verification.
Verification of High School Graduation
Some students might be required to submit official high school transcripts as proof of high school graduation status. The Director of Enrollment Services and/or the Financial Aid Technician III may allow for other documentation in lieu of the high school transcripts on a case by case basis.
Foreign high school transcripts must be evaluated before submitting to Financial Aid. The student is responsible for having the transcripts evaluated and any costs that may incur. A high school diploma may be accepted in lieu of the foreign high school transcript in situations where the student is unable to obtain the information from the home country because of their refugee/asylee status. In those cases, the following documentation must be submitted to the Financial Aid Office:
- A signed and dated statement that indicates that the applicant completed his or her secondary school education in a foreign country, the name and address of the foreign high school where the applicant completed the secondary school education and the date when the foreign high school diploma was awarded.
- A copy of the entry status documentation that identifies the applicant’s current or prior status as a refugee, an asylee, or as a victim of human trafficking and who entered the United States after the age of 15
Students must submit required documentation by the posted deadline (found here) either in person, via mail, or scanned and emailed. The Financial Aid Office does NOT accept faxed paperwork.
The Financial Aid Office will not accept incomplete paperwork. All needed documents must be submitted at one time.
All files that are complete as of the deadline will be verified for that disbursement date.
It may be necessary for the Financial Aid Office to request further documentation during the verification process. Every attempt will be made to ensure processing before the disbursement date, but if the student fails to submit the documentation in a timely manner disbursement may be delayed.
