Verificatio

1
Verification
Session 34

• Marianna Deeken
• Virginia Hagins

2
What is Verification?

• Process by which certain required data reported
  on the FAFSA is reviewed for accuracy and
  completeness
• To protect taxpayer dollars and program integrity

3
Required Policies and Procedures

• Applicants responsibilities
• Clear explanation of documentation requirements
• Deadlines for student to provide documentation
  and consequences of failure to meet deadlines
• Method by which student is notified of award
  changes resulting from verification
• Procedures for correction of FAFSA data
• Procedures for referring overpayments to ED

4
Notice to Selected Students

• School must provide a written statement providing
  a clear explanation of the documentation
  requirements and the applicants responsibilities
  with regard to the verification process

5
How Are Applicants Selected?

• CPS selection
• Edit checks which identify inconsistencies
  and potential errors
• Random selection
• School selection
• Criteria set by school

6
Verification Exclusions

• Student is incarcerated
• Student is recent immigrant either calendar
  year of award year
• Student is deceased
• Student is Pacific Island resident
• Spouse/parent unavailable
• Physical or mental incapacity
• Lives in foreign country and cannot be reached
  through normal means of communication

7
How Many Do I verify?

• Selected by the CPS
• General requirement to verify all those selected
  by CPS
• BUT
• May stop at 30 of your applicant pool, if CPS
  selects more than 30

8
30 Verification Option

• Could be total number of students who
• Apply to the school
• Enroll at the school
• Receive Title IV aid
• Have an ISIR received by the school

• No school is required to verify more than 30 of
  its total number of Title IV applicants
• School must define total number of Title IV
  applicants

9
What Do I Verify?

• Required for CPS-selected applicant
• Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
• U.S. Income tax paid
• Household size
• Number in college
• Certain untaxed income and benefits

10
What Do I Verify?

• Certain untaxed income and benefits
• Social Security benefits
• Child support
• IRA/Keogh deductions
• Foreign income exclusion
• Earned Income Credit
• Interest on tax-free bonds

11
What Do I Verify?

• School-selected applicants
• School determines data elements to be verified
• Need not verify all required federal data elements

12
What Documents Do I Need?

• For taxable income, base year tax return
• For untaxed income and benefits
• Verification worksheet
• Official agency documentation
• Signed statement
• See FSA Handbook

13
How Do I Complete the Process?

• Compare the verification documents with the
  original FAFSA information
• May create own checklist/spreadsheet
• May use verification tool on FAA Access
• Determine that
• information is correct
• or
• corrections must be made
• May use tolerance option if all errors are dollar
  amount errors

14
Tax Return Data
15
Tax Return Data
16
ISIR Data
Tax
Return Filed?
WILL FILE Type of 2006 Tax Return Used
1040 Eligible to File 1040A or 1040EZ?
N0 Adjusted Gross Income
45007 U.S. Income Tax Paid
3311 Exemptions
Claimed 03
Father's Income Earned From Work
40000 Mother's Income Earned From Work
0 Total from Worksheet A
0 Total from Worksheet B
0 Total from
Worksheet C 0


17
Sample Comparison
This ISIR requires correction!
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Verification Status Codes

• Used when reporting Pell, ACG, SMART and Direct
  Loan payments to COD
• V - Verified
• S - Selected, but not verified
• W - Paid without Documentation
• Blank - ISIR not selected by CPS or school

19
Verification Tolerance

• No recalculation or reprocessing necessary if
• There is no change in non-dollar items used to
  calculate EFC
• AND
• There is no dollar error in excess of 400 as
  calculated by the following formula

20
400 Net Tolerance Option

• Original Data
• Total Income
• Taxes Paid
• Total

• Corrected Data
• Total Income
• Taxes Paid
• Total

Compare the two totalsDollar change amount lt or
to 400
21
Interim Disbursements

• If there is no conflicting documentation
• For Pell, ACG, National SMART Grant, FSEOG and
  Perkins
• May make one disbursement for applicants first
  payment period
• For FWS, employee may work for a maximum of 60
  consecutive days from start of enrollment
• For Direct Loan and FFEL
• May certify/originate subsidized loans
• May certify/originate/disburse unsubsidized and
  PLUS

22
Verification Deadline

• By the earlier of 120 calendar days after
  students last date of enrollment OR date
  specified in Federal Register
• Student must provide all verification
  documentation
• ISIR must be corrected, if necessary

23
Update Applicant Information

• For all students, must always update dependency
  status if it changes during an award year
• For students selected for verification by CPS,
  must always update household size and number in
  college at the time of verification

Unless the reason is a change in the students
marital status
24
Remember

• Conflicting information must be resolved,
  regardless of verification status
• Separate process from verification
• Involves any information of which the school has
  knowledge
• Must resolve before disbursing any aid

25
Contacts
We appreciate your feedback and comments. We can
be reached at

• Marianna Deeken
• Phone [phone]
• Email marianna.deeken_at_ed.gov

• Virginia Hagins
• Phone [phone]
• Email virginia.w.hagins_at_ed.gov

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• Please provide any comments regarding this
  training or the trainers to
• Jo Ann Borel
• Title IV Training Supervisor
• joann.borel_at_ed.gov
• 202-377-3930