Financial Aid Federal Verification

Verification

Financial Aid Federal Verification

What is Federal Verification?

Federal verification is a process used to confirm data you provided on your Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Verification ensures that the information students and parents report is accurate. Verification prevents ineligible students from receiving aid and helps make certain that eligible students receive the aid they are qualified for. The U.S. Department of Education may select your FAFSA for verification.

Effective from July 17, 2012, based on guidance issued from the United States Department of Education which delineates five Verification Tracking Groups, we have modified what we request from students and families. The implementation of the five groups moves toward the goal of customized verification, which limits the items that most students must verify. It is our intent to make this process as quick and painless as possible.

The Five Verification Tracking Groups for 2023-2024 & 2022-2023:

  • V1-Standard
  • V2-Reserved
  • V3-Reserved
  • V4-Custom Verification Group
  • V5-Aggregate Verification Group

Some reasons that the U.S. Department of Education may have selected your FAFSA include:

  • Incomplete information on your FAFSA
  • Estimated information on your FAFSA
  • Your information was outside the U.S. Department of Education's tolerance levels
  • The data you provided on your FAFSA is inconsistent

Want more information about Verification?

Verification Process

If your FAFSA is selected for verification you will need to submit specific documentation to the UCCS Financial Aid Office. Not all students will have to submit the same documents.

Required Documentation for Verification: Refer to your myUCCS Portal for specific requests related to your file.

*We may request additional documentation after the initial evaluation of your file.

**Do not send us documents until we request them. Unsolicited documents may delay your processing.

Parent Signature on Documents - beginning May of 2023, our Office began allowing certain verification forms to be completed by parents electronically.  The forms that are eligible for this process will automatically list the parent's email address from their FAFSA.  Once the student completes the form, an email will be sent to the parent at the email address.  The parent then clicks on the hyperlink to access, edit and sign the form. 

Student and parents are NOT required to sign the form electronically.  If you opt out, the form needs printed, signed by hand and returned to our office. 

Once the parent submits the form, they will not receive a confirmation that the form is complete; however, clicking submit saves the form in our system and the form will continue its review process. 

Forms may not be opened by multiple users at the same time.  Be sure to close the form once you are done.

Once the UCCS Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment receives your documents we will review your FAFSA data. In reviewing the information, we may have additional requests or clarifications that are needed. Be sure to check your UCCS email often, as requests will be sent there.  Submit the requested information as soon as possible so we can continue the review of your file. Failure to submit the requested information prevents us from completing your file, you knowing your aid package, and from receiving most disbursements of funds.

Our review may result in changes to your FAFSA and in some cases, may change your aid offer. Should a change be made to your information you will receive an e-mail from the Federal FAFSA processor at the e-mail address(es) you listed on your FAFSA notifying you that there is a new Student Aid Report (SAR). Please review the information that was changed and if you have concerns or questions contact us at the e-mail address below. If you already received awards prior to verification and were subsequently selected, if once verification is complete there are changes to your awards you will receive an e-mail at your UCCS e-mail address notifying you to check your portal to review your awards. If your aid has already been disbursed, and your aid offer has changed due to verification, you may be required to pay back all or a portion of your aid.

Secure File Upload

Please do not email sensitive information such as tax returns listing social security numbers or other personally identifiable information. You should always redact social security numbers, but always list the UCCS student ID number and student name on all documents submitted.  

UCCS provides a secure file upload system to submit your information and safeguard your personal data. Visit finaid.uccs.edu/upload for more information.

Processing Time

You can expect the processing of your verification paperwork to take up to three weeks from the date you turn in all requested documentation as we will not review incomplete files.

Please also be aware that the UCCS Office of Financial Aid and Student Employment experiences seasonal changes in volume. These changes may affect expected processing times.

Deadline Information

We recommend that you complete verification as soon as possible so you will know your financial aid package. You will NOT be offered aid until your file is completed. Consequently, you may be negatively impacted due to fund availability the longer you wait to submit your documents.

For students selected for verification, you must complete the process by the deadline published in the Federal Register:

  • For 2023–2024 the deadline date is September 21, 2024 however, corrections may not be sent by the school after September 14, 2024 and corrections may not be submitted by the student after June 30, 2024.  Fall Only 2023 students would have until April 12, 2024 to complete their file.
  • For 2024–2025 the deadline date will be mid-September 2025; however, corrections may not be sent by the school after TBD and corrections may not be submitted by the student after June 30, 2025.  Fall Only 2024 students would have until April TBD, 2025 to complete their file. (not published as of 1/19/2024)
  • For 2022–2023 the deadline date is September 16,2023; however, corrections may not be sent by the school after September 9, 2022 and corrections may not be submitted by the student after June 30, 2023.  Fall Only 2022 students would have until April 16, 2023 (last working business day prior to this date would be April 14, 2023) to complete their file.

Verification is complete when we have received all the requested documentation and a valid ISIR or SAR (one on which all the information is accurate and complete). This includes any necessary corrections, which must be made by the Federal Register deadlines for submitting paper or electronic corrections.

If your file is selected for verification after you have been awarded aid, the deadline for verification for most aid is thirty (30) days from the date you were notified via Information Request Letter (IRL).

If verification is not completed within 30 days:

  • You will not receive any additional disbursements of FSEOG funds,
  • You will not be permitted to work a work-study job or have any further work-study earnings,
  • You will not receive any additional Direct Subsidized Loans,
  • Additionally, you must repay any FSEOG and/or Pell money already received for this year,
  • Any undisbursed supplemental grants and work-study you may have been offered will be canceled,
  • The treatment of any already disbursed supplemental grants and work-study will be considered on a case by case basis,
  • Scholarships are examined on a case by case basis as some are subject to verification and some are not.

Your file will be placed back in to a status that will allow you to be reconsidered for all aid eligibility should you complete the verification requirements at a future date. Do realize that efc changes from verification and fund eligibility may result in a much different aid package than you previously received.

Referral of Fraud Cases

If UCCS suspects that a student has fraudulently reported data or documents in the pursuit of obtaining aid, staff will notify the Senior Executive Director of Financial Aid, Student Employment and Scholarships for them to make the referral to the Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

OIG Address and Phone Numbers

National Hotline

Inspector General’s Hotline Office of Inspector General U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW Washington, DC 20202-1500

Fax: (202) 245-7047

1-800-MIS-USED (1-800-647-8733) Hours: M, W 9–11 a.m. T, Th 1–3 p.m.

To submit a complaint online at any time, go to https://www2.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/hotline.html and click on the appropriate link.

 

Common Questions
What can I submit as proof of my / my spouse's / my parents' AGI and taxes paid?

Effective beginning with the publication of the  January 9, 2019 Electronic Announcement, we will accept:

  • a correction to your FAFSA using the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Data Retrieval Tool OR
  • a tax return transcript. You may acquire a free tax return transcript by submitting Form 4506-T to the IRS or using the IRS Get Transcript request system.  You may not submit an account transcript to resolve this requirement OR
  • a signed copy of the income tax return and the applicable schedules that were filed with the IRS or other relevant tax authority of a U.S. territory, or a foreign government that lists 2021 (for the 2023-24 aid year) or 2020 (for the 2022-23 aid year) tax account information of the tax filer. The Record of Account Transcript and the Return Transcript for Taxpayer (RTFTP) may be used to meet the verification requirements. The Information Returns Processing Transcript Request - Wages (IRPTR-W) only provides wage information and therefore can only be used in lieu of an IRS W-2 form.
Where can I find more help in using the IRS Retrieval Tool?

Please see this webpage for more information.

What is the IRS ID.me?

In the future, all taxpayers will need to register with the new ID.me process in order to access IRS services online. These services include obtaining Tax Transcripts, Wage and Income Transcripts, and Verification of Nonfiling Letters.

The ID.me process has two options for registration:

  •  Self-service: requires a copy of an identity document (such as a driver’s license, state ID, or passport) AND a selfie taken with a smart phone or a computer with a webcam.
  • Video Chat Agent: requires at least 2 identity documents and a video chat with an agent.

Student and parents who are unable to create an ID.me account can use the following methods to request a transcript or nonfiling letter:

  • Use the Get Transcript by Mail link or call 800-908-9946 to request:
    • Tax Return Transcript;
    • Tax Account Transcript.
  • Use a Form 4506-T to request:
    • Record of Account Transcript;
    • Wage and Income Transcript (W-2 equivalent); or
    • Verification of Nonfiling Letter.

More information can be found at:

Where can I find more on the federal requirements of verification?

Chapter 4 related to Verification of the Federal Student Aid Handbook goes in to great detail on what is required and acceptable to fulfill requirements.

Who can I contact with specific questions about my verification documents?

Our verification department can be emailed at finaidse@uccs.edu.

What if I am a victim of identity theft?

If you are a victim of identity theft, you will not have access to a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS. Please take the following steps in order to get alternate documentation:

Victims of identity theft who cannot get a return transcript or use the DRT must submit a Tax Return DataBase View (TRDBV) transcript as well as a signed and dated statement indicating that they were victims of tax-related identity theft and that the IRS is aware of it.

Steps to take:

  1. Call the IRS’s Identity Protection Specialized Unit (IPSU) at 800-908-4490.
  1. After the IPSU authenticates the tax filer’s identity, he or she can ask the IRS to mail the TRDBV transcript, which is an alternate paper transcript that will look different than a regular transcript but is official and can be used for verification.

A sample TRDBV transcript can be found here: https://fsapartners.ed.gov/sites/default/files/attachments/dpcletters/GEN1405AttachTRDBVsample.pdf