Verification Information and Procedures

The Student Aid Report (SAR/ISIR) may be selected for verification either by the Central Processing System (CPS) or the school.

The SAR/ISIR (Pell Papers) will indicate whether the CPS has selected the student’s application for review. The “Verification Flag”, which is in the Financial Office Use Only section along with the match flag results, will have a value of “y” if the application has been selected for review. In addition, comment 170 will appear on the student’s SAR/ISIR, which states “Your school will ask you to provide certain financial documents for you and your parents or you and your spouse”.

The school may select additional applications for verification. For applications a school selects, the school decides which items it wants to verify.

Documents which may be required include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Verification Worksheet
• Student/Parent/Spouses tax return for preceding year
• Other documents to verify income not stated on tax return

Required verification items include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Household size
• Number in college
• Adjusted gross income
• U.S. income tax paid
• Certain untaxed income and benefits

The student will be sent a letter requesting the necessary documentation to complete the verification process. Students must submit all requested documentation before their last day of enrollment during the award year in question. Failure to provide all required documentation by this date will result in forfeiture of the financial aid award.

Should the student’s SAR/ISIR require correction, the school will submit the corrections to the Department of Education.

Upon receipt of the corrected SAR/ISIR from the Department of Education, the student will be sent an Awards Notification Letter from the school indicating the amount of the award. Should a student’s award change, the student will be sent a corrected Awards Notification Letter reflecting the change.