In accordance with the U.S. Department of Education regulation 34 CFR 668.51–61, we must verify applications selected by the Central Processing system (CPS) of students who will receive or have received subsidized student financial assistance, as defined in the federal regulations, including federal work study. Verification is not required for students who are only eligible for unsubsidized student financial assistance. Students who are eligible for both subsidized and unsubsidized Title IV aid may not avoid verification by accepting only unsubsidized aid; they must complete verification to receive any Title IV aid.
APPLICATIONS AND INFORMATION TO BE VERIFIED
Each year the Central Processing System (CPS) of the U.S. Department of Education selects a number of Free Application for Federal Student Aid forms (FAFSAs) for a process called verification.
If your FAFSA is selected for verification, Cummings Veterinary School is required to collect additional documentation from you in order to verify selected information you provided on your FAFSA. Selected information may include your income, the number of people in your household, the number of people attending college in your household, your identity and/or other information.
HOW YOU WILL BE NOTIFIED
If your FAFSA is selected for verification, you will be notified as follows:
- When the Department of Education sends you the Student Aid Report (SAR), it will include an asterisk (*) next to the Expected Family Contribution (EFC). The asterisk is the verification indicator to let you know your FAFSA has been selected for verification.
- Cummings Veterinary School will notify you via your aid notification or by email. Notifications will continue until you have submitted all documents required for verification or the deadline for submission has passed.
Notifications from the school will include a link to our Documents page where you can access the verification form. The form provides instructions about the required documents and how to submit them.
After you submit documents for review, you will be notified by the financial aid office if additional information is required to complete verification.
REQUIRED DOCUMENTATION
Required documentation varies depending on the reason(s) your application was selected. Typically, if your FAFSA is selected for verification, you must complete the following:
- Verification Worksheet
- From the tax year used when completing your FAFSA:
- If you have filed federal taxes, you need to submit a signed copy of your federal tax return, use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) or submit an IRS Tax Return Transcript
- If you earned income from any source, submit a copy of each Form W-2 received or if no W-2, a list of the source(s) and total earnings.
- Identity & Statement of Educational Purpose
- You must confirm your identity by submitting requested documents as outlined in the Verification form.
- You must present the original documents in person in the Cummings Veterinary School Student Affairs Office and sign the Statement of Educational Purpose in the presence of a school official.
- If you are unable to to appear in person, you may complete the requirements in the presence of a Notary Public as described in the verification instructions.
Verification Deadline
Federal student aid cannot be finalized or disbursed until verification is complete.
If your FAFSA is selected for verification, be sure to complete the verification requirements as soon as possible so that your eligibility for federal financial aid can be finalized.
The verification process must be completed by the last day of your enrollment during the school year for which your application has been selected, unless you meet certain federal criteria to be considered for later disbursements. Please see below for additional information on the priority submission date for completing verification.
FAFSA IRS Data Retrieval Tool
If you did not choose the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (DRT) when you initially filed your FAFSA, please complete the following:
- Log-in to studentaid.gov/fafsa to “Correct info”
- In the “Financial Information” section, click “Link to IRS”
- On the IRS website, fill out the form and click on “Transfer my tax information into the FAFSA”. Once you complete the IRS information, the system will bring you back to the FAFSA.
- Make sure you submit the corrections and sign your FAFSA using your FSA ID
IRS Tax Return Transcript Request
Tax filers selected for verification and unable to use the IRS Data Retrieval may request a Tax Return Transcript (NOT an Account Transcript) of their tax return from the IRS in one of three ways:
- The IRS website by selecting “Get Transcript ONLINE” or “Get Transcript by MAIL”
- The IRS automated phone transcript service at 1-800-908-9946
- Complete and submit Form 4506T-EZ or Form 4506-T to the IRS by mail
Note: For electronic filers, an IRS Tax Return Transcript may be requested within 2-3 weeks after the return has been accepted by the IRS. The IRS Tax Return Transcript may take up to 8 weeks to be available for those who file paper tax returns.
Tax filers selected for verification and unable to use the IRS Data Retrieval may also submit a :
- Signed copy of the Federal Tax 1040 Form and any required Schedules
Note: The 1040 form must either be signed by the individual(s) who are filing taxes, or signed by the tax preparer with all company information listed for that tax preparer.
IDENTITY THEFT
If you have been a victim of identity theft, you cannot obtain an IRS Tax Return Transcript until the issue has been resolved by the IRS. Since resolution can take a significant amount of time, please provide a copy of the Transcript Database View (TRDBV) tax transcript to our office along with a signed and dated statement by the tax filer indicating you were a victim of IRS tax-related identity theft and the IRS has been made aware of the tax-related identity theft. You may obtain a copy of the TRDBV from the IRS by calling 1-800-908-4490.
CORRECTING FAFSA ERRORS
Upon receipt of the Student Aid Report (SAR), you should review all the information listed and submit for correction any errors reported on the original FAFSA.
The CPS will send Cummings Veterinary School an electronic summary of the student’s original FAFSA and any corrected FAFSA information. Once received, all FAFSA data, verification worksheets, and any supplemental verification documents will be reviewed by the financial aid office to verify the accuracy of the student’s information and to calculate the student’s eligibility for FSA.
If the FAFSA information changes as a result of the verification process, the financial aid office will:
- Submit the FAFSA changes and corrections to CPS for processing
- Recalculate need-based student aid based on the student’s recalculated EFC
- Notify you via e-mail of any changes to that academic year’s FSA package
- Adjust that academic year’s FSA package based on the recalculated EFC
VERIFICATION DEADLINE & FAILURE TO SUBMIT
Cummings Veterinary School will award Federal Student Aid prior to the completion of verification, but disbursement of FSA will be contingent on completion of the verification process. Failure to complete the verification process by the deadline may result in a student not being eligible for FSA.
Requested verification documents must be submitted to Cummings Veterinary School by the deadlines established for the award year by the U.S. Department of Education in the Federal Register, i.e., the earlier of 120 days after the student’s last date of attendance for the current award year or the stated date within the Federal Register.
If you are selected for federal verification but do not wish to complete the process and want to cancel your aid application, you should send written notification to the financial aid office.
The financial aid office will provide a notification of eligibility prior to completion of the verification process. The notification will advise that the financial aid is subject to change pending the results of verification. Once verification is complete, the updates will be sent to the Federal processor and a revised aid notification will be sent to the student if eligibility has changed.
SUBSEQUENT FAFSA TRANSACTIONS
Making changes or updates to your FAFSA will result in a subsequent transaction being sent to Cummings Veterinary School. If the subsequent transaction is selected for verification after FSA has been awarded or disbursed, you will be notified via email. Students will be entitled to keep funding that has been previously disbursed prior to the subsequent ISIR, but will not be eligible for future disbursements until the verification process has been completed. You have 15 calendar days after the date of notification to submit all requested documentation for review, unless stated otherwise in the verification instructions provided by the financial aid office.
Failure to submit the requested documents within the required time-frame will result in the cancellation of need-based federal student aid.
REFERRAL OF FRAUD CASES
By law, Cummings Veterinary School must refer to the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) any credible information it discovers that indicates an applicant for federal student aid may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with their application for federal student aid. Fraud or misconduct may include false claims of independent student status, false claims of citizenship, use of false identities, forgery of signatures of certifications, and false statements of income.
Fraud is the intent to deceive as opposed to a mistake on an application.
If a school employee suspects that a student, another employee, or some other party has misreported information or altered documentation to fraudulently obtain federal student aid, the employee is required to bring that information to the attention of the school’s financial aid administrator. The financial aid administrator will work with the university’s legal counsel to review the documentation and determine if a referral to the OIG is required. Any decision to refer information to the OIG will be coordinated by legal counsel in accordance with the guidance provided in the Federal Student Aid Handbook. The relevant student file will be maintained securely by the financial aid office to ensure that all information is secure once a report is made to the OIG.