Financial Aid Eligibility

The FAFSA Processing System (FPS), selects which applications are to be verified, but the university also has the authority to verify additional students. The university must verify applications selected by the FPS of students who will receive or have received subsidized Title IV aid. Verification is not required for students who are only eligible for unsubsidized Title IV aid, though there are verification exclusions. While graduate students are ineligible for most types of subsidized Title IV aid, they are eligible for Federal Work Study and would need to complete verification if they are selected and receive that aid. Students who are eligible for both subsidized and unsubsidized Title IV aid may not avoid verification by only accepting unsubsidized aid; they must complete verification to receive any Title IV aid. If a student is selected for verification, there is an asterisk next to the Student Aid Index (SAI) on the FAFSA Submission Summary. The FAFSA Submission Summary may be viewed online at www.fafsa.gov, under the access existing form tab.

Students who are selected for verification by the Department will be placed in one of three verification groups (V1, V4, or V5) to determine which FAFSA information must be verified. The student (and parent(s) of dependent students) are required to provide appropriate and legible supporting documents to the Financial Aid Office. Depending on the category selected, one or more of the following documents may be requested:

V1- Standard Verification Group

Tax filers (student, student spouse, parent, and parent spouse/partner, as applicable) must verify the following:

• Adjusted gross income
• Income earned from work
• U.S. income tax paid
• Untaxed portions of IRA distributions
• Untaxed portions of pensions
• IRA deductions and payments
• Tax-exempt interest income
• Education Credits
• Foreign income exempt from federal taxation
• Family Size

Non-tax filers (student, student spouse, parent, and parent spouse/partner, as applicable) must verify the following:

• Income earned from work
• Family size

V4- Custom Verification Group

Students must verify the following:

• Identity
• Statement of educational purpose (SEP)

V5- Aggregate Verification Group

This group is essentially a combination of V1 and V4. Tax filers and non-tax filers must verify the items listed in the Standard Verification Group (V1). Students must also verify their identity and statement of educational purpose.

Title IV aid will not be disbursed until all pending verifications have been resolved.