Policies
Verification Policy
What Is Verification?
Verification is a process used by the Department of Education and colleges to ensure that information reported on a student's FAFSA is accurate. Because students sometimes make errors on their application, there is a process for verifying applications and making corrections. Institutions that participate in Federal Title IV aid programs are REQUIRED by federal regulations to perform verifications on selected students.
Students can be randomly selected for verification by the U.S. Department of Education's Central Processing System (CPS). Other students may be selected by the school, if conflicting information or discrepancies are present on his/her FAFSA.
How Will I Know If I Have Been Selected For Verification?
- CPS will notify the student on his/her Student Aid Report (SAR).
- CCCC's Office of Student Financial Aid will send email notifications every two weeks to the student's email address provided on his/her FAFSA application.
What Is The Verification Process?
Students selected for verification will be required to submit certain documents and forms to the Office of Student Financial Aid before financial aid eligibility can be determined. For timely processing, requested documents MUST be received by the established deadline posted on the financial aid website and in the email notifications.
- Documents received by the Office of Student Financial Aid will be processed and updated into the College's system within 2-3 business days. Please do not send multiple submissions of your documents if you don't see an update to your WebAdvisor account within this timeframe.
- Once documents submitted are updated into the system, your assigned Financial Aid Specialist will review all documents received against FAFSA information reported to ensure accuracy and completeness. File review may result in the following two options:
- If updates are required, the Financial Aid Specialist will submit an updated FAFSA with corrections to the Department of Education Central Processing System (CPS) for processing. It may take up to 3-5 business days to receive a corrected FAFSA response from the Central Processing System.
OR - If conflicting information is detected during the review, additional documentation from the student will be required to resolve the discrepancies. Notifications will be sent via e-mail and/or phone call. Another review will be performed when additional documentation is received from the student.
- If updates are required, the Financial Aid Specialist will submit an updated FAFSA with corrections to the Department of Education Central Processing System (CPS) for processing. It may take up to 3-5 business days to receive a corrected FAFSA response from the Central Processing System.
- When all corrections, updates, and conflicting information have been resolved, an award package is generated (if student is eligible) and notification is sent to student via e-mail. Award letters can be accessed via your student WebAdvisor account.
PLEASE ALLOW 2-3 WEEKS FOR PROCESSING. IF ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION IS NEEDED TO RESOLVE DISCREPANT AND CONFLICTING INFORMATION, PROCESSING TIME CAN INCREASE TO 4-6 WEEKS.
What Types Of Documents Are Required For Verification?
- For a list of documents required to complete your verification, please access your student WebAdvisor account and click on the "My Documents" link
OR - Refer to the email notification that you received from CCCC's Office of Student Financial Aid.
Verification may include, but is not limited to, review of the following data:
- Tax Filers (From IRS Data Retrieval or Tax Return Transcript)
- Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
- Taxes Paid
- Specific untaxed income items from tax return
- Untaxed IRA distributions
- Untaxed pensions
- Education credits
- IRA deductions
- Tax exempt Interest
- Nontax Filers
- Income earned from work (W-2)
- Confirmation on Non-filing
- All Applicants
- Number in Household
- Number in College
- Custom Verification
- High School Completion Status
- Identity/Educational Purpose Statement
**Upon review of verification documents, additional documentation may be required.
When Should I Submit My Documents?
Documentation must be secured by the Office of Student Financial Aid before further processing can continue. For timely processing of your student financial aid, please submit all requested documentation by the following PRIORITY deadlines:
Enrollment Date | Required Documentation Submission Date |
Fall Semester | July 1st |
Spring Semester | November 1st |
Summer Semester | April 1st |
Note: If the date listed above falls on a weekend or holiday, the documentation is due on the next business day.
Please keep in mind that due to heavy volume in the summer and early fall, there may be a delay in the review of verification materials submitted.
If your financial aid eligibility has not been determine or your documentation has not been submitted by the dates listed above, you will be responsible for payment of your tuition, fees, and charges. Please visit the Business Office website for payment dates. Please regularly check you CCCC Cougar and email address that you used on your FAFSA for updates about your financial aid eligibility.
What Happens If The School Suspects Fraud?
Individuals who have purposely misreported information or altered documentation to fraudulently obtain financial aid funds will be reported to the U.S. Department of Education Office of Inspector General.