Maintaining Financial Assistance

The Verification Process

Verification is required by the federal government to ensure that applicants are submitting correct information. This information is the determining factor in receiving Title IV funds and is of the utmost importance. The federal processor selects applicants for verification. The College may also select applicants for verification.

Who Must Be Verified

1. The College will verify applicants selected by the U. S. Department of Education via federally approved edits.

2. The College will verify all Title IV eligible applicants selected by the U. S. Department of Education for verification.

3. The College will verify all applicants selected by the U.S. Department of Education, even if previously verified by another institution.

4. The College will verify any applicant with missing, inaccurate, or conflicting information.

5. The College may select any applicant for verification if the validity of the information is questioned.

Verification Items

1. For applicants selected under Item 1 above, the College will verify the items specified in 34 CFR Part 668.56.

   1. The Department of Education has established several verification groups. Verification requirements are specified for each group in the FSA Handbook, on the IFAP website and in other documentation from ED. For the award year, each required data element will be verified based on the verification group assigned.

   2. Students who are selected for verification will be placed in one of the following groups to determine which FAFSA information must be verified:

   V1—Standard Verification Group

   Students in this group must verify the following if they are tax filers:

   • adjusted gross income

   • U.S. income tax paid

   • untaxed portions of IRA distributions

   • untaxed portions of pensions

   • IRA deductions and payments

   • tax-exempt interest income

   • education credits

   • household size

   • number in college

   Students who are not tax filers must verify the following:

   • income earned from work

   • household size

   • number in college

   V2—Reserved for future use by the Department.

   V3—Reserved for future use by the Department.

   V4—Custom Verification Group

   Students must verify high school completion status and identity/statement of educational purpose

   V5—Aggregate Verification Group

   Students must verify high school completion status and identity/statement of educational purpose in addition to the items in the Standard Verification Group.

   V6—Reserved for future use by the Department.

   Reporting results for groups V4 and V5

   We will report the verification results of identity and high school completion status for any student for whom you receive an ISIR with tracking flag V4 or V5—as selected by the CPS, not your school—and request verification documentation. We will report this information on the FAA Access to CPS Online website: select the Identity Verification Results option from the main menu, enter your school identifiers, the year, and the student identifiers. We will then enter one of the following numeric codes that most applies:

   1—verification completed in person, no issues found

   2—verification completed using notary, no issues found

   3—verification attempted, issues found with identity

   4—verification attempted, issues found with HS completion

   5—no response from applicant or unable to locate

2. The Financial Aid Specialist will resolve and document discrepant application information for all applicants prior to disbursing Title IV aid, and in compliance with 34 CFR Part 668. Some examples of conflicting or discrepant information include, but are not limited to:

   1. Married, but filed taxes as Head of Household

   2. Under age 24, with children, but no income

   3. Income over tax filing required amount, but no taxes filed

3. Upon receipt of all requested verification documents, the student’s ISIR is compared with the documentation provided.

   1. If all students’ information is correct and there is no conflicting information, the student’s file is checked in Banner as “verified” and aid is awarded.

   2. If all of the student’s information does not match and the total is more than $25, a correction is required to be submitted to CPS through FAA Access online.

   3. If any non-dollar item is incorrect, a correction is submitted to CPS.

ATC financial aid office, may at our discretion, if inaccuracies are suspected, requires a student to verify any FAFSA information and to provide any reasonable documentation in accordance with consistently applied school policies.

Documentation

The College will require applicants selected for verification to submit acceptable documentation as specified under 34 CFR Part 668. The list below is not all inclusive and may vary depending on a student’s situation.

The above listed documentation is not all inclusive. Documentation will vary depending on the student’s situation and what the OFA staff feel is necessary to prove the information is accurate and to resolve any conflicting information.

Applicant Responsibility

1. Applicants selected for verification by the U. S. Department of Education are required to provide requested information or documentation in order to be eligible to receive Title IV student aid funds.
2. If a Pell or campus-based program applicant's dependency status changes during the award year, or the original application was filed incorrectly, including marital status, the applicant must provide documentation to the OFA and the OFA will make the necessary change. For the 2016-2017 award year, marital status cannot be updated unless the student made an error when initially submitting their FAFSA. Documentation must be provided for any changes to be made.
3. The applicant must repay any overpayment discovered during verification or updating.

Time Period

1. Applicants selected for verification either by the U. S. Department of Education or the College must provide the requested information or documentation no later than the deadline set by the Office of Financial Aid in order for aid to be available when classes begin. Documentation received after the deadline will be processed in a timely manner.
2. Extension of time will be on an individual basis. Financial aid files are worked in the order they are received.

Consequences for Failure to Provide Documentation

1. The College will not disburse any Title IV funds for applicants who fail to provide requested documentation. No interim disbursements of Title IV funds will be made until verification is complete.
2. The College will withhold funds for those who are selected for verification and who fail to provide the requested documentation within a specified period.
3. The College will accept requested documentation after priority deadlines and will award aid in a timely manner when verification is complete.

Notification

1. The College will inform the applicant of verification procedures and requirements through written (tracking letter), electronic, and/or verbal communication. The student is notified of the necessity of verification on the SAR/ISIR.

   a. The OFA will sends emails to students’ ATC student email account, as well as their personal email address, if one is recorded in BANNER, instructing students to check their BannerWeb account for verification requirements.

2. The College will notify the applicant of the results of verification through written (award letter), electronic, and/or verbal communication. Award notifications are sent to student’s mail.

C-Flags

C-Flags on the FAFSA are assigned a missing document(s) requirement in Banner and a tracking letter is emailed to the student to notify of the requirement. C-Flags that are reviewed:

1. Social Security Administration

2. Department of Homeland Security

3. Selective Service

4. National Student Loan Data System

Students tracked through the College’s financial aid database with a federal C code data match requirements are notified by ROAMESG and Banner self-service requirements informing them of documents required for further processing of financial aid.

Code File Review

Financial Aid counselors are required to review federal c code data match information and resolve any discrepancies. The documentation must be maintained in the student’s financial aid file. If students submit documentation which appears fraudulent, the financial aid staff member must notify the Director of Financial Aid.

The student’s documentation is reviewed in the following manner:

1. Documentation is reviewed by financial aid specialist

2. If additional documentation is needed, the financial aid specialist contacts the students.

3. If documentation is complete and accurate, the financial aid specialist processes the students aid

Needs Analysis

It is recommended that students apply for all financial aid programs by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). The student will receive The Student Aid Report (SAR) which will provide the necessary information to document the student’s established financial need.

For the awarding of the Title IV aid and institutional funds, the College requires a Student Aid Report (SAR)/Institutional Student Informational Report (ISIR).

A student must have financial need to receive Federal Student Aid funds at Atlanta Technical College (ATC). Aid awards are based on the student’s need for assistance.

Financial need is the difference between the students’ cost of attendance and the family’s ability to pay these costs, the EFC. If the EFC is less than the cost of attendance, the student is considered to have financial need.

The cost of attendance is an estimate of a student’s education expenses for the period of enrollment. The total aid the student may receive from federal aid and other sources when added to the student’s EFC cannot exceed the student’s cost.

A students cost of attendance is the sum of the following:

• The tuition and fees

• An allowance for books, supplies, transportation, and miscellaneous personal expenses  An allowance for room and board

• Transportation

• Miscellaneous

Calculating Federal Methodology

ATC uses Federal Methodology to calculate need for students. ATC’s academic calendar is from July 1 – June 30. The academic year is divided into 2 semesters and 1 mini-mester (summer semester). This is a total of 40 weeks in the academic year. Full time is 12 credit hours and academic progress is measured in semester credit hours. A payment term is one semester with two (2) equal payment terms in an academic year. Standard Adjustments to Need Analysis

Professional judgment may be used by the Assistant Director to adjust the cost of attendance on a case-by-case basis to allow for special circumstances.

Referral Procedures

1. The College will forward to the U. S. Department of Education or the College's Business Office, the name, social security number, and other relevant information of an applicant who has received funds based on incorrect information, after a reasonable effort has been made to resolve the discrepancy.

2. As an employee of the State of Georgia, we are obligated to be good stewards of the taxpayers’ tax dollars. As a financial aid professional, our obligation reaches beyond that. We must diligently administer complex federal and state aid programs and ensure we adhere to the numerous, and at times, complicated, statutory and regulatory obligations. Our students look to us for sound financial aid advice to help them navigate the maze of financial aid programs. It is important that we deliver financial aid counseling in an ethical, honest, and knowledgeable manner. Realizing that at times there will be gray areas on which we must make professional judgment calls, these professional judgment decisions will be made based on our knowledge of financial aid policy, verifiable documentation, and law, and carried out in a consistent and fair manner. We will work with students to resolve any discrepancy or conflicting data. Once we are made aware of inconsistent data, we are ethically-bound to correct it and report accurate data. In no way will we provide misleading or false information to enhance a student’s eligibility for financial assistance.

   As directed in the Federal Student Aid Handbook, should one suspect that a student, employee, or other individual has intentionally misreported information or altered documentation to fraudulently obtain federal funds, one SHOULD report his/her suspicions and provide any evidence to the Office of Inspector General. ATC encourages all employees to be vigilant in reporting suspicious activity to safeguard the integrity of ATC financial aid office, the College, the Technical College System of Georgia, and the aid programs. If the suspect is an employee of ATC, the employee’s immediate supervisor should be notified, unless this person is also suspected to be entangled in the fraudulent activity, at which point the next level supervisor should be made aware of the suspicions.

   The Atlanta Regional Office of the Inspector General (OIG) can be contacted at (404)974-9430 or the OIG National Contact Information is provided below.

   Inspector General’s Hotline Office of Inspector General

   U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW

   Washington, DC 20202-1500

   1-800-MIS-USED

   E-mail: oig.hotline@ed.gov

   www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/oig/hotline.html

Special Circumstances

Students (and or the parents of dependent students) who experience changes (loss of employment, change in dependents, etc.) in their financial circumstances, should notify their Financial Aid Office in writing. Documentation is often required, but this could result in an increase in funding.

It is highly recommended that students who are considering changing their majors, withdrawing from class, etc., check with a financial aid counselor to determine if and how this change will affect their financial aid.