Verification Process
Some students who apply for financial aid will be selected for verification by the federal processor. This federally mandated verification process uses documentation to confirm that the information provided on your FAFSA is correct to ensure that you receive all the federal financial aid to which you are entitled.
Verification Deadline
The priority deadline for federal aid is two weeks after the first request for verification documents. Students must submit all verification documentation at least two weeks prior to the end of each semester in order to qualify for federal funding in that semester. If the student fails to complete the verification process, the file will remain incomplete and federal aid will not be awarded and/or disbursed.
If a student is selected for verification after aid has been determined, the student must complete the verification process within the same time frame as stated above in order to remain eligible for federal funds. If the student’s eligibility for aid changes due to the verification process, the aid will be recalculated.
Corrections
Based on documentation provided by the student and parent, the Office of Financial Aid will update and correct information on the FAFSA accordingly. Corrections that have been made due to verification will be electronically submitted to CPS for processing. Changes in financial aid award offers will be communicated to students through email or mail by the Office of Financial Aid.
Office of Inspector General
If the Office of Financial Aid suspects that a student, employee, or other individual has misreported information or altered documentation to fraudulently obtain federal funds, the school will report the suspicions and provide any evidence to the Office of Inspector General.
Please see below for more information.
Verification Information
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If you are selected for verification by the federal processor, there will be an asterisk next to your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on your Student Aid Report (SAR). You will also be informed of having been selected for verification in the SAR Acknowledgement letter. You can view your SAR online by logging into your FAFSA using your FSA user ID and password.
View a sample Student Aid Report
The Office of Financial Aid will also notify students through a Missing Information email.
Current students will be sent an email to their Assumption University email address and will direct them to their My.assumption.edu portal for the required forms.
Entering first-year and transfer students are informed of any missing information through the email address listed on their 2022-2023 FAFSA.
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Reasons vary; it may be that your FAFSA was incomplete or contains estimated or inconsistent information. You may have also been chosen randomly. Verification is a federal regulation. Students selected for verification are not being punished; rather verification prevents ineligible students from receiving aid by reporting false information and ensures that eligible students receive all the aid for which they qualify.
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Assumption University’s Office of Financial Aid will verify all FAFSAs which are selected for verification by the federal government in a given academic year. We may also select certain FAFSA filers in addition to the government selection if there is reason to suspect that the FAFSA information is inaccurate. We will also reserve the right to waive verification when the FAFSA shows that a student would not be eligible for any need-based aid. For the selected filers, the verification process must be completed before the student can receive disbursement of any need-based financial aid.
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Yes. Participation in the verification process is required if the student received any need based federal funding in their financial aid award including loans and work study. If a student who is selected does not submit the required documentation by the established deadline, he or she will not be eligible to receive federal* financial aid as an Assumption University student, and all pending federal* student aid credits will be canceled.
Should the verified financial information differ significantly from the original information provided on the FAFSA, your financial aid may be adjusted.
*some sources of Massachusetts aid will apply as well
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If your SAR indicates you were selected for verification, you and your parent(s) will be required to provide supporting documents to the Assumption University Office of Financial Aid.
The category of verification you were selected for and the specific documentation required will vary. You will receive a letter from the Assumption University Office of Financial Aid outlining your requirements. Below is a breakdown of each verification category.
Category: Standard Verification or V1
What is required?
For tax filers, successfully utilize the IRS’s Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA (preferred option). Step-by- step instructions for using this tool are available or for those that cannot use the Data Retrieval Tool please provide a signed copy of your 2020 federal tax return for parent(s) and student who filed taxes.
For Independent students and parents who did not, and were not required to file taxes, a 2020 “Verification of Non-Filing Letter” must be obtained from the IRS at this website tax return transcript.
For non-tax filers, provide a copy of 2018 W-2 statement(s) for the parent(s) or student that did not file taxes.
A signed and dated 2022-2023 Verification Worksheet:
Category: Custom Verification or V4
What is required?
- You must appear in person (at the Office of Financial Aid, Admissions House), to present a valid and unexpired government-issued photo ID, documentation of your high school completion status, and a signed statement of educational purpose (to be submitted in person upon your arrival on campus).
Category: Aggregate Verification or V5
What is required?
- Students must fulfill requirements of categories V1 and V4 explained above
To avoid delays, all verification documents should be mailed or faxed to our office. Due to privacy regulations, we are not able to accept tax information via email.
Assumption University Office of Financial Aid
500 Salisbury Street
Worcester MA 01609
FAX 508-519-1286
If the federal processor selects your application for verification, you do not have to wait for the Office of Financial Aid to request additional documentation from you.
It is your responsibility to review your SAR, which will list the specific verification category you were selected for, to determine if you are selected and submit additional documentation to the Office of Financial Aid.
VICTIMS OF IRS IDENTITY THEFT
Individuals who are victims of IRS tax-related identity theft must submit a Tax Return DataBase View (TRDBV) transcript obtained from the IRS and a statement signed and dated by the tax filer indicating that they were victims of IRS tax-related identity theft and that the IRS has been made aware of the tax-related identity theft. Tax filers may obtain a TRDBV transcript and inform the IRS of the tax-related identity theft by calling the IRS’s Identity Protection Specialized Unit (IPSU) at 1.800.908.4490.
AMENDED TAX RETURNS
Individuals who amended their federal income tax return must submit a tax return transcript and a signed copy of the IRS Form 1040X that was filed with the IRS.
FILING EXTENSIONS
If any of the persons required to report information on the FAFSA will file but hadn’t filed a tax return at the time of application, they would have used an estimated AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) on the FAFSA. If, at the time of verification, the necessary tax returns have not yet been filed and a filing extension was granted by the IRS, the school shall accept as alternative documentation copies of the W-2 forms, and, as proof that the IRS has granted a filing extension, either a copy of IRS Form 4868-Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (automatically grants the taxpayer a six-month extension beyond the April 15 deadline) or a copy of the IRS approval of an extension beyond the automatic six-month extension.
In addition to supplying the above documentation, the student must submit a copy of the tax returns when filed. When the Financial Aid office receives the completed tax returns, we will use them to re-verify the required data. A student who fails to submit a copy of the filed tax return or alternative documents before the deadline for which the verification is due, is ineligible for FSA funds and is required to repay any aid disbursed.
INFORMATION REGARDING INCOME INFORMATION FOR NON-IRS TAX FILERS
To verify income information, tax filers who filed an income tax return with a taxing authority in a U.S. territory (Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands) or commonwealth (Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands) or with a foreign government, must submit a copy of a transcript of their tax information to the institution if a transcript is available at no charge from that jurisdiction’s taxing authority. A signed copy of the applicable income tax return that was filed with the taxing authority is only acceptable if tax filers are unable to obtain a free copy of a transcript of their tax information.
If you are selected for verification by the federal processor, there will be an asterisk next to your Expected Family Contribution (EFC) on your Student Aid Report (SAR). You will also be informed of having been selected for verification in the SAR Acknowledgement letter. You can view your SAR online by logging into your FAFSA using your FSA user ID and password.
View a sample Student Aid Report
The Office of Financial Aid will also notify students through a Missing Information email.
Current students will be sent an email to their Assumption University email address and will direct them to their My.assumption.edu portal for the required forms.
Entering first-year and transfer students are informed of any missing information through the email address listed on their 2022-2023 FAFSA.
Reasons vary; it may be that your FAFSA was incomplete or contains estimated or inconsistent information. You may have also been chosen randomly. Verification is a federal regulation. Students selected for verification are not being punished; rather verification prevents ineligible students from receiving aid by reporting false information and ensures that eligible students receive all the aid for which they qualify.
Assumption University’s Office of Financial Aid will verify all FAFSAs which are selected for verification by the federal government in a given academic year. We may also select certain FAFSA filers in addition to the government selection if there is reason to suspect that the FAFSA information is inaccurate. We will also reserve the right to waive verification when the FAFSA shows that a student would not be eligible for any need-based aid. For the selected filers, the verification process must be completed before the student can receive disbursement of any need-based financial aid.
Yes. Participation in the verification process is required if the student received any need based federal funding in their financial aid award including loans and work study. If a student who is selected does not submit the required documentation by the established deadline, he or she will not be eligible to receive federal* financial aid as an Assumption University student, and all pending federal* student aid credits will be canceled.
Should the verified financial information differ significantly from the original information provided on the FAFSA, your financial aid may be adjusted.
*some sources of Massachusetts aid will apply as well
If your SAR indicates you were selected for verification, you and your parent(s) will be required to provide supporting documents to the Assumption University Office of Financial Aid.
The category of verification you were selected for and the specific documentation required will vary. You will receive a letter from the Assumption University Office of Financial Aid outlining your requirements. Below is a breakdown of each verification category.
Category: Standard Verification or V1
What is required?
For tax filers, successfully utilize the IRS’s Data Retrieval Tool on the FAFSA (preferred option). Step-by- step instructions for using this tool are available or for those that cannot use the Data Retrieval Tool please provide a signed copy of your 2020 federal tax return for parent(s) and student who filed taxes.
For Independent students and parents who did not, and were not required to file taxes, a 2020 “Verification of Non-Filing Letter” must be obtained from the IRS at this website tax return transcript.
For non-tax filers, provide a copy of 2018 W-2 statement(s) for the parent(s) or student that did not file taxes.
A signed and dated 2022-2023 Verification Worksheet:
Category: Custom Verification or V4
What is required?
- You must appear in person (at the Office of Financial Aid, Admissions House), to present a valid and unexpired government-issued photo ID, documentation of your high school completion status, and a signed statement of educational purpose (to be submitted in person upon your arrival on campus).
Category: Aggregate Verification or V5
What is required?
- Students must fulfill requirements of categories V1 and V4 explained above
To avoid delays, all verification documents should be mailed or faxed to our office. Due to privacy regulations, we are not able to accept tax information via email.
Assumption University Office of Financial Aid
500 Salisbury Street
Worcester MA 01609
FAX 508-519-1286
If the federal processor selects your application for verification, you do not have to wait for the Office of Financial Aid to request additional documentation from you.
It is your responsibility to review your SAR, which will list the specific verification category you were selected for, to determine if you are selected and submit additional documentation to the Office of Financial Aid.
VICTIMS OF IRS IDENTITY THEFT
Individuals who are victims of IRS tax-related identity theft must submit a Tax Return DataBase View (TRDBV) transcript obtained from the IRS and a statement signed and dated by the tax filer indicating that they were victims of IRS tax-related identity theft and that the IRS has been made aware of the tax-related identity theft. Tax filers may obtain a TRDBV transcript and inform the IRS of the tax-related identity theft by calling the IRS’s Identity Protection Specialized Unit (IPSU) at 1.800.908.4490.
AMENDED TAX RETURNS
Individuals who amended their federal income tax return must submit a tax return transcript and a signed copy of the IRS Form 1040X that was filed with the IRS.
FILING EXTENSIONS
If any of the persons required to report information on the FAFSA will file but hadn’t filed a tax return at the time of application, they would have used an estimated AGI (Adjusted Gross Income) on the FAFSA. If, at the time of verification, the necessary tax returns have not yet been filed and a filing extension was granted by the IRS, the school shall accept as alternative documentation copies of the W-2 forms, and, as proof that the IRS has granted a filing extension, either a copy of IRS Form 4868-Application for Automatic Extension of Time to File U.S. Individual Income Tax Return (automatically grants the taxpayer a six-month extension beyond the April 15 deadline) or a copy of the IRS approval of an extension beyond the automatic six-month extension.
In addition to supplying the above documentation, the student must submit a copy of the tax returns when filed. When the Financial Aid office receives the completed tax returns, we will use them to re-verify the required data. A student who fails to submit a copy of the filed tax return or alternative documents before the deadline for which the verification is due, is ineligible for FSA funds and is required to repay any aid disbursed.
INFORMATION REGARDING INCOME INFORMATION FOR NON-IRS TAX FILERS
To verify income information, tax filers who filed an income tax return with a taxing authority in a U.S. territory (Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands) or commonwealth (Puerto Rico and the Northern Mariana Islands) or with a foreign government, must submit a copy of a transcript of their tax information to the institution if a transcript is available at no charge from that jurisdiction’s taxing authority. A signed copy of the applicable income tax return that was filed with the taxing authority is only acceptable if tax filers are unable to obtain a free copy of a transcript of their tax information.