Verification Forms and Loan-Related Links

Verification Forms

Note: 2023-2024 Update: Dear Colleague Letter GEN-22-09, posted online by the Office of Federal Student Aid and via Federal Register Notice on July 8, 2022, discusses verification items for applicants for the 2023-2024 award year. As specified in the Federal Register notice, the 2023-2024 Verification Tracking Groups, FAFSA items that may be verified, and the acceptable documentation for those items are the same as those in the 2022-2023 award year.

Verification

Verification is a quality-control method used by the US Department of Education to verify the accuracy of the information submitted on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) or other documents submitted to the the Pepperdine School of Public Policy (SPP) Financial Aid Office. All schools that disburse Title IV (federal aid) funds are required to participate in the verification process. Certain students are selected at random while others are chosen based on probable errors or inconsistencies on the FAFSA. Most financial aid applications are randomly selected for Verification by the US Department of Education's Federal Processor.

Participation in the verification process is not optional. If selected for verification, students must submit the requested documentation. If he/she opts not to submit the required documentation, the student will not be eligible to receive federal or institutional need-based financial aid.

Notification Policy

We are required to contact you for documentation that supports income and any other information that was reported. If you are selected for Verification, you will be notified on your Student Aid Report (SAR) after completing the FAFSA. In addition, the SPP Financial Aid Office will post the Verification requirement as "Initiated" on your "To-Do List" located in WaveNet, Pepperdine's main student portal/hub for information and resources. It is extremely important for the student to review their "To-Do List" often. An automatic email notification will also be sent to the student with instructions to view their "To-Do List," and if any additional documents are needed. Students are instructed to submit as soon as possible.
During the Verification process, the student is expected to fully cooperate with requests in a timely manner, failure to do so may result in cancellation, reduction, finance charges, enrollment/financial holds, and/or suspension of financial aid.

Documentation

Students must submit all requested forms and supporting documentation together at the same time; no processing or review can occur until all documentation and forms are received by the SPP Financial Aid Office. Any documentation and forms submitted that are illegible, incomplete, or incorrect, will be returned to the student for them to resolve the documentation/form issue.
Please refer to Financial Aid Forms, for verification forms and documentation requirements.

Processing Time Frame

Financial aid cannot be disbursed until all requested documents are received and the accuracy of the information has been reviewed and then processed. Review of documents submitted for Verification usually takes 5-7 business days, but may reach up to 2-3 weeks during peak awarding, and during registration. Federal funds will be held from disbursing to your student account until all necessary documentation has been received and reviewed, then processed. It is extremely important to not delay submitting requested documents because outstanding balances will cause finance charges to accrue daily and financial holds that prevent registration, and transcripts.

Deadlines

If you have been selected for Verification for the aid year prior to the start of the year's first term, you must submit all items listed in your "To-Do List" as soon as possible but no later than 30 days after the start of the term for which you have been awarded or within 10 days of the date the documents are posted as "Initiated" requirements on the student's "To-Do List." Incomplete/initiated items not received by October 15 may result in the cancellation of institutional need-based aid.

If you are selected for Verification after October 15, you must submit Verification documents within 10 days of the date Verification requirements are posted as "initiated" on your "To-Do List."

If you do not submit Verification documents by the deadlines Financial aid will not disburse to your student account until Verification documents have been received, reviewed, and then processed. If you do not submit Verification documents by the above deadlines, your financial aid will be canceled. Aid that is canceled may cause outstanding balances that accrue finance charges daily, which will be the responsibility of the student to pay.

Correction Procedures

If there are discrepancies between the data on the FAFSA and the student's Verification documents, the SPP Financial Aid Office may require additional information to resolve the discrepancies, and the FAFSA will need to be updated and processed with accurate information by the student. Instructions for students to correct/update their FAFSA information can be found on the student's Student Aid Report – "SAR." However, such discrepancies may be significant enough to cause the financial aid package to be different from the initial package received from the school. Aid will then be reduced and or canceled, if necessary to resolve the discrepancy. If adjustments to the financial aid award are required, the SPP Financial Aid Office will notify the student via email.