Verification

Verification

When Florida Gulf Coast University receives an electronic record of your application information; the Office of Financial Aid reviews your application to determine if the Federal Department of Education has randomly selected your file for a process called Verification. If selected, Florida Gulf Coast University will send you an e-mail instructing how to check your record in Gulfline. Your Gulfline account will indicate the documents you must provide to the Office of Financial Aid in order to determine your Financial Aid eligibility. This includes a completed Verification Worksheet, which is available on our web site, signed copies of federal tax returns for you, your parents (if you are dependent) and your spouse (if you are married). Additional documents may be requested by the Office of Financial Aid. As the number of students selected for Verification is large it generally takes about one month for the Office of Financial Aid to review and process the documents that have been submitted. The process could take longer if additional documents are needed. If inaccuracies are found in the review process, your FAFSA will be reprocessed with the correct information. The correction could change your expected family contribution (EFC), which could cause a change in your financial aid award.

Instructions

1. The Student Aid Report (SAR) received from the federal processor will indicate in the comments section if you are selected for verification.
2. Once the Office of Financial Aid has received your FAFSA information the following forms will be requested through Gulfline:
           a. Federal Verification Worksheet
           b. Signed copy of parent's taxes (if the student is dependent)
           c. Signed copy of spouse's taxes (if the student is independent and married)
           d. Signed copy of student's taxes
3. An IRS form 1722 is required if the student is not required to file taxes. The form can be obtained by calling 1-800-TAX-1040.
4. A statement of non-filer from IRS may be required if the student or parent did not file taxes.
5. Additional documents may be requested once the initial review of the documents is completed. An e-mail and a letter will be sent to request additional documents.
6. A letter is sent after verification is completed for a change in EFC greater than $100.00. An e-mail is sent for changes less than $100.00 and it also appears on the students Gulfline account.

Collection and use of Social Security numbers

In compliance with FL Statute 119.071(5), The Office of Financial Aid at Florida Gulf Coast University may collect social security numbers for the following reasons: 

-      For use in administering federal and state programs/loans, including verification of eligibility. These programs include, but are not limited to:

o    Financial Aid and other related loan programs;

o    Scholarship Programs, including Bright Futures.

Status Code Definitions

While your verification is being processed the progress can be seen on Gulfline, and the following details will show up.