The Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) form is the federal form that students complete to apply for all federal student financial aid.
GUIDELINES FOR THE 2024-25 VERIFICATION SELECTION
Each year, the United States Department of Education (USDE) selects approximately 30% of all Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) submissions for verification, a process in which the school’s Financial Aid Office must verify and determine the accuracy of the information submitted on the FAFSA.
In addition to records selected by the United States Department of Education (USDE), Slippery Rock’s Financial Aid Office reserves the right to select any record for verification at its discretion. The following policies and procedures for verifying information are implemented in accordance with federal regulations.
REQUIRED VERIFICATION DOCUMENTS
For your convenience, our office accepts documents through an automated document management tool, Adobesign, which is designed to allow students and/or parents to complete and e-sign forms and securely upload documents directly from your computer desktop or phone for the 2024-25 financial aid year.
REMINDER: Students completing verification for the 2024-25 academic year will need to verify 2022 income tax information.
IMPORTANT REMINDER: You, the student, must submit all verification requirements by the last day of your enrollment during the school year.
The details listed below explain how to find, complete, and submit requested verification documents.
Find your documents for completing verification:
- Log in to MySRU.
- Select your financial aid card.
- Select the “2024-25” aid year.
- Select unsatisfied requirements.
- Complete, e-sign, upload, and submit ALL required documents using our Adobesign
Students may be required to submit one or more of the following documents:
- Family Size Form
- Parent’s SIGNED 2022 IRS Tax Return, or IRS Tax Return Transcript. FAFSA’s recommended option is the Federal Tax Information (FTI) via the FA-DDX (the Future Act Direct Data Exchange) linking your IRS information automatically to the FAFSA site, if successfully transferred, no information is required.
- Student’s SIGNED 2022 IRS Tax Return, or IRS Tax Return Transcript. FAFSA’s recommended option is the Federal Tax Information (FTI) via the FA-DDX (the Future Act Direct Data Exchange) linking your IRS information automatically to the FAFSA site, if successfully transferred, no information is required.
- W2 Form(s) for 2022
- Identity/Statement of Educational Purpose Form: must be completed in person at SRU’s Financial Aid Office or in front of a Notary Public. If completed in front of a Notary Public, the student must send the ORIGINAL form by mail to our office or deliver it in person with a copy of the unexpired valid government-issued photo identification ID that the Notary Public used to verify your identity.
- Additional information, as needed, to resolve discrepant information.
When submitting the documents through Adobesign, please ensure you are attaching ALL applicable pages to the coversheet(s). Certain documents may have information printed on both sides of the paper.
We recommend that you submit all documents via the MySRU portal, Adobesign. If you prefer another method, you may mail or fax documents to:
Slippery Rock University
Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships
108 Maltby Center; Suite 107
Slippery Rock, PA 16057
Fax: 724.738.2922
The verification process must be completed by your last day of attendance. The last day of attendance is dependent on your enrollment in classes. If you are attending one semester only, it is the last day of that semester. If you are attending for the entire academic year, it is the last day of the semester at the end of the academic year.
Certain criteria may be considered for a later disbursement per federal regulations once the semester ends. If this is your situation, please contact our office before the last day of attendance.
HELPFUL INSTRUCTIONS FOR IRS TAX RETURN INFORMATION
Parents and students who filed a 2022 IRS tax return can provide tax information by either:
- FTI Tool on the FAFSA site at FAFSA (Recommended and if used, no information is required for the tax return.)
- Providing a SIGNED copy of your 2022 IRS tax return
- Request a Tax Return Transcript and upload to MySRU. You can obtain your tax information by:
- Online option: request a tax return transcript at: IRS
- Phone option: 1.800.908.9946
IDENTITY THEFT STUDENTS
If you are having issues because of identity theft, you may obtain a copy of your tax information by calling the IRS 1.800.908.4490.
CHANGES UPDATED TO YOUR FAFSA ONCE THE VERIFICATION PROCESS IS COMPLETED
After our office receives the documents, and if discrepant information is found after the review process, our office will make corrections and will wait for the electronic change to be updated. Keep in mind additional time, 3-5 business days, will be needed for processing the change. Our office will send the change(s) to the Federal Processing System, and you will receive a revised summary from FAFSA that changes were made by your school.
FINANCIAL AID OFFERS
First time, first-year freshman students may receive an estimated financial aid offer before the verification process has been completed. In this case, once verification has been completed, another offer will be sent to the student’s email/MySRU portal for the updated changes in your financial aid eligibility.
Returning/continuing students will receive their financial aid offer once verification is completed.
If a student has been offered aid, and the student is later selected for verification, aid will be cancelled until the verification process has been completed.
IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO PURSUE VERIFICATION REQUIREMENTS AND DO NOT WISH TO RECEIVE ANY FEDERAL AID
If you, the student, do not wish to complete the verification requirements, or receive any federal financial aid, the student will need to submit a written statement that indicates you do not want to receive any federal financial aid for the specific year you are attending. You will need to sign the written statement, with a physical signature, and date it.
FINANCIAL AID FRAUD
SRU is required by law to report any information that is found while reviewing the verification process to the Department of Education’s Office of Inspector General of any fraud or other criminal misconduct. Examples of fraud/criminal misconduct are false claims of citizenship, forgery of signatures or certifications, false claims of independent student status, an intent to deceive to receive Title IV aid, any conflicting information, and false income statements.
SRU Financial Aid employees are required to report fraud or criminal misconduct to our Financial Aid Director. Our director will review the fraudulent findings and report it to the OIG Headquarters.
U.S. Department of Education
Office of Inspector General
400 Maryland Avenue, S.W.
Washington, DC 20202
Fax: (202)245.7047
