Verification Policy

What is Verification?

New Mexico State University adheres to the following verification principles developed by the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (NASFAA). To ensure that Financial Aid funds are awarded to eligible students in a consistent manner, all institutions must develop policies for verification of family-reported information. While institutions vary widely by type, and students served, minimum standards for verification must exist for all institutions. Verification procedures will be uniformly applied to all financial aid programs that require a demonstrated financial need as the eligibility criterion.

Who

New Mexico State University will verify applicants selected for verification by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) and/or NMSU. In addition, we will resolve all comments on the ISIR, and conflicting documentation. The NMSU Financial Aid Staff may question any aspect of an application.

What

For applicants selected for verification, the NMSU financial aid office will verify the items specified in the 34 CFR Part 668.56. The specific items that need to be verified for all Title IV applicants include:

  • Adjusted Gross Income (AGI)
  • US Income Tax Paid
  • Income Earned from Work (wages)
  • Certain Untaxed Income
    • Untaxed Portions of Individual Retirement Account (IRA) Distributions
    • Untaxed Portions of Pensions
    • IRA Deductions and Payments
    • Tax-exempt Interest Income
    • Education Tax Credits (American Opportunity Tax Credit and Lifetime Learning Tax Credit).
    • Foreign income exempt from federal taxation
  • Child Support Paid

Additional items will also need to be verified by the NMSU Financial Aid Staff when/if there is conflicting documentation on file or if other questionable items exist on the application.

Applicants' Responsibilities

It will be the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that all documents requested are submitted with proper signatures. If an applicant’s dependency status changes during the award year, please contact the Financial Aid Office before making changes to the FAFSA.

Documentation

Documentation requested must be submitted with all necessary information, including wet (physical) signature(s). Some exceptions to documentation may be made in conjunction with what is allowed by Federal Regulation. The Federal Department of Education has instituted some changes to the verification process regarding income-tax return data as follows:

  • When completing the income sections of the FAFSA, the applicant along with their spouse or parent (if they are a dependent student), known as contributors, will be required to provide consent to obtain federal tax information (FTI) from the IRS via the FUTURE Act Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX). FTI that is transferred via the FA-DDX to the FAFSA form is considered verified for Title IV purposes. The FA-DDX replaces the IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRSDRT) and will be used beginning with the 2024-25 award year.
  • There may be instances when data cannot be retrieved using the FA-DDX. In this instance, data must be entered manually on the FAFSA. If the application is chosen for verification, the applicant and the contributors parents, if applicable, will be required to submit a Tax Transcript from the IRS or an IRS Tax Return with applicable schedules.
  • Effective January 9, 2019, schools can now accept signed copies of tax returns and self-certification of non-filing to complete verification. What this means is that students selected for verification have two options in which to provide theirs, their spouse (if married), or parents' (if considered dependent) tax return information (2022 for 2024-25). They may submit a tax return transcript or you may provide a signed paper copy of the required tax return information and applicable schedules that were submitted to the IRS when faxes were filed.

 

Confirmation of Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose

Applicants who are required to verify their identity and to sign a statement of educational purpose MUST appear in person at the Financial Aid Office with a non-expired, government-issued photo id (i.e. US passport, driver’s license, or another state-issued ID) to complete the Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose form.

Applicants who are unable to appear in person MUST go to a notary public to sign the Identity and Statement of Education Purpose form. The original form with the notary publics stamp and signature, along with a copy of the non-expired, government-issued photo ID that was presented to the notary MUST be mailed to the Financial Aid Office. Faxed copies, photocopies, emailed pdf, etc. are not acceptable.

Time Period

All applicants are encouraged to submit the required forms and documentation as quickly as possible. For Federal Aid recipients, the deadline for submitting verification documents is 120 days from the applicant’s last date of enrollment. This includes making any necessary corrections, submitting those corrections to the FAFSA Processing System, and submitting the corrections to the institution.

Consequences and Deadlines

If a student fails to provide documentation or information within the required time frame, no Title IV aid will be released.

Federal Pell Grants, Teach Grant, and Federal Direct Loans

For the 2024-2025 academic year, you must submit all required documents to complete the verification process by whichever date is sooner:

  • Within 120 days from the applicant's last date of enrollment
  • Federal Direct Loans must also be accepted and originated prior to the applicant's last date of enrollment.

If a student does not submit verification documentation before the established verification deadline a student is not eligible to receive Title IV funds. Any Pell, SEOG, Federal Work-Study, or Direct Loan funds awarded to the student will be canceled and the student will forfeit federal financial aid for the aid year.

Supplemental Grants - SEOG, SSIG, and LEAP

  • The deadline for submitting verification documents is 30 days from the start of the semester.  This includes making any necessary corrections, submitting those corrections to the FAFSA Processing System, and submitting the new corrections to the institution.  For the semester start date, see the University Student Records website.  Students who have not satisfied or completed their requirements by the deadline date will have their grant canceled for the entire academic year.
  • This affects the Federal Supplemental Education Opportunity Grant (SEOG), NM Student Incentive Grant (SSIG), and the Leveraging Educational Assistance Partnership Grant (LEAP).

Notification

During peak periods, it may take up to (21) business days for documents to be reviewed. Students may track the documents by logging onto their myNMSU account to see the updated status after the five days have passed. If additional information is required, email notifications will be sent to your NMSU email address.

If a correction or update is required that changes a student’s SAI and Title IV amounts, a student will be notified and will receive an updated award letter. Updated awards and SAI can also be viewed by logging onto to their myNMSU account portal.

Referral Procedures

NMSU must report any credible information indicating that a Title IV aid applicant, school employee, or third-party servicer may have engaged in fraud or other criminal misconduct in connection with the Title IV programs, for investigation to the Office of Inspector General (OIG). (Note: Fraud is the intent to deceive, not merely a mistake.)

Common misconduct incidences include but are not limited to:

  • Claims of independent student status
  • False claims of citizenship
  • Use of false identities
  • Forgery of signatures of certifications
  • False statement of income

Prior to notifying the OIG, the Financial Aid Office will consult with the NMSU’s Office of General Counsel regarding any incidents of suspected fraud.  If strong suspicion, with evidence, exists that a person intended to commit fraud, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) can be contacted at 1-800-MISUSED.

If it is determined that a student has received funds that they were not entitled to receive, the student must repay the amount. If a repayment is not made, the overpayment may be referred to the US Department of Education.

 

Click the following link to find the needed forms:

Verification Forms