Posted Date:November 6, 2014
| Author: | Jeff Baker, Director, Policy Liaison and Implementation, Federal Student Aid |
Subject: Reminder of Institutional Responsibility to Report the Results of Verification Groups V4 and V5
In Electronic Announcements posted to IFAP on November 13, 2013 and April 4, 2014 we described the processes that institutions must use to report the verification results of identity and high school completion status for applicants whose 2014-2015 ISIR had a Verification Tracking Group of V4 or V5. In a June 18, 2014 Electronic Announcement we provided additional reporting information and a reminder that the reporting requirement is in addition to the longstanding required verification status reporting to the COD system. Subsequently in a July 11, 2014 Federal Register notice, we provided the 2014-2015 deadline dates for reporting the results of a V4 or V5 Verification Group applicant’s identity and high school completion status as, “60 days following the institution's first request to the student to submit the required V4 or V5 identity and high school completion documentation”.
Reporting verification results for groups V4 and V5 is required only when the institution has received an ISIR that indicates that the Department has placed the applicant in Verification Tracking Group V4 or Verification Tracking Group V5 and the institution has requested that the applicant submit the required identity and high school completion status documentation. Institutions should not report for applicants for whom they did not request documentation (e.g., institution’s policy is not to request documentation for applicants who are not enrolled or who have not been accepted for enrollment). Institutions also should not report for applicants that they, and not the Department, selected for verification of identity and/or high school completion, even if the Department selected the applicant for one of the other verification tracking groups of V1, V3, or V6.
Also, institutions must update a previously reported V4/V5 status for any student whose results change. For example, if a “5” was initially reported because the applicant had not responded to the institution’s request for documentation and the applicant later submitted the required documentation the institution must promptly submit another record for the applicant with the updated status.
Institutions must report the V4/V5 verification results even if the student cannot be awarded or disbursed Title IV student aid because of another eligibility issues (e.g., student failed to meet the institution’s satisfactory academic progress (SAP) standards).
Conditions for Each Identity Verification Results Value
The following describes the circumstances that apply for each of the V4 and V5 verification results values that institutions must use when reporting to the Department using FAA Access to CPS Online.
Verification Results Value Of | Report When | Description |
Value = 1 | Verification of both identity and high school completion status were satisfactorily completed by the applicant in person, and no issues were found. | The applicant appeared in person, presented acceptable government-issued photo identification, signed the Statement of Educational Purpose, and presented (not necessarily in person) acceptable documentation of the high school completion status as indicated on the ISIR. |
Value = 2 | Verification of both identity and high school completion status were satisfactorily completed remotely by use of a notary, and no issues were found. | The applicant submitted an original notarized Statement of Educational Purpose, a copy of his/her government-issued photo identification, and acceptable documentation of high school completion status as indicated on the ISIR. |
Value = 3 | Verification was attempted, and no issues were found with high school completion, but issues were found with identity. | The applicant presented (not necessarily in person) acceptable documentation of high school completion status as indicated on the ISIR. No documentation of identity was submitted or the documentation that was presented was not acceptable and no signed or notarized Statement of Educational Purpose was received. |
Value = 4 | Verification was attempted, and no issues were found with identity, but issues were found with high school completion status. | The applicant presented (either in person or with an original notarized statement) a signed Statement of Educational Purpose with an acceptable government-issued photo identification. Either no documentation of high school completion status was presented or the documentation that was presented was not acceptable. |
Value = 5 | The applicant did not respond to the request for documentation or the applicant could not be located. | Verification of neither identity nor high school completion status was completed and no signed or notarized Statement of Educational Purpose was received because the applicant did not respond to the request for documentation or the applicant could not be located. |
Please refer to the for information on acceptable documentation for verification of both identity and high school completion for 2014-2015.
Please direct any questions you may have on the information provided in this Electronic Announcement to Federal Student Aid’s Research and Customer Care Center Staff. Staff is available Monday through Friday between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time) at 1-800-433-7327. After-hours calls will be accepted by an automated voice response system. Callers leaving their names and phone numbers will receive a return call the next business day. Alternatively, you may e-mail the Care Center at fsa.customer.support@ed.gov.