AwardYear: 1995-1996 ChapterNumber: 3 ChapterTitle: Completing the Verification Process Section: Verification Status Codes PageNumber: When you disburse a Federal Pell Grant award, you must report the student's verification status when you report the payment to ED. THIS IS REQUIRED EVEN IF THE STUDENT'S APPLICATION WAS NOT SELECTED FOR VERIFICATION. Proper reporting of the student's verification status shows that the verification procedures have been followed and allows ED to gather information on the impact and effectiveness of the verification requirements. The codes for reporting verification status are discussed in detail below. The portion of the SAR that is used for reporting verification status is shown to the right. **[The chart "Verification Status" on page 38 is currently unavailable for viewing. Please reference your paper document for additional information."]** N--Not Selected Verification was not required for this applicant, and you did not verify any items. (If verification wasn't required, but you verified some of the student's information anyway, you would not use the "N" code. Instead, you should use one of the other codes as appropriate.) A--Accurate The application was verified and was accurate. You paid on that data. W--Without Documentation Verification is required, but the applicant has not yet completed verification. A first disbursement of no more than half of the award, has been made. Verification MUST be completed before the next disbursement may be made and, when you make that disbursement, you must enter a different verification code on that student's next document/record, to reflect the verification status under which the applicant was finally awarded. If a student's Federal Pell data record still shows a "W" code after the Pell deadline has passed, that student's award eligibility will be dropped, or "zeroed out," from the Federal Pell payment system. The school will not receive Pell funds for the student, and funds already disbursed must be repaid in accordance with the overpayment procedures detailed in Chapter Five. T--Tolerance The application was verified and found to be incorrect. However, the discrepancy was within the tolerance and the student was paid based on the uncorrected application data. (See the "Tolerance Option Instead of Correcting" section in this chapter.) This code also applies to applicants who are exempt from verification under one of the allowable exclusions. (See Chapter One, "Basic Requirements.") C--Calculated The application was verified and was shown to be incorrect. You recalculated the EFC, and found that the recalculated award would be the same or higher than the original award. You paid based on the original EFC, without requiring the application to be corrected and reprocessed. (If you choose to pay the higher award according to the recalculated EFC, the application must be corrected and reprocessed using an "R" code on the payment voucher. If your calculation is wrong, you will be liable for any overpayment.) R--Reprocessed The application was verified and was found to be incorrect; it was corrected and reprocessed for that reason. You paid the applicant based on the reprocessed application. If a student makes additional errors in correcting and resubmitting an application and the reprocessed output document is therefore still not valid for payment, you must have the student make the needed corrections and reprocess the application again. The "R" code still applies. (If the additional errors fall within one of the tolerance options, the applicant may receive payment without again reprocessing the application. In this case, use the "T" code.) You should also use an "R" code if the applicant voluntarily corrected and reprocessed the application, without being required to do so. An "R" code applies only to an application that has been corrected and reprocessed. You should never use the "R" code on the output of a student's original application (also called an 01 transaction). S--Selected, Not Verified The application was selected for verification but was not verified because you have already verified at least 30 percent of your total applications for federal student assistance or because you are participating in the IQA Program (see p. 2). |