Verification
Because students sometimes make errors on their application, colleges have procedures for verifying the reported information. The regulations include this verification as part of the Federal Student Aid program requirements. The Department of Education requires that a portion of the FAFSA filers at each school be verified. When you (and your parent) completed and signed the FAFSA, you agreed, if asked, to provide information that will verify the accuracy of your completed form. This information may include U.S. or state income tax forms that you filed or are required to file.
If a student has been selected for verification at the Illinois Institute of Technology, a request will be made to submit copies of his/her own and, if appropriate, his/her parents' signed federal tax returns, together with all schedules and forms as you sent it to the IRS. A student may also be asked to submit additional information about other factors including household size, assets and the number of family members in college. Additional verification forms can be found here. If a student is selected for verification, no financial aid can be disbursed to the student's account until all requested documents are submitted and reviewed by the Financial Aid Office.
Current students: To view any documents you may be required to submit, log into MyIIT, click the "Finance" tab. You be able to see a list of required documents. A red flag indicates that a document is outstanding. A green flag indicates that an item has been submitted by you and reviewed by the Office of Financial Aid and no further action is required on your part. Please note than an item will had a red flag until it is reviewed by a financial aid counselor. During periods of high demand, it may take between 5-7 business days to review submitted documentation. In an effort to be fair to all students, the Office of Financial Aid reviews documents in the order in which they are received.
New students: After you attend an IIT orientation session, you will be given access to MyIIT.
The verification process is intended to establish an accurate baseline award package for each student and reduce the amount of paperwork a student will be asked to submit in following years. However, tax returns or other documents may be required of renewal applicants if their application information appears to be inconsistent with that of the previous year(s). Verification documents need to be submitted by September 1st for the fall semester and February 1st for the spring semester.
In order to provide estimates of financial aid eligibility to students in an expedient manner, awards are calculated based on the original FAFSA data, and mailed before the verification process is complete. If corrections are needed as a result of the verification process, eligibility will be recalculated and awards may be revised. For this reason, student and parent information should be as accurate as possible on the FAFSA.
Verification is complete when the Office of Financial Aid has all the requested documentation. If a student fails to provide the required documentation:
- IIT cannot disburse a Federal Pell Grant, Federal SEOG, State of Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) Grant, ACG or SMART Grant to the student.
- IIT cannot hire or continue a student's employment in an FWS job.
- IIT cannot disburse Federal Perkins, Federal Stafford or Federal PLUS Loan funds to the student.
All documents submitted to the Office of Financial Aid at the Illinois Institute of Technology are only reviewed by authorized staff in the office. All documents are scanned and the images saved in an encrypted database. The original documents submitted to the office are shredded to maintain security of the information. Safeguards in place are designed to insure the security and confidentiality of student and parent information, protect against any anticipated threats or hazards to the security or integrity of such information, and protect against unauthorized access to or use of such information that could result in substantial harm or inconvenience to any student or parent.