Student Financial Aid Programs
INTEGRITY,
ACCOUNTABILITY &
RESPONSIBILITY
Presented By
California Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrators CASFAA
California Community Colleges Student
Financial Aid Administrators Association
CCCSFAAA
California Lenders for Education CLFE
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Federal funds administered
for students in the State
of California $5.3 billion
annually
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
State funds administered
for students in the State
of California approaches
$1 billion annually
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
In addition, California
institutions also
administer institutional
and private scholarships
(merit only) $6.4 billion
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Verification Overview
Verification of student & parent
information required on
at least 30% of all FAFSA filed
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
In addition, if conflicting
information exists, institutions
routinely select additional
applications for verification
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Components of
Required Verification
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
CSAC has historically
“piggybacked” on federal
verification requirements
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
IRS Federal Tax Return
 Student
 Student’s
 Parent(s)
spouse, if applicable
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Department of
Homeland Security
Citizenship
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Social Security
Administration
 Citizenship
 Change
of Name
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Independent Living
Program
 Foster
Youth Certification
 Dependency Status
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Department of Social
Services
 Untaxed
Income & Benefits
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Employment Development
Department
 Unemployment
Benefits
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Veterans’ Administration
 DD
214 (Discharge)
 Verify Veterans’ Benefits, Eligibility
& Amount
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Selective Service
Administration
 Verify
Selective Service Registration
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
County Recorder’s Office
 Birth
Certificate
 Marriage Certificate
 Death Certificate
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Program/Fund
Administrator
 Verification
of Assets
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Accountant
 Verification
of Income & Assets
 Copy of 1040 Federal Tax Return,
including all schedules and W-2’s
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
NSLDS
(National Student Loan Data System)
 No Prior Loan Default
 No Grant Repayment Owed
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Accountability
Annual Audit Submission
 Required
by Federal Regulation
 Samples Title IV Recipients
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Annual Audit
 Business
Practices
 Segregation of Duties
 Financial Aid/Business Office
Relationship
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Annual Audit
 Cash
Management
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Federal Audits
 Paid
by Institutions
 Federal Auditor
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
State Audits
 CSAC
Audits
 EdFund Audits
 Other Guarantee Agency Audits
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
More Audits
Veterans’ Administration Audits
 Office of Inspector General Audits

INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
And More Audits
 Private
Scholarship Foundation
Audits
 WICHE & Other State Agency
Audits
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Still More Audits
 NCAA
Audits
 Institutional Audits
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Pr
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INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
We constantly, and
consistently, prove that
we are “good stewards
of public funds”
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
The Program Review
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
After Integrity and Accountability Comes
Responsibility
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility to…
 First
to serve our students
 Second to serve our institutions
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
We have already proven our
responsibility to the federal
and state governments
through integrity &
accountability of our
programs
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility to…
 Assist
students with FAFSA
completion
 Counsel to help with emergencies
 Counsel to help with dependency
problems
INTEGRITY, ACCOUNTABILITY
& RESPONSIBILITY
Responsibility to…
 Counsel
students with loan problems
 Counsel students with debt problems
 Encourage students to file for non-need
based scholarships
 Advise students who had “base” year
income, but quit work to attend college
VERIFICATION Federal Student Eligibility
& State of California CONFIRMATION
Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001)
After Cal Grant
Entitlement
Program
(2001+)
Eligible Non-Citizen (Federal ISIR)
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
Same
Unemployment Benefits (1040, EDD Notice, 1040, Federal
Verification Form)
Same
Social Security Benefits (1040, Federal Verification Form)
Same
Adjusted Gross Income – CA Income Ceiling (1040)
Assets (1040 & other documents in file) CA Asset Ceiling
Household Size – (1040, Federal Verification Form)
Number in College – (Federal Verification Form)
Untaxed Income (1040, W-2, Federal Verification Form)
State of California
CONFIRMATION Requirements
Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program (2001)
After Cal Grant
Entitlement
Program
(2001+)
Conflicting Information - The following are examples of common conflicting
information related to California Cal Grant Requirements (State specific):
If the student is receiving a 5th year award, the
institution must ensure that the student is in an
eligible program of study
Same
Student does not have a bachelor’s degree
Same
Continued on next slide …
State of California
CONFIRMATION Requirements
Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program
(2001)
After Cal Grant
Entitlement
Program (2001+)
California Residency:
General: Based on information existing in
the student’s financial aid file:
If parent and/or student address outof-state
 Non-California state income tax return
in student file
 If a students is paying out-of-state
tuition (at public institutions)

Same
Disbursement/Reconciliation
Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program
After Cal Grant Entitlement
CSAC sent a roster of Change: ~1994
students’ names, State of California
Cal Grant awards
Master Check
and Individual
mailed to
Checks, payable
Institutions
to students, to
(Payable to the
institutions
Institution & the
Institution
deposited Check)
Change: ~2002
State of California Electronic
Deposit of Funds for those
students’ Cal Grant awards
directly into an Institution’s
bank account
(2001)
Roster identified
students eligible
for funds
Program (2001+)
Same
Disbursement/Reconciliation
Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement Program
(2001)
The institutions confirm that students are enrolled
in appropriate units (enrollment status)
The institutions release (1994 continued)
the CSAC check to the The institution disburses
student
funds to the student
either by directly
crediting the student’s
account or by writing
an institutional check
and releasing it to
the student
After Cal Grant
Entitlement Program
(2001+)
Same
Same
Disbursement/Reconciliation
Prior to Cal Grant Entitlement
Program (2001)
Institutions report payments to students
using the paper roster provided by
CSAC
CSAC inputs the data into CSAC’s data
base
Institutions and CSAC reconcile payments
to students with records of awards
After Cal Grant Entitlement
Program (2001+)
Change: ~2002
Institutions report payments to
CSAC using CSAC’s WebGrant
system

Institutions assigned
responsibility for the data
entry of student
enrollment status and
amount paid into CSAC ‘s
data base
Same
Agencies The Student Must
Contact To Obtain Documentation
Agency
Purpose
Department of Homeland Security
Citizenship
Social Security Administration
Citizenship, Change of Name
High School
GPA, Academic
Competitiveness Grant
Independent Living Program
Foster Youth Certification,
Dependency Status
Welfare Department
Untaxed Income Confirmation
Employment Development Dept
Unemployment Benefits
Internal Revenue Service
Tax Return
Agencies The Student Must
Contact To Obtain Documentation
Agency
Purpose
Veteran’s Administration
DD214 (Discharge)
Selective Service Administration
Selective Service Registration
County Recorder Office
Birth, Death or Marriage
Certificate
Program/Fund Administrator
Verification of Assets
Accountant
Verification of Income &
Assets, Copy of 1040
Prior Colleges
Academic Transcripts
Impact on Students
Student Verification
Process Visual
Student Verification Process
AFTER Completing the FAFSA
IRS
A
SS
El
ig
i
Ci ble
tiz N
en on
Federal Tax
Return
Untaxed Income
Student
Ve
Se
ter
a
le
n's
ive
ct
Be
ne
fits
Se
VA
ice
rv
A
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2
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o
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M su
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SS
h
Hig ool
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Sc
ity
r
u me
c
Se Na
l
ia er, ge
c
b n
So u m h a
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Unemployment
Benefits.
IN
DH S/
S
Dept. of
Soc.
Services
The End