This policy governs UW-Madison’s process of reviewing and verifying applications for federal financial aid through the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Definitions:
Central processing system (CPS)
Entity of the U.S. Department of Education that reviews and selects aid applications for the federal verification process
Verification
Process of checking the accuracy of information provided by students and families on a student’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA)
Scope:
All UW–Madison students who complete the FAFSA.
Policy:
UW–Madison will verify all student FAFSAs selected for Federal Verification by the Central Processing System (CPS).
The FASFA must be submitted by the federal deadline of the appropriate aid year to be processed
Students selected for verification are required to submit documentation requested by UW–Madison
Students will be provided with a clear explanation of the documentation needed, deadlines for submitting documentation and the consequences of not submitting documentation.
Document submission priority deadline is November 15 for fall semester, April 15 for spring semester, and May 15 for summer semester. Failure to meet the priority deadlines could result in either the delay or the inability of UW–Madison to award most types of aid for that term.
The FAFSA and verification documents must be received no later than 120 after the last date of enrollment or September 21 of the following aid year, whichever is first
UW–Madison will notify the students of the results of verification in a timely manner
C-Code Flags
The CPS adds additional comment codes to flag students’ FAFSAs related to questionable results from the database matches and edits conducted after the student completes the FAFSA
All C-codes must be resolved prior to disbursement of federal financial aid
UW–Madison will request additional information from students as needed
C-code flags may be related to issues including, but not limited to: citizenship, selective service, veteran status, overpayments, student loan default, or unusual enrollment history
