Verification

You might see a note on the FAFSA Submission Summary (available at fafsa.gov) indicating verification is required; or you will have unsatisfied financial aid award requirements on MySAIL requesting verification documents be submitted. Oakland University’s Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships acts as an agent of the U.S. Department of Education and is responsible for requesting documentation which supports the information reported on the FAFSA.

Requested documents are due within 14 days of the requested date shown in MySAIL. Students who do not submit requested documents by the due date are putting their financial aid at risk of being delayed or canceled. Students are responsible for paying the balance on the eBill by the semester due date, regardless of the status of their financial aid. Students who do not pay the balance by the due date are subject to cancellation of their classes and on-campus housing (if applicable) and/or late payment penalties. Learn more about the consequences of late payments.

The Internal Revenue Service Financial Aid Direct Data Exchange (FA-DDX) allows most users to consent to have federal tax information transferred from the IRS.

If you are selected for verification and were unable to use the FA-DDX, please request and submit a Tax Return Transcript from the IRS.

The verification process is usually completed within 2-3 weeks. All requested documents need to be submitted for review in order for our office to start the verification process. We may request additional documents to clarify discrepancies. It is important all documents are completely filled out the first time to avoid having to resubmit due to incomplete documentation, as processing may be delayed. You should submit documents quickly so financial aid will be available by the semester due date.

Victims of identity theft cannot use the FA-DDX, and instead, will need to submit:

• A signed copy of 2023 income tax return and applicable schedules the individual filed with the IRS; and
•  An IRS 4674C letter (a letter from the IRS acknowledging the identity theft) or a statement signed and dated by the tax filer indicating that he or she was a victim of IRS tax-related identity theft, and the IRS is aware of it.

Individuals who filed an IRS tax extension will need to submit all of the following documents.

• A signed statement listing the sources of any tax year relevant income and the amount of income from each source;
• A copy of the IRS's approval of an extension beyond the automatic six-month extension for the relevant tax year;
• A copy of IRS Form W–2 for each source of tax year relevant employment income received or an equivalent document;
• If self-employed, the signed statement must indicate the amount of estimated AGI and U.S. income tax paid for the relevant tax year.

The Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships will request proof of high school completion if there is a conflict within the student’s file that needs to be resolved. Additionally, most forms of financial aid from the State of Michigan require proof of high school completion to be on-file at OU.

The following are acceptable to satisfy the proof of high school graduation requirement; if requested, please submit one of the following documents no later than 30 days before the semester begins:

• A copy of your high school diploma.
• A copy of your final high school transcript that shows the date when the diploma was awarded.
• A copy of your General Educational Development (GED) certificate or GED transcript.
• If state law requires a homeschooled student to obtain a secondary school completion credential for homeschool (other than a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent), a copy of that credential.
• If state law does not require a homeschooled student to obtain a secondary school completion credential for homeschool (other than a high school diploma or its recognized equivalent), a transcript or the equivalent, signed by a cognizant authority, that lists the secondary school courses the student completed and documents the successful completion of a secondary school education in a homeschool setting.
• Students with a foreign high school transcript in a language other than English, must provide OU with a professionally translated copy. In most cases, OU is able to validate the credential is equivalent to U.S. standards for graduation, but if OU is unable to validate, the student must obtain a course-by-course transcript evaluation by NACES-Foreign Credential Evaluations for high schools attended outside the U.S.

If you are a first-time freshman student, you are required to provide your final high school transcript with your final grades and high school graduation date to OU’s Undergraduate Admissions office.

If Financial Aid and Scholarships has reason to question the validity of the high school, the diploma, the transcript, or the GED, a student may be asked to provide additional documentation directly from Parchment, their high school, or the institution granting the credential.