Relief: DOE Temporarily Relaxes Federal Student Aid Verification

graphic that says federal student aid

For many students at Stetson, there is good news from the U.S. Department of Education. On July 13, the Department of Education announced temporary changes to the federal student aid verification process for the 2021–2022 award year — providing relief to millions of students, as well as colleges and universities, facing challenges that have resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Department of Education will focus federal student aid verification on identity theft and fraud for the 2021–2022 application cycle, which also will significantly reduce other barriers that have prevented students most in need from accessing critical financial aid funds. The actions are part of the department’s broader efforts to provide relief to students and borrowers impacted by the pandemic, and address inequities made worse by COVID-19.

For students at Stetson, those actions mean the following, according to the university’s Office of Student Financial Planning:

  • All outstanding verification documents for students will be waived from their checklist.
  • Once those updates are made, if students have no other outstanding financial aid required documents, their financial aid will be displayed on their fall invoice.

To check for outstanding requirements, students should log into their MyStetson portal, click on the OneStop tab and, from the Financial Aid dropdown menu, select “student requirements.”

To act on any offered financial aid including loans, students should log into their MyStetson portal, click on the OneStop tab and select “accept award offer” from the Financial Aid dropdown menu.