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Before qualifying for Federal Financial Aid programs, the U.S. Department of Education requires some students to verify the information they reported on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid. Each year, the Department of Education determines which FAFSA responses must be verified and which groups of students are selected. Not all students are chosen for verification, and students who are selected may be required to verify different types of information.

The South Dakota Board of Regents Enrollment Services Center oversees FAFSA verification for SDSU. If a student’s FAFSA is selected for verification, the student will receive an email from ESC with instructions on how to access the required verification forms and a list of necessary supporting documentation. All completed verification forms and documentation must be submitted directly to ESC. If the submitted materials are incomplete or insufficient, ESC will contact the student to request additional information. Students are not eligible for federal financial aid until the verification process has been fully completed.

Once ESC receives all required forms and documentation, staff will compare the submitted information to the responses listed on the FAFSA. If the documentation matches the FAFSA, no changes will be made and the student’s financial aid offer will be based on the original FAFSA information. If the documentation does not match, ESC will update the FAFSA to reflect the verified information provided, and the student will be notified by email once the FAFSA has been corrected.

If a FAFSA is corrected as a result of verification, the student’s financial aid offer will be based on the verified FAFSA data. Students who received an aid offer prior to verification may see their offer adjusted after the process is complete, which could affect aid that has already been accepted or disbursed. The SDSU Financial Aid Office will notify students if their aid offer changes due to verification.

For some students, FAFSA verification may result in a higher Student Aid Index and a reduction in financial aid eligibility. In certain cases, students may be required to return federal financial aid funds that were previously received. Students who owe a refund are not eligible for additional financial aid until the issue is resolved with the SDSU Financial Aid Office. Failure to repay required funds in a timely manner may result in ineligibility for future financial aid, possible loan default status and referral to the U.S. Department of Education for collection and documentation of ineligibility.

Prior to June 17, 2021, students who had been convicted under federal or state law of possession or sale of controlled substances during periods of enrollment were subject to the loss of eligibility for Federal Financial Aid Programs. These penalties were eliminated with the FAFSA Simplification Act effective for the 2022-23 academic year and Free Application for Federal Student Aid.

Students whose eligibility for federal benefits was removed as the result of a federal drug conviction and subsequent sentencing will remain ineligible for Federal Financial Aid programs.

Currently, the South Dakota Board of Regents schools do not offer correspondence courses. South Dakota State does not award financial aid for correspondence courses and will not approve consortium agreements for students who are taking correspondence courses at another college or university.

Students are required to notify the SDSU Financial Aid Office of any non-SDSU scholarships the student receives. Students should complete the to provide the required notification.

When possible non-SDSU scholarships should be made payable to SDSU and include the student's name, address and student ID number. Generally, when the scholarship donor does not specify, non-SDSU scholarships for less than $2,500 will be posted to the student’s account the semester the funds are received and non-SDSU scholarships for $2,500 or more will be evenly split between the fall and spring semesters. Students may request an exception to this policy by contacting the SDSU Scholarship Office. Requests will be approved only after ensuring it does not violate donor intent and will not result in a reduction in other financial aid or a deficit in financial aid funding for a subsequent term.

Financial aid received after the initial financial aid offer has been provided may result in revisions to the aid offer. If the additional awards exceed the student's financial need or cost of attendance, other financial aid may need to be reduced to ensure the student’s financial aid offer is compliant with federal financial aid requirements.

Financial aid administrators are allowed to exercise professional judgment within the limits established by the U.S. Department of Education to:

• Allow a dependent student with unusual circumstances to be considered independent for federal financial aid purposes.
• Make changes to certain data elements on the FAFSA for students who have unusual special circumstances related to their financial situation.
• Increase a student’s cost of attendance when the student’s educational costs as defined by the U.S. Department of Education exceed the estimated costs used in the financial aid offer.

For more information, including information on how to request a professional judgment review, visit FAFSA Special and Unusual Circumstances.