Verification Policy

The College is required to verify all federally flagged FAFSA’s. To verify reported information, Berkshire Community College (BCC) partnered with Inceptia, to expedite the federal verification process. Verification Gateway from Inceptia, is an online portal to guide students and parents through verification.

Inceptia will email and/or send a postcard containing BCC’s unique website link to start the verification process. Once verification is complete, Inceptia will provide reports and electronic file verification of completed process and outcome.

If BCC determines that there are non-federally flag conflicting information and/or the student/parent has requested an Award Appeal, the College collects supporting documentation used to cross-reference and compare FAFSA information with institutional verification documents and any other required supporting documentation. The College may request additional information.

If the student/spouse/parent have questions about verification, they should contact the College as soon as possible so that their financial aid eligibility determination will not be delayed. If the student fails to complete any part of the verification process, s/he/they will forfeit federal student aid eligibility. The student/spouse/parent information reported must be complete, consistent, and signed on all institutional/Inceptia portal verification documents and submitted to Inceptia and/or the office within thirty (30) days of the end of the semester and/or student withdrawal date. If there are discrepancies in verified information, the FAFSA may need to be corrected and re-submitted to CPS for reprocessing/recalculation. The verification process may take 4-6 weeks. If multiple individuals within a family attend Berkshire Community College (BCC), we may collect verification documents for all of their financial aid records. We reserve the right to request documentation of any items listed on the BCC Verification Worksheet, including, but not limited to, child support paid, receipt of SNAP Benefits (food stamps), or proof of IRA distribution and/or pension rollovers.

Students and/or parents who successfully matched their FAFSA using the FTI data may not need to submit a Tax Return/Transcript. Tax Return/Transcripts may be required in cases of divorce/separation, parents who live together but are not married, and/or separate tax filing.

Documentation of active duty, orphan, emancipation, homelessness, foster care, legal and/or guardianship status may be requested regardless of federal verification status. BCC reserves the right to select any student for verification who appears to have conflicting information.

Revised April 23, 2024