Contact: Ann Hatch
214-378-1819;
ahatch@dcccd.edu
For immediate release — Jan. 9, 2019
Editor’s note: Cynthia Butler, DCCCD’s executive financial aid director, recently shared the following statement with students and employees.
(DALLAS) — While the Department of Education is fully funded for the 2018 and 2019 fiscal years, the partial government shutdown has caused issues for processing 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 Free Applications for Federal Student Aid (FAFSAs) that require certain database matches. The database matches in question include Selective Service System, Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice. Without the database matches, students are receiving a code of 390 that requires resolution in order to complete financial aid files and ultimately receive funding.
In addition, students and families selected for Verification by the Department of Education have been unable to obtain required IRS documentation to complete their files due to the current outage of the IRS Get Transcript Online and Get Transcript by Mail services. Collectively, the 390 codes and the Verification issues create a burden to both students and families as well as financial aid offices, including the Dallas County Community College District.
As a result of much discussion and advocating for acceptable alternative documentation by the Department of Education to assist students and families in completing the Verification process, the department released guidance on Jan. 9, 2019, permitting copies of tax returns and written statements of nonfiling in each of the 2018-2019 and 2019-2020 application cycles. Additionally, the department announced they will reprocess FAFSAs for both award years with a 390 code designation at the first opportunity after restoration of the database match, which will not occur until after the shutdown ends.
To support our students and families impacted by the shutdown for the Spring 2019 semester, DCCCD has a special fund set aside that acts as a place holder for incomplete financial aid files to prevent deregistration. This fund source is specifically designed for replacement upon the receipt of other monetary awards while providing students and families sufficient time to complete the financial aid process. This award includes those with Verification concerns and/or students and families with a 390 code while assisting our district in meeting and maintaining strategic enrollment initiatives.
# # #