This article outlines the procedures that Financial Aid staff follow to fulfill requests from students concerning documentation of their financial aid record. It includes sections on Call Center escalation, scheduling financial aid advisem*nt appointments, verifying identity, sections on uploading third party forms or income verification reports into Student Forms so that students can access them securely and download a copy and a section for in-person situations.
Instructions for students, including a step guide, are available in the BC Knowledge base for students in the article “How to Authorize Release of your Financial Aid Record to a Third Party or Obtain a Record of your Financial Aid Information”
Call center staff should direct a student needing an offer letter/income verification report or third party form to access the step guide: How to Authorize Release of your Financial Aid Record to a Third Party or Obtain a Record of your Financial Aid Information – BC Knowledge for Students.
Students are able to make requests in Student Forms to have their information released. They can submit multiple requests per aid year but only once the prior request has been completed. Section II of this guide steps 1-3 only apply when the student didn’t open the request on Student Forms or is not in-person.
NOTE: Skip this section if the student opened a request in Student Forms on their own.
STEP 1 -Opening a Workflow in Student Forms
NOTE: Skip this step if the student opened a request in Student Forms on their own.
Staff can assist a student requesting an offer letter/income verification report or third party form, by adding the student “Authorization Release -BKL” workflow in Student Forms.
Navigate to the student’s record, click the workflow tab, and add button to assign the workflow.
NOTE: Staff who do not have security to add workflows should escalate to their immediate supervisor. If an advisor has an appointment with the student, they can add the task and complete the process themselves.
STEP 2 -Workflow Message
NOTE: Skip this step if the student opened a request in Student Forms on their own.
Use the following Workflow message to student: “Please complete the Student Authorization Web Form and submit proof of identity. Make sure to upload the front and back of your identity document if it’s a card.”
STEP 3 -Communicate via Navigate
NOTE: Skip this step if the student opened a request in Student Forms on their own.
The student will need to be emailed and texted the link through Navigate to log in to their Student Forms account. The finaid@brooklyn.cuny.edu email should be added to the additional notification field.
3A -Accessing Navigate
Log in to Navigate and access the student’s record using the search tool, under “Options” select “Send a Message”, insert the email template in the message to the student and click to send an e-mail. Repeat to send a text using the text message template.
3B -Email Template
Email template to student:
Brooklyn College – Authorization Release Form
Dear “First name,”
Before we can release your financial aid record to you or to a third party on your behalf, you must submit the authorization release form and proof of identity. Please log in to Student Forms at http://cuny-bkl.studentforms.com to submit the documents.
Once your documents are reviewed, a follow up email and text message will be sent to schedule an appointment to confirm your identity. You’ll be required to present yourself either in person at the Enrollment Services Center or virtually on Zoom with the ID you uploaded before the records are released to you or a third party.
If you have any questions, please follow up at finaid@brooklyn.cuny.edu. You may also join our virtual hours(Mo 10am-1pm | We 2pm-5pm). For in-person assistance, visit the Enrollment Services Center(Mo-Fr 9am-5pm). When classes are cancelled, in-person hours are 10am-3pm.
Best,
“Staff first and last name”
Office of Financial Aid
3C – Text Message Template
Text message template to student: “You must submit documents before we can release your financial aid record to you or to a third party on your behalf. Log in to Student Forms at https://cuny-bkl.studentforms.com to submit documents.”
STEP 4 – Verifying a Student’s Identity
Once a student submits the authorization release form and valid government issued ID, the designated ESC staff member will review the submission by caseload in the queue to ensure completion.
4A – Confirming the Identity Documents
Designated ESC staff member will schedule a zoom or in person time to meet the student to visually confirm their identity based on the ID documents submitted before tendering the information to the student. Proof of identity must be valid (unexpired) and match the student’s name and DOB on the ISIR. The appointment should be scheduled on Navigate.
4B – Contacting the Student to Schedule An Appointment
The student should be emailed and texted through Navigate to schedule the meeting time. finaid@brooklyn.cuny.edu should be added to the additional notification field.
If the student does not respond within 2 business days, a second email and text should be sent through Navigate. If the student does not respond to the follow up within 2 additional business days, reject the ID documents in Student Forms indicating the attempts to schedule an appointment to verify their identity.
4C – Appointment Email Message Template
Brooklyn College – Authorization Release Form
Dear “First name”:
Before we can release your financial aid record to you or to a third party on your behalf, you must confirm your identity virtually or in person. Please respond to this email with your availability for the next 5 business days between 9:30 AM – 4:00 PM. Make sure to indicate if you prefer to meet virtually on Zoom or in person at the Enrollment Services Center (ESC) located in the West Quad Building (1st floor).
If you are meeting virtually, you will need to have your camera on and the photo identification submitted on Student Forms. If you are meeting in person, you must bring the photo identification submitted on Student Forms.
A confirmation email will be sent to your BC email address once the appointment is scheduled. If you have any questions, please follow up at finaid@brooklyn.cuny.edu
Best, Staff first and last name
Office of Financial Aid
4D – Appointment Text Message Template
“You must confirm your identity virtually or in person before we can release your financial aid records to you or to a third party on your behalf. Please check your BC email for further instructions.”
STEP 5 – Open Appointment Availability on Navigate
5A – Accessing navigate and Configuring Availability
Login to Navigate and under staff home, click on the “My Availability” tab then under “Actions” select add time.
To “Add Availability”, select the desired day of the week, a 15 minute time range, and a date range (from and to the same day). After this, click on appointments for the type of availability and select either in-person meeting or video conference based on student’s confirmed availability and preference.
NOTE: ESC Staff must coordinate with ESC Supervisor before scheduling an appointment to ensure adequate coverage.
Select Student Financial Services as the care unit, Financial Aid as the location, and General question about financial aid eligibility as the service. If Zoom appointment, add the Zoom link under URL/Phone number, otherwise leave the field empty. Add special instructions to the student.
The maximum number of students per appointment should be set to 1. Save the appointment.
5B – Appointment Instructions for Students
Zoom: “Please click on the following Zoom link at the time of your appointment: [link]. Make sure to have your camera on and the valid identification that you submitted on Student Forms.”
In-person: “Please visit the Enrollment Services Center (1st floor) located in the West Quad Building at the time of your appointment. Make sure to obtain a ticket at the kiosk and bring the valid identification that you submitted on Student Forms.”
STEP 6 -Schedule the Student on Navigate
Log in to Navigate access the student’s record via the search bar and under “Options” select “schedule an appointment”.
For the filters, select student financial services as the care unit, financial aid as the location, and general question about a financial aid inquiry as the service. The meeting type should be In-Person Meeting or Video Conference based on the availability previously opened. The organizer should be the staff member completing the process for the student.
Select the available time slot and save the appointment. Do not repeat the appointment.
Step 1
If a student requests a third party form to be completed, designated ESC staff will add the Upload Miscellaneous Document task in Student Forms. The student will be able to upload the third party form needed to be completed in this task. Once the student submits the document, designated ESC staff will review and complete the form.
Step 2
Once the form is completed, designated ESC staff will then add the Completed Third Party Form/Income Verification Report task. The completed third party form should be uploaded within this task on the student view.
Step 3
Once all documents are reviewed and completed on Student Forms, designated ESC staff will then complete the file by selecting “complete review”. The student will be able to review and download the form on their student account.
Step 4
Designated ESC staff will email and text the student through Navigate (see instructions above) to notify them that the form has been completed and to log in to their Student Forms account to download a copy of the form. See above instructions (Section II: Step 3A) for how to send an Email or text message in Navigate.
Step 5
If the student requested that we send the document to a third party the file should be sent by the method the student requested on the form. If sending by email the file must be encrypted with 256bit AES encryption and the password must be sent in a separate email.
Step 6
Staff must place a comment on CUNYfirst and add a note visible to the student in Navigate indicating the document was sent.
For student who only requests a record of their cost of attendance and proof of packaged aid (offer letter/income verification report) the designated ESC staff will add the Completed Third Party Form/Income Verification Report task on the staff view and upload the document on the student view. Staff should refer to the CUNYfirst Financial Aid Reference guide for a step sheet on how to generate an Income Verificaiton Report.
Once all documents are reviewed and completed on Student Forms, designated ESC staff will then complete the file by selecting “complete review”. The student will be able to review and download the form on their student account.
Designated ESC staff will email and text the student through Navigate to notify them that the form has been completed and to log in to their Student Forms account to download a copy of the form. See above instructions (Section II: Step 3A) for how to send an Email or text message in Navigate.
Students who visit the ESC requesting an offer letter/income verification report or third party form can have the process completed at the time of visit. Staff assisting the student will add the student authorization release workflow or escalate to designated full-time staff to add the workflow.
STEP 1
See section II steps 1 and 2 of this document. Skip step 3 in section 1. Note the student will need to login to complete the form and submit the documents.
STEP 2
The staff will review the submission to ensure everything is completed and verify the student’s identity in person. Proof of identity must be valid (unexpired) and match the student’s name and DOB on the ISIR.
STEP 3
The staff member will upload the requested documents with the student present and tender a physical copy to the student.
STEP 4
Once the staff member finishes with the student, they must add a note on Navigate and CUNYfirst, indicating the student’s identity was verified at the ESC at the time of visit.
Important Notes & Turnaround Time
Students will need to indicate if they would like to review and obtain financial aid records or if they would like to have information pertaining to their financial aid released to a third party.
The student must specify which information they are allowing us to release and if releasing to a third party to whom. Therefore, the student’s purpose for releasing information must be consistent with the request type. Otherwise, the release form must be rejected to the student for consistency.
We can only provide FTI information specified by the student in the “specific information to be released” section and only to the third party they specify. Multiple third parties require multiple authorizations.
Information should only be released to the specified third party based on the method indicated in the Authorization Release Form.
Total turnaround time should not exceed the 1-2 weeks’ timeframe.
