If your application was selected for review, RMC will be comparing information from your application with tax return transcripts for you, your parent(s), and/or your spouse or other financial documents. The best way to verify income is by using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool that is part of FAFSA on the Internet. Please use the following instructions for help with using the IRS Data Retrieval Tool. If the student, parent(s) and/or spouse is unable or chooses not to use the IRS Data Retrieval Tool in FAFSA on the Internet, the student, parent(s) and/or spouse must submit a 2020 IRS tax return transcript or a signed photocopy of the income tax return, supporting schedules, and W-2s. There are several ways to obtain an IRS tax return transcript. Please read the IRS Tax Return Transcript and IRS Record of Account Request Process for guidance. For information on when the IRS will have transcripts available after taxes are filed for the FAFSA on the web’s IRS Data Retrieval Tool (IRS-DRT) and for requesting IRS tax return transcripts, please refer to the Timeline Availability of IRS Tax Information.

Complete the appropriate verification form listed below and submit to the RMC Financial Aid Office as soon as possible so that your financial aid won’t be delayed.

• 2023-2024 Verification Worksheet for Dependent Students
• 2023-2024 Verification Worksheet for Independent Students

Other verification forms you may be required to complete are:

• 2023-2024 Verification of Identity and Statement of Educational Purpose
• Verification of 2021 Income Information for Student (and Spouse) Nontax Filers
• Verification of 2021 Income Information for Parent Nontax Filers  

If you, your spouse, and/or your parent did not file a 2020 federal income tax return you will also need to submit documentation from the IRS or other relevant tax authority dated on or after October 1, 2021 that indicates a 2020 IRS income tax return was not filed with the IRS or other relevant tax authority.  A confirmation of nonfiling can be obtained by completing IRS Form 4506-T available at https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506t.pdf.  Check box 7 on this form and mail it to the appropriate IRS office for your state of residence.

Please read the Verification of 2021 Income Information for Individuals with Unusual Circumstances for guidance on what documentation you must submit if you, your spouse, and/or parent(s) were granted a Filing Extension by the IRS, filed an Amended IRS Income Tax Return, were victims of IRS Tax-Related Identity Theft, or filed Non-IRS Income Tax Returns.

Complete this form if you indicated on your FAFSA that you are an unaccompanied youth who was homeless or at risk of being homeless. Have the appropriate authority sign it. If you are unable to have one of the authorities listed on the form sign, please contact the Financial Aid Office for other acceptable documentation.

• 2023-2024 Unaccompanied Homeless Youth Documentation for the FAFSA

Complete this form if you will be receiving any scholarships from a source outside of Rocky Mountain College. External scholarships need to be reported to the Financial Aid Office as they may affect how much need-based aid you receive.

• External Scholarship Reporting Form

Complete this form if your application indicates that you have at least one dependent child and you would not otherwise meet the federal qualifications to be an independent student. To claim a child as your dependent for financial aid purposes, you must be currently providing at least 51 percent of the child’s support and must also continue to provide at least 51 percent of their support throughout the school year. You must attach any supporting documentation required.

• 2023-2024 Legal Dependent Form

If you are a regular full-time undergraduate student at RMC receiving institutional financial assistance in the form of scholarships and/or grants and you are making satisfactory academic progress, your institutional assistance will remain in effect for either eight or ten semesters depending on the length of your program of study. The intent of this policy is to assure students understand their responsibility in planning and completing their first bachelor’s degree in a timely manner. Occasionally a student has planned carefully and successfully completed 15 to 16 credits each semester, but still needs an additional semester or two in order to complete their first bachelor’s degree. Please complete and return this form to the Financial Aid Office in order to appeal the continuation of your institutional assistance.

• Fifth Year Appeal

Complete this form if you are eligible to receive VA Chapter 33 Post 9/11 benefits at the 100 percent level and wish to use your benefit to attend RMC.

• VA Yellow Ribbon Application

Consortium agreements will be made available to students on a case-by-case basis. The consortium agreement allows a student to maintain full-time status while enrolled at two institutions on a less than full-time basis, thereby maximizing their federal financial aid eligibility. (For example, a student may be enrolled at RMC for nine credits and at another institution for three credits, for a total of 12 credits, making them a full-time student.) The consortium agreement also clarifies to the institutions involved which school will award and disburse financial aid. Institutional scholarships will be prorated to reflect enrollment status at RMC if a student’s overall enrollment status is full time. No institutional scholarships are awarded if a student is less than full time between schools. To be eligible to participate in a consortium agreement, students must:

• Enroll in at least nine credits at Rocky Mountain College;
• Exercise all academic options at Rocky Mountain College before taking credits at another institution (i.e., students may not enroll in a class at another institution if the same class is offered at Rocky Mountain College);
• Have completed at least 90 credits toward their degree;
• Complete the Application for Consortium Agreement.

Student/Family Income – Students wishing to have their financial aid evaluated based on special financial conditions within their family can appeal to have their financial aid award recalculated. Special financial conditions include the death of a parent or spouse, loss of employment, divorce, and unusual debt or expenses. Students must submit the completed Appeal of Special Financial Consideration no later than April 1st of the year in which aid is received.

• 2023-2024 Appeal for Special Financial Consideration

Dependent/Independent Student Status – Many students also feel they are independent because they currently live on their own or because their parents no longer claim them on their income taxes. Others feel they should be considered independent because their parents refuse to provide information on the FAFSA or because their parents cannot afford to help with college expenses. However, these reasons are not sufficient for an appeal. The Financial Aid Office is required to consider parent information and expect parental contribution for students who are not independent according to the FAFSA definition. Specific instructions and a description of who may qualify for independent status is outlined on the Appeal for Independent Student Status form.

• Appeal for Independent Student Status

Rocky Mountain College Financial Aid Office Code of Conduct for Financial Aid Professionals

(Adapted from NASFAA’s Code of Conduct)

An institutional financial aid professional is expected to always maintain exemplary standards of professional conduct in all aspects of carrying out his or her responsibilities, specifically including all dealings with any entities involved in any manner of student financial aid, regardless of whether such entities or involved in a government sponsored, subsidized, or regulated activity.

In doing so, a financial aid professional will ensure that:

1. No action will be taken by financial aid staff that is for their personal benefit or could be perceived to be a conflict of interest.
   1. Employees within the financial aid office will not award aid to themselves or their immediate family members. Staff will reserve this task to an institutionally designated person, to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
   2. If a preferred lender list is provided, it will be compiled without prejudice and for the sole benefit of the students attending the institution. The information included about lenders and loan terms will be transparent, complete, and accurate. The complete process through which preferred lenders are selected will be fully and publicly disclosed. Borrowers will not be auto-assigned to any particular lender.
   3. A borrower’s choice of a lender will not be denied, impeded, or unnecessarily delayed by the institution, even if that lender is not included on the institution’s preferred lender list.
   4. No amount of cash, gift, or benefit in excess of a de minimis amount shall be accepted by a financial aid staff member from any financial aid applicant (or his/her family), or from any entity doing business with or seeking to do business with the institution (including service on advisory committees or boards beyond reimbursement for reasonable expenses directly associated with such service).
2. Information provided by the financial aid office is accurate, unbiased, and does not reflect preference arising from actual or potential personal gain.
3. Institutional award notifications and/or other institutionally provided materials shall include the following:
   1. A breakdown of individual components of the institution’s Cost of Attendance, designating all potential billable charges.

1. 1. Clear identification of each award, indicating type of aid, i.e. gift aid (grant, scholarship), work, or loan.
   2. Standard terminology and definitions, using NASFAA’s glossary of award letter terms.
   3. Renewal requirements for each award.

4. All required consumer information is displayed in a prominent location on the institutional web site(s) and in any printed materials, easily identified and found, and labeled as “Consumer Information.”

5. Financial aid professionals will disclose to their institution any involvement, interest in, or potential conflict of interest with any entity with which the institution has a business relationship.

Rocky Mountain College’s Financial Aid Guarantee

A student’s commitment to attend RMC is matched by a corresponding commitment from Rocky.  Our Financial Aid Guarantee assures that, after the student has submitted all documents and/or information requested by RMC and the initial year’s institutional gift aid award has been finalized, the total institutional gift aid will remain unchanged for each of the student’s four years of attendance.  The names of the scholarships and/or grants that make up the student’s gift aid may change from year to year, but the amount of institutional gift aid will not total less than that received in the student’s initial year.  Because of this you can plan and budget for each year with the expectation that RMC institutional gift aid will not be reduced.

The following conditions must be met to maintain the provisions of the Financial Aid Guarantee:

• Students must file a Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) annually, before the priority date of March 1.
• Students must complete the RMC Grant & Scholarship Renewal form annually before the priority date of March 1.
• Students must be enrolled full-time (12 or more credits).
• Students must be continuously enrolled at RMC to retain their guarantee.  Award amounts are not guaranteed for students who leave RMC for a semester or two and then return.
• Students must meet acceptable standards of academic progress.
• Students taking courses through non-exchange study abroad programs are not eligible for institutional gift aid.
• Students must reside on campus to retain housing grants.
• Award amounts are only guaranteed for four years.
• Students must adhere to the Student Code of Conduct. Behaviors which violate the Student Code of Conduct could result in scholarship revocation.

If additional RMC gift aid (Example: athletic) is received at a later date, previously awarded RMC gift assistance may be reduced or canceled but the total dollar amount of RMC aid will not be reduced.  Please note:  some RMC grants and scholarships have special conditions which may or may not be covered under the guarantee.

The following types of financial aid are not covered under the guarantee:  Federal Pell Grant, Federal Supplemental Educational Opportunity Grant, Federal Iraq/Afghanistan Service and TEACH Grants, Federal and/or institutional Work Study, Federal Stafford Loans, Federal Perkins Loans, Federal PLUS loans, VA Benefits, Tuition Remission, athletic grants, special financial consideration grants, any scholarships received from outside sources.