Is it unheard of for a financial aid department to request personal tax information?

I was turning in a data sheet form to financial aid today and they began processing it. The clerk asked me a few times if I was persuing a bachelor’s degree. I said no, because the program I’m going into only gives out certificates. He told me that I had to fill out another form. Surprise, surprise. I guess FAFSA took some information the wrong way and now I’ve got to change that. That’s no problem. The new form is called a Federal Verification form and, with it, I’ve got to turn in a copy of my 2009 tax return. That’s the part that worries me. It has personal information on it that I’d like to stay with me only. I have no idea what they need it for. FAFSA already asked me for that stuff. If I have to, I have to. It just sounds odd to me. Financial aid says that I can’t that the copies back after they’ve scanned them and that they’d shred it afterwards. Honestly, I take no comfort in that. Is this a rare thing or does it seem like standard practice? I did ask the guy why I didn’t have to do it last year and he said that it changes every year.