FAA Message Board
The FAA Message Board is updated each week.
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May 23 e-Message reminds financial aid administrators to join us for the "ISAC Operational Update and 2012-13 Close Out" webinar, which will take place at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, May 29, 2013. The message provides details regarding how to participate in the webinar, along with information about other upcoming training opportunities (including another monthly webinar and Financial Aid 101/Financial Aid 201 Workshops in June).
Registration is now open for the
College Changes Everything conference, which will be held on July 11, 2013, at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Further details are provided in a
May 21 e-Message.
The application for the
Grant Programs for Dependents of Police, Fire or Correctional Officers is available to download and print via the e-Library's
Applications, Forms & Brochures page, both for the 2012-13 academic year (used to apply for the 2013 summer term) and for the 2013-14 academic year. Students may be eligible for these programs if they are the dependent children or spouses of Illinois police, fire or correctional officers who were killed or became at least 90% disabled in the line of duty. 2012-13 applications for the summer term are due to ISAC on or before June 15, 2013. In order for an applicant to receive full-year consideration, ISAC must receive the complete 2013-14 application on or before October 1, 2013.
In observation of the Memorial Day holiday, ISAC offices will be closed on Monday, May 27, reopening on Tuesday, May 28. Access the Financial Aid Administrators area at
isac.org anytime, or
send an e-mail message to the School Services Department for questions or inquiries.
Information regarding schedules for Title IV processors and call centers for the Memorial Day holiday is provided in a
May 15 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED).
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May 8 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announces that, effective June 9, 2013, the Student Aid Internet Gateway (SAIG) data retention period will change from 180 calendar days to 90 calendar days. The data retention period is the length of time during which files transmitted using the SAIG are stored in the system. All files residing in the system prior to June 9, 2013 that are older than 90 days will be removed and institutions will no longer be able to access them. Institutions are encouraged to retrieve all files stored in archive or in their SAIG mailboxes that are older than 90 days, in order to prevent the loss of data.
Attention Illinois 2- and 4-year public colleges: make sure your students who are members of the Illinois National Guard are aware that the
interactive application for the
Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program is available to complete and submit online, both for the 2012-13 academic year (used to apply for the 2013 summer term) and for the 2013-14 academic year. 2012-13 ING Grant applications for the summer term are due to ISAC on or before June 15, 2013. In order to receive full-year consideration, 2013-14 ING Grant applications must be received at ISAC on or before October 1, 2013.
Be sure to regularly visit the “Important Dates” section of the e-Library's
2013-14 FAFSA Completion area for a listing of the latest updates and electronic announcements from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Updates are listed in chronological order by month, and the most recent date on which new information was posted is indicated at the top of the page.
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May 3 e-Message provides operational details regarding the required return of funds – ten percent (10%) – for those students whose 2012-13 Monetary Award Program (MAP) awards have been released from suspense status [i.e., students whose FAFSA receipt dates were March 20, 2012 through (and including) April 2, 2012]. Key dates for the upcoming 2012-13 MAP close-out process, including the June 1, 2013 priority payment claim deadline for the third term, are also provided. As a reminder, the required return of funds – as well as an explanation of why this action is necessary – was announced in an
April 25 e-Message.
According to a
May 1 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the updated
2013-14 Federal School Code (FSC) List of Participating Schools is available to access via the
Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website. The FSC List, which contains the unique codes assigned by ED for schools participating in the Title IV federal student aid programs, is only available electronically (as a PDF or Microsoft Excel XLS file) - it is no longer distributed in hard-copy format. Updated PDF and XLS files are posted at IFAP on a quarterly basis. Included in the electronic announcement are instructions on how to update FSC information, for those schools that need to do so.
A recent Dear Colleague Letter (
DCL GEN-13-12) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) describes a change to the 2014-15 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), related to the collection of parental information. Beginning with the 2014-15 application cycle, dependent students will be required to include on the FAFSA income and other information from the dependent student’s legal parents (biological or adoptive) regardless of the parents’ marital status or gender, if those parents live together. Included with the DCL are links to a table that summarizes the impact of the change and a set of related Questions & Answers (Q&As). On or about May 3, 2013, ED will publish a draft of the 2014-15 FAFSA in the Federal Register, for public comment.
An
April 26 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides the financial aid community with the latest updates on how “across-the-board” federal budget cuts, known as the sequester, will impact the Federal Title IV student financial assistance programs. Additional information was provided in prior electronic announcements, dated
March 1, March 15 and
April 5. As a reminder, the Budget Control Act (BCA) of 2011 stipulates that the sequester is to take effect if Congress failed to enact legislation to reduce the federal deficit. The required budget cuts took effect as of March 1, 2013. As more information becomes available, ED will provide additional updates via a series of sequester-related communications posted to the
Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website.
Spring term (second semester/second and third quarter) payment requests (i.e., claims) for the 2012-13 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program are due on or before May 25, 2013. Although ISAC is not able to reimburse institutions for 2012-13 IVG Program awards, claims still must be submitted so eligibility units can be accurately assessed to students' accounts. For more information regarding the payment process, refer to the
IVG Payment page.
2013-14
budget packets for the Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program, the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program and the Monetary Award Program (MAP) are available online, and must be completed and returned to ISAC on or before June 1, 2013. Specific details are provided in a
March 28 e-Message.
The links below have information on topics that were recently listed on the Message Board.
2013-14 State Scholar AnnouncementsInformation regarding Pay As You Earn Repayment Plan (for
colleges and
students)
Information regarding Employment Certification for Public Service Loan Forgiveness (for
colleges and
students)
Outreach Calendar/EventsFAFSA Completion InformationImportant Reminders calendar
Prepaid Tuition 
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