JB Pritzker, Governor, State of Illinois

ISAC Update

VOL. 41, NO. 10F
April 2024

Messages sent to:   Multiple Subscription Groups
  ISAC Update

Welcome to the April 2024 ISAC Update for financial aid administrators and business officers. This version of the electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent through ISAC's e-Messaging service throughout April.

The articles in this Update have been organized according to the FAA subscription groups to which the messages were distributed.

Questions?

Questions regarding information in this ISAC Update can be directed to School Services at 866.247.2172 or at isac.schoolservices@illinois.gov. On occasion, you may be directed to a specific contact person or area; when this occurs, we will provide the appropriate information in the individual article or message.

MULTIPLE SUBSCRIPTION GROUPS

Act Now to Take Advantage of the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Account Adjustment
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 25, 2024.

Federal Direct Loan and Federal Family Educational Loan (FFEL) borrowers have only one week remaining to learn and take advantage of the IDR Account Adjustment, before it ends next Tuesday, April 30, 2024.

The adjustment is a set of temporary changes that allow federal student loan borrowers to receive credit for certain previously ineligible payments while under an IDR plan and/or pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

This final webinar is available to the public at no cost. During the webinar, we will discuss the different IDR plans, how you can take advantage of the adjustment, and your next steps!

Final Webinar Date: April 29, from 12 – 12:45 p.m.

For registration details, visit the Professional Development Calendar. For questions, contact isac.borrowersupport@illinois.gov.

Spring into Action with Free ISAC Webinars
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 25, 2024.

This year's delay of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) has had a ripple effect on students, families, counselors, colleges, and many other partners and college access practitioners. Students across the country have not been able to submit, sign, or correct a FAFSA, which also means they have not received a financial aid offer.

Join this call-to-action webinar to learn more about how ISAC can support your students and families with free assistance through the summer and year-round. Learn more about the latest updates to the FAFSA, best practices for navigating the corrections and verification processes, and ISAC resources available to you and your students. Take action to ensure students have the assistance and support they need. To register, visit the Professional Development Calendar. For questions, contact isac.outreachtraining@illinois.gov.

Webinar Dates

  • Thursday, May 2, 1-2 p.m.
  • Friday, May 10, 9-10 a.m.
  • Tuesday, May 14, 12-1 p.m.
  • Wednesday, May 22, 2-3 p.m.
  • Tuesday, May 28, 10-11 a.m.

Flexibilities Available for ISAC Program Administration
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAP Users, and NES Schools on April 24, 2024.

As the financial aid community continues to work through the impacts of the delay in the opening of the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) and subsequent issues, ISAC has taken the opportunity to review a number of our processes and procedures with an eye toward any administrative flexibility we may be able to provide.

Although there are some areas where we are bound by statute or other requirements that aren't possible to change, below are flexibilities that we are able to make available, effective immediately.

  • MAP 2023-24 Award Adjustments – temporary suspension of:
    • the need to submit an enrollment hours adjustment for students at 15 hours or above, if the award amount stays the same; and,
    • the need to edit a student's MAP code if a student changes programs during the term, if the award amount stays the same.
  • MAP Advising Date Collection Delayed
    • The opening of the data collection process is delayed until late fall, 2024 and reporting functionality in GAP Access will then remain open through the end of the calendar year.
  • New Program Reviews Temporarily Suspended
    • New routine program reviews are suspended through June 2024.
  • Current Active Program Review Responses Extended
    • Extensions will be provided for responses, reports or requests for additional documentation to schools currently undergoing a review. Schools are encouraged to work with ISAC’s Program Review team.

In addition to the above available to schools, we are also providing the following for students.

  • MTI and NES Applications/FAFSA Requirement Allowances
    • Allowances will be provided to applicants who could not submit a FAFSA by each program's applicable date. For the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program and Nursing Education Scholarships (NES), both the program application and a FAFSA are needed for an application to be considered complete. Please note that the ISAC program applications must still have been/be submitted by the published dates.
      • The MTI priority consideration date was March 31, 2024.
      • The NES application deadline (not a priority date) is April 30, 2024.

We will provide information regarding any updates as needed.

ILASFAA Virtual Open Forum on April 30
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 24, 2024.

This is a challenging time for everyone! ILASFAA would like to invite you to a virtual open forum discussion on April 30, 2024, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. Let's "talk everything" 2024-2025 FAFSA, verification, delays, corrections, and anything else that may be on your mind!

More details about the event & registration are provided below. Please be sure to register for the event.

Registration link:
https://illinois.webex.com/weblink/register/r31e0b2dce5a4453db6a22e8dad48dfcc

Join link (for the day of the event):

https://illinois.webex.com/illinois/j.php?MTID=m07f851eb7e620ae4a9c418ff6a862914

This is an open forum so all mics will be open for questions and comments. If you have any questions you would like posed to the group, please feel free to submit them in advance to sherry.schonauer@illinois.gov or adavis11@illinois.edu.

We hope to see you there!

2023-24 Winter- and Spring-Term Claims & Benefit Usage Submission
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 23, 2024.

Unless otherwise noted, links in this message are to corresponding pages at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website (isac.org).

The ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal – which includes the electronic processing systems for the ISAC programs discussed below – is available for submission of records for the winter (for quarter schools) and spring (for semester and quarter schools) terms. Colleges are encouraged to submit 2023-24 winter- and spring-term certifications, payment requests (claims), and/or benefit usage data as soon as possible.

You may either scroll through the remainder of this message, or click on the appropriate link(s) to go directly to a specific section:

Monetary Award Program (MAP)

Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois, Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship, Nursing Education Scholarships (NES), and Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship (Social Work Scholarship)

Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship

Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant and Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG)

General Reminders

MAP

  • ISAC is accepting 2023-24 MAP claims for the third quarter (and second semester for institutions where the second semester begins after February 15th).
    • In order to be considered timely, these claims must be submitted on or before Friday, May 3, 2024, which is the claim deadline date.
  • ISAC is continuing to accept first- and second-term MAP claims and will hold them as late, to be considered for payment later in the year.
  • Resources:

Golden Apple, MTI Scholarship, NES, and Social Work Scholarship

ECACE

  • In order to be considered timely, ECACE Scholarship claims for the spring (Term 2 for semester schools, and Term 3 for quarter schools) must be submitted on or before Friday, May 3, 2024, which is the claim priority date.
  • ISAC is continuing to accept and pay ECACE claims for the fall (Term 1 for semester and quarter schools) and winter (Term 2 for quarter schools).
  • Resources:

ING Grant and IVG

  • ISAC is accepting spring-term benefit usage data for the 2023-24 ING Grant and IVG programs.
  • In order to be considered timely, spring-term benefit usage data must be submitted as follows:
    • by Friday, May 31, 2024 for the ING Grant Program, and
    • by Friday, May 31, 2024 for the IVG Program.
  • Colleges are encouraged to submit benefit usage data for the summer (IVG Program) and fall (ING Grant and IVG programs) terms as soon as possible.
  • Although ISAC is not able to reimburse institutions for 2023-24 ING Grant or IVG awards, reporting of benefits used must still take place so that usage can be accurately reflected on students' accounts.
  • Colleges are encouraged to regularly check their Benefits Results report for each program.
    • Further details are provided in the ING Grant and IVG user guides.
  • Resources:

General Reminders

  • Claim results are available via each program's online system.
    • Colleges are encouraged to always review the Payment Results/Exceptions report, which is available the day after claims are processed.
  • Because Payment Offset and Reconciliation procedures apply to the ECACE, Golden Apple, MTI, MAP, NES, and Social Work Scholarship programs, refund checks should not be sent for cancellations/adjustments made throughout the award year.
    • Funds should only be returned to ISAC after a final reconciliation has been completed at the end of the regular school year.

Changes to GAP Access Registration Process
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, and NES Schools on April 17, 2024.

Recent changes to the registration and update process for the Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal have made it easier for Primary Administrators to oversee and manage GAP usage by the staff in their offices. These changes are effective immediately.

GAP Access has three levels of authorization, with a single Primary Administrator at each institution who is responsible for determining and authorizing the appropriate level of access for other users (if any) at the school/facility. Other users who can perform program functions within GAP are Administrators, who can grant privileges, reset passwords and update and view applicant records, and Users, who can update and/or view applicant records.

With the streamlining of the process, the Primary Administrator is now able to provide access and assign or update privileges in GAP Access without the need to interact with ISAC. This allows the task to be handled solely within your offices and eliminates any time that may have been involved while waiting for ISAC staff to respond to the request.

Now, when the Primary Administrator receives a request to approve a new user or to update user privileges, the Primary Administrator will complete the necessary steps within the GAP system and finalize the request. System-generated e-mail messages will continue to be automatically sent throughout the process as applicable to the Primary Administrator and/or to institutional staff requesting privileges. Only in the event it is necessary to register a new Primary Administrator or switch the Primary Administrator role to a different staff member, will ISAC staff need to be involved in completing the registration.

Reminder – Password resets can be done through the system by the school or facility without contacting ISAC. Use the "Forgot Password/Forgot USER ID?" link on the User Login page.

The GAP Access User Guides have been updated to reflect the new process and contain step-by-step instructions. The Guides are available through the links below and on the GAP Access page on our website.

Join Us to Learn about the Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Account Adjustment
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 17, 2024.

The IDR Account Adjustment will end this month on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. The adjustment is a set of temporary changes that allows federal student loan borrowers to receive credit for certain previously ineligible payments while under an IDR plan and/or pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

We want to make all Federal Direct Loan and Family Federal Education Loan (FEEL) borrowers aware of this opportunity and how to navigate the process! All webinars are in Central Time. For registration details, visit the Professional Development Calendar. For questions, contact isac.borrowersupport@illinois.gov.

April Webinar Dates:

  • Monday, April 22, 10 – 10:45 a.m.
  • Wednesday, April 24, 8 – 8:45 a.m.
  • Monday, April 29, 12 – 12:45 p.m.

Commission Meeting Thursday, April 18 – No Executive Briefing
Sent to Financial Aid Directors and Financial Aid Administrators on April 12, 2024.

The next regular meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will be held at 1 p.m. on Thursday, April 18. Those interested in attending the meeting in person may do so at either the ISAC Deerfield or Springfield office location; see below for addresses. There will be no videoconference access to the meeting from ISAC's website.

Some of the items on the tentative agenda are:

  • Proposed administrative program rules amendments
  • State Legislative update
  • FAFSA Simplification update
  • College Illinois!® Prepaid Tuition Program investment and program updates

The Agenda Book, providing the complete listing of agenda items, will shortly be posted on the 2024 Agenda Books page, which is located within the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission section of the About ISAC area of isac.org. The online Agenda Book will be updated within 1-2 days following the meeting to reflect action taken.

No Executive Briefing Conference Call

There is no Executive Briefing conference call scheduled following the April Commission meeting.

Commission Meeting Sites

Deerfield office
1755 Lake Cook Road
Conference Room 3030, 3rd floor
Deerfield
Enter through the east door and check in at the desk

Springfield office
500 West Monroe
Conference Room, 3rd floor
Springfield
Enter from the rear parking lot through the east door, use the elevator or stairs

Still Time to Submit Your CCE Conference Proposal
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 9, 2024.

2024 College Changes Everything Conference

Community Health

Time is running out to submit an interest session proposal for the 2024 College Changes Everything® (CCE) conference before the priority consideration deadline of Monday, April 15, 2024. One of the things that makes this annual event so valuable to its attendees is the interest sessions developed and led by dedicated educators and professionals like you. We invite you to complete the online session proposal form to showcase the work you do that contributes to student success. Thanks, again, to those of you who have already submitted a proposal.

We encourage proposals covering a wide range of themes related to college access and completion such as, but not limited to: college and career readiness; programs and services for underrepresented students; student wellness and emotional support; student retention, persistence, and completion; career and technical education; education, business, and the economy; and college costs and affordability. Sessions should provide in-depth information, practical ideas, and specific strategies for the audience, and demonstrate and promote positive steps taken to address college access, completion issues, and career readiness and sharing of specific lessons learned. Session proposals should also explain how the information shared contributes to community health. Please complete the online session proposal form on the conference web page, where you'll also find additional event information.

We look forward to seeing you on July 18, 2024, at the Tinley Park Convention Center, Tinley Park, Illinois. Registration for the conference will open later this spring.

Please share the information in this e-Message with colleagues in your organization and others in your network.

2024 College Changes Everything Conference Planning Committee

  • Illinois Student Assistance Commission
  • Illinois Board of Higher Education
  • Illinois Community College Board
  • Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
  • Illinois Department of Employment Security
  • Illinois State Board of Education
  • Illinois College Access Network
  • Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
  • Advance Illinois
  • Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University
  • ACT Now
  • Women Employed
  • iCan Dream Center

The College Changes Everything® Conference is sponsored
by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Helping Illinois reach its Goal 2025: to increase the proportion
of adults in Illinois with high-quality college degrees and
postsecondary credentials to 60% by the year 2025.



CCE

2024-25 MAP Start-up Implemented
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAP Users, and Business Officers on April 5, 2024.

2024-25 Monetary Award Program (MAP) records – reflecting the start-up formula that was approved at the September 21, 2023 Commission meeting – are now available to access via the MAP system. Effective immediately, all 2024-25 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and Alternative Application Student Records received by ISAC through (including) Friday, March 29, 2024 are available with their accompanying eligibility status information.

2024-25 ISIRs and Alternative Application Student Records received by ISAC after March 29 and through (including) Monday, April 8, 2024 will be processed the evening of April 8, with results available for colleges to access via the MAP system the morning of Tuesday, April 9, 2024. At that time, daily processing of 2024-25 ISIR, Alternative Application, and eligibility status information will commence.

Processing Details

  • Following the 2023-24 MAP recompute formula, the 2024-25 start-up formula:
    • uses 2021-22 reported tuition and fees;
    • uses the 2021-22 Pell Grant Payment Schedule;
    • uses a $5,200 living allowance; and,
    • has a maximum annual award amount of $8,400.
  • As necessitated by FAFSA Simplification, the 2024-25 MAP start-up formula replaces "Expected Family Contribution (EFC)" with "Student Aid Index (SAI)" and includes clarification regarding how to handle negative SAIs.
    • MAP is mirroring the federal methodology that allows students with negative and zero SAIs to receive the same maximum Pell amount.
  • The MAP system can be experienced best using the Google Chrome browser.
  • The ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal, which includes the MAP system, is available each day between the hours of 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. (CT).

More Information Available Online

Notification to Applicants

Reminders

  • Although decreasing application volume and higher appropriations have resulted in fewer awards left in suspense status in recent years, colleges should still encourage students to submit the 2024-25 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or the Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid (Alternative Application) as soon as possible.
  • Encourage your students to visit the ISAC Student Portal to access these helpful resources:
    • MAP Paid Credit Hours Display (located in the Program Applications & Status Checks area) – MAP grant recipients may use this option to track the number of MAP Paid Credit Hours they have remaining, and
    • Student Resources Beyond Financial Aid (located in the Resources area) – students can find resources for food (including listings of Illinois food pantries on or near college campuses, as well as across the state), housing, medical care, child and dependent care assistance and consideration because of special circumstances.

Watch for Future Updates

Additional updates regarding the 2024-25 MAP processing cycle – including confirmation that daily processing has commenced – will be provided via ISAC's usual means of communication: the FAA Message Board; the MAP Program News area; and/or, this e-Messaging service.

April Webinars for FAAs
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 4, 2024.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will offer the following webinars for financial aid administrators during the month of April.

  • Tuesday, April 9, 10 a.m. – Policies & Procedures Webinar about Budget Reporting
  • Wednesday, April 24, 2 p.m. – Monthly Operational Update and Program News

To participate, visit the Partner Training page in the e-Library on the day of the event to access the webinar link and presentation materials.

Join Us to Learn about the One-Time Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Account Adjustment
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 4, 2024.

If you have federal student loans,
learn how you can take advantage of this adjustment!

Less than one month remains for federal student loan borrowers to take advantage of the One-Time IDR Account Adjustment. This adjustment ends on April 30, 2024, don't miss out!

The adjustment is a set of temporary changes that allows federal student loan borrowers to receive credit for certain previously ineligible payments while under an IDR plan and/or pursuing Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF).

We want to make all Federal Direct Loan and Family Federal Education Loan (FEEL) borrowers aware of this opportunity and how to navigate the process! All webinars are in Central Time. For registration details, visit the Professional Development Calendar. For questions, contact isac.borrowersupport@illinois.gov.

April Webinar Dates:

  • Tuesday, April 9, 12 – 12:45 p.m.
  • Monday, April 22, 10 – 10:45 a.m.
  • Wednesday, April 24, 8 – 8:45 a.m.
  • Monday, April 29, 12 – 12:45 p.m.

Deadline Extended – Submit Your Proposal
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on April 3, 2024.

2024 College Changes Everything Conference

Community Health

In an effort to be responsive to the level of interest from participants, we are extending our priority consideration date to submit interest session proposals to Monday, April 15, 2024. We hope this will give those who require it additional time to finalize their proposals for the conference. Please complete the online session proposal form, which – along with more information about interest session submission – is available on the conference webpage. We also want to acknowledge the people who have already submitted their interest session proposal. Thanks so much to you all!

As a reminder, the annual College Changes Everything® (CCE) conference gathers a wide range of participants, and we encourage proposals that cover a wide range of themes related to college access and completion such as, but not limited to: college and career readiness; student retention, persistence, and completion; education, business, and the economy; and college costs and affordability. Sessions should provide in-depth information, practical ideas, and specific strategies for the audience, and demonstrate and promote positive steps taken to address college access, completion issues, and career readiness and sharing of specific lessons learned. Session proposals should also explain how the information shared contributes to community health. You're invited to complete the online session proposal form on the conference web page, where you'll also find additional event information.

We look forward to seeing you on July 18, 2024, at the Tinley Park Convention Center, Tinley Park, Illinois. Registration for the conference will open later this spring.

Please share the information in this e-Message with colleagues in your organization and others in your network.

2024 College Changes Everything Conference Planning Committee

  • Illinois Student Assistance Commission
  • Illinois Board of Higher Education
  • Illinois Community College Board
  • Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity
  • Illinois Department of Employment Security
  • Illinois State Board of Education
  • Illinois College Access Network
  • Federation of Independent Illinois Colleges and Universities
  • Advance Illinois
  • Education Systems Center at Northern Illinois University
  • ACT Now
  • Women Employed
  • iCan Dream Center

The College Changes Everything® Conference is sponsored
by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

Helping Illinois reach its Goal 2025: to increase the proportion
of adults in Illinois with high-quality college degrees and
postsecondary credentials to 60% by the year 2025.



CCE

2024-25 Budget Data Due June 1
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, and Business Officers on April 1, 2024.

Unless otherwise noted, links in this message are to corresponding pages at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website (isac.org).

The annual reporting of postsecondary institutions' budget information to ISAC is underway. This message provides details regarding the manner in which colleges participating in the Monetary Award Program (MAP) and the Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) and Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant programs will submit required budget data for the 2024-25 processing cycle.

The requested budget information follows the same format that was used to report 2023-24 academic year data, with no changes.

2024-25 Budget Data Due Saturday, June 1, 2024

Colleges will submit their 2024-25 budget data online via the "School: Budget" area of the GAP Access portal.

If a school's annual budget is not final by June 1, the budget data is to be submitted with estimated figures, followed by an e-mail from the financial aid director to ISAC's School Services Department that provides the approximate date by which the final budget will be submitted (must be on or before August 1, 2024).

Reporting On-Campus Mandatory Fees for MAP

As was the case for the 2023-24 MAP budget reporting process, colleges are to report the 2024-25 mandatory fee amounts for each type of fee (based on 16 semester hours or 12 quarter hours per term) by navigating to the "On-Campus Mandatory Fees" tab.

  • "On-Campus Mandatory Fees" are the charges assessed each term to every full-time student in a traditional 16-hour on-campus, non-distance education enrollment.
    • Application, graduation, laboratory, breakage, add/drop, and out-of-state or foreign study program administration fees are specifically excluded.
  • This data is being collected for the purpose of calculating a mean-weighted tuition and fee rate for a typical on-campus student, which ISAC uses and provides to other state partners for a variety of purposes.

More information about reporting on-campus mandatory fees for MAP is provided in the ISAC's Budget Reporting User Guide.

Reporting FY2025 Differential Rates

As part of the 2024-25 budget data reporting process, ISAC will be collecting differential rate data for fiscal year 2025 (FY2025).

Upcoming Training Opportunity

The 2024-25 budget data collection process will be discussed during an upcoming "Policies & Procedures about the Budget Reporting Process" webinar.

  • Tuesday, April 9, 2024 – 10 a.m. (CT)

To participate in the webinar, visit the e-Library's Partner Training page to access the webinar link and presentation materials, both of which will be posted on the day of the session. Registration is not required.

General Institutional Information

Valid responses must be provided for Questions 1 and 2 of the "General Institutional Information" section. If you do not have a valid Program Participation Agreement (PPA), blank is a valid response. If Question 1 is checked, and/or a date is reported for Question 2, responses to all three questions are required before the budget can be certified. For Question 3, one of the buttons ("Yes" or "No") must be selected before the budget can be certified.

  1. Please check this box to confirm that this institution has a valid PPA with the U.S. Department of Education (ED). [Checkbox will appear here]
  2. This ED PPA expires: [mm/dd/yyyy field will appear here]
  3. Has your institution undergone a name or ownership change in the last 12 months? [Yes/No radio buttons will appear here]

Operational Details and Reminders

  • As was the case for the 2023-24 budget data collection process, colleges:
    • report "main" tuition and fee rates (i.e., the basic rate that the majority of students at the college are charged); and,
    • if applicable, add new differential rates (i.e., any rates, other than the college's "main" rate, upon which payment requests may be based).
  • Remember that – effective since with the 2022-23 academic year, and with the exception of data reported via the "On-Campus Mandatory Fees" tab for MAP – the definition of "Mandatory Fees" has been expanded to include fees for students studying though distance education (in addition to previously-included on-campus students).
  • Step-by-step instructions for accessing and navigating the GAP Access "School: Budget" screens – including access to the ISAC's Budget Reporting User Guide – are provided on the Gift Assistance Budget Instructions page (and may also be viewed in a separate browser window via a link in the top right corner of the "School: Budget" screens).
  • Only those staff members who have been granted appropriate GAP Access privileges will be able to access the "Budget" option from within the "School" area of the system.
  • Budget data must be reported for each approved program (MAP, IVG and/or ING Grant), and each approved school code within a program, before it is certified.
  • After the budget information for all approved codes and all approved programs has been entered, saved and confirmed and the institution's required tuition refund policy document has been uploaded and saved, the financial aid director will need to submit the data by selecting the "Certify" button.
  • If you have questions concerning the online process of submitting budget data to ISAC, please contact a School Services Representative at 866.247.2172 or isac.schoolservices@illinois.gov.

Do You Want to Change How Your MAP Awards are Calculated?

The majority of schools calculate term awards by the "cents" option, but if you're interested in switching to the "no cents" option (or vice versa), simply contact ISAC's School Services Department to discuss how to make the change. Any such revisions must be done prior to the start of the payment claim process for the upcoming award year.

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ISAC UPDATE

March 2024 Electronic ISAC Update
Sent on April 1, 2024.

The March 2024 edition of the ISAC Update is now available for your review, and may be accessed via the Partner e-Messages & Newsletters section of the e-Library for Partners at isac.org. This version of the electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent to financial aid administrators and business officers via ISAC's e-Messaging service over the past month.

Topics covered in the March 2024 ISAC Update include:

  • Don't Forget – Submit Your CCE Conference Proposal
    (sent March 25, 2024)
  • First Gen Symposium Session Materials Are Now Posted!
    (sent March 22, 2024)
  • 2024 CCE Conference: Save the Date & Call for Proposals
    (sent March 18, 2024)
  • Discontinuation of Authy Desktop Application – Mobile App Now Required for GAP Two-Factor Authentication
    (sent March 12, 2024)
  • March Webinars for FAAs
    (sent March 7, 2024)
  • Join Us to Learn about the One-Time Income-Driven Repayment (IDR) Account Adjustment
    (sent March 6, 2024)
  • ISAC To Pause 2023-24 ECACE Application Processing
    (sent March 1, 2024)
  • 2024-25 NES Applications Due April 30
    (sent March 1, 2024)
  • February 2024 Electronic ISAC Update
    (sent March 1, 2024)

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