Submit 2025-26 IVG & ING Grant Benefit Usage Data

08/21/2025

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

This message provides information regarding the benefit usage reporting cycle for the 2025-26 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) and Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant programs.

IVG and ING Grant Benefit Usage Data Being Accepted

ISAC is accepting benefit usage data for the 2025-26 IVG summer and fall terms and the 2025-26 ING Grant fall term.

In order to be considered timely:

  • IVG benefit usage data for the summer term must be submitted on or before Tuesday, September 30, 2025;
  • IVG benefit usage data for the fall term must be submitted on or before Wednesday, December 31, 2025; and,
  • ING Grant benefit usage data for the fall term must be submitted on or before Wednesday, December 31, 2025.

Reminders

  • Benefit usage data for the IVG and ING Grant programs is submitted to ISAC by colleges via the benefit usage functionality within each program's system.
    • Colleges report enrollment hours and dollar amounts for initial, in-district and out-of-district benefit usage by students, as well as adjustments to previously-submitted data.
  • Even though ISAC may not be able to fully reimburse institutions for 2025-26 IVG or ING Grant awards, reporting of benefits used must still take place so that usage can be accurately reflected on students' accounts.
    • As announced in a June 23 e-Message, fiscal year 2026 funds have been appropriated for ISAC to reimburse public universities for some of the tuition and fees that they waive on behalf of eligible veterans and Illinois National Guard members.
      • Details regarding the disbursement of these funds will be provided once they have been determined.
  • Colleges are encouraged to regularly check their Benefits Results report for each program.
    • Further details are provided in the IVG and ING Grant user guides.
  • 160-byte specifications for the 2025-26 IVG and ING Grant programs, describing the file layout to be used to send data for each program to ISAC via File Transfer Protocol (FTP), are available within the Electronic Tools section of the e-Library for Partners.
  • Any benefit usage data submitted via FTP prior to August 4, 2025 (the first day on which 2025-26 IVG data was accepted for the summer term) will not be processed, and must be resubmitted by the college.
    • In order to prevent having to resubmit data in the future, never submit benefit usage data via FTP until after ISAC announces it is accepting the data for that academic year.

Resources Available Online

System Reminders

  • Please verify that the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access Administrator at your college has established the appropriate program system (IVG and/or ING Grant) access level for all impacted staff.
    • Instructions for establishing access to the appropriate system(s) may be found on the GAP Access page.
  • The IVG and ING Grant systems are available each day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. (CT).
  • The two-factor authentication process requires a valid user ID, password and single-use verification code each time a user logs in to the GAP Access portal.
  • A valid GAP Access user ID and password are required in order to submit files via ISAC's Secure File Transfer System (located at https://transfer.isac.org/), making encryption (password protection) of files unnecessary.

Watch for Future Updates

Future updates regarding these programs will be shared via our usual means of communication: the FAA Message Board; the IVG and ING Grant "Program News" pages; and/or this e-Messaging system.

You are receiving this message because you registered for ISAC's e-Messaging service through one or more subscription groups for FAAs.

If you have any questions, please contact School Services by sending an e-mail to [email protected] or calling 866.247.2172.