ISAC Update

VOL. 44, NO. 2F
August 2026

Messages sent to: Multiple Subscription Groups
  ISAC Update

Welcome to the August 2026 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 August.

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 Partner Services by calling 866.247.2172 or sending an email message to [email protected]. 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

Submit 2026-27 IVG & ING Grant Benefit Usage Data
Sent to  Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, and Business Officers on August 24, 2026.

Links in this message go to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website (isac.org) unless otherwise noted.

ISAC is accepting benefit usage data for the 2026-27 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) summer and fall terms and the 2026-27 Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant fall term.

In order to be considered timely:

  • IVG benefit usage data for the summer term must be submitted on or before Wednesday, September 30, 2026;
  • IVG benefit usage data for the fall term must be submitted on or before Thursday, December 31, 2026; and,
  • ING Grant benefit usage data for the fall term must be submitted on or before Thursday, December 31, 2026.

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 2026-27 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 July 1, 2026 e-Message, fiscal year 2027 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 2026-27 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.
  • 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 GAP Access portal is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
    • Data processing takes place each day between the hours of 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (CT).
    • Data submitted after 10:00 p.m. will be processed and dated the following day (for example, IVG or ING Grant benefit usage data submitted at 11:00 p.m. on Monday, August 24, 2026 would be processed and dated Tuesday, August 25, 2026).

Resources Available Online

Watch for Future Updates

Future updates regarding these programs will be shared via the FAA Message Board, the IVG and ING Grant "Program News" pages, and/or ISAC's e-Messaging service.

Correction: 2026-27 MAP Payment Implementation
Sent to  Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAP Users, and Business Officers on August 24, 2026.

Please note: This message is being resent to correct the deadline date originally provided. We apologize for any confusion and appreciate your understanding.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is sharing the following information to assist colleges in the administration of the Monetary Award Program (MAP).

Submit MAP First-term Claims by December 4

The 2026-27 MAP payment cycle has begun, allowing first-term claims to be submitted.

    • Colleges can submit first-term claims by accessing the MAP system, as well as by File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
    • First-term payment requests will be processed on a nightly basis as they are received from colleges, and then submitted to the State Comptroller for payment per standard operating procedures.
    • The 2026-27 MAP first-term payment request deadline date is Friday, December 4, 2026.

Program Reminders

  • When submitting claims, remember that ISAC has suspended the announcement of 2026-27 MAP grants for all students whose initial FAFSA is received by the federal processor after April 23, 2026.
  • A Payment Result Summary and Invoice Detail Report can be viewed or printed by selecting the Report tab in the MAP system the day after a payment request has been processed.
    • The report includes Payment Results, Payment Exceptions and Invoice Detail about the payment claim.
    • Be sure to review the report to see which requests, if any, did not process as expected.
  • Any 2026-27 payment requests that were submitted via FTP prior to today (August 24, 2026) will not be processed, and will need to be resubmitted by the college.
    • In order to prevent having to resubmit data in the future, never submit payment requests via FTP until after ISAC announces it is accepting the data for that academic year.
  • Because Payment Offset and Reconciliation procedures apply to MAP, 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.

Online Resources

ISAC Monthly Webinar for FAAs on August 26
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 August 12, 2026.

Plan to join the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on Wednesday, August 26, 2026 for a "Monthly Program & Operational Update" webinar for financial aid administrators.

Future monthly webinars will take place at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, September 23, 2026*
  • Wednesday, October 28, 2026

* Note: September webinar earlier in month than usual.

Registration is not required for these webinars. Participate by accessing the webinar link and presentation materials at the Partner Training page in the e-Library on the day of the event.

Requests for specific topics or questions you would like an upcoming webinar to address may be submitted by sending an email to Partner Services at [email protected].

Submit 2026-27 Teachers of Illinois Certification Data
Sent to Financial Aid Directors and Financial Aid Administrators on August 10, 2026.

The following provides important updates regarding the 2026-27 Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program.

2026-27 Certification Data Being Accepted

Effective Monday, August 10, 2026, colleges may certify eligibility for the 2026-27 Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program using the Teachers of Illinois system.

Reminders

  • Colleges are encouraged to certify eligibility for Teachers of Illinois applicants on a daily basis throughout the year, to ensure that your students will be included in the awarding process.
    • Separate notification will not be sent when new records are made available in the Teachers of Illinois system.
    • The schedule for awarding 2026-27 Teachers of Illinois Scholars will be announced once determined.
  • All certification records available in the Teachers of Illinois system must be completed, regardless of whether the college certifies a student as eligible or ineligible and regardless of whether the student is currently enrolled.
    • The only way applicants will receive notification from ISAC regarding their eligibility status is if their colleges have submitted the certification data via the Teachers of Illinois system.

Applications Still Being Accepted

The 2026-27 Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program application continues to be accepted. The priority consideration date is September 18, 2026. Complete applications – including the 2026-27 FAFSA – received after this date will continue to be considered for the Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program for as long as funding remains after all timely complete applicants have been awarded.

Future Updates

Watch for future updates regarding the 2026-27 Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program – including information about payment processing, once available – via our usual methods of communication (including the Teachers of Illinois Program News page, the FAA Message Board, and ISAC's e-Messaging service).

Operational Update: Federal Challenge to RISE Act and Impact on 2026-27 School Year
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on August 7, 2026.

On July 24, 2026, a federal district court ruled that the current version of the RISE Act, as applied to undocumented students, is unlawful. As a result of the court's ruling, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is prohibited from providing state financial assistance to undocumented students under the current version of the RISE Act for the 2026-2027 school year.

As a result of this ruling, ISAC is legally required to take the following actions, effective immediately:

  • ISAC cannot accept any payment claims and will not issue any payments on Monetary Award Program (MAP) or other scholarship and grant programs that have previously been awarded for undocumented students for the 2026-27 academic year.
  • ISAC has closed the 2026-27 Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid and will not accept any further submissions.

We know this court decision brings tremendous uncertainty and financial challenges for Illinois undocumented students. The State of Illinois recognizes the harms to students as a result of this decision, and remains dedicated to college access, affordability, and opportunity for all students.

In June 2026, Governor Pritzker signed into law an amendment to the RISE Act (HB 5093) that goes into effect for the 2027-2028 school year. The court's ruling does not apply to HB 5093. The Alternative Application for the 2027-28 school year will open on October 1, 2026.

We know that you, your higher education colleagues and most importantly, your students and families will have a lot of questions about what this means for them. We are including with this message a Student FAQ Resource that you can share with them.

This is a developing situation, and we will share updates as they are available. If you have any questions, please contact Partner Services by sending an email to [email protected] or calling 866.247.2172.

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ISAC UPDATE

July 2026 Electronic ISAC Update
Sent on August 3, 2026.

The July 2026 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 July 2026 ISAC Update include:

  • Resources Available from Recent Illinois Workforce Pell Application Launch Webinar
    (sent July 31, 2026)
  • ISAC Monthly Webinar for FAAs on July 29
    (sent July 15, 2026)
  • Workforce Pell Updates
    (sent July 14, 2026)
  • LAST CALL! 2026 CCE Conference is this Thursday!
    (sent July 13, 2026)
  • 2026 CCE Conference is One Week Away
    (sent July 9, 2026)
  • 2026-27 ECACE Certification Now Open
    (sent July 9, 2026)
  • 2026 CCE Conference – Keynote Announcement & Preliminary Agenda
    (sent July 2, 2026)
  • FY27 ISAC Program Funding: Budget Bills Approved
    (sent July 1, 2026)
  • June 2026 Electronic ISAC Update
    (sent July 1, 2026)

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