Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program

Program News

(last updated October 7, 2021)

2021-22 Program Funding
2021-22 Payment (submit first-term claims by December 10, 2021)
2021-22 Application, Certification and Award Determination

2021-22

Program Funding

The 2021 fiscal year (July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022) appropriation for the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Scholarship is $6,498,000.

Payment

As announced in an September 14 e-Message, payment requests for the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program can be completed online and submitted electronically to ISAC via the Golden Apple system.

What's New

• Effective with the 2021-22 payment cycle, and as part of our ongoing efforts to best leverage appropriated funds to award as many eligible students as possible, priority payment request deadline dates are being established for each term.
  • The first-term payment request deadline date is Friday, December 10, 2021.
  • The timely submission of claims and cancellations/adjustments allows ISAC staff to monitor remaining funds and award other students, as applicable.
• An "Academic Level" field has been added to the "Payment Requests" screen, where colleges must provide each Scholar's academic level (e.g., Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, or Senior).
• Each Golden Apple recipient's maximum annual award amount is based on the number of years that they have been a Golden Apple Scholar (i.e., "Year in Program"), not their academic level in college.
• The Golden Apple User Guide has been updated to reflect these changes.

Submitting payment requests is a two-step process, which involves generating the request (either individually or in a batch) and then submitting the request.

Payment results display on the Golden Apple Student Detail: Payment screen and on the Payment Results/Exception report the day after payment requests are processed. After submitting claims, colleges are encouraged to always review the Payment Results/Exceptions report. Retain a copy of the report for each payment request submitted, so that the invoice number on the report can be matched with the voucher and the funds received from the State Comptroller's Office. After payment requests are processed, vouchers are generated and sent via e-mail to financial aid directors.

The disbursement of funds is processed by the State Comptroller's Office. Refer to the State Comptroller's Website page for information on how to track payment.

For more information, refer to the following resources on ISAC's website:

Golden Apple Payment
Golden Apple Electronic Processing
Golden Apple User Guide

Application, Certification and Award Determination

As announced in a September 2 e-Message, colleges may view a listing of their institution's potential 2021-22 Golden Apple Scholars via the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen within the Golden Apple system.

The Application, Certification and Award Determination functions for the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program are performed by the Golden Apple Foundation. Once a student has been certified as eligible by the Golden Apple Foundation, their award will immediately appear on the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen.

The role of colleges will start with 2021-22 Golden Apple payment processing, which is anticipated to begin by the end of September 2021.

What's New

Effective with 2021-22 Golden Apple processing, a "Student List Eligibility: View" screen column has been renamed from "Academic Level" to "Year in Program." Refer to the Golden Apple Scholars Application, Certification and Award Determination page for specific details.

When payment processing begins, a new "Academic Level" field on the "Payment Requests" screen will be available for colleges to provide each Scholar's academic level (e.g., Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, or Senior).

The Golden Apple User Guide has been updated to reflect these changes.

Reminder

All users need a valid GAP Access ID and password to access the Golden Apple system. ISAC relies on a designated Primary Administrator (usually, the Financial Aid Director) at each institution to authorize users and provide them with the appropriate level of access for each ISAC program, including Golden Apple. Further details may be found in the GAP Access User Guides, and questions may be directed to ISAC's School Services Department.