Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program

Program News

(last updated January 9, 2023)

2022-23 Program Funding
2022-23 Benefit Usage (submit fall- and spring-term data by April 7, 2023)
2022-23 File Specifications
2022-23 Eligibility Data
2022-23 Interactive Application

2022-23

Program Funding

The fiscal year 2023 (FY23) state budget did not include funding for the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant to provide for compensating institutions for waiving the tuition and fees for Guardsmen. (The ING Grant is an entitlement program and receipt of benefits does not depend on the annual budget process.) As in recent years, the budget does include a little more than $4.26 million for the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) to reimburse Illinois community colleges for the costs associated with waiving tuition and fee charges for ING Grant and Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) recipients.

Although ISAC will not be able to reimburse institutions for 2022-23 ING Grant awards, reporting of enrollment hours must still take place so that benefit usage (i.e., eligibility units) can be accurately assessed to students’ accounts.

Benefit Usage

As announced in a  January 9 e-Message, ISAC is accepting 2022-23 ING Grant Program benefit usage data for the spring term. Although ISAC will not be able to reimburse institutions for 2022-23 ING Grant awards, reporting of enrollment hours must still take place so that benefit usage (i.e., eligibility units) can be accurately assessed to students' accounts.

Important dates and reminders for 2022-23 ING Grant benefit usage processing:

• ING Grant benefit usage data for the spring term must be submitted on or before Friday, April 7, 2023 in order to be considered timely.
• Although benefit usage data for the fall term must have been submitted by December 30, 2022 in order to be considered timely, colleges are still encouraged to report fall-term data as soon as possible.
• After submitting data, colleges are encouraged to always review the Benefits Results Exceptions report that is available the next business day.
• Any 2022-23 benefit usage data that was submitted via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) prior to August 18, 2022 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.

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, via the ING Grant system.

New data for students eligible for benefits will be available whenever there is a new or updated eligible record for the college. While new data could potentially be available on a daily basis, the college may not have students that appear in the system each day. It is recommended that the college check the ING Grant system at least once a week for new student data that may have been processed for the 2022-23 academic year.

IVG benefit usage data is submitted in the same manner as MAP and IVG claims. For additional details, refer to the ING Grant Benefit Usage page within this section. An ING Grant Program User Guide can help colleges navigate the online process. ING Grant File Specifications can be accessed in the section below and from the ING Grant Electronic Processing page.

File Specifications

2022-23 ING Grant specifications – describing the file layouts that ISAC uses to provide Eligibility Files, and that colleges use to transmit benefits used data to ISAC via File Transfer Protocol (FTP) using ISAC's Secure File Transfer System – are available within the Electronic Tools section of the e-Library. Make sure all files submitted to ISAC conform to the 160-byte format described in the specifications.

Access to ISAC's Secure File Transfer System (transfer.isac.org) requires a valid GAP Access user ID and password. Additional information and instructions are provided in the FTP Process Using GAP Access Credentials Guide.

Eligibility Data

The ING Grant system is available to access student eligibility data. When a student submits an ING Grant application to ISAC, a record is added to the school’s database in the ING Grant system that can be viewed by the school on the ING Student List Eligibility: View screen, which displays in the same format and has the same sort and filter functions as is used in the MAP system.

The ING Grant eligibility data includes information for each applicant who has applied for the ING Grant at the college of record, and for whom the Department of Military Affairs in Illinois (DMAIL) has confirmed eligibility as of the "Certified Eligible" date. It is recommended that the college check the ING Grant system for new or updated eligible records at least once a week.

Refer to the ING Grant Certification of Eligibility portion of this section for information regarding student eligibility data. Specific details regarding the ING Grant system, including important reminders and guidelines, are provided at the ING Grant Electronic Processing page of the Processes area.

The college's GAP Access Primary Administrator must update privileges for the appropriate staff to access the ING Grant system. Instructions for updating user privileges are provided in the GAP Access User Guides section, which is located on the GAP Access page.

Interactive Application

The Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant interactive application for the 2022-23 academic year is available for students to complete and submit online via the Program Applications & Status Checks area of the ISAC Student Portal. Students should allow at least 4 weeks for processing of the application. Remind applicants in the Air National Guard that they must provide the base on the application. Complete applications received by ISAC after the deadline dates will be processed only for subsequent terms, with June 15, 2023 being the final date of acceptance for the summer term.

To assist you with questions you receive from students regarding the ING Grant online application process, refer to the ING Grant page in the Types of Financial Aid section of the Student - During College area.

Refer to the Application Procedures for the ING Grant page within this section for an overview of the online application process (including a link to the application), entry steps, application confirmation information, deadline dates and a sample of the acknowledgement e-mail.

A recording of A Review of the ING Grant Application Process is available for applicants via the ING Grant page in the Students & Parents area of this website.