Award Determination for MTI
{ISAC Rules, Section 2763.30}
Overview
Student Award Announcements
Award Amount
The total number of scholarships awarded each year is contingent upon the funds appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly.
All timely applicants whose college or university has certified their eligibility by the requested ISAC receipt date are included in each academic year’s initial awarding process.
When appropriated funds for this program are insufficient to provide scholarships for all qualified applicants during any fiscal year, available funds will be awarded to qualified students who submit complete timely applications (i.e., the complete MTI Scholarship application and corresponding year’s Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) or Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid are submitted no later than March 31) based on the following priority order:
- Scholarships will first be awarded to renewal applicants who continue to meet all of the program’s eligibility requirements (including minority student status). An applicant is considered a renewal applicant if during the previous academic year they received funds from the program for which they are currently applying.
- If funds remain after all qualified renewal applicants have been awarded, then at least 35 percent of appropriated funds will be reserved for male qualified applicants. If enough applications are not received on or before January 1 of each fiscal year to award 35 percent of available funds to male qualified minority applicants, then a portion of the reserved funds will be awarded to female qualified minority applicants.
- When at least $2,850,000, but less than $4,200,000 is appropriated for this program in a given fiscal year, then – to the extent allowed by the amount of funding that remains – at least ten percent of the appropriated funds will be reserved for qualified bilingual minority applicants, with priority given to those applicants who are enrolled in an educator preparation program with a concentration in bilingual, bicultural education.
- When at least $4,200,000 is appropriated for this program in a given fiscal year, then – to the extent allowed by the amount of funding that remains – at least 30 percent of the appropriated funds will be reserved for qualified bilingual minority applicants, with priority given to those applicants who are enrolled in an educator preparation program with a concentration in bilingual, bicultural education.
- If sufficient funding remains after awarding has been completed for applicants included in priority categories 1-4 (above), then awards may be made to other qualified applicants.
- If the appropriated funding for this program in any given year is insufficient to award all qualified applicants within any of the priority categories 1-5 (above), then awards within that category will be prioritized as follows:
- to students that demonstrate the most financial need;
- to students with the earliest date of received complete applications (i.e., in date-received order); and
- to qualified applicants enrolled at or above the junior level.
Student Award Announcements
Based on the initial Certification that the postsecondary school submits to ISAC, as well as the above factors, ISAC proceeds with the awarding process and sends the appropriate notification to each applicant.
One of two types of award announcements is sent to eligible MTI applicants. Award information is available on the MTI system after each round of awarding to assist in identifying which students were eligible for MTI awards and which students would be funded.
The two award announcement categories for eligible students are:
- Eligible - Funded – students who are eligible for the award
- Eligible - Unavailable Funds – students who are eligible for the award, but for whom funds are not available
Applicants determined to be ineligible for the award receive a Notice of Ineligibility. They have the option to appeal the denial. Students who are no longer eligible for the scholarship will receive a Notification of Disqualification letter from ISAC.
Award Amount
The MTI Scholarship maximum annual award amount is $7,500.
A recipient may receive up to 8 semesters or 12 quarters of assistance. Scholarship funds are applicable towards up to two semesters/three quarters of study within a regular school year.
- The MTI Scholarship is applicable only toward tuition, fees and room and board charges or commuter allowances, if applicable.
- The annual scholarship amount shall be computed by the institution and be the lesser of:
- tuition and fees plus room and board expenses charged by the institution;
- tuition and fees plus the institution's standard cost of living allowance for students living off-campus; or
- the program's maximum award.
- The total amount of MTI assistance awarded to an eligible applicant in a given academic year, when added to the other financial aid available to the qualified applicant for that year, cannot exceed the cost of attendance.
Award results may be viewed in the Award columns on the "Student List Eligibility: View” screen of the MTI system. Use the Sort and Filter tabs at the top of the page then click on the List tab to generate a customize list. To print the customized list, click on the View Report or Excel buttons.
Once payment processing ends for an academic year, adjustments to the number of eligibility units that have been assessed will not be made for individuals who originally had their expenses (e.g., tuition and fees) covered using those benefits (i.e., the applicant cannot choose to "pay back" the dollar amount of benefits used in order to reinstate eligibility units).