Update: MAP Denials Top 31,000 Eligible Students At End of May

Over 5,000 MAP grant-eligible applicants/week received by ISAC

CHICAGO — The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) announced that through May 27, it has received 31,435 eligible Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant applications since the agency began denying eligible applicants due to exhaustion of anticipated funds on Monday, April 19.

Of those denied the state’s need-based college financial aid program thus far, more than 65 percent (20,601) selected a community college as their top choice on the 2010-11 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), which is the form used to apply for MAP and federal student aid.  Just over 17 percent (5,351) selected a public four-year school and 10 percent (3,214) chose an in-state private college.

The agency projects the eligible applications received after the April 19th suspense date will far exceed the 120,000 eligible students denied MAP grants for the 2009-10 academic year. However, ISAC encourages students complete the FAFSA in order to qualify for federal grants and loans in addition to possible institutional financial aid.

The Commission provides further background information regarding the problem, research and resources, and weekly updates to MAP grant suspension activity at the following Web site, www.collegezone.com/mapcap.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission provides students of all ages and backgrounds with the resources and support to obtain financial aid for higher education. A state agency, ISAC has paved the path to post-secondary education with innovative programs for over 50 years. The commission continued its mission to make college accessible and affordable for Illinois students by administering over 183,000 grants and scholarships totaling over $430 million in FY2009 alone.

The Commission provides educational funding with student loans and via numerous programs such as the Monetary Award Program (MAP), the Illinois Veteran Grant and College Illinois!^® 529 Prepaid Tuition Program. Students and families have free access to a wealth of financial aid and college planning information at ISAC’s family of Web sites available at www.KnowHow2GOIllinois.org.

Governor Quinn Announces FY2011 Budget

After a thorough review of the state’s operating budget for the coming fiscal year, Governor Pat Quinn today announced major reductions to state spending while prioritizing the tools needed to keep the Illinois economy moving forward. Governor Quinn also issued an Executive Order to place additional restrictions on government spending.  A summary of Higher Education-related budget appropriations may be found here.

MAP Startup Formula Approved as Recompute at June 18 Commission Meeting

Each year, ISAC is responsible for adopting an allocation formula for MAP. Typically, once the governor and General Assembly take action on the budget (which, as indicated above, remains unresolved), the Commission revisits the MAP formula and, using previous claim data to predict future application volume, approves a “recompute” formula that is updated from the formula used at start-up. This year, however, has seen marked differences in applicant behavior (higher application volume and earlier application filing) that has impacted the reliability of using previous years’ claim rates to predict current year claims. As a result, and working with the same appropriation as last year, staff sought approval for a new approach in allocating MAP dollars.

The Commission approved using the FY11 MAP start-up formula as the FY11 recompute formula. If it is later determined necessary to reduce award amounts to stay within the appropriation, second- and third-term awards would be reduced accordingly.

Comments

Please feel free to post your comments under one of the following sections: Students, Parents, Communities, or Educators. You can also utilize the collection of available resources to assist in our efforts to restore MAP funding by visiting the “Toolbox” section.