ISAC Programs Update

ILASFAA:

2014

ISAC Programs Update

Session Agenda

• ISAC Gift Assistance Programs• E-Business

• News & Reminders• Resources & Training

• Q & A

ISAC’s Gift Assistance ProgramsProgram Acronym Type of Aid 2014-15

Annual Amount

Monetary Award Program MAP GrantNeed-based

up to $4720

Illinois Veteran Grant IVG GrantEntitlement

Tuition & mandatory fees

Illinois National Guard Grant ING GrantEntitlement

Tuition & certain fees

Grants for Dependents of Police, Fire & Correctional Officers

PFC Grant Tuition & mandatory fees

Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program

MTI Scholarship Up to $5,000

Golden Apple Scholars Program GAS Scholarship Up to $5,000

Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver

SETTW Waiver Tuition & mandatory fees

IL State Scholars Program ISSP Certificate of Achievement

$0

2014-15 (FY15) Appropriations

ISAC Program FY15 Appropriation

MAP $373,254,500

GAS $6,647,600

MTI $2,500,000

PFC $1,050,000

Illinois Teacher Loan Repayment Program $500,000

Nurse Educator Loan Repayment Program $300,000

Higher Education License Plate (HELP) Program $110,000

Optometric Education Scholarship Program $50,000

John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program $38,030

Veterans’ Home Nurse Loan Repayment Program $30,000

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Monetary Award Program

• 2014-15 maximum annual award is $4,720

• Suspense date is February 28, 2014• Initial FAFSAs received by CPS on or

after this date are in suspended status for 2014-15 MAP

Monetary Award Program

• Priority claim deadlines for 2014-15 MAP payment processing are:

• Initial claims must be submitted to ISAC via the GAP Access portal or File Transfer Protocol (FTP) no later than 7 p.m. (CT) on the deadline date to be considered timely

Term Deadline Date

1st semester / quarter December 12, 2014

2nd semester / quarter April 1, 2015

3rd quarter / 2nd semester where the second semester begins after February 15th

June 1, 2015

• Packaging reminders• A veteran cannot decline IVG to use MAP• If a veteran is using IVG with VA Post-9/11 GI

Bill benefits, the IVG benefits must be applied first

• A veteran can choose to not use their IVG benefits and use only the federal Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit

Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program

• Claim processing is done via My Zone or FTP• Fall term processing began on September 16 and claims

are due on or before January 15, 2015• Spring term processing begins January 16, 2015 and claims

are due on or before May 25, 2015• Claim results are provided in My Zone

• Even though there is no appropriation to reimburse schools, claims must be submitted to track veterans’ usage of IVG benefits

Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program

• Students must apply annually by application deadline dates:

• October 1– full year • March 1 – 2nd semester, 2nd and/or 3rd quarter• June 15 – summer term only

• Packaging reminders• A student cannot decline the ING Grant to use MAP• If a student is using the ING Grant with VA Post-9/11 GI Bill

benefits, the ING Grant benefits must be applied first• A student can choose to not use their ING

Grant benefits and use only the federal Post-9/11 GI Bill benefit

Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program

Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant

• A “10 Year Eligibility” field has been added to the ING Grant announcement roster, accessible in My Zone

• A “Y” will display if the applicant has completed 10 or more years of active duty ING service.

• The column will be blank if the applicant completed less than 10 years of active duty ING service

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• Applicants with 10 years or more of active duty ING service may receive the equivalent of six years of full-time enrollment (180 eligibility units)

• Recipients who have completed less than 10 years of active duty ING service may receive up to four years of full-time enrollment (120 units)

• Claim processing is done via My Zone• Payment rosters are due 30 days after generated by ISAC

• Due date is noted on the roster

• Supplemental rosters are due 45 days after initial roster date

• Fall 2014 payment rosters were made available in My Zone on October 15 and claims are due by November 13• Even though there is no appropriation, claims must be

submitted to track Guard members’ usage of ING benefits

Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program

• Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship and Golden Apple Scholars (GAS) are administered through My Zone

• Several rounds of awarding have taken place for both programs• The most recent round of awarding was on September 9• Use the sort functionality to identify students who have been

recently found eligible for an award, or access the system-generated report that provides a list of eligible students by status date

Teacher Education Scholarship Programs (TESP)

• 2014-15 application is still available at isac.org• Encourage students to complete the MTI online application as

long as it remains available at isac.org• 2014-15 MTI awarding will continue as long as funds are

available or until the 2015-16 MTI application becomes available in December 2014

• Once an application has been submitted to ISAC, certification must be completed by the school in My Zone• Continue completing and submitting Initial Certifications to

ensure that any new applicants will be included in future rounds of awarding

Teacher Education Scholarship Programs (TESP)

• Payment Processing• Fall term payment request rosters for MTI and Golden

Apple Scholars can be completed online and submitted to ISAC via My Zone

• Results for payment requests will be available on the first Tuesday after vouchers have been generated and the voucher numbers have been entered into the system

• Colleges are encouraged to check My Zone every Tuesday morning for new payment results

Teacher Education Scholarship Programs (TESP)

• 2015-16 application will be available in mid-December

• Priority consideration date will be March 1, 2015

Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW)

• Students must apply annually by application deadline dates• October 1– full year• March 1 – second semester, second and/or third quarter • June 15 – summer term only

• Benefits• At MAP-approved publics: up to the cost of tuition and mandatory

fees • At MAP-approved privates: up to the cost of tuition and mandatory

fees, provided it does not exceed the maximum grant payable at the most expensive comparable program of study at a public institution

• The Annual Maximum Award amount for 2014-15 is $20,606

Grant Programs for Dependents of Police/Fire/Correctional

Officers

• Qualified applicants may receive benefits for the equivalent of four academic years (eight semesters or 12 quarters) of full-time enrollment, which is measured in eligibility units

• Recipients may accumulate up to 48 eligibility units• The amount of eligibility a recipient has used is determined by

converting credit hours to eligibility units

• Eligibility units are based on the enrolled hours for a particular term, not the dollar amount of the benefits paid

Grant Programs for Dependents of Police/Fire/Correctional

Officers

Number of Hours Semester Term Quarter Term 12 or more hours 6 units 4 units6 - 11.99 hours 3 units 2 units

• Payment processing• Fall term Certification of Enrollment for Payment rosters were

mailed to colleges on October 6, 2014 • Due back to ISAC by November 7, 2014• Complete the columns labeled “Requested Amount” and

“Total Hours Enrolled”• Return completed roster even if a student is not eligible for a

payment for this term and provide the reason the student should not receive payment for the term

Grant Programs for Dependents of Police/Fire/Correctional

Officers

College Illinois! Prepaid Tuition Program

E-BUSINESS

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ISAC Website• www.isac.org

• Periodically review your school website pages and make sure your links are going to current, active pages and applications

• Stay current through Message Boards and e-messages

• Message boards are updated weekly, on Friday

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ISAC Student Portal

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Enhanced Security for GAP Access• In an effort to improve security, ISAC will be implementing a

2-step authentication process later this fall• This will be the first phase of an eventual implementation of a true

2-factor authentication• True 2-factor authentication makes the user provide two factors to log

in:• Something the user knows (ID and Password), and• Something the user has (a one-time password provided by a token or sent

to a mobile device or e-mail address)

• In the first phase, after logging in with an ID and password:• The GAP Access user will be asked to answer one of the three security

questions provided at the time they signed up for access• The user will be required to provide the 2-step authentication every

second time they log in to GAP Access• Essentially, the user will need to answer one of the

three security questions every other time they log in to GAP Access.

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GAP Access Security

• A school’s financial aid director is considered the primary administrator for GAP Access and is responsible for authorizing users as well as ensuring that non-active users are deleted in a timely manner

• In addition to responding to periodic reminders from ISAC, schools should have a process in place to remove non-active users on a frequent and regular basis.

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NEWS&

REMINDERS

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Recommendations of MAP Advising Work Group

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RESOURCES&

TRAINING

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ISACorps• Comprised of recent college graduates who serve

as near peer mentors• Each ISACorps member is assigned to a

community college district• Each district has one to four members

• ISACorps members have been trained by ISAC to reach out to students and help them prepare for the college-going process

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ISACorps

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ISAC Training Events• College Access and Outreach Division

• Financial Aid Certification Program & Professional Development• www.isac.org/financialaidcertification/ for dates and registration

• Program Services and Operations Division• Financial Aid 101 & 201 Workshops• Monthly Webinars

• October 29, 2 p.m. – Grant Programs for Dependents of Police, Fire and Correctional Officers

• November 19, 2 p.m. – Loan Repayment Programs• December 17, 2 p.m. 2015-16 FAFSA and Application

Processing Updates• E-messages provides details and dial-in information

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ISAC Contact Information• School Services Communication Center

• Exclusively for school inquiries, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST• Phone: 866-247-2172• Fax: 847-831-8549• E-mail: isac.schoolservices@isac.illinois.gov

• Student Services Communication Center• For student and parent inquiries, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CST

• Spanish-speaking counselors are available• Phone: 800-899-ISAC (4722)• Fax: 847-831-8549• E-mail: isac.studentservices@isac.illinois.gov

Presenter Contact InformationDavid PerryAssistant Director, Partner ServicesPhone: 800-899-4722, ext. 2112E-mail: David.Perry@isac.illinois.gov

Kim Eck Training Coordinator, Training ServicesPhone: 217-785-7139E-mail: Kimberly.Eck@isac.illinois.gov

ILASFAA:

2014

Questions / Comments?Thank you for attending today’s session!