Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 52, December 27, 2024
a) MAP
recipients must report to the institution all additional gift assistance that
applies toward tuition and mandatory fees, such as tuition waivers and
scholarships.
b) In order for
applicants to receive additional and specific consideration as a dislocated
worker, as defined by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the
institution shall:
1) Verify that the
applicant indicated on the FAFSA is a dislocated worker; and
2) Ensure that the applicant certifies to the
institution that the applicant is a dislocated worker as defined by the federal
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
c) If a MAP recipient receives other
assistance targeted specifically for tuition and fees, the combined assistance
shall not exceed the total tuition and fee expenses incurred.
d) If an applicant is eligible for assistance
under the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program or the Illinois Veteran
Grant (IVG) Program (23 Ill. Adm. Code 2730 and 2733), the applicant is not
eligible for a full MAP grant because ING and IVG must be factored into the
financial aid packaging prior to awarding MAP gift assistance. The institution
may request payment of a partial MAP grant to finance fee expenses not covered
by the programs listed in this subsection.
e) If an applicant is eligible to receive
tuition or fee benefits through a prepaid or reimbursable tuition plan other
than the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Program (23 Ill. Adm. Code 2775), or through
a payment to the institution of higher learning by the applicant's employer,
the institution of higher learning shall request MAP payment in accordance with
this subsection:
1) A prepaid tuition plan is
any program that exempts a student from tuition charges because of a payment to
the institution at a time prior to the student's enrollment. A reimbursable
tuition plan is a program that reimburses a student for tuition costs after
satisfactory completion of course work.
2) The institution of higher learning shall
recalculate the applicant's MAP eligibility by decreasing the applicant's
tuition and fee charges by the amount of benefits the applicant is eligible to
receive from the sources in subsection (e)(1). The institution of higher
learning shall report the applicant's reduced grant award on the payment
request.
f) The
provisions of this Section shall not apply to benefits derived from the
Baccalaureate Savings Act [110 ILCS 920] and 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2771.
g) Notwithstanding the provisions of other
ISAC-administered programs, the total amount of a student's gift assistance may
not exceed the cost of attendance. Any excess gift assistance is considered an
overaward and the institution of higher learning is required to reduce the MAP
award and/or other gift assistance to prevent such an overaward. For the
purposes of this calculation, federal veterans benefits are not counted as gift
assistance.
h) The institution
shall announce MAP eligibility, including the estimated award amount, using
ISAC-provided award notification language. The institution shall also provide
notification to affected students of any change in award eligibility that may
occur during the academic year.
i)
Institutions of higher learning shall submit payment requests to
ISAC.
j) For any institution of
higher learning that has concurrent registration opportunities, the following
policy pertains:
1) The recipient must
indicate the institution of record on the MAP application.
2) The payment of the term award by ISAC will
require the institution of record to receive MAP payment on behalf of any other
institutions and the institution of record shall distribute the appropriate
share of the award to the other institutions. Payment by ISAC will not be made
to more than one institution.
3)
The amount paid cannot exceed the maximum term award for students at the
institution of record, or the tuition and mandatory fee costs at the
institution of record if the costs are less than the maximum term
award.
4) Concurrent registration
is limited to ISAC-approved institutions of higher learning.
5) The recipient's academic records at the
institution of record must document the total number of credit hours for which
the student is enrolled.
k) If an Illinois institution operates an
out-of-state center, residents of Illinois enrolled in classes at the
out-of-state center may receive MAP benefits in accordance with Section
2735.30(v).
l) If an announced recipient's credit hour
enrollment decreases before the expiration of the tuition refund/withdrawal
adjustment period, the institution shall only request payment up to the tuition
and mandatory fee amount based on the number of credit hours
enrolled.
m) Upon receipt of a
payment request from the institution of record, ISAC remits MAP grant funds to
the institution of record on behalf of the recipient. The institution of record
shall credit these funds to the recipient's account.
n) MAP grants are paid directly to the
approved institution of record that certifies to ISAC that the applicant is an
eligible recipient.
1) ISAC will annually
establish priority claim dates for the submission of payment requests and
inform schools of the required priority dates.
2) Late payment requests will result in
delayed processing of payments. Payment requests are processed in the sequence
of receipt by ISAC and as funds are available.
3) Institutions may submit their payment
requests beginning 10 days prior to the start of classes for the term for which
they are requesting payment.
o) Institutional Processing of Payments
1) Within 30 days after and including the
date of receiving payment of any MAP funds claimed or advanced pursuant to this
Section, the institution shall credit the MAP funds against the recipients'
tuition and mandatory fee charges for the appropriate term.
2) Within 30 days after the end of an
academic term during which MAP funds were credited to recipients' tuition and
mandatory fee charges, institutions must reconcile data received from ISAC as a
result of payment claim processing against the eligibility status throughout
that term for each student for whom payment claims were made. In reconciling
the data with student eligibility, an institution must determine whether:
A) The amount of the claim applied to a
student's tuition and mandatory fee charges exceeded the amount that the
student was eligible to receive for any reason, including as a result of
billing errors or retroactive withdrawals;
B) The amount of the claim applied to a
student's tuition and mandatory fee charges was less than the amount that the
student was eligible to receive for any reason, including as a result of
billing errors or retroactive withdrawals; or
C) The amount of the claim applied to a
student's tuition and mandatory fee charges equaled the amount that the student
was eligible to receive.
3) Any institution that determines that the
amount of a claim applied to a student's tuition and mandatory fee charges
either exceeded the amount that the student was eligible to receive or was less
than that amount must submit an accounting of all such adjustments to ISAC
within 30 days following the end of the applicable term.
4) For any claims determined to exceed the
amount that the student was eligible to receive, the amount in excess paid for
the claims shall be remitted to ISAC within 45 days after the end of the
institutions regular school year unless the payment is received after the end
of the regular school year. If the payment of claims are made after the end of
the regular school year, the institution shall have 60 days following receipt
of the payment to complete reconciliation and remit any funds due to
ISAC.
5) Award payments made in the
name of one recipient cannot be applied to another recipient at the same
institution. A refund of the payment made must be submitted to ISAC, and a
supplemental request for payment must be processed for the proper
recipient.
6) To provide sufficient
time for processing and vouchering through the State Comptroller's Office in
Springfield, all payment requests except for summer term must be received by
ISAC no later than July 1. Summer term payment requests must be received no
later than July 31.
7) Payment
requests received after August 1 for the prior academic year will be processed
as time and available funds permit; however, final action may require
institutions to go to the Illinois Court of Claims to obtain payment for
approved claims. (See the Court of Claims Act [705 ILCS 505].)