Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a)
Application and Disclosure Statement and Master Agreement
1) The application period for purchases of
contracts for the prepayment of postsecondary registration fees shall commence
and terminate on dates set annually and announced publicly by the
Commission.
2) After receipt and
approval of the purchaser's application, the Disclosure Statement and Master
Agreement and a participation and payment schedule shall be mailed to the
purchaser. The contract shall be comprised of these three documents.
3) Each prepaid tuition contract must have
one person designated as purchaser and one person designated as qualified
beneficiary, except as provided in the Disclosure Statement and Master
Agreement.
b) Contract
Prices and Fees
The Commission shall annually review contract prices and adjust
prices for new contracts, referencing annual changes in registration fees at
Illinois public universities and Illinois community colleges. An implied
interest rate for installment payment plans will be calculated annually, and
subsequently approved or reaffirmed by the Commission as part of its pricing
policy for the program. The Commission shall also approve annually a schedule
of administrative, service and cancellation fees.
c) Payment Options
All contributions must be made in cash or its equivalent.
Payments may be made only by check, money order, authorized monthly debit (ACH)
from a bank account, payroll deduction, if available, or other payment method
established by the Commission. Payments are due in accordance with conditions
set forth in the contract. Payments may be made by lump sum or by installments.
No penalty shall be assessed for early payment of installment contracts.
d) Delinquency and Default
1) Contracts purchased on or after November
1, 2009
A) A late fee will be assessed if no
contract payment is received by the first payment due date.
B) An account will be cancelled if the
initial payment is not received within 15 days after the first payment due
date.
C) For monthly payment plans,
failure to make full payment within 15 days after the due date shall result in
assessment of a late fee and suspension of the qualified beneficiary's rights
under the plan.
D) For annual
payment plans, failure to make full payment within 30 days after the due date
shall result in assessment of a late fee and suspension of the qualified
beneficiary's rights under the plan.
E) Contracts that are suspended for missing
information will be cancelled on the 16th of the
month, along with those accounts that have made no contract payment.
F) If an account is delinquent for 210 days,
the account is automatically converted from an installment plan to the same
contract plan type reflecting the number of semesters already paid in full at
the time of conversion, less any outstanding fees. If the amount paid towards
the account is insufficient to pay in full the same contract plan type at the
time the application was submitted, the account is cancelled and the purchaser
is sent the appropriate refund amount.
2) Contracts purchased prior to November 1,
2009
A) For monthly payment plans, failure to
make full payment within 15 days after the due date shall result in assessment
of a late fee and suspension of the qualified beneficiary's rights under the
plan.
B) For lump sum and annual
payment plans, failure to make full payment within 30 days after the due date
shall result in assessment of a late fee and suspension of the qualified
beneficiary's rights under the plan.
C) If an account is delinquent for 210 days
after the scheduled payment date, the account is cancelled and the purchaser is
sent the appropriate refund amount.
e) Termination
There are two types of contract termination, involuntary and
voluntary:
1) Involuntary termination
shall occur upon a finding of fraud in the verification of residency of a
qualified beneficiary at the time of application or the nonpayment of any
appropriate payments due within established time frames.
2) Voluntary termination shall occur within
30 days after receiving written notice of a purchaser's desire to cancel a
contract.
f) Refunds
Generally, no refund shall exceed the amount paid into the
Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund by the purchaser and no refund shall be
authorized under any prepaid tuition contract for any term partially attended
but not completed. Refunds shall be made payable to the order of the purchaser
only. The Commission shall authorize refunds in excess of the amount paid into
the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Trust Fund only for contracts held for at least
three years under the following conditions:
1) When a qualified beneficiary is awarded a
grant or scholarship, the terms of which duplicate the benefits covered by his
or her prepaid tuition contract, then the moneys paid for the purchase of the
contract shall be returned to the purchaser, in term installments that coincide
with the matriculation of the qualified beneficiary.
A) If the qualified beneficiary is enrolled
at an Illinois Public University or Illinois Community College, the refund will
be equal to the institution's current in-state or in-district registration
fees, less any registration fees not covered by the scholarship and any
applicable service fees.
B) If the
qualified beneficiary is enrolled at a nonpublic institution of higher
education, the refund will be equal to the current mean-weighted average of
registration fees at Illinois public universities or Illinois community
colleges, depending on the plan purchased under the contract, less the
registration fees not covered by the scholarship and any applicable service
fees.
2) In the event of
death or total disability of the qualified beneficiary, moneys paid for the
purchase of the contract shall be returned to the purchaser together with all
accrued earnings.
3) In cases where
a public university plan contract is converted for usage at an Illinois
community college, then the amount refunded shall be on a term-by-term basis.
The refund should be the current value of the original contract minus the
current value of the contract after conversion.
4) In all instances of a voluntary contract
cancellation, the amount refunded shall be the original purchase price of the
contract less the applicable cancellation fees.
