ISAC Gift Assistance Programs

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ISAC Gift Assistance Programs

• Grant Programs for Dependents of
  Police/Fire/Correctional Officers
• Bonus Incentive Program
• Student to Student Grant Program
• Higher Education License Plate Program
• June 2011

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Grant Programs for Dependents of
Police/Fire/Correctional Officers

• Grant program for the spouse and children of
  Illinois police, fire and correctional officers
  killed or at least 90 disabled in the line of
  duty
• Recipients must be enrolled at least half-time in
  undergraduate or graduate study
• Provides payment toward tuition and mandatory
  fees for 8 semesters or 12 quarters
• Factored into the financial aid package prior to
  receiving MAP gift assistance

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P/F/C Eligibility

• To be eligible, a student must either be
• a natural or legally adopted child or a child in
  the legal custody of the police, fire or
  correctional officer who was disabled or killed
  in the line of duty
• the spouse of the individual who was disabled or
  killed in the line of duty
• Common law partners are not eligible

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P/F/C Eligibility

• A student must also be
• a U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen
• enrolled at least half-time at a MAP-approved
  school
• making satisfactory progress toward a degree or
  certificate
• A student does not have to
• be an Illinois resident at the time of enrollment
• demonstrate financial need

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P/F/C Eligibility

• An applicant is ineligible if he or she is
• A spouse who remarries after a police, fire or
  correctional officer is killed
• A spouse who divorces a permanently disabled
  police, fire or correctional officer
• A stepchild who, at the time of an officers
  death or permanent disability, was not in the
  legal custody of the officer

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Eligibility Clarification

• 2011-12 Program Rules clarify that when a
  disability is involved, the child must be in the
  legal custody of the officer at the time the
  injury was sustained.
• A qualified applicant shall be
• 1) either
• A) the natural child, legally adopted child, or
  child in the legal custody of a correctional
  officer at the time the officer was permanently
  disabled or killed in the line of duty or at the
  time a permanently disabling injury occurred in
  the line of duty or
• B) the husband or wife of a correctional officer
  at the time the officer permanently disabled or
  killed in the line of duty or at the time a
  permanently disabling injury occurred in the line
  of duty and

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Applying for P/F/C

• An ISAC application must be submitted each year
  by the deadline dates
• October 1 for consideration for all terms
• March 1 for consideration for second
  semester/second and third quarter
• June 15 for consideration for summer term
• Eligibility in one academic year does not carry
  over into future years

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Applying for P/F/C

• First-time applicants must also submit a
  certified death certificate or certified
  physicians statement
• Documentation must also prove that the death or
  disability occurred in the line of duty
• Once eligibility has been established for one
  member of a family, it is established for all
  qualified applicants in the family. 
• Thereafter, a simplified application will be
  required from each student on an annual basis.

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P/F/C Benefits

• Pays tuition and mandatory fees
• At a public institution, student may receive a
  grant that does not exceed its cost of tuition
  and mandatory fees
• At a private institution, student may receive a
  grant that does not exceed the maximum amount
  payable to a student enrolled in the most
  expensive comparable program of study at a public
  institution.

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P/F/C Benefits

• May receive eight semesters or 12 quarters of
  full-time enrollment
• for undergraduate or graduate study
• Funds are disbursed in multiple installments
  unless eligibility is not determined until final
  term

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P/F/C Payment

• Certification of Enrollment for Payment Rosters
  are sent to schools each term after the
  application deadline has passed.
• Must return the roster even if a student isnt
  eligible
• Provide the reason for ineligibility

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P/F/C Payment

• If funds are insufficient to pay all eligible
  applicants, determinations will be made based on
  application date
• In a withdrawal situation, the recipient can
  receive the grant for costs incurred, up to the
  term award

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P/F/C Resources

• ISAC Administrative Rules
• Part 2731 (Dependents of Correctional Officers)
• Part 2732 (Dependents of Police or Fire Officers)
• Grant Program for Dependents of Police, Fire or
  Correctional Officers Application
• Explains eligibility requirements, benefits and
  application procedures
• College Zone, FAA Zone, Gift Assistance Programs
  section

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Bonus Incentive Grant (BIG)

• Provides an incentive to use proceeds from
  Illinois College Savings Bonds at Illinois
  colleges and universities
• Incentives range from 40 to 440
• Application will be made available at
  collegeillinois.org Web site on August 1

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BIG Eligibility

• To be eligible for the grant, bondholder must
• Have continuously owned the bond(s) for at least
  12 months preceding the date of maturity
• Use at least 70 of the bond proceeds for
  educational costs at an eligible Illinois
  institution
• Use the proceeds from the bond(s) in either the
  academic year in which the bond(s) matured, or
  the academic year immediately following maturity.
• Designate only one student beneficiary for each
  bond that matures
• the same student beneficiary may be named to five
  bonds with no more than 25,000 of aggregate
  compound accreted value at maturity for each
  academic year

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BIG Eligibility

• In addition, the student
• Must be enrolled on at least a half-time basis as
  an undergraduate or graduate student at an ISAC
  approved institution.
• Cannot be attending an educational institution
  organized solely for the purpose of religious
  instruction
• Cannot be enrolled in an academic program of
  divinity for any religious denomination or
  pursuing a course of study to become a minister,
  priest, rabbi, etc.

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Applying for BIG

• Application becomes available August 1
• Must be completed by the bondholder, the student
  beneficiary, and the institution
• School official must certify the student's
  enrollment status and forward the complete
  application to ISAC.
• Should submit on or as soon after August 1 as
  possible
• Applications will be accepted until all available
  funds are awarded
• An application must be submitted to ISAC each
  year for which assistance is requested.

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Applying for BIG

• ISAC may require applicants to provide
  documentation verifying that the bondholder owned
  the bond(s) for required length of time.
• The bondholder can designate only one student
  beneficiary for each bond redeemed.
• State law (Public Act 93-812) prohibits exempting
  money held in college savings bonds from
  calculation of financial aid eligibility.
• Counts as an asset in determining a student's
  eligibility for state and federal financial
  assistance.

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Student-to-Student (STS) Grant Program

• Need-based program for undergraduate students at
  state-supported colleges and universities
• Funds are derived from voluntary contributions of
  students and matching grants from ISAC
• No state appropriation for 2011-12

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STS Eligibility

• To qualify for an award, students must
• be enrolled on at least a half-time basis at a
  participating institution
• demonstrate financial need through completion of
  the FAFSA

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STS Program Procedures

• Students must approve the plan for raising
  voluntary contributions by a majority of those
  voting in a campus-wide referendum
• Contributions must be voluntary and optional
• Only voluntary contributions made by enrolled
  students are eligible for matching

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STS Program Procedures

• Funds can be collected from graduate students,
  however the STS program can only provide aid to
  undergraduate students
• A portion of student contributions can be set
  aside and used to aid graduate students, but
  those funds cannot be matched by ISAC
• No eligible contribution can exceed 12 per
  academic year

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STS Benefits

• Annual award amount maximum is 1,000
• it is applicable to all terms, including the
  summer term
• The institution awards the grant to students
  according to the plan developed and approved by
  its student body.

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STS Resources

• ISAC Administrative Rules
• Part 2770
• College Zone, FAA Zone, Gift Assistance Programs
  section

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Higher Education License Plate (HELP) Program

• Provides grant money to students who attend
  Illinois institutions that participate in the
  special collegiate license plate program
• A portion of the proceeds of plates sold are used
  to fund the program
• Institutions determine the amount of each grant
  according to program guidelines

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HELP Eligibility

• To qualify, a student must be
• a resident of Illinois
• enrolled at a college or university that
  participates in the collegiate license plate
  program
• demonstrate financial need through completion of
  the FAFSA
• maintaining satisfactory academic progress
• an undergraduate student and have not received a
  baccalaureate degree

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HELP Procedures

• Secretary of State deposits 25 for each set of
  license plates sold into the University Grant
  Fund.
• All moneys deposited into the Fund are
  appropriated to ISAC to make reimbursements to
  participating colleges for HELP grants
• Each January, ISAC is notified of the amounts
  deposited on behalf of each participating
  institution during the previous calendar year.

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HELP Benefits

• The institution determines the amount of each
  grant, which is the lesser of
• 2,000 for two semesters or three quarters of
  full-time undergraduate enrollment or 1,000 for
  two semesters or three quarters of half-time
  undergraduate enrollment
• the amount of tuition and mandatory fees
  applicable to two semesters or three quarters of
  full-time or half-time undergraduate enrollment
• the amount of the applicants financial need, or
• the remaining funds available.

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HELP Payment

• At the beginning of each State fiscal year, ISAC
  notifies each participating institution of the
  amount of funds available for their institution
• A payment request form is sent to the institution
  that must be signed and returned to ISAC.
• Funds are then remitted to the institution.
• The institution must award the full amount of
  funds disbursed in the academic year that it was
  received.

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HELP Resources

• ISAC Administrative Rules
• Part 2737
• College Zone, FAA Zone, Gift Assistance Programs
  section

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Comments/Questions?

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