ILASFAA: 2014 ISAC Programs Update

Session Agenda ISAC Gift Assistance Programs E-Business News & Reminders Resources & Training Q & A

ISAC’s Gift Assistance Programs ProgramAcronymType of Aid Annual Amount Monetary Award ProgramMAPGrant Need-based up to $4720 Illinois Veteran GrantIVGGrant Entitlement Tuition & mandatory fees Illinois National Guard GrantINGGrant Entitlement Tuition & certain fees Grants for Dependents of Police, Fire & Correctional Officers PFCGrant Tuition & mandatory fees Minority Teachers of Illinois Scholarship Program MTIScholarship Up to $5,000 Golden Apple Scholars ProgramGASScholarship Up to $5,000 Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver SETTWWaiver Tuition & mandatory fees IL State Scholars ProgramISSPCertificate of Achievement $0

(FY15) Appropriations ISAC ProgramFY15 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 4

Monetary Award Program 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 MAP

Monetary Award Program Priority claim deadlines for 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 TermDeadline Date 1st semester / quarterDecember 12, nd semester / quarterApril 1, rd 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 10 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)

application is still available at isac.org Encourage students to complete the MTI online application as long as it remains available at isac.org MTI awarding will continue as long as funds are available or until the 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)

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 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 HoursSemester TermQuarter Term 12 or more hours6 units4 units hours3 units2 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 20

ISAC Website 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 21

ISAC Student Portal 23

24

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 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. 25

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. 26

NEWS & REMINDERS 27

Recommendations of MAP Advising Work Group 28

29

RESOURCES & TRAINING 30

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 31

ISACorps 32

ISAC Training Events College Access and Outreach Division Financial Aid Certification Program & Professional Development 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 FAFSA and Application Processing Updates E-messages provides details and dial-in information 33

ISAC Contact Information School Services Communication Center Exclusively for school inquiries, 8 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. CST Phone: Fax: Student Services Communication Center For student and parent inquiries, 8 a.m. – 5 p.m. CST Spanish-speaking counselors are available Phone: ISAC (4722) Fax:

Presenter Contact Information David Perry Assistant Director, Partner Services Phone: , ext Kim Eck Training Coordinator, Training Services Phone:

ILASFAA: 2014 Questions / Comments? Thank you for attending today’s session!