ISAC Update & An Overview of Loan

Repayment Programs

December 2016

2016-17 Academic Year

• FY17 State Budget Status

The state budget for fiscal year 2017 (FY17) has

not yet been determined

The General Assembly is scheduled to

reconvene on January 9, 2017

ISAC continues to move forward with

administration of our programs

Visit the “Program News” section for each

program for the most up-to-date information

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) is available

in the Students and Parents section of isac.org

2016-17 Monetary Award Program

• Suspension of 2016-17 award announcements

March 10, 2016 – For students who are not dislocated workers and whose initial 2016-17 FAFSA® was received by CPS on or after this date, award announcements are suspended

August 16, 2016 -- For independent students who are dislocated workers and whose initial 2016-17 FAFSA ® was received by CPS on or after this date, award announcements are suspended

2016-17 Monetary Award Program

• Fall term claim deadline date is December 16, 2016

Claims must be submitted no later than 7 p.m. (CT) to be

considered timely

• Schools can submit requests and make adjustments

• Current GAP Access payment request functionality includes

the ability to:

Enter enrollment hours and claim amount

Make adjustments

Generate reports

2016-17 Monetary Award Program

• Be sure to review the Payment Results/Exceptions report the day

after submitting MAP payment requests

• Even though ISAC is not currently processing requests for

payment, pre-edits will indicate if there are any processing errors

• See the MAP Payment page in the FAA section of isac.org for a

list of payment results and reject codes and the 2016-17 MAP

File Specifications (also found in the Electronic Tools section of

the E-Library)

2016-17 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program

• Benefit request processing is done via My Zone

or FTP Fall term processing began on September 16 and claims

are due on or before January 15, 2017

Spring term processing begins January 16, 2017 and

claims are due on or before May 25, 2017

Claim results are provided in My Zone

• Even if there is no appropriation to reimburse

schools, claims must be submitted to track

veterans’ usage of IVG benefits

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In the In-Dist Amt Req data field, schools should

enter the amount of tuition and

mandatory fees being covered by IVG after Post-

9/11 GI Bill benefits have

been applied by the school.

A drop down list includes percentage values, ranging from 40% to 90% • Schools should select the Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility level confirmed by the VA

• For ISAC purposes, the percentage is only used for the proration calculation to determine the number of IVG eligibility units being used

• It is not used to adjust the award amount

2016-17 Illinois National Guard Grant Program

• When a student submits an ING Grant application to ISAC,

a record is added to the school’s database in the ING

system in GAP Access

• Data will be added whenever there is a new or updated

eligible record for the school

• It is recommended that schools check GAP Access at

least once a week for new data

• Fall term benefit request records are available in GAP

Access

Fall term priority claim deadline date is December 16, 2016

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2016-17 MTI Program News

• Awards have not yet been announced to students or schools ISAC must have a final appropriation prior to award

announcements to ensure that correct percentages are set aside for male recipients in accordance with program statute.

• Schools should complete and submit initial certifications in order to ensure that students will be included in all rounds of awarding that take place

• Payment processing will be available via the My Zone portal after the budget has been finalized and awarding has taken place

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2016-17 GAS Program News

• Once a final FY17 appropriation is received,

ISAC will begin standard processing

• Schools should continue to complete and

submit initial certifications throughout the year

An Initial Certification record is created in My Zone

when the Golden Apple Foundation provides

complete application information to ISAC

All Initial Certifications available in My Zone must be

completed regardless of whether the school certifies

a student as eligible or ineligible

Only applicants with a complete and eligible

certification record will be considered for an award

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2016-17 SETTW Program News

• The SETTW program is a tuition waiver for attendance

at public universities in Illinois

• Awards are not subject to annual appropriations

• Award notifications were sent to 250 eligible applicants

in April, and an additional round of awarding was done

on November 9, 2016

SETTW Verification Rosters and Certification forms listing

the students who were included in the final round of

awarding were mailed to colleges on November 14 and

were due back to ISAC on or before December 5, 2016

2016-17 Program News for Grant Programs for Dependents of Police/Fire/Correctional Officers

• Announcements of eligibility are being made to students as applications for the 2016-17 award year are received and processed

• Certification of Enrollment for Payment Rosters will not be generated and colleges will not certify eligibility or request payment until a final decision is made on the FY2017 state budget

• For P/F/C Grant recipients who are also eligible for assistance under the MAP Grant, the P/F/C Grant must be factored into the financial aid package prior to receiving a MAP award The student may, however, receive a MAP award to

finance tuition and mandatory fee expenses not paid by the P/F/C Grant program

College Illinois!®

• 2016-17 enrollment

period opened on

November 1

• Contract purchasers

can take advantage of

reduced contract pricing

on all plans through

January 17, 2017

2017-18 MAP

• Student eligibility information can be accessed in GAP Access

• 2017-18 (FY18) MAP start-up formula reduces all awards by 5%

for a $4,720 maximum MAP award

• Schools are required to:

Announce MAP awards to eligible students enrolled at their institutions

Clearly identify the estimated awards on the award notification as:

State of IL MAP Grant (Est)

Include specific language provided by ISAC with the school issued

award letters

• 2017-18 required award letter language reflects some changes, including

information that explains how MAP recipients can check the status of their

MAP Paid Credit Hours via the ISAC Student Portal

• Additional information may be communicated about MAP in the award letter

as long as ISAC’s required award letter language is included as written and

the additional language does not conflict with it

• It is likely that the suspension of 2017-18 MAP award

announcements will need to be implemented early in the

processing cycle

• ISAC will communicate to schools as early as possible

2017-18 ISAC Teacher Programs

• 2017-18 SETTW application will be available in mid-December

Priority consideration date will be March 1, 2017

• 2017-18 MTI application will be available in mid-December

Priority consideration date will be March 1, 2017

• Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois will accept applications until January 2017 for 2017 Scholars

Priority Application Deadline was December 1

• Decision notification date is January 2017

Regular Application Deadline is February 15

• Decision notification date for this deadline is February/March 2017

http://www.goldenapple.org/apply

www.isac.org/newsroom/media-kit/

Questions / Comments?

ISAC Loan Repayment

Programs

ISAC Loan Repayment Programs

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• Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program

• John R. Justice Student Loan Repayment Program

• Nurse Educators Loan Repayment Program

• Veterans’ Home Nurse Loan Repayment Program

Being expanded to Veterans’ Home Medical Provider

Loan Repayment Program

• Child Welfare Student Loan Forgiveness Program No appropriation history

• Public Interest Attorney Loan Repayment Assistance Program No appropriation history

isac.org

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isac.org

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Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program

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• Encourages students to enter and

remain in the teaching profession in

low income schools in Illinois

• Eligible applicants can receive up to

$5,000 to repay student loan debt

• Fiscal year 2015 appropriation was

$500,000

Illinois Teachers & Child Care Providers Loan Repayment

• To be eligible, applicants must be a: U.S. citizen or eligible noncitizen

Resident of Illinois

Borrower who has had an amount of their educational loans

forgiven by the federal teacher loan forgiveness program

• Pursuant to Section 428J or 428K of Higher Education Act

• Has taught full-time for five years in elementary and

secondary schools and educational service agencies that

serve low-income families

Borrower who has fulfilled the federal requirements at a school

in Illinois

• Note: the federal Child Care Providers program is not

currently funded, and as a result, child care provider

benefits are not available through the Illinois program

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Illinois Teachers Loan Repayment Program

• Application process

Download and complete the current ISAC

application

Submit ISAC application and supporting

documentation

• Approval letter for the federal loan forgiveness

• A copy of the federal application used to apply for

the federal program

– Showing that teaching service was met at an Illinois

school

• A copy of the documentation showing the amount

and the date of the federal loan forgiveness

Applicants must apply within six months after

receiving notification of federal loan forgiveness

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Borrower

Identification

Loan Repayment

Request

List of Required

Documentation

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General Information & Instructions

Definitions & Eligibility

Requirement

Mailing & Contact

Information

Nurse Educator Loan Repayment Program

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• Provides grants of up to $5,000 per year to nurse educators who have taught at an approved Illinois institution List of approved institutions:

• www.idfpr.com/dpr/WHO/schools/NurseSchools.pdf

• Grant dollars must be used to pay down existing student loan debt

• Can receive for a maximum of 4 years

• FY2015 appropriation was $300,000

• Application is available at isac.org

Veterans’ Home Nurse Loan Repayment Program

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• Intended to encourage nurses to pursue and continue their careers at a State of Illinois veterans’ home

• Recent legislation expanded the program to include all medical providers at veterans’ homes in Illinois

• Provides grants of up to $5,000 per year to nurses who have worked in veterans’ homes in Illinois

• Grant dollars must be used to pay down existing student loan debt

• Can receive for a maximum of 4 years

• Fiscal Year 2015 appropriation was $30,000

• Application is available at isac.org

John R. Justice Loan Repayment Program

• Provides loan repayment assistance for state and federal public defenders and state prosecutors who agree to remain employed as public defenders and prosecutors for at least three years

• Federal program administered at the state level

• Illinois recipients may receive an annual award of up to $4,000

Aggregate total of $60,000

• If the employment commitment is not fulfilled, any amount received must be repaid.

• Fiscal Year 2015 appropriation was $38,030

Due to a reduction in funding, awards were less than $4,000 in order to serve as many recipients as possible

• Visit www.isac.org or www.equaljusticeworks.org for more information

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ISAC Resources

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ISAC Resources

Other Loan Repayment Programs

• The Illinois Department of Public Health

provides funds to repay educational loans

through its Illinois National Health Service Corps

State Loan Repayment Program

www.dph.illinois.gov/topics-services/life-stages-

populations/rural-underserved-populations/slrp

• Most branches of the U.S. Armed Forces have

loan repayment programs

Specific details can be found at their respective

websites or from local recruiters

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studentaid.ed.gov

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Student Aid History Available at StudentAid.gov

• Through StudentAid.gov, users can:

View their federal student aid history, including loan

detail, grant detail, and overpayment detail;

Get their loan servicer’s contact information;

Find out how much Pell Grant eligibility they

have left

Download their federal student aid history into a text

file using the MyData Download function

• The site is completely accessible on tablets and

smartphones

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ISAC Contact Information

• School Services Communication Center

Exclusively for school inquiries

Phone: 866.247.2172

Fax: 847.831.8549

E-mail: isac.schoolservices@isac.illinois.gov

• Kim Eck, Training Services

Phone: 217-785-7139

E-mail: Kimberly.Eck@isac.illinois.gov

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QUESTIONS/COMMENTS?

Thank you for participating in today’s webinar!

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