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Volume 17, Number 4
April 2008 - June 2008
Welcome to the April - June 2008 electronic ISAC Communiqué, which is a quarterly compilation of e-Messages sent through College Zone’s e-Messaging service throughout April, May and June. This e-Messaging service has replaced both printed newsletters and special e-mail lists as ISAC’s primary means of communicating information to you.
The articles in this electronic Communiqué have been organized according to the Counselor Zone subscription groups to which the messages were distributed via College Zone’s e-Messaging service.
Questions?
Questions regarding information in this electronic Communiqué can be directed to School Services at 866.247.2172 or at schoolservices@isac.org. On occasion, you may be directed to a specific contact person or area; when this occurs, we will provide the appropriate information in the individual article or message.
Multiple Subscription Groups
Can We Exchange Information?
Sent to Principals/Superintendents/Administrators, High School Counselors/Teachers and College Admission Counselors on
June 20, 2008.
At the beginning of this month, ISAC reached a milestone as the 500th transcript was sent to an Illinois college using the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange. High school counselors all over the state using this system have discovered that they are able to devote more time to counseling and less time to administration.
The method is simple. The high school sends transcripts to the college, by way of the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange, and the college imports the transcripts into their system. Mindful of the limited time counselors have, the setup and training for the system takes less than an hour and offers multiple layers of security. In addition to simplifying the transcript sending process, high schools and colleges benefit from increased "green" efficiencies (environmental and financial) resulting from the use of less paper and energy.
If you are at a high school that is not currently participating in the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange program and would like more information on how to enroll in this service, please contact the dedicated IllinoisMentor High School Support Staff by phone at 800.899.4722, ext. 3840, or via e-mail at ILTE@isac.org.
The Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange is sponsored by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and is provided at no cost to all Illinois students, high schools, and colleges.
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Workforce Reduction at ISAC
Sent to Principals/Superintendents/Administrators, High School Counselors/Teachers, College Admission Counselors and Community Organizations on May 20, 2008.
As part of ongoing re-engineering and belt-tightening efforts at ISAC, a second workforce reduction is currently underway. This reduction is impacting fewer positions than the one which took place last fall, and is the result of efforts to streamline our operations to better serve students, families and taxpayers.
ISAC remains focused on students and families of Illinois as they pursue their higher educational goals. We will continue to work toward fulfilling our mission of making college affordable for Illinois students.
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Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Important Dates
Sent to Principals/Superintendents/Administrators, High School Counselors/Teachers, College Admission Counselors, Community Organizations and Public Libraries on May 7, 2008.
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) would like to make you aware of the following information, which may be of interest to you and/or your college-bound students and their families.
Now through September 12th: Sixth-Semester Data for
2009-10 HSSP Cycle Being Accepted
As was announced in an April 15th e-Message, ISAC is currently accepting school-generated sixth semester rosters from high schools. This data, which is used to determine eligibility for State Scholar, Merit Recognition Scholarship (MRS), and Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship programs [collectively referred to as the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP)] for students who will be college freshmen during the 2009-10 academic year, must be submitted to ISAC on or before September 12, 2008, in order to prevent ISAC from generating a roster at a later date.
Visit the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP) section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area for future updates.
June 27th: Next Commission Meeting
The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will take place on Friday, June 27, 2008, at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg.
A listing of tentative agenda items will be available prior to the meeting via the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission section of the e-Library. Dates and locations for all meetings scheduled in 2008 are available at the e-Library's Commission Meeting Schedule page. Agenda and meeting schedule information can also be accessed by selecting the link that appears beneath the "Resource Center" heading at the College Zone home page.
July 15th: 2008-09 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Eligibility Certification Forms Due
Remind your graduating Byrd Scholars that they must return the Eligibility Certification document to ISAC on or before
July 15, 2008, so that their colleges will be able to request payment on their behalf for the fall term. Further details are provided at the Award Determination and Notification for the Byrd Scholarship page.
Holiday Schedules
May 26th: Memorial Day
Due to the Memorial Day holiday, ISAC offices will be closed on Monday, May 26th and will reopen on Tuesday, May 27th.
July 4th: Independence Day
Due to the Independence Day holiday, ISAC offices will be closed on Friday, July 4th and will reopen on Monday, July 7th.
For Assistance
Remember that you can access collegezone.com anytime, or send an e-mail message to ISAC's School Services Department. With the exception of holidays (such as those indicated above), ISAC staff will review and respond to messages during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. CT).
A complete listing of 2008 holidays on which ISAC staff will be unavailable is provided at the ISAC Events Calendar.
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New Cycle Underway for High School Scholarship Programs
Sent to Principals/Superintendents/Administrators and High School Counselors/Teachers on April 15, 2008.
The following are upcoming important dates for the State Scholar, Merit Recognition Scholarship (MRS), and Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship programs [collectively referred to as the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP)].
New Cycle for HSSP (Determining Eligibility for 2009-10 College Freshmen)
ISAC is currently accepting sixth semester data from high schools, which is used in determining eligibility for students who will be college freshmen during the 2009-10 academic year.
School-Generated Sixth Semester Rosters Accepted through September 12th
ISAC is currently accepting school-generated sixth semester rosters, and recently sent an overview letter that serves as a reminder of the delivery process and timeframes for the 2009-10 HSSP cycle. The letter announced that sixth semester data must be submitted to ISAC on or before September 12, 2008 to prevent ISAC from generating a roster at a later date. Special care should be taken to ensure that only sixth semester data is submitted (sixth semester is defined as the third semester prior to graduation).
As a reminder, sixth semester data is to be reported for only those students in the top 50% of the class. This means that, if a school ranks, rankings should be provided for the top 50% of students. If a school does not rank, unweighted grade point averages (GPAs) should be provided for the top 50% of students. In addition, all schools (both ranking and non-ranking) must provide unweighted GPAs for any student who has an Illinois Standard Test Score (ISTS) of 31 or greater (this data is used in the determination of Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship awards).
Instructions regarding school-generated sixth semester rosters, including required data and requested disqualification codes, are provided at the School-Generated Roster page at collegezone.com. Access this page from the Required Sixth Semester Data portion of the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP) section that is located within the Counselor Zone's ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area.
HSSP Potential State Scholar Rosters Will Not Be Generated
As was the case last year, a roster of potential awardees will not be sent. Only finalists will be announced in late November 2008 for the 2009-10 academic year processing. The appeal process is available if a student has been excluded or was not a finalist and the high school feels the student should have been designated a State Scholar.
Current Cycle for HSSP (Determining Eligibility for 2008-09 College Freshmen)
By May 1st - 2008-09 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholars will be announced.
At this time, we do not anticipate that the MRS Program will be funded. Consequently, we are not currently planning to generate any potential rosters or award notifications for the 2008-09 MRS Program.
Look for further information regarding anticipated HSSP activities by frequently reviewing the Program News section of the HSSP area, and also watch for future e-Messages.
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Don't Forget - Money Smart Week Chicago (April 20-26, 2008)
Sent to High School Counselors/Teachers and College Admission Counselors on April 15, 2008.
As a follow-up to our March 26th e-Message, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) would like to remind you that Money Smart Week (MSW) Chicago 08 will take place next week (April 20th – 26th) in the greater Chicago metropolitan area. Events have been planned to promote financial literacy and help consumers learn to better manage their personal finances.
Be sure to join Jacqui Moreno, Director of Public Service, as she presents the topic Consumer Economics of Higher Education twice on Monday, April 21st (9:30 a.m. at ISAC's Deerfield office, and 1 p.m. at the James R. Thompson Center in Chicago), providing an overview of the financial aid packaging process and how students can prepare for the financial responsibilities associated with financing college.
We look forward to seeing you!
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April Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Webinars - Register Now
Sent to Principals/Superintendents/Administrators and High School Counselors/Teachers on April 14, 2008.
With momentum for the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange at a high point, and more and more schools signing up to participate each week, we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to discover how your school can benefit from this useful application. Plan to attend one of our April 2008 Webinars to learn about the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange, a program designed to help high school counselors and transcript administrators send transcripts electronically to Illinois colleges and universities.
In addition to simplifying the transcript process, program participants benefit from increased "green" efficiencies (environmental and financial) resulting from the use of less paper and energy. Additional details regarding the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange are provided in a flyer, which may be accessed via the program resources page within the
Job Aids & Reference Materials area of the e-Library at collegezone.com.
Short for Web-based seminar, a Webinar is an online training delivered to you via the Internet. No travel is required and participants will be able to ask questions and get answers in real time. Each session will last approximately 45 minutes and site registration allows up to 25 participants to attend.
Whether your high school has already signed an Institution Agreement or is interested in participating in the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange program, all are welcome to attend.
If you are at a high school that is not currently participating in the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange program and would like more information on how to enroll in this 'at no cost' service, please contact the dedicated IllinoisMentor High School Support Staff by phone at 800.899.4722, ext. 3840, or via e-mail at ILTE@isac.org.
Registration details
To register, please select from one of the Webinars listed below:
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Statewide Test Prep Resource Helps Illinois Students' ACT Preparation
Sent to Principals/Superintendents/Administrators and High School Counselors/Teachers on April 3, 2008.
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is excited to provide your college-bound students with IllinoisMentor Test Prep, an online resource designed to help them achieve higher scores on the ACT ™, SAT® and GRE®. In addition to a variety of college planning tools, including online admission applications and electronic transcript exchange, IllinoisMentor, the interactive module of collegezone.com, now also offers comprehensive test preparation courses for the standard college entrance exams.
Your students will find the following at IllinoisMentor's Test Prep module:
- ACT - tests a student's knowledge of four ACT subject areas: English, Reading, Math and Science Reasoning
- SAT - tutorials, practice sessions and test-taking tips help prepare for the test
- GRE - tools to help students study for the Graduate Record Examination for graduate school admission
- Vocab Builder - contains over 2,000 vocabulary words and adapts to individual students' ability levels
"We are very proud that our high-quality test preparation courses are helping Illinois students to be better prepared test takers," said J. Michael Thompson, the CEO of Xap, ISAC's IllinoisMentor partner. "This is one of many college-planning components that we offer within IllinoisMentor, which help level the playing field and empower all students to act on their dreams for a successful postsecondary education."
The next ACT exam date is April 12, 2008 - it's not too late for your students to take advantage of this powerful new online tool by visiting IllinoisMentor at collegezone.com and selecting "Test Prep" from within the Plan for College area.
Registration closes the day before a scheduled Webinar, so please register early. Please note that you may need to have Acrobat Connect set up on your computer prior to the Webinar. See your Technical Administrator if you have problems, as your school's firewall may be set to deny access to Adobe Connect or Flash.
Thank you for your interest in the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange and we look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming Webinars.
About ISAC
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is the State's centralized provider of financial assistance aimed at helping students and families access postsecondary education and/or training. Each year, the Commission awards an estimated $400 million in scholarship and grant aid to nearly 185,000 qualified students, and also provides an additional $740 million to borrowers through its student loan programs. The agency offers credit-based alternative loans, a 529 prepaid tuition program known as College Illinois!, and a broad array of outreach and informational services to ensure that families have access to the information they need to pay for a college education.
About Xap
Xap Corporation, the trusted industry choice for one-stop integrated education and career solutions, empowers successful lifelong transitions through market-leading innovations and smart, flexible tools that are reliable, valid and secure. Xap's products have helped over eleven million students in the past decade and are presently available in over 15,000 North America schools and agencies.
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High School Counselors/Teachers
Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Informational Sessions - Register Now
Sent on May 14, 2008
We'd like to remind you of the upcoming informational sessions about the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange, and encourage you to take this opportunity to reserve your space. These half-day sessions (9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.), offered in partnership with Xap Corporation, will provide you with an overview of the Transcript Exchange, an understanding of the setup process, and a walk through of its features.
Dates & Locations:
May 20, 2008
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIU-E), 70 Hairpin Dr., Edwardsville, IL 62026
Morris University Center - MUC Maple, Dogwood Room
Campus Map
May 22, 2008
Northern Illinois University (NIU), 201 Carroll Avenue,
DeKalb, IL 60115
Holmes Student Center Sky Room
Campus Map
Whether your high school has already signed up or is not yet participating in the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange program, if you would like more information on this service, all are welcome to attend.
How to Register
Registration will only be accepted via e-mail. Please send an e-mail to ILTE@isac.org, indicating in the subject line the location you plan to attend. In the e-mail, please include the following information for every person you are registering:
- Name
- School or Organization
- Phone Number
- E-mail Address
Confirmation of your registration will be sent to you via e-mail within 72 hours, if all information is provided.
Continental breakfast will be provided, and registration begins at 9 a.m. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming informational sessions.
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Continued Access to Student Loans
Sent on May 9, 2008
On Wednesday, May 7th, President Bush signed into law H.R. 5715 - the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which contains many provisions to ensure students and parents can borrow under the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) to help with college expenses for the 2008-09 academic year. Among the provisions, the bill allows the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to serve as a secondary market for FFELP loans, with ED purchasing loans from lenders to generate necessary capital for future FFELP loans.
At last month's Annual Conference of the Illinois Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (ILASFAA), ISAC Executive Director Andy Davis assured attendees that "ISAC will continue to serve the loan needs of our Illinois students". Although we no doubt have made that commitment to the financial aid community on many other occasions throughout our long partnership, this year it carried particular significance due to the environment of uncertainty about the availability of student loans. Andy made the commitment prior to the passage of H.R. 5715, and now that the provisions of the bill are law, ISAC continues to take steps to ensure uninterrupted access to FFELP loans for students and families in Illinois.
Additional information about these topics is available in the
e-Library of collegezone.com. An overview of H.R. 5715 can be found in the Federal Information section. Andy's complete remarks made at the 2008 ILASFAA Conference, along with the PowerPoint presentation for the ISAC Update, are available in the Presentations section under Conference Handouts & Presentations.
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Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Informational Sessions Being Offered in May
Sent on April 29, 2008
Counselors and Registrars: You are invited to join us for an informational session about the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange, a feature offered at no cost by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and powered by Xap Corporation.
Currently at a high point with many high schools and colleges participating in the program, we are pleased to offer you the opportunity to discover how your school can benefit from this useful service. During the month of May, ISAC's Division of Public Service is offering two informational sessions for high school counselors and registrars:
- May 20th - Southern Illinois University
Edwardsville (SIU-E)
- May 22nd - Northern Illinois University (NIU)
These sessions (9:30 a.m. - 11 a.m.) will provide you with an overview of the Transcript Exchange, an understanding of the setup process, and a walk through of its features. More importantly, we will provide you with answers to questions such as:
- Is this service compatible with my Student Information System (SIS)?
- How will I know if a participating college has received my student's transcript?
- Who do I contact with questions about the Counselor Center?
- After installing Transcript Exchange, how soon can I start sending transcripts?
- Can I modify transcripts after they have been sent?
- Who do I contact to follow-up on the status of my school's Transcript Exchange implementation?
Whether your high school has already signed up or is not yet participating in the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange program, if you would like more information on this service, all are welcome to attend.
How to Register
Registration will only be accepted via e-mail. Please send an e-mail to ILTE@isac.org, indicating in the subject line the location you plan to attend. In the e-mail, please include the following information for every person you are registering:
- Name
- School or Organization
- Phone Number
- E-mail address
A confirmation e-mail will be sent within 72 hours if all information is provided. Further details (including directions, parking information and building/room locations) will be provided in the confirmation e-mail.
Continental breakfast will be provided and registration begins at 9 a.m. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming informational sessions.
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Student Video Contest
Sent on April 8, 2008
Do your students have an education or career goal and a plan to achieve it?
If so, Xap and Bridges want to know about it! Xap, a provider of Internet-based educational services and ISAC's partner in IllinoisMentor, along with another Xap partner in providing educational and career planning products, Bridges, are sponsoring a video contest for students 13 years of age and older. Students' 3-minute video submissions must be related to the topics of planning for high school, planning for postsecondary education or preparing for a career.
Not only could your students enhance their portfolios with a video that demonstrates their skills and ambitions - but they could also win up to $2,500!
Contest closes April 30, 2008.
For further details, classroom activities, promotional tools and more visit the Xap/Bridges Video Contest Web site.
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ISAC Communiqué
New ISAC Communiqué Available at College Zone
Sent on April 1, 2008
The latest “electronic-only” edition of the ISAC Communiqué is now available for your review within the ISAC Publications section of College Zone's e-Library. This electronic version of ISAC's newsletter is a quarterly compilation of information provided to Counselor Zone partners via College Zone's
e-Messaging service during the months of January, February and March.
Topics covered in this electronic Communiqué include:
- Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Important Dates
(Sent on March 27, 2008)
- Money Smart Week Chicago: April 20-26, 2008
(Sent on March 26, 2008)
- March Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Webinars - Register Now!
(Sent on March 24, 2008)
- Schools Adopting Electrnic Transcripts Continue to Rise
(Sent on March 21, 2008)
- Don't Forget to Register for an Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Weginar
(Sent on March 10, 2008)
- Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Webinar -
March 2008
(Sent on March 4, 2008)
- ISAC Releases "A Year in Review" Publication
Sent on February 19, 2008)
- Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Webinars
(Sent on February 12, 2008)
- Prepare for March 28th Implemenation of Mapping Your Future Web Site Redesign
(Sent on February 11, 2008)
- Summary of January 25th Commission Meeting
(Sent on January 28, 2008)
- 2008-09 FAFSA Available and Upcoming Dates
(Sent on January 3, 2008)
- ISAC Communiqué Available at College Zone
(Sent to January 2, 2008)
Electronic newsletters are available at the beginning of each quarter (January, April, July, and October), and are the compilation of information announced via an e-Message to any of the Counselor Zone subscription groups during the previous quarter.
Encourage Your Colleagues to Sign Up for e-Messaging
College Zone's e-Messaging service has replaced printed newsletters and special e-mail lists as ISAC's primary means of communicating information to Counselor Zone partners.
Encourage your colleagues to visit the College Zone Counselor e-Messaging Sign-up page today, so that they won't miss any future announcements or updates from ISAC.
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