• August 9th - College Admissions and Standardized Tests, 2 to 3 p.m. (CT)
• September 13th - Debt Management Strategies, 6 to 7 p.m. (CT)

Watch for more information to be posted to the FAA Message Board as these dates approach.

Also, remember that the calendar of upcoming Chat Events through August 2006 is available in the Outreach Activities section at collegezone.com.


HOLIDAY SCHEDULES

September 5th – Labor Day Holiday

In observance of Labor Day, ISAC offices will be closed on Monday, September 5th and will reopen on Tuesday, September 6th.

Loan records (CommonLine or Common Account Maintenance [CAM] files) received at ISAC on Labor Day, as well as disbursement records received at the National Disbursement Network (NDN), will be processed the following business day, with results available the second day (or the next available day for any schools opting to receive NDN files on specific days of the week). Note that ELM Resources will continue to process and transmit files on September 5th.

Although ISAC's offices will be closed on September 5th, MAPnet will be available during regularly scheduled hours and will reflect records processed by the Central Processing System (CPS) through Friday, September 2nd.

Staffing Changes at ISAC
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, and Business Officers on July 28, 2005

A series of organizational changes are underway at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). These changes are being prompted by the departure of a few staff members. We wanted to let you know of these changes and of  ISAC's ongoing commitment to our customer service goals and to fulfilling our mission of providing access to a quality postsecondary education for Illinois students and their families.  

Effective at the end of this month, John Jennetten, Chief Program Officer (CPO), will be leaving ISAC. John has a distinguished career in higher education and has served the agency effectively as CPO since 1991.  

With John's departure, several staff members are taking on additional leadership roles as follows:

• Kathy Rooney, ISAC's Deputy Executive Director, will take on additional areas and staff under her umbrella of External Relations that had been reporting to John, adding Client Development, Default Prevention Outreach, College Zone Outreach, IllinoisMentor and related College Zone awareness activities to her existing responsibilities of Government Relations, Public Information, and College Illinois!. A new division reporting to Kathy, Public Service, with Sam Nelson as Director, will encompass many of the areas described above with the goal of enhancing the statewide visibility of ISAC's success in assisting students and families, both on the scholarship and grant side and the loan guarantor areas of the agency.
• Chris Peterson will assume the role of Chief Program Officer with the Program Services and Compliance divisions reporting to her. Chris will report to Marcia Thompson who is taking on the role of Chief Operating and Administrative Officer.
• Theresa Morgan will assume the role of Chief Financial Officer formerly held by Marcia Thompson.

These changes follow the recent promotion of Tom Breyer to Interim Director of IDAPP, effective June 1st.

The individuals involved in the above staffing changes have a combined total of over eighty years of experience with ISAC, some with additional years of experience in higher education and higher education finance. We're confident that their experience, along with their extensive commitment to ISAC and our mission, will continue to serve the needs of our clients and partners well.

Suspension of 2005-06 IIA Program Award Announcements
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAPnet Users, and Business Officers on July 22, 2005

Supermarket of Veterans' Benefits - July 9th at Navy Pier in Chicago
Sent to Financial Aid Administrators and Public Schools - Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs on July 7, 2005

Financial Aid 101: Building a Solid Foundation - Part Two - July 2005 Workshops
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools - Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAPnet Users, Business Officers and FFELP Participants on July 5, 2005

• July 26th - ISAC's Springfield Office

• July 28th - ISAC's Deerfield Office; or
• July 29th - ISAC's Deerfield Office (repeat session)

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Anticipated Statutory Changes to IVG and ING Grant Programs
Sent on July 7, 2005 

The following information is being shared to give our partners at Illinois public two- and four-year colleges advance notice of anticipated changes to the Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) and Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant programs administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC).

Provisions of House Bill (HB) 815 - Will Be Effective Fall 2005 Term

HB 815, which was passed by both houses of the Illinois General Assembly and is being considered by Governor Blagojevich for his approval some time this summer, rewrites the Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program as recommended by the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules, as well as, increases benefits for veterans to cover tuition and mandatory fees, rather than those fees listed in statute.  HB 815 also amends the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program to remove the prohibition on officers in the National Guard receiving the grant and allows the grant to be used for the equivalent of four full years.  

Once signed, HB 815 will be effective for the fall 2005 term, therefore processing for IVG for the summer 2005 term remains business as usual. 

Watch for future communications from ISAC with additional details, including conference call update sessions, regarding both the IVG and ING Grant programs.  In the meantime, further details concerning the new provisions of the bill impacting the IVG Program are provided at the House Bill (HB) 815 page (located within the IVG Program section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area at collegezone.com).  The IVG and ING Grant "Program News" pages, located within the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs section at collegezone.com, also are being updated accordingly.

You are receiving this message because you have been registered for College Zone's e-Messaging service through a new subscription group within the FAA Zone (Public Schools - Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs). You may unsubscribe from this service at any time or you may follow standard subscription procedures to add additional staff to this subscription group.

If you have any questions regarding this e-Message, please contact ISAC's School Services Department by calling toll free at 866.247.2172 or sending an e-mail message to schoolservices@isac.org.

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MAPnet Updates: Issue Resolved for 2005-06 Anticipated Enrollment Calculator Screen, and 2004-05 Close-out Reminders
Sent on July 14, 2005 

2005-06 Academic Year

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) has discovered that any Monetary Award Program (MAP) award that was calculated using the Anticipated Enrollment Calculator screen, prior to awards being recalculated using the recompute formula, was not removed from that screen at the time recompute was made available within MAPnet. Since awards were recalculated at the time of recompute, those original award calculations are incorrect.

As of Thursday, July 14th, to correct this situation and to remove any doubt as to whether an award is correct, ISAC has removed any award calculation from the Anticipated Enrollment Calculator screen that was calculated prior to recompute. MAPnet users can recalculate a student's award by going back into this screen and entering the anticipated enrollment hours for the student. Any calculated awards using this screen after recompute were not removed by ISAC.

Again, only awards calculated using the Anticipated Enrollment Calculator screen prior to recompute were incorrect. Rest assured that award calculations available on other screens are correctly using the recompute formula.

2004-05 Academic Year

Reconciliation of the 2004-05 MAP and the Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program should be coming to a close at campuses. On July 11th, institutions were sent letters detailing the outstanding amount each institution owes to ISAC as of that date with the expectation that a claim for an increased award is an exception at this point in time. The outstanding amount due to ISAC, with proper documentation should be returned to ISAC on or before August 1st. As a reminder, do not send refund checks to ISAC without providing the appropriate adjustment data via MAPnet.

As funds allow, ISAC will continue to accept submissions to increase a MAP grant and an IIA Program grant through Wednesday, July 20th. As a reminder, MAPnet becomes unavailable for this type of payment request at 7 p.m. on July 20th. Cancellations and adjustments to previously paid awards that result in refunds will continue to be accepted and processed through MAPnet until Friday, August 5th. After August 5th, the MAPnet application for 2004-05 will be available only for historical view.

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Latest School DAAR Report Available
Sent on July 19, 2005

The Notification of Student Loan Borrower DAAR Status report (School DAAR Report) for your school is now available on College Zone's My Zone. This online version has replaced the paper rosters ISAC sent in the past.

The School DAAR Report is non-cumulative and is available twice a month to those institutions with students for whom ISAC, as the guarantor, has received a Default Aversion Assistance Request (DAAR) during the reporting time period. Each time a new School DAAR Report is made available online, an e-Message will be sent to the "FFELP Participants" e-Messaging subscription group.

Accessing School DAAR Reports at My Zone

My Zone is a portal available in the FAA Zone at collegezone.com that allows postsecondary schools online access to student-specific data in a secure environment. If you have not yet signed up to participate in My Zone, proceed to the FAA Zone front page and select the My Zone Quick Link.

For complete information and instructions to access your school's DAAR Report, proceed to the FAA Zone front page and select the My Zone Quick Link in the right margin of the page.

Latest School DAAR Report Available
Sent on July 5, 2005

The Notification of Student Loan Borrower DAAR Status report (School DAAR Report) for your school is now available on College Zone's My Zone. This online version has replaced the paper rosters ISAC sent in the past.

The School DAAR Report is non-cumulative and is available twice a month to those institutions with students for whom ISAC, as the guarantor, has received a Default Aversion Assistance Request (DAAR) during the reporting time period. Each time a new School DAAR Report is made available online, an e-Message will be sent to the "FFELP Participants" e-Messaging subscription group.

Accessing School DAAR Reports at My Zone

My Zone is a portal available in the FAA Zone at collegezone.com that allows postsecondary schools online access to student-specific data in a secure environment. If you have not yet signed up to participate in My Zone, proceed to the FAA Zone front page and select the My Zone Quick Link.

For complete information and instructions to access your school's DAAR Report, proceed to the FAA Zone front page and select the My Zone Quick Link in the right margin of the page.

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Electronic ISAC Update for June 2005 Available at College Zone
Sent on July 5, 2005

The June 2005 edition of the ISAC Update is now available for your review within the ISAC Publications section of College Zone's e-Library. This version of the monthly electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent to Financial Aid Administrators and Business Officers in June via College Zone's e-Messaging service.

Topics covered in the June 2005 ISAC Update include:

• MAP Recompute Formula Successfully Implemented - 2005-06 MAPnet System Available
• 2005-06 MAP Recompute Formula Approved
• MAPnet Processing Updates
• Significant Improvements Anticipated for 2005-06 MAP Grants - Commission to Take Action on FY2006 MAP Recompute Formula at June 24th Meeting
• Proration Rate for 2004-05 IVG Program Timely Second or Third Term Claims
• 2004-05 Release of IIA and MAP Late Claims and Proration Status of IVG and ING Grant Awards
• New Student Loan Interest Rates Effective July 1st
• ISAC and IDAPP Update
• Enhancement to Student Eligibility Screens within MAPnet
• Latest School DAAR Report Available
• Electronic ISAC Update for May 2005 Available at College Zone

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