ISAC CommuniquÉ

Plan to Join Us - 2005 Fall Seminars

Although the dates and locations are still being firmed up, we’re already looking forward to seeing you at the 2005 Fall Seminars for Partners! Based on the extremely positive feedback received last year, we will continue with the half-day format and will again schedule the seminars in November and December. Additionally, we hope to have the use of computer labs for hands-on training at each of our sites.

One of the highlights of this year’s seminars will be an in-depth introduction to the dynamic functionality available for students, parents and high school counselors through the IllinoisMentor enhancement to collegezone.com (see related article on page 2). Other topics that will be covered include: the 2006-07 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA); professional judgment and special circumstances; and helping parents understand the college admission process. If you have ideas for session topics, we would love to hear from you. Please send comments or suggestions, via e-mail, to schoolservices@isac.org. We’ll continue to work on finalizing the dates and locations for seminars through the summer, and will let you know the final details in the fall “Back to School” issue of Communiqué.

We’ll continue to work on finalizing the dates and locations for seminars through the summer, and will let you know the final details in the fall “Back to School” issue of Communiqué.

 

IllinoisMentor at collegezone.com Moving Toward December Launch

Progress on adding the IllinoisMentor component to collegezone.com is rapidly moving forward, and the launch of this exciting new initiative is scheduled for December. As we talked about at last year’s Fall Seminars for Partners, this significant enhancement to collegezone.com will provide students dynamic functionality as they explore careers; research and choose a college; keep track of career and academic data via My Mentor’s e-portfolio; apply for admission and send transcripts online; and learn about financing their college education.

We recently sent a letter to the principal of your high school introducing IllinoisMentor at collegezone.com and its interactive modules. As requested at Fall Seminars, a copy of that letter was also sent to the head guidance counselor at each high school. If you were able to attend an IllinoisMentor session at last year’s seminars, be sure to mention to your principal how the dynamic functionality of IllinoisMentor at collegezone.com will benefit both you and your students! One of those benefits, the Electronic Transcript Exchange, will allow a student (at the counselor’s discretion) to send his or her transcripts electronically to the college of choice. Details about how your school can participate in the Electronic Transcript Exchange will be sent to your principal in early fall. If you would like to learn more about IllinosiMentor at collegezone.com, contact School Services through e-mail at schoolservices@isac.org or at 866.247.2172, and plan to attend the 2005 Fall Seminars for Partners (see article on page 1).

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Access the information contained in the following articles through menu items/links on the front page of the Counselor Zone at collegezone.com.  The underlined headings at the top of each box indicate where within College Zone you can find the information discussed in each article.

High School Scholarship Programs Schedule of Upcoming Activities

Here’s an overview of the upcoming activities related to the High School Scholarship Programs* (HSSP), and the estimated dates on which they’ll occur.

May/June - In order to begin the HSSP process for 2006-07, counselors are urged to create a roster containing accurate sixth semester data of students' class ranks and grade point averages (GPA’s) for submission to ISAC. Additionally, we request that the class size is reported.  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.

Instructions regarding school-generated sixth semester rosters, including required data and requested disqualification codes, can be found by clicking on “High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP)”, “Required Sixth Semester Data”, and “School-Generated Roster”.  Letters containing details of the HSSP delivery process during the 2005-06 academic year (to determine 2006-07 awards) will be sent to high schools. At the same time, delivery process information on College Zone will be updated.

August 12th - Due date for school-generated sixth semester rosters to arrive at ISAC.  

Late August - ISAC will send HSSP 6th Semester Academic Information Rosters and Certification Forms to high schools that have not submitted school-generated rosters.

Fall - Announce 2006-07 State Scholar finalists prior to Thanksgiving 2005.   

 

What’s New at collegezone.com?

In case you haven’t visited the Web site recently, here are some changes that we’ve made over the past several weeks. Check them out today!

• Two new areas that may be of interest to your college-bound students have been added to the Student Zone. A Teaching page provides links to details regarding teacher preparation and certification, available assistance programs and loan repayment/cancellation programs for teachers. A Military Service page lists state and federal programs available specifically to those who are (or have been) in the military. Both of these new areas can be accessed from links in the left margin of the “9th – 12th Grades” and “College” sections at the Student Zone.
• Each week, the Counselor Message Board (located at the Counselor Zone front page) is updated to provide the latest updates and information. To help you identify the most recent postings, a   graphic now appears in front of each item added during the current week. Be sure to visit the Counselor Message Board on a regular basis to stay current with issues related to you and your college-bound students.
• Keep current with ISAC-administered programs by visiting the Program News pages that appear within College Zone’s ISAC Gift Assistance Programs section. Recent updates that may be of particular interest to counselors include anticipated processing schedules for the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP).
• Use College Zone’s Order Materials page to make sure your current inventory of ISAC publications is up-to-date. To verify that you have the most recent version of a publication, compare the date that appears after the title(s) listed on the Order Materials page to the date printed on your supply of publications. 

*  HSSP is the collective term for the Illinois State Scholar, Merit Recognition Scholarship  and Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Programs.

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The Countdown Is On!  Sign Up for College Zone’s e-Messaging Service

The transition from paper Communiqués to all-electronic correspondence with you is nearly at hand.  Make sure you don’t miss any news or updates from ISAC - sign up for e-Messaging today! Join your fellow Communiqué readers who get their information directly through e-mail, without waiting for the mail to arrive on their desks.  This is one of your last paper issues, so it’s extremely important that you subscribe to the subscription group(s) that best fits your needs as soon as possible.   

From your Counselor Zone, you can sign up for any combination of the following:

• Principals/Superintendents/Administrators - “Dear Partner” letters
• High School Counselors/Teachers - program and processing updates, rules and regulations, announcements
• College Admission Counselors - announcements
• Community Organizations - announcements
• ISAC Communiqué – quarterly newsletter summarizing each quarter’s announcements and updates, with links to specific articles and postings

Don’t miss out – make sure signing up for e-Messaging is on your “to do before summer vacation” list!

 

Expanded Community Partnerships Benefit Illinois Students

In our continuing effort to provide college planning services to the families of Illinois, ISAC staff forged partnerships this year with a number of community organizations and volunteer programs.  As just a small representation of the variety of activities which occurred during Financial Aid/Admission Awareness Month in February, we’d like to spotlight the Workshops which took place through the Lifetime Learning Financial Literacy Program and at the Mexican Fine Arts Center Museum. 

On every Saturday from January through April, more than 1,700 tax preparation volunteers assisted families with the completion of the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at 20 locations in the Chicago area.  The Tax Assistance Program (TAP), a Chicago-based nonprofit organization which provides free tax preparation services to the working poor as part of their Lifetime Learning Financial Literacy Program, requested ISAC’s assistance in training their volunteers to help families complete the FAFSA in conjunction with completing their tax returns.  In addition, more than 50 TAP volunteers were provided with in-depth “expert” training and ISAC staff was available every Saturday to answer the most detailed questions.  The partnership resulted in more than 1,200 families completing both their tax return and the FAFSA during the four-month period.

On February 27th, a FAFSA Workshop was held at the Mexican Fine Arts Center in Chicago.  Over 200 Latino students and parents attended this fifth annual workshop whose attendance has grown from only 15 individuals when it began.  Designed especially for parents with limited English proficiency and for first generation college-bound students, the Workshop was supported by community members and merchants and staffed by bilingual volunteers from FAAM committees.  Also assisting at the Workshop were representatives from LULAC (League of United Latin American Citizens) National Educational Service Centers, Resurrection Project, and the Chicago Police Department. 

Although these are only two examples of this year’s FAAM activities, we’d like to extend our gratitude to all of the committee members, coordinators, volunteers and behind-the-scenes workers who made FAAM 2005 a great success!

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Proposed Rules Changes Anticipated July Effective Date

Each year ISAC reviews its administrative rules in order to implement state and federal statutory amendments, and to respond to program changes and client suggestions.   The proposed rules amendments for ISAC-administered programs for the 2005-06 academic year, as published in the February 14, 2005 Illinois Register, can be accessed by selecting “ISAC Administrative Rules”, and then choosing 2005-06 Proposed Rules Amendments from the right-hand menu. Although the Illinois Register contains proposed changes for other agencies, only information regarding ISAC-administered programs is included in the College Zone posting. While amendments were proposed to several sections this year, high school and college admission counselors will be most interested in the items highlighted below.

State Scholar Program

The Illinois Standard Test Score Table [located in Section 2760.30(b)] is being updated to better align SAT and ACT scores having similar percentile rankings. At this time, ISAC will not be incorporating the score from the additional writing section that is being added to the SAT and the ACT exams beginning in 2005, but will continue to monitor this issue. References to the SAT verbal score have been changed to reflect its new name, Critical Reading.

College Savings Bond Bonus Incentive Grant (BIG) Program and College Illinois!

The provisions exempting consideration of Bright Start Savings Accounts, College Illinois! contracts and college savings bonds proceeds in determining financial need for ISAC gift assistance programs are being eliminated.

The anticipated effective date of the proposed amendments is July 2005. 

 

Potpourri

Here are some bits and pieces you may find useful and/or interesting.

• A Guide for Financing Your College Education, the Federal Stafford Loan Guide  - with a brand-new design and updated text - is now available for order.  The Stafford Guide is actually the first in a new design series being introduced for all of ISAC's loan materials, including the Default Prevention pieces.  As more new pieces become available (watch for the PLUS Loan Guide in the next couple of months), we'll let you know.  In the meantime, be sure to update your current inventory stock with the new Stafford Guide.
• Take advantage of the number of services ISAC offers for Spanish-speaking students, families and financial aid professionals.  Questions about planning for college can be answered through the College Zone Spanish microsite, by our Spanish-speaking College Zone Counselors and through a selection of brochures and materials that have been translated.  We also offer financial aid presentations and training opportunities for those of you who work with families with limited English proficiency.
• Don’t forget – if your school or organization’s Web site provides a link to College Zone, it should be pointing to this URL:  http://www.collegezone.com/.  We’ve noticed several instances lately where our Web address hasn’t been updated from the old ISAC OnLine address.
• The College Zone logo graphic, to use when linking to collegezone.com, is available at the “College Zone Logo” page within the e-Library’s “Job Aids & Reference Materials” section.
• Although the regular enrollment period for College Illinois! is now closed, enrollment for newborns (less than one year old by the date the application is signed) remains open through August 1, 2005.
• Make sure you display the “Take the Credit Challenge” poster sent to all Illinois high schools as part of National Credit Education Week.  Even though the official observance was from April 18th thru the 23rd, the message is valid year-round.  You can also take advantage of a free PowerPoint presentation about personal finance education available for download from College Zone.  Access it through the e-Library, #7 – “Presentations” and use it in a Consumer Education class.  
• Also consider printing and displaying the poster of the 2004-05 Mapping Your Future Chat Events.  There are still a few remaining this spring and into the summer.  Download the poster from the Mapping Your Future Web site (mapping-your-future.org) through the “Middle and High School Counselor” or “Chat Events” link.

 

State Legislative Update

The Spring 2005 Legislative Session has been underway for several weeks, and will continue until a final budget is passed and approved by the Governor. This process will likely extend past the anticipated adjournment date of May 27, 2005 and could continue throughout the summer, as it did last year.  An updated ISAC State Legislative Update listing all proposed bills for this session along with their current status is available within the e-Library.

When reviewing the summary, it’s important to keep in mind that there will likely be many changes as the session moves forward, and none of the information included is final. We will periodically provide an updated State Legislative Update on the Web site to keep you informed of the status of all education-related proposals. You can also check the “Program News” page of each ISAC program section for the latest on any changes or legislative action that may impact that particular program.

At the present time, we are following the progress of the following proposals:

• to improve the Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver Program by allowing students to apply for the program if they have graduated from high school, are Illinois residents and members of military families stationed out-of-state.
• to amend the Illinois National Guard Grant Program to allow the grant to be used during summer terms, and to remove the prohibition on officers in the National Guard receiving the grant. Also to rewrite the Illinois Veteran Grant Program by increasing benefits for veterans to cover tuition and mandatory fees, rather than those fees listed in statute.
• to create a new Teach Illinois scholarship program which would provide students pursuing a teaching degree in a subject shortage area or who pledge to teach in a hard-to-staff area with a scholarship covering tuition at Illinois public universities.
• to create a pilot program, administered via an interagency agreement between the Department of Public Aid and ISAC, providing financial assistance to recipients of Temporary Aid to Needy Families (TANF) who are enrolled in college.
• to prohibit ISAC from incorporating the federal prohibition of financial aid awarded to students with drug convictions into scholarships and grants administered by ISAC.
• to create the Social Security Numbers Limited Use Act, restricting the use of Social Security numbers on materials mailed to individuals.

 

The Federal Scene

Here’s what is currently happening at the federal level:

• Congress is in the midst of the annual budget process and this year's negotiations should prove to be quite interesting for higher education.  President Bush outlined a number of changes to financial aid programs in his FY06 Budget Request, including eliminating some programs.  Congressional members have been directed to make cuts wherever possible and higher education, specifically the student loan programs, is being examined closely.
• Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (the law that authorizes the federal financial aid programs) is scheduled to occur this year after being postponed last year.  A number of bills have been introduced to modify the existing law, but when and if reauthorization will happen may depend on what happens with the budget process.

ISAC continues to monitor the activity on the federal side and will bring you up-to-date in the “Back to School” issue of Communiqué later this summer.

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Questions?
Questions regarding articles in this Communiqué can be directed to our School Services Representatives at 866.247.2172 or through e-mail 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.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission disclaims all responsibility and liability for the reader's reliance on information contained in this publication as it may represent only part of the complete guidance on a topic or have been superseded by subsequent communications, publication(s) or changes in State or Federal law.

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