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VOL. 23, NO. 3IGSL, 3B
September 2005
Welcome to the September 2005 ISAC Update for Financial Aid Administrators and Business Officers. This version of the electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent through College Zone’s e-Messaging service throughout September. This e-Messaging service has replaced ISAC’s use of printed newsletters, the ILASFAA ListServ, and special e-mail lists as our primary means of communicating information to you.
The articles in this Update have been organized according to the FAA Zone subscription groups to which the messages were distributed via College Zone’s e-Messaging service.
Questions?
Questions regarding information in this ISAC Update 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
Training Opportunities for Financial Aid Professionals
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 September 23, 2005
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is pleased to announce two training opportunities that will be offered this fall for financial aid administrators, business officers, or other campus personnel. Workshops scheduled for October are designed for new financial aid professionals, while sessions in November and December are open to all staff.
Register Now! Financial Aid 101: Building a Solid Foundation – October Workshops
ISAC will offer its Financial Aid 101: Building a Solid Foundation workshop twice in October.
Who Should Attend?
This full-day (9 a.m. - 4 p.m.) workshop is designed to introduce new financial aid professionals to financial aid concepts, processes and programs and help them develop a solid foundation on which to build their careers.
What's Covered?
The workshop will provide an overview of the following topics:
- basic financial aid principles;
- the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA);
- need analysis process;
- ISAC's scholarship and grant programs;
- federal financial aid programs; and
- student loan basics.
For more details, you may view the workshop agenda in the Outreach & Training section of the e-Library at collegezone.com.
Where and When?
Participants can select from the following dates and locations.
October 12 – ISAC's Deerfield Office
October 14 – ISAC's Springfield Office
Is There a Cost?
No. The workshop and training materials are free to participants. Seating at each site is limited, so please register early through the online registration process. Lunch is on your own, but dining facilities are available on-site or nearby. Complete details will be provided to each participant, via e-mail, upon registration.
Mark Your Calendars! – 2005 Fall Training Seminars
Free-of-charge, half-day sessions will be offered at seven locations throughout the state during the months of November and December. The focus of this year's fall seminars will be to provide financial aid administrators and business officers information and guidance concerning ISAC's programs and processes.
Seminars will begin each day at 9 a.m. and will concentrate on such topics as federal and state legislative updates, operational updates and proposed technical enhancements for administering ISAC programs and a summary of the U.S. Department of Education's Electronic Access Conference (EAC).
As soon as registration and agenda information is finalized, it will be posted to collegezone.com and you will be notified by an e-Message. But for now, mark your calendars and pass the word on to your colleagues.
November 14 – University of Illinois at Springfield
November 15 – Loyola
November 16 – ISAC's Deerfield Office
November 21 – Kankakee Community College
December 1 – Rend Lake College
December 8 – College of DuPage
December 9 – Heartland Community College
ISAC will offer separate Fall Update Sessions to high school counselors, college admission representatives and members of community-based organizations that will focus on tools and information specific to that partner group.
 Huricane Katrina Resource Information
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 September 12, 2005 While the inhabitants of the Gulf Coast continue to struggle with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, ISAC, IDAPP, the State of Illinois and the federal government have all taken steps to provide assistance to those impacted. Among the accommodations already in place:
- Illinois community colleges have opened their doors to Illinois students displaced from colleges on the Gulf Coast, allowing them to continue their education uninterrupted.
- Impacted students returning to Illinois to attend college will be considered for Monetary Award Program (MAP) eligibility based on their Illinois residency and when their initial FAFSA was submitted. If MAP-eligible Illinois residents are now attending a MAP-approved college, their new school would be added to their ISIR record (if not already indicated as one of the school choices) and if the initial FAFSA receipt date was prior to September 1st, the student would be eligible for a MAP grant.
- Student loan borrowers living in the affected areas are receiving 90-day administrative forbearances, relieving them of payment responsibility on their loans, as put in place by their lender or servicer.
- ISAC College Zone Counselors will serve as a one-stop resource to answer questions about student loans and repayment for any evacuees coming to Illinois.
- Collection activities, including wage garnishment, conducted by ISAC, have been suspended for delinquent and defaulted borrowers in the impacted areas.
- IDAPP is working with a number of local colleges and universities to make alternative loans available to impacted students displaced from colleges on the Gulf Coast, particularly those unable to qualify for Title IV assistance.
- The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has directed guaranty agencies, institutions and lenders to follow guidance previously issued in Dear Colleague Letter GEN-04-04 for times of natural disaster. ED expects to provide additional guidance in a series of communications to be issued in the coming days and weeks.
Because recovery from this devastating event won't be completed overnight, we expect to receive more guidance and learn of more assistance being offered on an ongoing basis. To ensure you have easy access to all of the information available, for your reference we've created a Hurricane Katrina Resources page, which can be accessed via the first link under the home page's News & Announcements heading at collegezone.com. As the situation continues to evolve, we will provide updates to the page.
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FINANCIAL AID ADMINISTRATOR
Debt Management Strategies Chat Event - September 13, 2005
Sent on September 7, 2005
Financial Aid Administrators: Please share the following information with any students who would benefit from it.
On Tuesday, September 13, 2005, Mapping Your Future will offer a "Debt Management Strategies" chat from 6 to 7 p.m. (CT). The chat is designed to help students obtain information about managing their personal financial affairs.
During this "Debt Management Strategies" Chat Event, participants will learn about:
- using credit cards responsibly;
- obtaining credit reports;
- establishing a budget;
- exploring loan consolidation options; and
- avoiding student loan default.
At the time of the event, you can access Mapping Your Future by selecting "Mapping Your Future" from the "FAA Quick Links" menu that appears along the right margin of the FAA Zone front page.
Students can use the link on the right side of the Student Zone front page.
Mapping Your Future can also be accessed directly at mapping-your-future.org.
The calendar of upcoming Chat Events - which includes the chat schedule through August 2006 - is in the Outreach Activities section of College Zone, which can be accessed in the center of the College Zone home page. Remember, also, that a poster (in .pdf format) listing 2005-06 Chat Events is available at the Mapping Your Future Web site. You may wish to consider printing (on 8½" x 11" paper, in color or black & white) and displaying this poster, which can be accessed via Mapping Your Future's "Financial Aid Professionals" and "Live Chat Events" pages, in areas of your campus that can be easily viewed by individuals seeking information about the college process.
Archived Questions and Answers from earlier chats can be accessed by visiting the section entitled "Chat Transcripts" at mapping-your-future.org/services/chatnight.htm.
The above is based on information from a Mapping Your Future E-Update. Mapping Your Future is a national collaborative public service project of the financial aid industry, including ISAC - bringing together the expertise of the industry to provide free college, career, financial aid, and financial literacy services for schools, students, and families.
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MAPNET USERS
2005-06 MAP Suspension Status Available in MAPnet and Information Regarding MAP & IIA Voucher Distribution
Sent on September 2, 2005
Suspension of 2005-06 MAP Award Announcements Effective September 1, 2005
As indicated in an August 25th e-Message, ISAC has suspended the announcement of 2005-06 Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants for all students whose initial 2005-06 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was received by the Central Processing System (CPS) on or after September 1, 2005. This affects new and continuing students regardless of enrollment status.
Student Award Announcements
ISAC will be notifying all affected applicants that their awards have been placed in suspension status. Initial Institutional Student Information Record/Student Aid Report (ISIR/SAR) records with an application receipt date on or after September 1st will generate suspense status letters which will be dated and mailed three business days from the date ISAC receives and processes the initial ISIR/SAR transaction.
Additionally, schools are required to suspend announcements of MAP awards to students whose initial FAFSA receipt date is on or after September 1st.
Identifying Records and Creating a Report
MAP records in suspension status are indicated by an Eligibility Code of "S" ("Suspended -- indicates student is temporarily suspended from processing due to insufficient funding. Not eligible for payment for any terms") on MAPnet and in the Eligibility Status File (ESF). As a reminder, MAPnet contains filters that will allow you to identify student records and create a report of those records placed in suspension status.
2005-06 MAP and IIA Voucher Distribution
In early September, ISAC plans to begin mailing the 2005-06 MAP and Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program Payment Results Summary Report and, if money is due to the school, the corresponding Payment Voucher. Because the Payment Results Report and Payment Exception Report are available to access via MAPnet, they are no longer being mailed to schools.
In order to obtain a listing of students included with each Payment Voucher, schools may generate the Payment Results Report and Payment Exception Report within MAPnet. When selecting the date range, use the date provided on the Payment Results Summary Report. Specific instructions are provided in the 2005-06 MAPnet User Guide (Payment Chapter, pages 13 & 14) at collegezone.com.
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FFELP PARTICIPANTS
Latest School DAAR Report Available
Sent on September 6, 2005 and September 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.
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ISAC UPDATE GROUP
Electronic ISAC Update for August 2005 Available at College Zone
Sent on September 1, 2005 The August 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 August via College Zone's e-Messaging service.
Topics covered in the August 2005 ISAC Update include:
- Suspension of 2005-06 MAP Award Announcements
- New Service at College Zone - My Zone: TESP Eligible Award Notifications Now Available Online
- Changes to IVG and ING Grant Programs Signed into Law - Effective Fall 2005 Term
- 2005-06 MAP and IIA Payment Processing Available
- Conducting a Financial Aid Presentation - In Spanish! (Dirigir una Presentación de Ayuda Financiera - En Español)
- 2005-06 MAP/IIA Payment Processing Anticipated - MAPnet To Be Temporarily Unavailable
- 2005-06 ING Grant Announcement Rosters Now Available Online
- 2005-06 IIA Program Suspension Status Available in MAPnet
- Latest School DAAR Report Available
- Electronic ISAC Update for July 2005 Available at College Zone
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