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7/18/2006
The following is a special message from Donald McNeil, Chairman of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC).
Dear Financial Aid Director:
I am writing to provide you with a brief overview of MAP Plus and to request your institution's support of this new grant program designed to help students from working families. As Chairman of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), I assure you that the Commission is carefully evaluating methods by which sufficient revenue can be generated to fund the program for the 2006-07 academic year.
MAP Plus was approved by the Illinois General Assembly during the spring session and will soon be signed into law by Governor Rod Blagojevich. It will provide up to $500 to each sophomore, junior and senior who is not eligible for a Monetary Award Program (MAP) grant and whose family's adjusted gross income on the 2006-07 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is less than $200,000. In addition, the program has been designed to provide assistance to MAP Plus qualified students who meet the eligibility criteria for a MAP grant but do not receive one.
We estimate that as many as 70,000 students could benefit from MAP Plus, the first program ever in Illinois specifically aimed at helping middle-income families. The typical household income of a MAP Plus recipient is approximately $81,000.
Funding for MAP Plus will come from restructuring or selling part of the student loan portfolio now held by ISAC and other efforts to maximize the revenue ISAC generates. I anticipate that the transactions we are considering will be completed by the end of 2006. Rest assured that any reorganization, restructuring or other revenue-generating transactions approved by the Commission will not adversely affect ISAC's scholarship and grant administration, student outreach activities, or ability to provide exceptional student loan services.
Note that MAP Plus has been approved only for the upcoming school year, after which ISAC will evaluate the program and, as required by statute, recommend whether it should be continued.
Our Web site, collegezone.com, has been updated to include information about MAP Plus in the Student Zone as well as the FAA Zone. Please refer your students and their parents to this valuable information to ensure they are aware of this new grant program and address any questions they may have.
Please feel free to contact ISAC staff at 866.247.2172 if you have any questions. We look forward to working with you to implement this innovative new grant program designed to offer some measure of relief to thousands of Illinois working families who are trying to pay for higher education.
Sincerely,
Donald McNeil
Chairman
Illinois Student Assistance Commission
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