Inside This Issue...

The first term priority payment claim deadline of January 17, 2003 for 2002-03 Monetary Award Program (MAP) and Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) grants is fast approaching. All schools are asked to submit their first-term payment claims in as timely a manner as possible. Any payment claims submitted after the indicated dates below for each respective term will be paid only if funds permit, on a first-come, first-served basis beginning after June 20, 2003.

As of January 3, 2003, MAP payment claims for first term were higher than expected. Therefore it is essential for institutions to ensure accurate MAP payments and to reconcile payments received on behalf of students. A student’s account must be credited within 30 days of the institution receiving the MAP funds. ISAC is to be notified no later than 60 days following the end of the academic term (or the date the funds are received if received after the end of the term) if the student is not eligible to receive the MAP grant (this includes adjustments to awards). Detailed information concerning the reconciliation process and requirements can be found in the "MAP Reconciliation" portion of the "Maintaining Policies and Procedures" section of the online FAA Reference Center (see next article).

The first term priority payment claim deadline for the 2002-03 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program is January 15, 2003.

The application for the 2003-04 Teacher Education Scholarship Programs (used for both ITEACH and MTI) is available for you to view and download from the "Applying for Financial Aid" link in the "Processes" section of the FAA Reference Center. The corresponding information packet, which includes all the new changes for 2003-04, is part of the download. Please remember that the application priority consideration date is March 1, 2003.

For students to access the form, they should go to www.isac-online.org and click on the "Students and Families" link. They will then click on "Downloadable Publications," which brings up a list of downloadable items, including the application and information packet.

Highlights of changes for both programs (which were implemented to make the programs consistent with each other) effective with scholarships for the 2003-04 academic year, are listed below.

• Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship Program: students enrolled half time can apply, graduate students can apply, freshmen can apply, funds set aside for male applicants can be reallocated to females in January, juniors and above may be given preference, and recipients must start teaching within one year following termination of enrollment from program of study funded by the scholarship and continue until teaching obligation is fulfilled.
• ITEACH Teacher Shortage Scholarship Program (formerly, the David A. DeBolt Teacher Shortage Scholarship): freshmen can apply, juniors and above may be given preference, and recipients must start teaching within one year following termination of enrollment from the teacher shortage discipline funded by the scholarship and continue until teaching obligation is fulfilled.

Note that the new teaching obligation requirements apply to all 2003-04 ITEACH and MTI Scholarship recipients for all scholarships received. A more complete description of the Teacher Education Scholarship Programs is provided within each program’s section in the "Scholarships" portion of the online FAA Reference Center.

Another teacher education program available, but for students who are studying in the field of special education at one of the four-year public Illinois universities offering a concentration in Special Education, is the Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program. The 2003-04 Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver Program Application is also available for downloading and printing from ISAC’s Web site. The application priority consideration date is March 1, 2003.

Illinois State Scholars Listing Available

Thanks to the cooperation of high school counselors across the state, ISAC was able to announce 2003-04 Illinois State Scholars prior to the Thanksgiving holiday. This timely notification will allow high school seniors to include information about their special recognition on college and scholarship applications.

College or university administrators who would like to receive a roster and/or set of mailing labels of 2003-04 Illinois State Scholars for recruitment purposes may do so using the order form that is attached to this ISAC Update. The alphabetical roster, that lists the more than 16,000 students selected as Illinois State Scholars, is available at no charge. Mailing labels, in ZIP code order, are available at $110 per set (payment must be mailed with the order).

If you have any questions about ordering 2003-04 Illinois State Scholar rosters or mailing labels, contact ISAC by sending an e-mail message to cssupport@isac.org or by calling a Client Services Representative at 800-899-ISAC (4722), extension 0.

As a reminder, once ISAC has authorized payment for our scholarship and grant programs by issuing a voucher to the Comptroller’s Office, school personnel can check the status of payments by accessing the State of Illinois Comptroller’s Web site. The Web site will display information about a specific payment once the funds for that payment have actually been scheduled for release. Once you receive your copy of the voucher ISAC sends to the Comptroller’s Office for a particular payment, you can begin monitoring the "Vendor Payments" area of the Web site to determine when payment has been sent. A link to this site is provided in the "Helpful Links" section of the "Resources" area of the online FAA Reference Center, or you can access the site directly at www.ioc.state.il.us. Use the "Vendor Payments" area of the site at any time throughout the year to make inquiries about pending payments for MAP, as well as ISAC’s other specialized scholarship and grant programs.

We offer this information since ISAC staff members have been receiving inquiries concerning the status of payment once a voucher has been authorized by ISAC for our scholarship and grant programs, including MAP. Due to the lack of cash flow, it may be taking longer than in past years for payments to be issued from the State of Illinois Comptroller’s Office. The time from "start to finish" (i.e., from ISAC’s receipt of the payment request, to our processing of the voucher, to processing by the State’s Comptroller’s Office, to the school’s receipt of the payment) could take up to eight weeks (depending on the size of the payment request). Please be assured that all parties involved, including staff members from the State of Illinois Comptroller’s Office and ISAC, are doing everything possible to expedite the process of delivering funds to schools during these challenging economic times.

Those of you who attended the 2002 Fall Seminars for Financial Aid Administrators heard about our launch of the online FAA Reference Center. This new resource takes the place of the Financial Aid Reference Manuals that have historically been distributed at the Fall Seminars for Financial Aid Administrators. By moving your reference source to the Internet, ISAC will be better able to provide schools with current news and updates. Visit the FAA Reference Center, which can be accessed via the "FAAs" button at ISAC OnLine (www.isac-online.org), on a regular basis to make sure you get all the latest information. To help you get started, a "Quick Reference Guide" for the online FAA Reference Center is attached to this edition of the ISAC Update.

Another easy way to get "quick updates" on what is happening in the industry is to visit the "ISAC Message Board" section of the "FAAs" portion of ISAC OnLine on a regular basis. ISAC updates the postings to the "ISAC Message Board" on a weekly basis, to provide you with a convenient way to see the latest news. The corresponding "ISAC Message Board" in the "Students & Families" portion of ISAC OnLine is also updated weekly, so encourage your students and their families to regularly visit us online.

ISAC is currently in the process of redesigning our Web site. During the next several months, ISAC staff, working collaboratively with a Web design vendor, will work on a total makeover of the ISAC OnLine Web site (including The ISAC INFO Café). When completed (scheduled for spring/summer 2003), ISAC’s redesigned Web presence will become known as College Zone … Powered by Illinois Student Assistance Commission.

The redesign will be a culmination of the process we began a couple of years ago when, through several different avenues, we asked our various client and partner groups how an ISAC Web site could best serve their needs. Based on the feedback we received, these are our goals for College Zone:

• a fresh, updated look;
• user friendly, with minimal clicks;
• audience-specific links to direct Web users to information explicitly for them; and
• a one-stop site that contains all the college planning and financial aid information students and families need, from a reliable and trusted source.

Here is the schedule for the upcoming Mapping Your Future (MYF) Chat Events.

Be sure to mark these Chat Events on your calendars and pass the details to your students so they can take advantage of the information that will be provided. Anyone with Internet access who is interested in participating may do so by visiting http://www.mapping-your-future.org/ at the appropriate time on the date of the event.

If you have not participated in previous Chat Events, but would like to see the topics discussed, you can review the archived "Questions and Answers" from earlier chats by visiting the section entitled "Previous Chat Events" at www.mapping-your-future.org/services/chatnight.htm.

Although there has been some discussion regarding the matter, 2003-04 FAFSA on the Web (FOTW) applicants who indicate Illinois as their state of legal residence will not be prompted to "skip" the asset questions, even if it appears they may qualify for an "Automatic Zero EFC." This means that schools will receive all 2003-04 FAFSA asset data for each applicant and, when appropriate, this data can be used for determination of eligibility for awards funded by the institution. Note that, even though Illinois residents provide asset data on the FAFSA, ISAC will not utilize this information when determining MAP eligibility for students with an EFC of "zero" (0).

Illinois schools whose student population includes applicants from other states should be aware of the fact that, if a student resides in a state that does utilize "skip logic" for FOTW, the school will not receive any FAFSA asset information for that applicant unless the student chooses to provide the data on the FAFSA. If eligible for skip logic, the FOTW applicant will be taken to a new window that gives the option either to complete the FAFSA without the asset data, or to "Return to Full FAFSA" (and provide all information, including asset data). If your school requires asset data in order to determine eligibility for institutional funding, be sure to counsel your out-of-state students regarding which option they should select.

The issue of whether Illinois FOTW applicants will be prompted to "skip" asset questions when they qualify for an "Automatic Zero EFC" will be re-evaluated each year, and the decision will be shared with you when it becomes available.

Order your supply of the new Mapping Your Future loan counseling postcards from ISAC today! Designed as a tool to remind students that they can fulfill their entrance and/or exit loan counseling obligations online at Mapping Your Future, these postcards are available for use with both Federal Perkins Loan and Federal Stafford Loan borrowers.

The new postcards have been added to ISAC’s Order Form for Postsecondary Schools, which you can download and print from the "Ordering ISAC Materials" link in the "Processes" section at the online FAA Reference Center.

The "Loan Wizard," one of many default prevention features on the Mapping Your Future site, answers student loan borrowers’ questions by pointing to answers within the Mapping Your Future Web site (www.mapping-your-future.org). The Wizard, similar to a decision tree, launches a new browser window and asks the borrower a series of "yes/no" questions. Based on the borrower’s response to each question, the "Loan Wizard" directs the original browser window to the appropriate page on the Mapping Your Future site.

The following is an example of how the "Loan Wizard" might work:

• A borrower visits the Mapping Your Future site and clicks on the "Student Loan Borrowers" tab. The borrower doesn’t immediately see his or her topic on the page, so s/he clicks on the "Loan Wizard" link (which appears as a text link at the top of the page, as well as on the navigation menu under "In This Section" on the left side of the page). The "Loan Wizard" launches in a new, smaller browser window which appears on top of the initial browser window where Mapping Your Future is currently open.

• The borrower is getting ready to begin repayment, so s/he clicks on the first choice: "It is time to repay your loans." The borrower follows a series of questions (including whether s/he wants to repay the loan in full, is having trouble making payments, is having trouble with other bills, or could make payments if installment amount were lower) and, based on his/her response, is provided with these three options from which to choose: graduated repayment, income sensitive/contingent, and consolidation. In this case, s/he selects "graduated repayment," and the "Loan Wizard" directs the original browser window to the Mapping Your Future page that addresses graduated repayment.

Borrowers can return to the "Loan Wizard" as often as they choose to arrive at various options. They also can start over from the beginning of each "Loan Wizard" session to see different scenarios. Use of the Wizard does not affect normal navigation of Mapping Your Future.

The "Loan Wizard" joins other default prevention features on the Mapping Your Future site, including Online Student Loan Counseling (http://mapping-your-future.org/services/oslcidx.htm), the Loan Consolidator Worksheet (http://mapping-your-future.org/features/dmconsolid.htm), and the Deferment Navigator (http://mapping-your-future.org/paying/defernav.htm).

Most Schools Approved for Multi-Year Use of MPN

A Dear Colleague Letter (DCL), GEN-02-10, published by ED in November explains that most schools are approved to use the multi-year function of the Master Promissory Note (MPN) for Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans. This is effective beginning with any FFELP loan that is certified by a school on or after March 1, 2003, regardless of the period covered by the loan. Foreign schools may not use the multi-year feature for their student borrowers unless ED specifically informs them that they may do so.

Under this new policy, students who are attending schools that are not four-year colleges or graduate or professional schools may receive loans for subsequent academic years based upon a previously signed MPN (even if that MPN was signed by the borrower prior to the effective date of this policy change).

A copy of this DCL is posted online at the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site, which can be accessed from ISAC’s FAA Reference Center in the "Helpful Links" area of the "Resources" section. Or, the document can be accessed directly at www.ifap.ed.gov/dpcletters/Gen0210.html.

Please note that this DCL only pertains to the Federal Stafford MPN. ED will issue a separate DCL that specifically addresses the Federal PLUS MPN at a later date.

New MPN Available from ISAC

DCL GEN-02-07, published by ED in September, contained information regarding the revised MPN and related documents that have been approved by ED. The new version of the MPN has an expiration date of September 30, 2005. Effective January 1, 2003, only the new MPN’s may be provided to borrowers. However, lenders will continue to process the prior version of the MPN if those forms are received from borrowers after January 1, 2003.

ISAC started filling all requests for the MPN with the new version in December. If your school handles the MPN it can be ordered using the Order Form for Postsecondary Schools, which you can download and print from the "Ordering ISAC Materials" link in the "Processes" section at the online FAA Reference Center.

At its November 8^th meeting, the Commission extended the elimination of the guarantee fee for ISAC-guaranteed FFELP loans to include loans disbursed through June 30, 2004.

Information regarding additional items discussed at the meeting can be found in the November 8, 2002 Commission Agenda Book, which can be accessed online by clicking on the "ISAC Agenda Books" link in the "Resources" section of the FAA Reference Center.

The next Commission meeting will be held on January 31, 2003, at Roosevelt University in downtown Chicago. Note the change in location from previous announcements. One of the topics for action by the Commission at this meeting is the 2003-04 start-up formula for the Monetary Award Program. When posted (typically, 5 to 7 days prior to the actual Commission meeting), the Agenda Book will provide a discussion of this item as well as information on the other topics being brought to the Commission for consideration at this meeting. As noted above, Agenda Books can be accessed online by clicking on the "ISAC Agenda Books" link in the "Resources" section of the FAA Reference Center.

Recent changes have been incorporated into the electronic Integrated Common Manual (ICM). The changes deal with a variety of topics, including Financial Aid Transcripts, promissory notes assignment to schools, withdrawal dates, federal Treasury offsets, economic hardship deferments, forbearance, PLUS loan limits, and the deletion of several redundant items. As a reminder, the ICM is updated on a monthly basis incorporating policy changes as they are approved, making it the most up-to-date source of FFELP policy. ISAC provides a link to the ICM at the online FAA Reference Center, in the "Resources" section, under "Common Manual."

A compilation of the changes that have been made to the July 2002 version of the Common Manual…Unified Student Loan Policy are attached to this ISAC Update. We encourage you to review the changes and place them in the appropriate section of your paper manual.

Recent reports in the media may have generated questions regarding the financial viability of state operated prepaid tuition plans. In a few cases, prepaid programs in other states are considering changes or reductions in operations due to economic circumstances. This is not the case with College Illinois!.

While the program's investment portfolio has been affected by the economic downturn, the College Illinois! fund is stable. At the current time, College Illinois! is not facing any potential shortfall and, based on current participation levels, the cash flow remains positive for several years into the future. Total program assets are projected to cover benefit payments through 2017 without taking into account any additional contracts being sold after 2002. And, steps have been taken to provide for the continuing financial stability of the program well into the future.

It's important to remember that by their very nature, prepaid tuition programs are long-term ventures. When the economy rebounds, program investment returns will improve and tuition increases will hopefully moderate, thus stabilizing the programs even more.

College Illinois! is also backed by the State of Illinois which allows the program to submit an appropriation request to the Governor and members of the General Assembly to meet the obligations, if necessary.

The tuition inflation protection and security offered by the program continue to result in a high level of interest being shown by potential purchasers. Requests for program information and visits to the Web site are up and the online application process has proven to be very popular.

The College Illinois! enrollment period runs through March 31, 2003. For additional information visit collegeillinois.com or call toll-free 877-877-3724.

ED Releases Federal Regulations Package

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) has released the final regulations package resulting from the Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM’s) issued in August. The actual Federal Register (dated November 1, 2002) containing the provisions, along with a detailed side-by-side analysis which includes information regarding implementation issues, is available at the National Council of Higher Education Loan Programs, Inc. (NCHELP) e-Library, part of the NCHELP Web site. A link to the NCHELP Web site is provided at ISAC’s online FAA Reference Center, in the "Helpful Links" portion of the "Resources" section. In addition, ISAC will also be providing a user-friendly version of the side-by-side analysis at the online FAA Reference Center, highlighting the borrower benefits aspects of the changes. The specific location of this information will be shared with you when it becomes available.

As stated in the preamble to the Federal Register, ED has indicated that, with the exception of the regulations governing the GEAR UP Program, all regulations are effective July 1, 2003. However, consistent with the intent of this regulatory relief effort, ED decided to allow for early implementation (on or after November 1, 2002), at the discretion of lenders, guaranty agencies and schools.

Summary of 2003-04 Application Processing System Changes Available

ED has posted a summary of all 2003-04 Application Processing System changes in the "Online References" section of the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) Web site. The summary provides information about the changes and enhancements that Federal Student Aid (FSA) is making to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the Renewal FAFSA, the Central Processing System (CPS), the Student Aid Report (SAR), the Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR), the Federal School Code List, and the CPS Mainframe Test System. The posting can be accessed either via the "Helpful Links" portion of the "Resources" section of ISAC’s online FAA Reference Center, or directly at www.ifap.ed.gov/fafsa/200304AppProcSysChange.html.

2003-04 ISIR Guide Available

The ISIR Guide for the 2003-04 academic year is available in the "Online References" section of the IFAP Web site. This guide is designed to help financial aid administrators interpret the information contained in electronic ISIRs received by schools from the Central Processing System (CPS). The guide includes general ISIR information as well as the following appendices: Reject Codes and Reject Reasons, Database Matches and Match Flags, Loan Status Codes and Eligibility Charts, SAR/ISIR Comment Codes and Text, Correspondence Addresses, a sample ISIR, and the Worksheet for Question 35. The posting can be accessed either via the "Helpful Links" portion of the "Resources" section of ISAC’s online FAA Reference Center, or directly at www.ifap.ed.gov/sarmaterials/0304ISIRGuide.html.

Unless otherwise noted, ISAC offices and the ELM NDN both will be closed on the following holidays in 2003.

Loans will not be processed or disbursed on the previously listed holidays. Schools and lenders/servicers can transmit StarBase, CommonLine, or Common Account Maintenance (CAM) files on dates when ISAC is closed, but those files will be processed on the following business day and results will be available the second business day. For example, if files are transmitted to ISAC on Presidents’ Day (February 17^th), those files will be processed by ISAC on February 18^th and results will be available on February 19^th.

If you have disbursements scheduled on a holiday and would like to reschedule them, please call the ELM NDN Hotline at 800-285-3708. Remember that the ELM NDN requests at least a 10-day notice to honor such a request.

Although ISAC’s offices will be closed on the aforementioned holidays, MAPnet will be available during regularly scheduled hours and will reflect records processed by the Central Processing System (CPS) through the previous business day.

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Upcoming Training

ILASFAA Winter Workshop - The annual ILASFAA Winter Workshop will take place February 18 and February 19, 2003, at the Par-A-Dice Hotel in East Peoria, Illinois. Watch your mail for registration materials, which will be sent by mid-January 2003.

ILASFAA Annual Conference - ILASFAA will hold its next annual conference at the Wyndham Hotel and Resort in Itasca, IL, from March 30 through April 2, 2003. Mark your calendar now, and watch for more details in the coming months.

2003 Federal Student Aid (FSA) Electronic Access Conference (EAC) - FSA will again be sponsoring two EAC’s in 2003: November 2 through November 5, 2003 in San Diego, California and December 2 through December 5, 2003 in New Orleans, Louisiana. Mark your calendars now!

Earlier this year, we indicated that we would stop mailing newsletters (i.e., Electronic Bulletins and ISAC Updates) beginning in January 2003. However, as we get closer to the launch of College Zone, we realize that it makes better sense to continue mailing the ISAC Updates until our Web site redesign is completed. At that time you will have the ability to "customize" your interaction with ISAC’s Web site, including the option of subscribing to an automated notification system to alert you when newly published newsletters are available online.

In the meantime, we have consolidated our printed newsletters and the Electronic Bulletin is being merged into the ISAC Update. From this point forward, information previously provided via the Electronic Bulletin will be incorporated into the ISAC Updates. Individuals who had been receiving the Electronic Bulletins, but not the ISAC Updates, have been added to the ISAC Update mailing list.

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ISAC 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 publication(s) or changes in State or Federal law.