Inside This Issue...
ISAC’s Student Loan Default Prevention Outreach Program is designed to keep students from becoming delinquent and defaulting on their student loans. Materials specifically designed for FFELP student borrowers who are in the “at-risk” category for defaulting are available for order. “At-risk” students may include first-generation college students, students from low-income families, and students who leave college before graduating. ISAC is able to provide these outreach materials through the use of federal funding specifically earmarked for default prevention and reduction activities.
To refresh your memory, the following is a list of available default prevention materials.
Now is the time to place orders for materials that will be needed during the academic year. All materials will be sent free of charge. To place your order use the prepaid order postcard included in the mailing, call us at 800-899-ISAC (4722), or e-mail us at cssupport@isac.org.
When educating your students regarding their loans, remind them that default prevention information can be accessed at ISAC OnLine (select the “Default Prevention” button at www.isac-online.org). ISAC OnLine also provides a link to the Mapping Your Future Web site, where student loan counseling services are available.
Personal Finance Education - On-Site, One-Hour Seminars
In addition to the above-referenced materials, ISAC’s Default Prevention Outreach staff is pleased to offer a new on-site Personal Finance Education seminar at your campus. The hour-long seminar is both informative and interactive, and uses a “Personal Finance 101” approach to teach students the basics of managing their finances. The PowerPoint presentation and the “talking points” used during the seminar are available for download at ISAC OnLine. To access these materials, go to www.isac-online.org, click on the “FAAs” button, and then select the “Downloadable Publications & Presentations” link. Scroll down to the “Available PowerPoint Presentations” section, and then choose Personal Finance Education.
If you would like to host a Personal Finance Education seminar on your campus, or to discuss other ways that ISAC can assist your institution with Cohort Default Rate reduction programs, please call Tom Cox, extension 3706, at ISAC’s toll-free number. Top of Page
If the student is attending a public university or community college in Illinois, College Illinois! will pay the in-state or in-district tuition and mandatory fees covered by the prepaid tuition plan. Since the amount paid to private or out-of-state schools is based on the current mean-weighted tuition at the Illinois public institutions, College Illinois! determines a payout amount for each school year, depending on the type of prepaid tuition plan. Specific payment amounts to private or out-of-state institutions for the 2002-03 school year are:
| Public University Plan: | |
| Average tuition rate per credit hour (semester hour): | $131.83 |
| Mandatory fee rate per credit hour (semester hour): | $44.77 |
| Average tuition rate per credit hour (quarter hour): | $87.93 |
| Mandatory fee rate per credit hour (quarter hour): | $29.86 |
| Community College Plan: | |
| Average tuition rate per credit hour (semester hour): | $55.03 |
| Mandatory fee rate per credit hour (semester hour): | $5.97 |
| Average tuition rate per credit hour (quarter hour): | $36.70 |
| Mandatory fee rate per credit hour (quarter hour): | $3.98 |
If a student intends to use College Illinois! benefits but the business office at your school is unsure how to request payment from the program, please contact a College Illinois! Customer Service Representative at 877-877-3724, option 2. The representative will provide you with the specific information you need to verify a student's eligibility and submit an invoice for payment. Questions regarding how College Illinois! may affect a student's financial aid package should be directed to a Client Services Representative at ISAC's toll-free number. Top of Page
Now that all bills have been finalized and approved into law, a final State Legislative Update including information on all higher education-related bills is available on ISAC OnLine at www.isac-online.org. Click on the "FAAs" link and access the State Legislative Update.
If you have any questions regarding changes to ISAC's programs as a result of this legislative session, please contact your Client Services Representative via e-mail at cssupport@isac.org or through our toll-free number. Top of Page
The agency's administrative rules amendments, originally published for public comment in the January 25, 2002 Illinois Register, were proposed by staff in order to respond to market changes and client suggestions, to implement state and federal statutory amendments, to reflect technological advances in the delivery of financial aid, and to clarify issues that arose during the previous year.
In response to suggestions from staff of the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR) and to conform to the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, technical changes were made to the rules as originally submitted. There were, however, no substantive changes to the proposed rules. The agency administrative rules are available in their entirety for your viewing and printing in the "Downloadable Publications & Presentations" area that can be accessed via the "FAAs" link at ISAC OnLine (www.isac-online.org).
Ordering Paper Copies of the 2002-03 ISAC Rules
A limited number of paper copies of the 2002-03 ISAC administrative rules are now available for order. There are two versions:
Please mail or fax the order form to ISAC's Springfield office as indicated on the form. Top of Page
Revised ISAC publications that are now available for order are:
Both A World of Opportunity and The Means to the Dream carry the same design and color schemes as in past years. Check the dates on the back of each brochure to make sure you have the most current version dated 06/02.
The current plan is for the online manual to be available by early November 2002. Watch future ISAC Updates and Electronic Bulletins for further information. Top of Page
As a way to bring about awareness of the importance of higher education and how student loans have benefited individual students and society as a whole, a new Web site has been established. Visit www.studentloanfacts.org, where you can see how America benefits from the various federal education loan programs, the value of student loans, and read stories of those who have fulfilled their dreams with the help of a student loan.
The site is updated on a regular basis and provides the latest news in the student loan community, as well as a place for student loan borrowers to share their stories. The site is full of "Fast Facts" and also provides links to the U.S. Department of Education and U.S. House and Senate Committees. Also, as we move into the activities of the 2003-04 reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, relevant links and information will be added to this site.
ISAC has established a link to this site for students/families, schools, and lenders/servicers. From ISAC OnLine, click on the appropriate audience button and then click on the "Links" access button; the site is listed as one of the locations on the Web where we feel viewers can obtain beneficial information.
Be sure to "bookmark" the site so you can visit it often to see the information that has been updated and read the new success stories. With the upcoming reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, a site of this nature should prove very beneficial. Top of Page
At this point, the tentative agenda includes the following:
The attached changes have been incorporated into the electronic Integrated Common Manual (ICM). As a reminder, the ICM is updated on a monthly basis incorporating policy changes, such as those attached, as they are approved, making it the most up-to-date source of FFELP policy. ISAC provides a link to the ICM at www.isac-online.org. At the ISAC OnLine homepage, click on the "FAAs" link to bring up the resource material page, which includes the ICM. Top of Page
Award announcements were sent to applicants of the Minority Teachers of Illinois (MTI) Scholarship and DeBolt Teacher Shortage Scholarship (DTSS) programs the week of August 26th. Copies of the eligible and ineligible notifications are also being sent to institutions.
The payment process for these programs will be available in September with the first Payment Rosters for the Fall term being forwarded to institutions ten days after each institution's Fall term start date.
For those schools participating in the Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver (SETTW) Program, enrollment Verification Rosters are being sent to each institution (with eligible applicants) the week of August 26th.
Reminder Regarding Suspension of Award Announcements
Due to current trends in the number of eligible applicants, ISAC has suspended the announcement of 2002-03 Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants to all students whose initial 2002-03 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was received by the Central Processing System (CPS) on or after August 13, 2002. This affects new (first-time applicants) and continuing (applied last year) students, regardless of their enrollment status. Schools participating in the MAP Automated Delivery Process (ADP) need to suspend announcements of MAP awards to students whose initial FAFSA receipt date is on or after August 13, 2002.
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 paper rosters, cartridges, mainframe to mainframe files, and MAPnet.
At this time, it appears as though it will also be necessary to suspend announcements of 2002-03 Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) awards in the fall. We continue to monitor the program, and will alert you as soon as specific information is available.
2002-03 MAP and IIA Payment Processing
2002-03 MAP and IIA payment processing has begun, and will continue on a daily basis throughout the 2002-03 processing cycle. This applies to both MAP-ADP and roster process schools.
Please remember that MAP and IIA payment requests for any given term are not to be submitted to ISAC earlier than 10 days before the beginning of that term. Once submitted, the status of payments to schools can be tracked through the State of Illinois Comptroller's Web site 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, IIA, and ISAC's other scholarship and grant programs.
Continue to Call CASI to Obtain MAP and IIA Award Amounts
Duplicate MAP and IIA Award Announcement Letters No Longer Provided by ISAC
As we try to reduce the amount of paper generated and strive toward more automated processes, please remember that students and Financial Aid Administrators can call the toll-free Client Access for Student Information (CASI) system at 800-899-ISAC to obtain MAP and IIA award amounts. As has been previously communicated, MAP and IIA duplicate letters are no longer being provided by ISAC. Please remind your students of this change, and strongly encourage them to keep the original copy of their MAP and IIA award notification where it is not likely to be lost.
New Service Provided in Response to Client Feedback
Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Announcement Rosters Now Faxed Weekly
Based on feedback received from the ILASFAA/ISAC Rules and Operations Committee, new ING Announcement Rosters are now being faxed to all public schools in Illinois. The weekly production run of these rosters is scheduled for Thursdays, and a corresponding e-mail message alerts appropriate staff at each school when that week's roster has been faxed. The rosters will continue to be faxed once a week, provided there are applicants for the institution, until the fall term's ING Grant Program Payment Roster is available (after the first term application due date of October 1st has passed).
The rosters cannot be sent as e-mail attachments due to Social Security Numbers (SSNs) being part of the information provided. ISAC is investigating various methods to transmit this type of information, but due to an immediate need, our current plan is to continue faxing the rosters on a weekly basis (again, provided there are applicants for the institution). Rosters are faxed to the ING contact listed within each school's 2002-03 IVG and ING Budget Packet. If there should be a change in that contact name and/or fax phone number, simply respond to the e-mail message received from ISAC. Top of Page
The Illinois Court of Claims allows schools and students to seek recourse for unpaid claims at the end of the State's fiscal year lapse period. All correspondence must be written, and filing a claim does not guarantee payment. No filing fee is required. As a reminder, as of July 1, 2000, there is a two-year time limit to file a claim for request of funds {705 ILCS 505/22(h)}.
Attached to this Update is a copy of the latest version of the Court of Claims form used to file an appeal. Please duplicate this form as needed. Also attached is the Court of Claims Multiple Student Request Form and accompanying instructions, to be used when claims must be made for multiple students. Please note that the attached forms are more recent editions than those found in the current Financial Aid Reference Manual. For step-by-step procedures on filing claims with the State of Illinois through the Court of Claims, please refer to the Financial Aid Reference Manual, Chapter 2, page 2-125.
Be sure to read carefully the Court of Claims information provided in Chapter 2 of the Financial Aid Reference Manual, and follow all instructions. Remember that a total of six copies of all forms and supporting documentation must be submitted for each claim. All documentation should be mailed to:
If you have any questions, please call the Illinois Court of Claims at (217) 782-7101.
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.