Welcome to the FAA Zone
At your fingertips, Financial Aid Administrators, Business Officers, and other school personnel have access to a centralized source of information and financial aid guidance concerning ISAC's programs, processes, and resources.
FAA Message Board
The FAA Message Board is updated each week. New messages for the week are identified by the 
Items under the More section, located toward the bottom of the page, provide links to information on topics that were recently listed on this Message Board.
Be sure to regularly visit the “Important Dates” section of the 2012-13 FAFSA Completion area (located within the e-Library at collegeillinois.org) for a listing of the latest updates and electronic announcements from the U.S. Department of Education (ED). Updates are listed in chronological order by month, and the most recent date on which new information was posted is indicated at the top of the page.
Attention Illinois 2- and 4-year public colleges: make sure your students who are members of the Illinois National Guard are aware that the interactive application for the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program is available to complete and submit online at collegeillinois.org, both for the 2011-12 academic year (used to apply for the 2012 summer term) and for the
2012-13 academic year. 2011-12 ING Grant applications for the summer term are due to ISAC on or before June 15, 2012. In order to receive full-year consideration, 2012-13 ING Grant applications must be received at ISAC on or before October 1, 2012.
Proposed administrative rules to accommodate the transition of funding from the Illinois Future Teachers Corps (IFTC) to the Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program are available for review through the expiration of the public comment period on June 11, 2012.
2011-12 Monetary Award Program (MAP) payment claims (for third quarter, and for second semester at institutions where the second semester begins after February 15) are due on or before June 1, 2012. Further details are available within the MAP Payment section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area of this website.
According to a May 1 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), the updated 2012-13 Federal School Code (FSC) List of Participating Schools is available to access via the Information for Financial Aid Professionals (IFAP) website. The FSC List, which contains the unique codes assigned by ED for schools participating in the Title IV federal student aid programs, is only available electronically (as a PDF or Microsoft Excel XLS file) - it is no longer distributed in hard-copy format. Updated PDF and XLS files are posted at IFAP on a quarterly basis. Included in the electronic announcement are instructions on how to update FSC information, for those schools that need to do so.
A recent press release announces that Mapping Your Future offers printable exit counseling materials. Colleges can comply with federal regulations by mailing the appropriate materials to students that leave campus without first completing exit counseling. The printable materials may also be used to supplement Mapping Your Future’s online exit counseling sessions, or one-on-one sessions offered by the college.
Spring term (second semester/second and third quarter) payment requests for the 2011-12 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program are due to ISAC on or before May 25, 2012. Although schools will not be reimbursed by ISAC for spring term awards or late claims, payment requests must be submitted to ISAC so eligibility units can be assessed to students' accounts. IVG Program payment procedures, as well as the latest Program News, are available within the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area.
A recent Dear Colleague Letter (DCL GEN-12-07) from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides updated guidance concerning the documentation that colleges must obtain to verify income and tax information. Due to the large volume of tax returns being processed at this time of year, some students and families may not be able to immediately use the FAFSA-IRS Data Retrieval Tool or to obtain the IRS Tax Return Transcripts that are needed to complete the verification process. In such cases, and only until July 15, 2012, colleges may use a signed copy of the relevant (i.e., applicant, spouse, or parent) 2011 IRS tax return as acceptable verification documentation for the 2012-13 award year.
As discussed in an April 12 e-Message, ISAC has sent an e-mail message to students to alert them to the fact that there are currently two fiscal year 2013 (FY13) budget proposals being considered for the State of Illinois and these two proposals would likely result in significantly different levels of 2012-13 Monetary Award Program (MAP) funding. Further details are provided on the Save MAP Funding page at collegeillinois.org.
As Illinois moves forward on its goal to increase the proportion of adults in Illinois with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by the year 2025, a second College Changes Everything conference will be held on July 12, 2012, at the Tinley Park Convention Center. Refer to the April 10 e-Message for further details, and watch for an upcoming announcement with information about conference registration.
2012-13 budget packets for the Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program, the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program and the Monetary Award Program (MAP) must be completed and returned to ISAC on or before June 1, 2012. Specific details are provided in an April 5 e-Message.
The U.S. Department of Education (ED) announces an improvement to the Special Direct Consolidation Loan online application process in a March 26 electronic announcement. While the four federal loan servicers will continue to contact all potentially eligible borrowers, students may also visit the StudentLoans.gov website to determine their eligibility status; those who are not eligible will be notified via an “Alerts” message box, and those who are potentially eligible will be able to access the online application. As a reminder, the Special Direct Consolidation Loan initiative is a short-term consolidation opportunity that ED is offering through the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program. The application deadline is June 30, 2012.
A February 22, 2012 Dear Colleague Letter (DCL GEN-12-04) provides several updates regarding the federal Direct Loan Program, including the fact that - absent Congressional action - the interest rate on Direct Loans will return to 6.8 percent on July 1, 2012 (per the statute). Reference to the new interest rate is also included in the overview of recent legislative changes that is provided for students in a posting at Student Aid on the Web.
More
Information regarding Employment Certification for
Public Service Loan Forgiveness (for colleges and students)
Information regarding 2011-12 MAP awards (for colleges and students)
2012-13 State Scholar Announcements
“Pay-As-You-Earn” Proposal (at Student Aid on the Web)
Information for FAAs and Students on Special Direct Consolidation Loans
2011-12 ISAC Administrative Rules
State Legislative Update
Outreach Calendar/Events
FAFSA Completion Information
Important Reminders calendar
Most Recent ISAC Update:
April 2012
