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Program News (last updated October 1, 2007)
NOTE: When created in 2006, the MAP Plus Program was authorized only for the 2006-07 academic year. Below is information regarding the program as administered during that year. Funding for the MAP Plus program was not authorized for fiscal year 2008 (the 2007-08 academic year).
Close-out for 2006-07 MAP Plus Payment Processing
MAP Plus Payment
Overawards
Reconciling MAP Plus Payment
MAP Plus Payment Chapter Available
Payment Requests Being Accepted
Hold of MAP Plus Award Announcements
MAP Plus Implemetation
2006-07
Close-out for 2006-07 MAP Plus Payment Processing
Letters with the projected outstanding amount to be returned to ISAC for MAP Plus for the 2006-07 academic year were mailed to Financial Aid Directors on July 6, 2007. The outstanding amount due, with proper documentation, should be returned to ISAC on or before July 20th.
MAP Plus Payment
Late claims (payment requests received after the applicable priority claim deadline) for the 2006-07 Monetary Award Program Plus (MAP Plus) received at ISAC on or before June 22, 2007 were released for payment on Friday, June 22nd.
MAP Plus records held as late claims are identified in MAPnet with a Payment Results Code of "Y" (Held payment request - Late Claim). All late payment requests that were submitted on or before June 22, 2007 were automatically processed, with results available via MAPnet today (Monday, June 25, 2007). Payment results will appear on the Student Detail: MAP Plus screen as well as the PLS Payment Results Report. MAP Plus payment results may also be retrieved via the Payment Results File Extraction. Please see the 2006-07 MAP 160 Byte File Layout Specifications for details on where the MAP Plus information may be found on the extract file.
ISAC does not anticipate any additional release of MAP Plus late claims. However, cancellations to previously paid awards that result in refunds will continue to be accepted and processed through MAPnet until July 27, 2007. July 27th is the last date that cancellations may be submitted via MAPnet.
There is currently a 10 - 14 day turnaround from the time ISAC processes a MAP Plus payment request to when funds are received at the school. Information regarding how to track payments is provided at the Comptroller's Web Site page, which is located within the MAP Payment pages in the Gift Assistance area of the FAA Zone.
Overawards
If a MAP Plus award, combined with other sources of gift assistance, exceeds the student's cost of attendance, the school must reduce the other aid to eliminate an overaward. For the purposes of this calculation, federal veterans benefits are not counted as gift assistance.
Reconciling MAP Plus Payments
Now that MAP Plus payment has begun, payment must be reconciled on a student-to-student basis, and any award cancellations are to be reported to ISAC. MAP Plus reconciliation procedures are the same as those followed for the Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program.
Information about reconciliation procedures for MAP Plus including, links to the offset process and the proper documentation required, was provided in a February 14th
e-Message and can be found on the MAP Plus Payment page within this section of the Gift Assistance area of the FAA Zone.
MAP Plus Payment Chapter Available
The MAP Plus Payment chapter of the MAPnet User Guide is available to download from the 2006-07 Processing and User Guide page within the MAPnet section.
The MAP Plus Payment chapter includes instructions on selection of eligible students, various options for generating and submitting payment requests, sample screens and a chart of payment results codes.
Payment Requests Being Accepted Effective October 5th
Monetary Award Program Plus (MAP Plus) payment requests are now being accepted via MAPnet and File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
The 2006-07 MAP Automated Delivery Process File Specifications document has been updated to reflect MAP Plus fields, and can be accessed via the e-Library's Electronic Tools page.
Information regarding MAP Plus payment processing (including which records are being held, payment claim deadlines, and the timing of payments to colleges) was provided in an October 3rd e-Message and can also be found in the MAP Plus section in the FAA Zone.
Hold of MAP Plus Award Announcements
As announced in a September 18th e-Message, ISAC has reached the goal of awarding MAP Plus grants to 71,000 students. Due to limited funding and the high volume of eligible applicants, MAP Plus awards will be held for applicants whose initial 2006-07 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was received on or after September 19, 2006. FAFSA received at the federal processor on or after September 19th will be placed in a hold status and will not be released for MAP Plus award processing. Students otherwise eligible for MAP Plus, but whose award is being held, will not receive MAP Plus grant money.
The application volume currently at ISAC includes sophomores, juniors and seniors with family adjusted gross incomes under $200,000 who are not receiving Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants. This includes students:
who are not eligible for a MAP grant including those who have used more than the 75 or 135 MAP paid credit hour limits;
who have a MAP award in suspended status;
who are "continuing" students not receiving a MAP grant for fall term.
If your institution has been making announcements of MAP Plus awards to students, please hold off on making any additional announcements to students whose FAFSA receipt date is September 19th and later.
Watch for further e-Messages about MAP Plus and refer to this page often for updates on payment implementation and on the status of funding.
MAP Plus Implementation
As outlined in the September 5th e-Message regarding Monetary Award Program Plus (MAP Plus) operational information, enhancements to assist colleges in identifying students who are eligible for MAP Plus are now available through MAPnet.
Specifically, the following additions have been made:
- Three new fields have been added to the Student List Eligibility: View and the Student Detail: Eligibility screens. They are Family AGI, MAP Plus Suspend and MAP Plus Shutdown.
- A "MAP Plus Students Only" filter has been added to the Student List Eligibility: Filter screen. This option will allow users to filter the student list to include only those students meeting the MAP Plus eligibility criteria. The new option appears with the checkboxes on the bottom half of the screen. Click here for instructions on how to create a listing of these students in the MAPnet system.
- A new MAP Plus Eligibility Report has been added. The report lists students eligible for MAP Plus in a format that can be viewed and/or printed. This new report can be run from the Eligibility Reports menu item on the side panel.
On July 30, 2006, Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed legislation creating the Monetary Award Program Plus (MAP Plus), effective for fall 2006. Rather than being funded by state tax dollars, MAP Plus funding will come from restructuring or selling part of the student loan portfolio now held by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) and other efforts to maximize the revenue ISAC generates. Efforts are underway to raise the money needed to pay 2006-07 fall term claims during the first quarter of the calendar year 2007.
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