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January 2008
Welcome to the January 2008 ISAC Update for financial aid administrators and business officers. This version of the electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent through College Zone’s e-Messaging service throughout January. This e-Messaging service has replaced ISAC’s use of printed newsletters, the ILASFAA ListServ, and special e-mail lists as our primary means of communicating information to you. The articles in this Update have been organized according to the FAA Zone subscription groups to which the messages were distributed via College Zone’s e-Messaging service. Questions? Questions regarding information in this ISAC Update can be directed to School Services at 866.247.2172 or at schoolservices@isac.org. On occasion, you may be directed to a specific contact person or area; when this occurs, we will provide the appropriate information in the individual article or message.
MULTIPLE SUBSCRIPTION GROUPS 2008-09 MAP and IIA Program Start-up Scheduled for February 7th Please note the following regarding MAPnet availability:
Information Available at collegezone.com
2008-09 MAP Start-up Formula Approved - Summary of January 25th Commission Meeting FY2009 (2008-09 Academic Year) MAP Start-up Formula Approved - Agenda Item 12 Under the assumption that level or nearly level funding will be received for the Monetary Award Program (MAP), the FY2009 start-up formula reflects no changes from the FY2008 recompute formula. We anticipate start-up for 2008-09 MAP and the Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program to be implemented on February 7, 2008, including the launch of the 2008-09 MAPnet system. Specific details regarding the start-up implementation schedule will soon be sent via a separate e-Message, and will also be posted at collegezone.com. Partial Payment of Federal Default Fee for 2008-09 Approved - Agenda Item 10 For the 2008-09 academic year, ISAC will continue to pay 50% of the federally-mandated default fee for ISAC-guaranteed loans, thus reducing the cost to students and parents of borrowing through the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). This borrower benefit is made possible using funds from the Student Loan Operating Fund (SLOF). ISAC will continue to encourage lenders to pay the other 50% of the default fee on behalf of borrowers. As a resource for students and parents who are FFELP borrowers, a List of ISAC's Participating Lenders (displayed in descending order of loan volume guaranteed through ISAC, and identifying which lenders have agreed to pay the other 50% of the default fee on behalf of borrowers) is available within the Student Zone at collegezone.com. Proposed Rules Amendments - Agenda Item 14 Rules amendments are being proposed for the 2008-09 academic year to nine existing Parts. The full text of the proposed rules amendments and notices will be made available via the e-Library's ISAC Administrative Rules section, following publication in the Illinois Register. The anticipated effective date of these proposed rules amendments is July 2008. Adopted Rules (Veterans' Home Nurse Loan Repayment Program) Approved - Agenda Item 13 The Commission approved and adopted rules for the Veterans' Home Nurse Loan Repayment Program. These rules will be submitted to the Administrative Code Division of the Secretary of State for publication as final adopted rules. Once adopted, they will be communicated to ISAC's clients through publication in the Illinois Register, as well as being posted at the e-Library's ISAC Administrative Rules section. The anticipated effective date of these rules is February 1, 2008. Next Meeting The next regularly scheduled Commission meeting is set for Friday, April 4, 2008 at University of Illinois at Springfield.
Commission Meeting to be Held Friday, January 25, 2008 - Executive Briefing Scheduled for January 28th The tentative agenda for the meeting includes:
Results for items requiring action from the Commission will be available following the meeting via the 2008 Agenda Books page (located within the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission section). Executive Briefing Conference Call - January 28th On Monday, January 28th, ISAC Executive Director Andy Davis will offer an Executive Briefing Conference Call to provide an overview of the January 25th Commission meeting and an update on other ISAC-related topics. The conference call, for financial aid staff at the Director or upper management level, will be held at 10 a.m. To participate, dial 888.767.9380 and enter the passcode: 9767339#.
Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Important Dates You may either scroll through the entire message, or click on the appropriate link(s) to go directly to details about a specific topic: UPDATES Operational dates, and information regarding the next regularly scheduled Commission meeting RESOURCES & TRAINING EVENTS Upcoming CAP events, and "FAFSA Expert Training" & "Understanding Financial Aid Packaging" sessions HOLIDAY SCHEDULES Processing schedules for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Presidents' Day UPDATES January 10th: 2007-08 MAP and IIA Program First Term Payment Claims Due 2007-08 first term payment claims for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) and Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program are due on or before January 10, 2008. Details regarding MAP payment processing and IIA payment processing, along with the 2007-08 MAPnet User Guide, are available within the FAA Zone. January 15th: 2007-08 IVG Program First Term Payment Claims Due 2007-08 first term payment claims for the Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program are due on or before January 15, 2008. For more information regarding the payment process, refer to the IVG Payment page. January 25th: Commission Meeting The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will take place on Friday, January 25, 2008, at Loyola University in Chicago. A listing of tentative agenda items will be available prior to the meeting via the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission section of the e-Library. Information can also be accessed by selecting the link that appears beneath the "Resource Center" heading at the College Zone home page. After January 28th: State Scholar Mailing Labels or Listings Available to Order After the student appeal period expires in January, ISAC provides Illinois colleges and universities the opportunity to order a set of mailing labels or a listing of State Scholar Finalists for recruitment purposes. Watch for more information about the availability of order forms in the State Scholar Program News area. RESOURCES & TRAINING EVENTS College Awareness & Preparation (CAP) Resources Available for 2008-09 FAFSA Cycle The 2008-09 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) cycle, including FAFSA on the Web, Corrections on the Web, and FAA Access to CPS Online, opened on January 1, 2008. The Central Processing System (CPS) began processing 2008-09 FAFSA data on Wednesday, January 2nd. Details regarding the 2008-09 application cycle are provided within the Applying for Financial Aid section of the e-Library. Check out the College Awareness & Preparation (CAP) page for information regarding resources that are available to help your students complete the financial aid process. Several events, including FAFSA completion seminars, will take place across the State of Illinois from now through March. Encourage students to attend the event that best fits their schedule. CAP is a comprehensive effort of the Illinois Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators (ILASFAA), Inc., the Illinois Association for College Admission Counseling (IACAC) and ISAC. Formerly known as Financial Aid Admission/Awareness Month (FAAM), CAP strives to fulfill its mission through a series of workshops, seminars and statewide support with partners from all sectors of education in the State of Illinois. January - February: FAFSA Expert Training As was announced in December, "FAFSA Expert Training" & "Understanding Financial Aid Packaging" sessions are being held throughout the state in January and February. These free all-day sessions (9 a.m. – 3 p.m.) are designed to go beyond the basic line-by-line walkthrough of the FAFSA and delve into the more complex tax, asset, eligibility, and need analysis questions. Space is limited so register today! HOLIDAY SCHEDULES A complete listing of 2008 holidays on which ISAC staff will be unavailable is provided at the ISAC Events Calendar. January 21st: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day February 18th: Presidents' Day In observance of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day and Presidents' Day holidays, ISAC offices will be closed on Monday, January 21st and on Monday, February 18th, respectively. Our offices will reopen on the Tuesday following each holiday. Loan records received at ISAC on the holidays, as well as disbursement records received at the National Disbursement Network (NDN), will be processed the following business day. This means that, for each holiday that falls on a Monday, CommonLine or Common Account Maintenance (CAM) files will be processed on the following Tuesday, with results available on Wednesday (or the next available day for any schools opting to receive NDN files on specific days of the week). Note that ELM Resources will continue to process and transmit files on the holidays. Although ISAC's offices will be closed on those days, MAPnet will be available during regularly scheduled hours and will reflect records processed by the Central Processing System (CPS) through the Friday immediately preceding each respective holiday. MAP payment requests submitted from 5 p.m. (CT) the preceding Friday through 5 p.m. (CT) the following Tuesday will be processed Tuesday night, and payment results (which will show late claim indicators for 1st term claims) will be available via MAPnet on Wednesday morning. For Assistance Remember that you can access collegezone.com anytime, or send an e-mail message to ISAC's School Services Department. With the exception of holidays (such as those indicated above), ISAC staff will review and respond to messages during regular business hours (Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. - 5 p.m. CT).
MAPNET USERS ISAC's School Services Department Announcement Because John had been the contact person for many Monetary Award Program - Automated Delivery Process (MAP-ADP) users, we wanted to take this opportunity to clarify that all MAP-ADP inquiries (including MAPnet) should be directed to ISAC's School Services Department. Our representatives will be happy to assist financial aid administrators and business officers as they administer ISAC's gift assistance programs for their students. Online resources regarding MAP-ADPand MAPnet are available within the Processes area of the FAA Zone at collegezone.com.
Shortening Processing Time for MAPnet File Extractions and Reports We appreciate receiving such information from our partners, and would like to take this opportunity to provide some reminders that may help reduce processing time. Schools are encouraged to consider the following when reconciling MAP and IIA data, as well as when submitting 2007-08 second and/or third term payment claims. File Extractions and Reports Have Separate Processing Queues Based on partner feedback, in December 2006 we implemented a system with two separate queues - one for file extractions, and the other for reports. This means that file extractions and reports can be processed simultaneously, helping to reduce the amount of time it takes to process these requests. Note that jobs are run in the order that they are received within each queue. Consequently, if several schools submit large file extraction (or report) requests at the same time, each request will be processed only after all previously-submitted jobs for that queue have completed. Length of processing time will vary depending on where a particular school's job is located within the queue. Multiple jobs submitted at the same time will impact file extractions the most, since these jobs take longer to run than reports. Steps to Reduce Processing Time The following are steps that schools may wish to consider in order to reduce the amount of time it may take to process file extractions and reports:
FFELP PARTICIPANTS List of ISAC's Participating Lenders Available for FFELP Student Loan Borrowers There are several factors for borrowers to take into consideration when choosing a lender, such as whether a lender discounts or pays the federal loan fees, or if rebates or other special discounts are offered for making a series of consecutive, on-time payments. As a guarantor of federal student loans, it is ISAC's policy to pay half of the federally-mandated 1% default fee on behalf of the borrower. Lenders that have agreed to pay the other half of the default fee on behalf of the borrower are identified with an asterisk (*) on the List of ISAC's Participating Lenders. Student loan borrowers should be encouraged to select lenders - whether from the list at collegezone.com or another source - based on which one(s) best meet their individual needs.
Revised Stafford and PLUS MPN Addenda and PLDs and New Addendum for Federal Consolidation A/PN Now Available Implementation of Revised Documents Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) participants should note the following:
The revised documents are now available for partners via the Order Materials area at collegezone.com.
Latest School DAAR Report Available The Notification of Student Loan Borrower DAAR Status report (School DAAR Report) for your school is now available on College Zone's My Zone. This online version has replaced the paper rosters ISAC sent in the past. The School DAAR Report is non-cumulative and is available twice a month to those institutions with students for whom ISAC, as the guarantor, has received a Default Aversion Assistance Request (DAAR) during the reporting time period. Each time a new School DAAR Report is made available online, an e-Message will be sent to the "FFELP Participants" e-Messaging subscription group. Accessing School DAAR Reports at My Zone My Zone is a portal available in the FAA Zone at collegezone.com that allows postsecondary schools online access to student-specific data in a secure environment. If you have not yet signed up to participate in My Zone, proceed to the FAA Zone front page and select the My Zone Quick Link. For complete information and instructions to access your school's DAAR Report, proceed to the FAA Zone front page and select the My Zone Quick Link in the right margin of the page. ISAC UPDATE GROUP Electronic ISAC Update for December 2007 Available at College Zone Topics covered in the December 2007 ISAC Update include:
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