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May 2008
Welcome to the May 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 May. 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 ED Releases Details of Plan to Ensure Access to Federal Student Loans The U.S. Department of Education (ED) on Wednesday, May 21st, issued a letter to Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) lenders from Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings outlining ED's plan for ensuring continued student and parent access to federal student loans. The letter outlines ED's four-step approach to meeting the current challenges faced by the student loan industry. The steps include:
We encourage all FFELP participants to take a few moments to review the letter to learn the details of the steps listed above. A link to the letter is available in collegezone.com's e-Library, #11, Federal Information through the Electronic Announcements link.
Workforce Reduction at ISAC As part of ongoing re-engineering and belt-tightening efforts at ISAC, a second workforce reduction is currently underway. This reduction is impacting fewer positions than the one which took place last fall, and is the result of efforts to streamline our operations to better serve students, families and taxpayers. ISAC remains focused on students and families of Illinois as they pursue their higher educational goals. We will continue to work toward fulfilling our mission of making college affordable for Illinois students.
Financial Aid 101: Building a Solid Foundation - June 2008 Workshops
If you are interested in attending one of these Financial Aid 101 Workshops, please send an e-mail to Kim Eck, Training Coordinator, at keck@isac.org indicating which session you would like to attend. Seating at each site is limited, so please register early. Details regarding directions, parking, etc. will be provided to registered participants via e-mail a few days prior to the workshop.
New State Legislative Update Posted Highlights of activity that has occurred since our last Update include the release by the governor's office of funds appropriated to the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) for reimbursement to community colleges for the FY08 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) shortfall, and the possible recision of appropriated FY08 funds to higher education. Additionally, Committee meetings are taking place this week on four ISAC-related bills - see HB4567, HB5905, SB1908 and SB1923 for details. As always, we caution you that all bills included in the Update are not yet final and there is still a great deal of negotiation to occur that could impact the final outcome. The State Legislative Update can be accessed through College Zone's e-Library, #13, ISAC Announcements, Press Releases & State Legislative Updates. We will notify you when a new Update is posted.
2007-08 Program Close-out Update, Including ING Grant Spring Term Proration Rate Dates and Reminders
* Note that, for MAP and the IIA Program, July 1st is the last date to submit adjustments that will increase an award. Cancellations and adjustments to previously-paid awards that decrease an award (i.e., result in refunds) will continue to be accepted and processed via MAPnet through (including) July 25th.
Due to funding shortfalls, ISAC must prorate all 2007-08 ING Grant Program timely second and/or third term claims. Timely Second or Third Term ING Grant Claims Will Be Prorated at 72.64% Following the priorities by which claims are to be paid, ISAC has paid 2007-08 timely (in-district and out-of-district) claims for first term at 100% of the claims. Not enough funds remain to pay the timely second or third term claims at 100%. Therefore, these claims must be prorated at 72.64% (i.e., $72.64 will be paid for every $100.00 of eligibility). [Note: As has been done in past years, we are using a more specific proration rate (calculated to the nearest one hundredth of a percent) in order to optimize the remaining funds that are available for the 2007-08 ING Grant Program. A proration rate over 72.64% would overspend the remaining money, while a lower rate would underspend it.] For the 2007-08 academic year, the institution will be responsible for a percentage (27.36%) of each eligible student's ING Grant timely second or third term award, and will be responsible for 100% of all eligible students' summer claims and late claims (i.e., claims that were submitted after the due dates for each term's claims). 2007-08 ING Grant payment vouchers, along with an Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Spring Term Claim Proration Worksheet (2007-08 Academic Year), will be sent to schools in the coming weeks. These documents will state the prorated amount paid to the institution for 2007-08 ING Grant spring term claims. Proration Status Update for Other 2007-08 Gift Assistance Programs The following outlines the current proration status for other 2007-08 gift assistance programs administered by ISAC.
Reconciliation Reminders You are encouraged to finalize reconciliation activities on your campus, and report all cancellations as soon as possible, by following the cancellation guidance provided in the Processes section of the FAA Zone. Payments must be reconciled on a student-by-student basis. If you have already finalized reconciliation activities for MAP and/or IIA and find that you need to return funds to ISAC, please follow the Returning Program Funds To ISAC guidance in the Processes section of the FAA Zone. Late Claims Promptly returning any amounts due to ISAC after a final reconciliation will assist in the decision making process regarding the release of MAP and IIA late claims. Appropriation balances (which are impacted by the return of program funds) continue to be monitored as decisions concerning releasing payment of MAP and/or IIA late claims are being considered.
Important Dates, Including Close-out of 2007-08 Gift Assistance Programs 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 other announcements, including close-out of 2007-08 ISAC-administered gift assistance programs HOLIDAY SCHEDULES Processing schedules for Memorial Day and Independence Day holidays UPDATES All links in this section launch pages located at collegezone.com. 2007-08 Processing (Includes Close-out Information) May 16th: 2007-08 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Payment Claims Due Eligibility Certification/Payment Request Rosters for the 2007-08 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program are due on or before May 16, 2008. Further details are available at the Payment Procedures for the Byrd Scholarship section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area. May 25th: 2007-08 IVG Spring Term Payment Claims Due 2007-08 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program spring term payment claims are due on or before May 25, 2008. Although schools will not be reimbursed for spring term awards or late claims, payment requests must be submitted to ISAC so eligibility units can be assessed to students' accounts. June 1st: 2007-08 MAP and IIA Program Payment Claims Due 2007-08 Monetary Award Program (MAP) and Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program payment claims (for third quarter, and for second semester at institutions where the second semester begins after February 15th) are due on or before June 1, 2008. June 5th: Last Date 2007-08 ISIR Data Will Be Accepted June 5, 2008 will be the last day 2007-08 Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) data will be accepted for MAP and the IIA Program. Any 2007-08 ISIR data received at ISAC on or after June 6th will not be loaded to MAPnet or ISAC's mainframe system, and no application receipt acknowledgement letters will be provided to applicants from ISAC after this date. June 15th: 2007-08 STS Second Semester/Third Quarter Payment Claims Due 2007-08 Student to Student (STS) Program of Matching Grants second semester/third quarter payment claims are due on or before June 15, 2008. Payment of second semester/second or third quarter claims will occur after this date, once we have determined what proration factor, if any, will be necessary for STS Program awards for these terms. If proration is necessary, then no late claims will be paid. July 1st: Final Close-out Date for 2007-08 ISAC Gift Assistance Programs With the exception of the Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Program (see the May 16th entry of this section, above, for information regarding the Byrd Honors Program), all submissions of 2007-08 payment requests (including initial claims and supplemental claims) for ISAC-administered gift assistance programs must be received on or before July 1, 2008 (click on the following links to access payment information for each program):
Continue to visit the Program News sections for individual gift assistance programs, and watch for future e-Messages, for status updates and operational details (including both the 2007-08 and 2008-09 academic years). July 25th: Last Date to Submit 2007-08 MAP and IIA Changes The deadline to submit 2007-08 cancellations, refunds, or reductions via MAPnet for MAP and the IIA Program is 7 p.m. on July 25, 2008. August 1st: 2007-08 MAPnet Application Available for Historical View Only The MAPnet application for 2007-08 becomes available for only historical view on August 1, 2008. Reconciliation Reminders You are encouraged to finalize reconciliation activities on your campus, and report all cancellations as soon as possible, by following the cancellation guidance provided in the Processes section of the FAA Zone. Payments must be reconciled on a student-by-student basis. Due to the offset process for MAP, the IIA Program and the IVG Program, funds should be returned to ISAC only after a final reconciliation has been completed to close-out the regular school year. Letters detailing the outstanding amount each institution must refund to ISAC for MAP and IIA for the 2007-08 academic year will be mailed to financial aid directors this summer. 2008-09 Processing June 1st: 2008-09 Budget Packets Due On or before June 1, 2008, all participating Illinois schools must submit either a 2008-09 Gift Assistance Budget Packet [to report budget data for the MAP, IVG and Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant programs] or a 2008-09 Monetary Award Program Budget Packet (to report budget data for MAP only). The budget packets, along with accompanying instructions and documentation, may be accessed online via the Budget Reporting - MAP, IVG & ING area within the Processes section of the FAA Zone. July 15th: 2008-09 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Eligibility Certification Forms Due Byrd Scholars must return the Eligibility Certification document to ISAC on or before July 15, 2008, so that their colleges will be able to request payment on their behalf for the fall term. Further details are provided at the Award Determination and Notification for the Byrd Scholarship page. Upcoming Commission Meeting The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will take place on Friday, June 27, 2008, at Carl Sandburg College in Galesburg. 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. Dates and locations for all meetings scheduled in 2008 are available at the e-Library's Commission Meeting Schedule page. Agenda and meeting schedule information can also be accessed by selecting the link that appears beneath the "Resource Center" heading at the College Zone home page. HOLIDAY SCHEDULES A complete listing of 2008 holidays on which ISAC staff will be unavailable is provided at the ISAC Events Calendar. May 26th: Memorial Day July 4th: Independence Day In observance of the Memorial Day and Independence Day holidays, ISAC offices will be closed on Monday, May 26, 2008, and on Friday, July 4, 2008, respectively. Our offices will reopen on the first business day 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 holidays that fall 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). For holidays falling on a Friday, CommonLine or CAM files will be processed on the following Monday, with results available on Tuesday (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 last business day immediately preceding each respective holiday. MAP payment requests submitted from 5 p.m. (CT) the preceding business day through 5 p.m. (CT) the first business day following each holiday will be processed the evening of that first business day, and payment results will be available via MAPnet the next morning. For example: with the Independence Day holiday, payment requests submitted from 5 p.m. (CT) on Thursday, July 3rd through 5 p.m. on Monday, July 7th will be processed on Monday night, and payment results will be available via MAPnet the morning of Tuesday, July 8th. 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).
Continued Access to Student Loans At the recent ILASFAA Annual Conference, ISAC Executive Director Andy Davis assured attendees that "ISAC will continue to serve the loan needs of our Illinois students". Although we no doubt have made that commitment to the financial aid community on many other occasions throughout our long partnership, this year it carried particular significance due to the environment of uncertainty about the availability of student loans. Andy made the commitment prior to the passage of H.R. 5715, and now with the bill's passage, ISAC continues to take steps to ensure uninterrupted access to FFELP loans for students and families in Illinois. One of the provisions in the H.R. 5715 involves the Lender-of-Last-Resort (LLR) Program and requires that ED designate guaranty agencies such as ISAC to act as lenders of last resort for schools unable to obtain a lender(s) to make loans to a significant number of its students. In addition to making preparations for ISAC to serve as an ultimate lender of last resort, we are working with our lending partners to respond to the ED directive that all guaranty agencies have an approved, up-to-date Lender-of-Last-Resort Program in place. The directive requires ISAC to survey lenders to identify those willing to serve as lenders of last resort for ISAC-guaranteed FFELP loans. Additional information about these topics is available in the e-Library of collegezone.com. An overview of H.R. 5715 can be found in the Federal Information section. Andy's complete remarks made at the 2008 ILASFAA Conference, along with the PowerPoint presentation for the ISAC Update, are available in the Presentations section under Conference Handouts & Presentations. Return to Top FINANCIAL AID ADMINISTRATORS Comparison of Teacher Education Programs Chart Updated An updated Comparison of Teacher Education Programs chart, with information about ISAC's teacher programs, as well as the new federal TEACH Grant, is available at collegezone.com. The chart is located in the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area of the FAA Zone under each respective program - Illinois Future Teacher Corps, Minority Teachers of Illinois and Illinois Special Education Teacher Tuition Waiver, and through a link in the Other Programs, Federal Programs (TEACH Grant) area. The chart is in pdf format and can be printed, copied and maintained for your own use and/or distributed to your students who are considering becoming teachers. Students can also access the chart through various areas of the Student Zone of collegezone.com. BUSINESS OFFICER Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange Informational Sessions - Register Now Dates & Locations: May 20, 2008 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIU-E), 70 Hairpin Dr., Edwardsville, IL 62026 Morris University Center - MUC Maple, Dogwood Room Campus Map May 22, 2008 Northern Illinois University (NIU), 201 Carroll Avenue, DeKalb, IL 60115 Holmes Student Center Sky Room Campus Map Whether your high school has already signed up or is not yet participating in the Illinois Electronic Transcript Exchange program, if you would like more information on this service, all are welcome to attend. How to Register Registration will only be accepted via e-mail. Please send an e-mail to ILTE@isac.org, indicating in the subject line the location you plan to attend. In the e-mail, please include the following information for every person you are registering:
Continental breakfast will be provided, and registration begins at 9 a.m. We look forward to seeing you at one of our upcoming informational sessions. FFELP PARTICIPANTS ISAC System Changes to Accommodate New Loan Program Rules The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008, which was signed into law on May 7th, increases loan limits for unsubsidized Stafford loans first disbursed on or after July 1, 2008. ISAC's systems will be ready to accept and process requests for guaranty with these higher limits as of June 9, 2008. Loan requests for the new higher amounts submitted prior to June 9th will be held until the new limits are implemented on ISAC's system. Upon implementation of the new limits, held records will be processed and the results of the guaranty forwarded to partners via CommonLine. Details regarding the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 may be accessed via a May 7, 2008 update, located on the Federal Information page at collegezone.com. Extended Period of Enrollment As a result of the U.S. Department of Education's 2007 Negotiated Rulemaking process, loan periods (once limited to a maximum of 12 months) may now exceed 12 months. ISAC's system will be ready to accommodate this change for any requests for guaranty received on or after June 5, 2008. Partners submitting requests for guaranty on loans with loan periods of more than 12 months prior to ISAC's system being ready will see those loans rejected, and will need to resubmit the loan request after June 5th.
ED Issues DCL on Preferred Lender Lists Included among the information contained in the DCL is direction to schools unable to identify at least three lenders to fulfill the preferred lender list requirement, a clarification of the number of lenders that must be unaffiliated on the list, and information about ED's willingness to take into consideration a school's lack of control over lenders on their preferred lender list that may decide to discontinue making loans to a school's students and parents. We encourage all FFELP participants to take a few moments to review DCL GEN-08-06, FP-08-06.
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. 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 April 2008 Available at College Zone Topics covered in the April 2008 ISAC Update include:
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