|
 |
6/30/2008
At its June 27th meeting, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) approved the 2008-09 Monetary Award Program (MAP) recompute formula, based on the anticipated fiscal year (FY) 2009 budget. Also approved was a revision in the default fee policy for Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) loans guaranteed by ISAC on or after July 15, 2008.
2008-09 MAP Recompute Formula (Agenda Item 12)
Each year, ISAC is responsible for adopting an allocation formula for MAP. Typically, once the governor and General Assembly take action on the budget (which, as of the time of this message, remains unresolved), the Commission revisits the MAP formula and approves a "recompute" formula that is updated from the formula used at start-up.
Although a state budget has not yet been approved, the budget proposal that was sent to the governor in late May appropriated an additional $18 million to MAP for including FY2005 tuition and fees in the allocation formula. However, the $18 million may not withstand expected budget cuts to eliminate a projected statewide budget deficit. Due to the uncertainty associated with the MAP appropriation, and knowing that ISAC staff has consulted with the ILASFAA Formula Committee, the Commission approved the FY2009 MAP recompute formula with no changes from the start-up formula. If the final state budget does include an $18 million increase in the MAP appropriation, then a second recompute could be implemented at that time in order to incorporate FY2005 tuition and fees.
Current projections indicate that the approved formula, coupled with application volume that is higher than it was at the same time last year, may allow 2008-09 MAP award announcements to be made through late July. Note that MAP priority consideration dates remain in effect for the 2008-09 academic year. In order to receive full-year award consideration, the 2008-09 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) receipt date for continuing applicants (i.e., those applicants who submitted a FAFSA for the 2007-08 academic year) must be on or before August 15, 2008.
Details of the 2008-09 MAP recompute formula are available in Table 2: FY2009 MAP Start-Up/Recommended Recompute Formula, located on page 12-4 of Item 12 of the June 27, 2008 Agenda Book. The table also incorporates changes that would be contingent upon receiving the additional $18 million in MAP appropriations.
Watch for Further Details
Although no formula changes will be implemented, the 2008-09 MAP Formula section (which includes the 2008-09 Hand Calculation Forms and is located within the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area at collegezone.com) will soon be updated to reflect "recompute."
You will be notified via this College Zone e-Messaging service regarding when to expect system changes related to the recompute process to be reflected in MAPnet (currently expected to take place the week of July 7th), as well as once all corresponding updates have been completed at collegezone.com. At that time, we will also announce the date(s) on which the 2008-09 MAPnet system will be temporarily unavailable in order to allow for the necessary system changes to be completed.
Revised Default Fee Policy (Agenda Item 11)
The Commission approved a revised policy effective for FFELP loans guaranteed on or after July 15, 2008. For ISAC-guaranteed federal Stafford and PLUS loans, ISAC will use its Student Loan Operating Fund (SLOF) to pay one-quarter (25%) of the 1% federally-mandated default fee on behalf of the student borrower. ISAC will no longer pay any of the default fee on behalf of parents borrowing federal PLUS loans. [For loans guaranteed between December 1, 2007 and July 14, 2008, ISAC has paid one-half of the default fee on behalf of student and parent borrowers. Prior to that, and beginning in 1999, no borrower with an ISAC-guaranteed FFELP loan was required to pay any of the default fee.]
These policy changes have become necessary due to information provided in a May 21, 2008 letter from the U.S. Department of Education (ED), indicating that loans it purchases under the lender liquidity provisions of the Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008 will be transferred to the Federal Direct Student Loan Program servicer. This transfer will remove these loans from ISAC's guarantee portfolio and eliminate the revenues that would otherwise support our ability to pay a higher percentage of the default fee.
ISAC will continue to closely monitor its guarantee portfolio situation under the newly enacted lender liquidity provisions, and will keep our school and lender partners informed of new developments.
Other Commission Meeting Agenda Items
At its June 27th meeting, the following items were addressed as part of the agenda. Additional information regarding some of the items is provided in the June 27th Agenda Book, which can be accessed from the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission page at collegezone.com. Specific agenda items may also be accessed by clicking on the appropriate link(s) below.
- The Commission approved authorization for ISAC to suspend FY2009 MAP and Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program award announcements, when it becomes necessary to do so, in order to avoid overcommitting MAP and IIA appropriations. This item includes a summary of 2008-09 MAP and IIA application volume through June 6, 2008. (Agenda Item 13)
- The Commission approved and adopted the omnibus rules amendments, as modified during the rulemaking process, so that they are effective for the 2008-09 academic year. (Agenda Item 14)
- The Commission received an update regarding the status of ISAC's FFELP portfolio lender servicing.
- The Commission approved several agenda items related to the College Illinois!(SM) Prepaid Tuition Program.
|
