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April 2009 - June 2009
Welcome to the April - June 2009 electronic ISAC Communiqué, which is a quarterly compilation of e-Messages sent through College Zone’s e-Messaging service throughout April, May and June. This e-Messaging service has replaced both printed newsletters and special e-mail lists as ISAC’s primary means of communicating information to you. The articles in this electronic Communiqué have been organized according to the Counselor Zone subscription groups to which the messages were distributed via College Zone’s e-Messaging service. Questions? Questions regarding information in this electronic Communiqué 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 Choices® Explorer + Choices® Planner + IllinoisMentor = WhatsNextIllinois.org WhatsNextIllinois.org will be a comprehensive, fully integrated, interactive one-stop career and college planning resource representing the combined best of Choices® Planner career exploration modules, IllinoisMentor college planning and financing tools, and the Choices® Explorer career exploration suite for middle schools. If you are currently using or considering Choices® Explorer, Choices® Planner, and/or IllinoisMentor, please contact Abel Montoya (amontoya@isac.org) for further information about the new Web portal functionality and an estimated timeline for statewide implementation of WhatsNextIllinois.org. Watch for more information about WhatsNextIllinois.org as the summer progresses.
Projected FY2010 Budget Impact On State-Funded ISAC Programs However, absent new revenues and facing a substantial budget deficit, state cuts will need to be made, resulting in appropriation reductions in education, social services and other vital programs. In this budget scenario, ISAC’s appropriation for college scholarships and grants would be cut from $440 million to $220 million with a 25 percent reserve, leaving $165 million for scholarships and grants for the 2009-10 academic year. At the June 26th Commission meeting at University of Illinois at Chicago, ISAC staff will recommend that MAP, the state's largest need-based grant program for college students, receive 97.3 percent of these dollars and make awards for the fall term at an 83 percent funding level. Likewise, the Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) program, which provides small grants to the lowest income students for school supplies, would be funded at a level that allows for fall term only awards. No other scholarships, grants, or loan repayment/forgiveness programs administered by ISAC would be funded for the entire 2010 fiscal year. These include: Bonus Incentive Grant (BIG) * Although entitlement programs for students, funding would not be available through ISAC. ISAC advocates providing MAP and IIA awards in the fall term to give students more time to make alternative financial arrangements for the second half of the academic year. Many of these students will be forced to use private loans, if they are able to qualify for them in a very difficult credit market, and will pay a significantly higher interest rate. We know that educational achievement is closely linked to economic progress. Obviously, cuts to these vital programs in a time of record need would be catastrophic for the college aspirations of the neediest of our citizens and the future prosperity of our state. While the Commission hopes a common-sense budget that is fair to the taxpayers and provides Illinois with vital education funding will still come about, ISAC must plan on operating with reduced appropriations resulting in drastic cuts in needed programs. The Projected FY2010 Budget Impact On State-Funded ISAC Programs, categorized by school, illustrates the effect of those appropriation reductions on Illinois students. If you would like the General Assembly to make student financial aid a priority in allocating state resources for FY2010, contact your legislators. Contact information may be found at the General Assembly's Web site. Click on the "Legislator Lookup" link at the lower right side of the home page if you need to find out who represents you, or simply click on "Members" and the names of your State Senator and Representatives to find their contact information in Springfield.
Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Important Dates Sign Up for HSSP Electronic Delivery System Sixth Semester Data for 2010-11 HSSP Cycle Accepted through September 30th As was announced in an April 21st e-Message, all Illinois high schools are encouraged to make the most efficient use of available staff and financial resources by participating in the HSSP Electronic Delivery System, which provides a means to electronically submit sixth semester student data to ISAC. This process will also allow your high school to send electronic transcripts to colleges, if your school chooses to utilize that function. There is still time to sign-up and participate in the HSSP Electronic Delivery System for the 2010-11 processing cycle. Contact School Services at 866.247.2172, or via e-mail at schoolservices@isac.org, for more details on participating in the HSSP Electronic Delivery process. The goal is for all Illinois high schools to transmit student scholar data electronically, soon making it the only method by which this data is submitted to ISAC. ISAC is currently accepting school-generated sixth semester data from high schools. This data, which is used to determine eligibility for State Scholar, Merit Recognition Scholarship (MRS), and Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship programs [collectively referred to as the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP)] for students who will be college freshmen during the 2010-11 academic year, must be submitted to ISAC on or before September 30, 2009, in order to prevent ISAC from generating a roster at a later date. Visit the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP) section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area for future updates. June 26th: Next Commission Meeting The next regularly scheduled meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission will take place on Friday, June 26, 2009, at the University of Illinois at 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. Dates and locations for all meetings scheduled in 2009 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. July 15th: 2009-10 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship Eligibility Certification Forms Due Remind your graduating Byrd Scholars that they must return the Eligibility Certification document to ISAC on or before July 15, 2009, 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. Holiday Schedules May 25th: Memorial Day Holiday Due to the Memorial Day holiday, ISAC offices will be closed on Monday, May 25th and will reopen on Tuesday, May 26th. July 3rd: Independence Day Holiday Due to the Independence Day holiday, ISAC offices will be closed on Friday, July 3rd and will reopen on Monday, July 6th. 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). Return to Top
Take Advantage of New Electronic Delivery Process for Upcoming High School Scholarship Programs Cycle Note that, as part of our continuing efforts to conserve environmental and financial resources, this e-Message replaces the overview letter that had been mailed to high schools in prior years. Please share this information with any colleagues who may not yet be registered for College Zone's e-Messaging service, and encourage them to sign up today in order to ensure that they receive future announcements from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). New Cycle for HSSP (Determining Eligibility for 2010-11 College Freshmen) ISAC is currently accepting sixth semester data* from high schools, which is used in determining eligibility for students who will be college freshmen during the 2010-11 academic year. The primary goal for this 2010-11 processing cycle is to announce State Scholars before Thanksgiving. We realize how important these announcements can be to your college-bound students, and we want them to know as soon as possible if they have been selected. In order for ISAC to achieve the goal of announcing State Scholars prior to the 2009 Thanksgiving holiday, students' academic information must be reported to ISAC as early as possible. Because the HSSP Electronic Delivery Process can help you submit sixth semester data in a manner that is much easier and more convenient than working with paper rosters, it is a valuable resource to help us all reach this important goal. Sign Up for the HSSP Electronic Delivery System Today! Now is the perfect time to sign up and take advantage of the HSSP Electronic Delivery System process. Join your colleagues from other Illinois high schools that participated in last year's HSSP Electronic Delivery System program, and whose feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The goal is for all Illinois high schools to transmit student scholar data electronically, soon making it the only method by which this data is submitted to ISAC. Why wait to benefit from this innovative and time-saving program? Contact School Services to sign up today, either by phone (at 866.247.2172) or via e-mail (at schoolservices@isac.org). Reminder: High schools that are already utilizing the HSSP Electronic Delivery System must update their school profiles each year. Instructions for updating the school profile are provided in the HSSP Electronic Delivery System Quick Reference Guide, which can be accessed via the Illinois Electronic Data Exchange Resources section of the e-Library's Job Aids & Reference Materials area at collegezone.com. School-Generated Sixth Semester Data Accepted through September 30, 2009 In order to avoid receiving an ISAC-generated paper roster in October, be sure to submit your school-generated sixth semester data on or before September 30, 2009. Special care should be taken to ensure that only sixth semester data is submitted (sixth semester is defined as the third semester prior to graduation). * As a reminder for schools submitting paper rosters, sixth semester data is to be reported for only those students in the top 50% of the class. This means that, if a school ranks, rankings should be provided for the top 50% of students. If a school does not rank, unweighted grade point averages (GPAs) should be provided for the top 50% of students. In addition, all schools (both ranking and non-ranking) must provide unweighted GPAs for any student who has an Illinois Standard Test Score (ISTS) of 31 or greater (this data is used in the determination of Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholarship awards). Information Available Online Instructions regarding the submission of school-generated sixth semester information, including required data and requested disqualification codes, are provided at the School-Generated Roster page of the Required Sixth Semester Data area at collegezone.com. Information regarding the delivery process and timeframes for the 2010-11 HSSP cycle is also available. Access these resources from within the High School Scholarship Programs (HSSP) section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area. Current Cycle for HSSP (Determining Eligibility for 2009-10 College Freshmen) By May 1st - 2009-10 Robert C. Byrd Honors Scholars will be announced. At this time, we do not anticipate that the MRS Program will be funded. Consequently, we are not currently planning to generate any potential rosters or award notifications for the 2009-10 MRS Program. Look for further information regarding anticipated HSSP activities by frequently reviewing the Program News section of the HSSP area, and also watch for future e-Messages.
Don't Forget - Money Smart Week Chicago (April 18-25, 2009) As a follow-up to our March 30th e-Message, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) would like to remind you that Money Smart Week Chicago 2009 will take place next week (April 18th – 25th). ISAC Communiqué New ISAC Communiqué Available at College Zone Topics covered in this electronic Communiqué include:
Electronic newsletters are available at the beginning of each quarter (January, April, July, and October), and are the compilation of information announced via an e-Message to any of the Counselor Zone subscription groups during the previous quarter. Encourage Your Colleagues to Sign Up for e-Messaging College Zone's e-Messaging service has replaced printed newsletters and special e-mail lists as ISAC's primary means of communicating information to Counselor Zone partners. Encourage your colleagues to visit the College Zone Counselor e-Messaging Sign-up page today, so that they won't miss any future announcements or updates from ISAC. |
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© 2003-2009 Illinois Student Assistance Commission
