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September 2009
Welcome to the September 2009 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 September. 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 Online Student Loan Counseling Among Mapping Your Future Products and Services to be Unavailable October 10th-11th Please share this information with your student loan borrowers who need to complete online counseling sessions so that they can plan their schedules accordingly. The following products and services will be unavailable on October 10th and October 11th:
Weekly maintenance, when required, is normally conducted on the Mapping Your Future Web site on Mondays, between 4 a.m. and 6 a.m. (CT). Analysis of usage statistics and bandwidth consumption has determined that the site has the least amount of traffic during this time so, in order to minimize service disruption, staff typically use this period to perform Mapping Your Future network upgrades and repairs. If you have questions, please contact Mapping Your Future.
MAPnet Unavailable After 7 p.m. Thursday, September 24th As was previously announced, reduced funding for the 2009-10 Monetary Award Program (MAP) necessitated modifications to the MAPnet system to allow for the "front loading" of awards. Subsequently, programming changes to accommodate the limited shutdown of Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) corrections were also required. ISAC is now ready to implement both of these system changes in MAPnet. Consequently, the 2009-10 MAPnet system will be unavailable beginning at 7 p.m., Thursday, September 24th and continuing until further notice. Once verification of the system modifications has been completed, we will send a message to the "MAPnet Users" e-Messaging subscription group to announce that MAPnet is once again available. At that point, all 2009-10 ISIR data received from the Central Processing System between September 1st and September 28th (inclusive) will be reflected in MAPnet.
Summary of September 18th Commission Meeting - MAP & IIA Priority Payment Claim Deadline Date Approved The following are highlights from the September 18th regular meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC). FY2010 MAP and IIA Priority Payment Claim Deadline Date Approved (Agenda Item 6) The fiscal year 2010 (FY2010) priority payment claim deadline date for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) and the Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program was approved as January 10, 2010 for the 1st semester or quarter. The 2nd term (and 3rd term if additional funding is appropriated) priority payment dates will be determined at a later time. Other Commission Meeting Agenda Items Additionally, the Commission approved the following items as part of the agenda:
A listing of all agenda items discussed during the meeting is provided in the September 18th Agenda Book, which can be accessed from the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission page at collegezone.com. Also as part of the agenda, the Commission heard testimony from members of the public regarding the impact of reduced MAP funding. Ten current college students, along with two college administrators, shared personal experiences and related how the situation is impacting their lives and creating the need to re-evaluate future plans. The Commission reiterated to those present the importance of their involvement in persuading lawmakers to produce a revenue solution aimed at restoring full-year MAP awards. Concerned parties interested in becoming involved in the campaign can use the resources available at the saveillinoismapgrants.org Web site. Recorded testimony from the Commission meeting will be accessible through the Web site. Next Meeting The next regularly scheduled Commission meeting is set for Friday, November 13, 2009 at North Central College in Naperville.
Updated Payment Processing Schedule for 2009-10 MAP, IIA, Byrd and TESP Under the revised schedule, it is anticipated that payment processing will be as follows:
Thank you for your patience and for your support of ISAC and its programs.
2009-10 TESP Payment Request Rosters Available at My Zone Please note the following:
Reminder to Regularly View and/or Update Data In order to ensure timely claims processing, be sure to submit electronic payment requests via the TESP Payment Online system on a regular basis throughout the academic year. ISAC anticipates generating TESP payment roster data each Wednesday night during the 2009-10 processing cycle. Consequently, colleges should check TESP Payment Online every Thursday morning to see if they have new rosters available. 2009-10 TESP awards were announced in August. Due to previously-announced budget reductions, it is anticipated that no subsequent awarding will take place for these programs for the 2009-10 academic year. However, please be sure to continue completing and submitting Initial Certifications throughout the year, in order to ensure that applicants will receive the appropriate notifications (i.e., "Notice of Ineligibility" or "Eligible - Unavailable Funds") from ISAC. Instructions Available Online More information regarding TESP Payment Online, including detailed instructions, is available via the following locations at collegezone.com:
Individuals who have been accessing TESP certification and notification data in My Zone can now view the TESP payment screens via TESP Payment Online. It's important to note, however, that the security level for a staff person to request, edit or update TESP payment claims must be set to Level 3 ("Cert Update, Award View, Payment Update") by the My Zone administrator at each college. The My Zone administrator should set user access to Level 1 ("Cert View, Award View, Payment View") for staff who will not be involved in requesting payment, but need to view TESP certification, notification and payment information. Questions? If college staff or My Zone administrators have problems gaining access to TESP Payment Online, or have questions regarding the online system, they should contact ISAC's School Services Department as indicated below.
Message from ISAC's Executive Director Since January 2007, when I became Executive Director of ISAC, our agency and our industry have experienced significant changes at an unprecedented rate. In working with the Commissioners and ISAC staff, we have been taking steps to make the organization more agile, effective, and efficient to ensure that ISAC fulfills its mission of making college accessible and affordable for all Illinois students well into the future. To that end, ISAC will be experiencing another workforce reduction of approximately 15 percent by the end of the first quarter of 2010. We currently employ 381 people at our offices in Chicago, Deerfield and Springfield. The position eliminations will come from both the top and bottom of the organization - principal administrative appointments as well as civil service positions will be affected. The reorganization will occur in two phases with the first beginning in mid-September and the second phase taking place during the first quarter of 2010 as ISAC completes restructuring and consolidating IDAPP servicing operations to a single third-party servicer. These necessary measures will save the agency well over $1 million a year. Because you are key partners in helping ISAC achieve its mission, I wanted to send this message rather than have you simply read a general press release on the matter. I think it's important for you to know that while these organizational changes are taking place, we understand that the need for our services has never been greater, and these changes will help our agency remain successful in fulfilling our mission efficiently and effectively. The Commission will continue to focus on five core areas of operations: research, planning and policy analysis; program services (scholarships & grants administration); college access and outreach; College Illinois!® 529 prepaid tuition; and student lending. I'm especially excited about the new offering from our College Access and Outreach division - the ISACorps - as it significantly increases our field presence throughout the state to engage students, parents, and community members in college planning and preparedness programs. I know many of your own organizations are experiencing fiscal and budgetary issues and making hard decisions as ISAC has had to. In addition to the staff reductions mentioned above, we are also adding three furlough days in which the agency will be closed, beginning with November 25 and December 24 of this year and a date to be determined in the first quarter of 2010. These dates were selected to minimize impact on students and schools, and this additional shared sacrifice will spare approximately six to eight additional jobs. In addition to our internal issues at ISAC, we are also actively engaged with the Save Illinois MAP Grants campaign. I thank the many partners that have reached out to ISAC to work collaboratively to restore funding for this critically important student assistance program. Please visit saveillinoismapgrants.org on a regular basis for updated information. Andy Davis Executive Director
ISAC Launches Illinois Student Assistance Corps Starting this fall, nearly 60 near-peer mentors will be assigned across the state to bolster ISAC's services to help students and families understand the college going process. With the Corps members recruited from the undergraduate class of 2009, their insights on the challenges of going to and paying for college will be very valuable in guiding students on the path to college. The overview and contact document provides additional information on the ISACorps and why its mission is so vital to creating greater access to higher education in Illinois. It also includes contact information for the ISACorps member located in your community. If you want to learn more about the ISACorps or opportunities for collaboration, please e-mail us at Corps@isac.org.
Commission Meeting to be Held Friday, September 18, 2009 Some of the items on the tentative agenda for the meeting are:
There are no plans for a conference call briefing following this meeting. * Members of the public are invited to provide testimony at the Commission meeting about the impact of reduced funding for MAP. If unable to do so, concerned parties are encouraged to write, e-mail, call or visit their state legislators. The saveillinoismapgrants.org Web site is the source for updates to the MAP funding issue, including templates and other resources. Testimony from the hearing will be available on the Web site following the meeting.
Save Illinois MAP Grants A severe revenue shortfall has resulted in approximately 138,000 MAP grant recipients receiving only half of the amount originally announced. The available funds will be distributed for the fall term only; no funds are currently available for spring term awards. That could change with action by the State Legislature to restore funding. As part of the Save Illinois MAP Grants campaign, a new Web site, http://www.saveillinoismapgrants.org/, was launched to serve as the overall hub for campaign-related activities. Not only will the site announce all scheduled events in which concerned citizens can participate, there are also resources available for use in calling, writing or visiting your legislators to encourage their pursuit and support of restoring funding for MAP. The site will also contain media coverage event details, an online petition, and resources for students, parents, educators and communities participating in this effort. We very much look forward to your support throughout this extremely worthwhile campaign. Please share your concern about the reduced MAP funding with your legislators, family, friends and other higher education advocates. Use the resources available on the Save Illinois MAP Grants Web site to make your voices heard. Also, be sure to visit the Web site on a regular basis to stay up-to-date on the activities and events as the campaign progresses.
Constitution Day Resources Available at College Zone The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) provides resources to help develop programs for the annual observance of Constitution Day. Access the Student Zone's Constitution Day Resources page via the Constitution and Citizenship Day document that is located in the e-Library's Job Aids & Reference Materials area at collegezone.com.
MAPNET USERS 2009-10 MAP and IIA Program Payment Processing Available ISAC is pleased to announce that the 2009-10 payment processing cycle has begun, including MAPnet and File Transfer Protocol (FTP) requests for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) and the Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program. All 2009-10 Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) data received from the Central Processing System (CPS) between September 1st and September 29th (inclusive) is reflected in MAPnet. Schools may now begin sending payment requests for both programs. Important Information Regarding 2009-10 Payment Processing Reduced 2009-10 MAP funding necessitated modifications to the MAPnet system to allow for the "front loading" of awards. Semester schools will see term eligible amounts in the first term; the second term will show zero. Quarter schools will see term eligible amounts in the first and second terms, with the third term showing zero. For IIA, students are eligible for fall term awards only. Students will receive one payment of $250 for IIA in 2009-10. As was explained in an August 28th e-Message, programming changes to accommodate the limited shutdown of ISIR corrections were also required. A "Z" code will appear in the MAPnet "Shutdown" field for impacted records. When preparing 2009-10 payment requests, schools are encouraged to keep in mind the previously-announced MAP and IIA Program suspension dates. ISAC has suspended the announcement of MAP grants for all students whose initial 2009-10 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was received by the CPS on or after May 15th, and the announcement of IIA Program grants has been suspended for all students whose initial 2009-10 FAFSA was received by the CPS on or after April 18th. At the September 18th meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, the fiscal year 2010 (FY2010) priority payment claim deadline date for MAP and the IIA Program was approved as January 10, 2010 for the 1st semester or quarter. The 2nd term (and 3rd term if additional funding is appropriated) priority payment dates will be determined at a later time. Resources Available Online Details regarding the MAP and IIA Program payment processing cycle will soon be available within the Payment section of the MAPnet User Guide, as well as the MAP Payment and IIA Payment sections of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area at collegezone.com. In order to remain up-to-date on each program, please continue to refer to Program News for MAP and IIA within the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area.
FFELP PARTICIPANTS 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 August 2009 Available at College Zone Topics covered in the August 2009 ISAC Update include:
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