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VOL. 24, NO. 3IGSL, 3B
September 2006
Welcome to the September 2006 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
ISAC Executive Director Larry Matejka Announces Retirement
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools - Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAPnet Users, Business Officers and FFELP Participants on September 19, 2006
In a press release issued today by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), Executive Director Larry E. Matejka announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2006. In his over 26 year tenure at the agency, Larry's extraordinary contributions to assist the students and families of Illinois in meeting their educational goals cannot possibly be measured. His tireless efforts and unwavering dedication to not only the Commission and its staff, but to all of the colleagues with whom he works, have resulted in unparalleled partnerships and enormous growth of college financial aid programs.
Please join us in wishing Larry a well-deserved and fulfilling retirement.
Commission Meeting to be Held Friday, September 29, 2006
Sent to Financial Aid Directors and Financial Aid Administrators on September 19, 2006 The next regular meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission is scheduled for September 29th at the Orland Park Campus of Saint Xavier University, located at 18230 Orland Parkway.
The tentative agenda for the meeting includes:
- 2006-07 MAP and IIA payment claim deadline dates
- Proposed rules for new ISAC programs
- Illinois Designated Account Purchase Program (IDAPP) quarterly investment report
- College Illinois! pricing
- College Illinois! money manager selection
- College Illinois! Investment Performance Report
The Agenda Book, providing the meeting's start time and the final agenda with a full description of each agenda item, will be available four to seven days prior to the meeting via the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission section of the e-Library at collegezone.com.
Executive Briefing Conference Call - October 2nd
On Monday, October 2nd, ISAC Executive Director Larry Matejka will offer an Executive Briefing Conference Call to provide an overview of the September 29th 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 1:30 p.m.
To participate, dial 888.767.9380 and enter the passcode: 9767339#.
Important Update about 2006-07 MAP Plus
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAPnet Users, and Business Officers on September 18, 2006 On September 18th, ISAC anticipates reaching the goal of awarding MAP Plus grants to 71,000 students. As a result, awards for applicants whose initial 2006-07 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) was received on or after September 19, 2006, will be held until ISAC has the necessary claim data to confirm that the goal has been met.
The application volume currently at ISAC includes sophomores, juniors and seniors with family adjusted gross incomes under $200,000 who are not receiving Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants. This includes students:
- who are not eligible for a MAP grant including those who have used more than the 75 or 135 MAP paid credit hour limits;
- who have a MAP award in suspended status;
- who are "continuing" students not receiving a MAP grant for fall term.
Student Award Announcements
If your institution has been making announcements of MAP Plus awards to students, please hold off on making any additional announcements to students whose FAFSA receipt date is September 19th and later.
Funding Information
Funding for MAP Plus is coming from restructuring or selling part of the student loan portfolio now held by ISAC/IDAPP and other efforts to maximize the revenue ISAC generates. It is anticipated that the transactions under consideration to fund the program will be completed by the end of 2006 or early 2007.
In addition, all the administrative and operational costs associated with ISAC's programs are funded through our role as a federal loan guaranty agency and secondary student loan market; the agency receives no state funding for these activities. Be assured that any reorganization, restructuring or other revenue-generating transactions approved by the Commission will not adversely affect ISAC's scholarship and grant administration, student outreach activities, or ability to provide exceptional student loan services.
MAPnet Enhanced to Include MAP Plus
Sent to Financial Aid Directors and MAPnet Users on September 14, 2006 As outlined in the September 5th e-Message regarding Monetary Award Program Plus (MAP Plus) operational information, enhancements to assist colleges in identifying students who are eligible for MAP Plus are now available through MAPnet.
Specifically, the following additions have been made:
- Three new fields have been added to the Student List Eligibility: View and the Student Detail: Eligibility screens. They are Family AGI, MAP Plus Suspend and MAP Plus Shutdown.
- A "MAP Plus Students Only" filter has been added to the Student List Eligibility: Filter screen. This option will allow users to filter the student list to include only those students meeting the MAP Plus eligibility criteria. The new option appears with the checkboxes on the bottom half of the screen.
- A new MAP Plus Eligibility Report has been added. The report lists students eligible for MAP Plus in a format that can be viewed and/or printed. This new report can be run from the Eligibility Reports menu item on the side panel.
Work continues on the MAP Plus payment processing component of MAPnet, and is still expected to be completed in the early part of October. We'll keep you informed as we move ahead with the implementation process.
Program Update Conference Calls to Be Offered This Month
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools - Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Program and MAPnet Users on September 12, 2006 The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will offer three one-hour conference calls later this month to provide an update on processing of 2006-07 gift assistance programs.
Topics to be covered during each call are:
- Monetary Award Program Plus Eligibility and Payment Information
- Monetary Award Program and Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access Program
- Teacher Programs (Minority Teachers of Illinois and Illinois Future Teacher Corps Programs)
- Military Programs (Illinois Veteran Grant and Illinois National Guard Grant Programs)
- New ISAC Programs, including the Nurse Educator Scholarship Program
Please join us on one of the following dates/times:
Tuesday, September 19 at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, September 20 at 2 p.m.
Thursday, September 21 at 10 a.m.
The toll-free number for the conference calls is: 888.767.9380 and the passcode is: 9767339#. Registration for the conference calls is not required.
Play Your Cards Right: Don't Gamble with Your Credit - National Credit Education Week
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Business Officers and FFELP Participants on September 11, 2006
To boost awareness across the state regarding personal finance and consumer debt, Governor Blagojevich will join a national effort by proclaiming the week of September 18th as National Credit Education Week in Illinois. As an extension of our default prevention outreach campaign, ISAC invites you to participate in the week-long program - Play Your Cards Right: Don't Gamble with Your Credit - which is sponsored by the Association of Credit and Collection Professionals.
Activities include displaying the Play Your Cards Right poster in your organization and having your students take the Credit Challenge Quiz (which can be accessed via the Student Zone Message Board at collegezone.com), accessing the online versions of Credit Card Smarts (includes links to information in Spanish) and Parent Smarts, and scheduling a Personal Finance presentation with the Default Prevention Outreach department. These activities are designed to promote consumer education with respect to using credit cautiously, spending money wisely, and paying bills promptly - practices which are especially important in the prevention of student loan default. A press release regarding National Credit Education Week activities is available at the College Zone Web site.
As a reminder, this is a good time of year to consider reordering ISAC Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP) default prevention outreach awareness materials for use during fall entrance counseling sessions. Materials can be ordered online at collegezone.com. ISAC's default prevention outreach, financial literacy information, as well as other outreach services and activities, are funded through ISAC's role as a federal student loan guaranty agency and secondary student loan market. ISAC receives no state funding for administration, operations or outreach.
ISAC appreciates having the opportunity to work with you as we all strive to educate Illinois students about credit and personal finance. If you have any questions regarding this information, or if we can be of any additional assistance to you, please contact School Services at 866.247.2172 or send an e-mail message to schoolservices@isac.org.
Operational Information for 2006-07 MAP Plus
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAPnet Users, and Business Officers on September 5, 2006 In an effort to keep you informed as we begin to implement the operational components of the Monetary Award Program Plus (MAP Plus), we'd like to share with you the most current information available regarding upcoming activities for schools. The following are estimated dates for the first steps necessary to implement MAP Plus and could change due to unforeseen circumstances. We will, of course, continue to keep you informed as we move forward.
- Week of September 11th - An online view in MAPnet is activated to display all students meeting general eligibility criteria.
- Early October - Payment processing in MAPnet is made available for colleges to begin to submit claims/payment requests. Claims will be accepted, but held until payment results can be provided. It's possible funds could be available for fall term by the end of 2006 or early 2007.
Information about MAP Plus has been posted to the FAA Zone under ISAC Gift Assistance Programs. A July 18th letter - sent in the form of an e-Message to Financial Aid Directors from ISAC's Chairman McNeil - is available in the e-Library, as are the proposed rules for the program. A MAP Plus Q&A document is being developed, and will be posted at collegezone.com shortly. As always, make sure to check collegezone.com on a regular basis and watch for further e-Message correspondence for additional details of MAP Plus implementation.
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FFELP PARTICIPANTS
Latest School DAAR Report Available
Sent on September 5, 2006 and on September 18, 2006
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.
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ISAC UPDATE GROUP
Electronic ISAC Update for August 2006 Available
at College Zone
Sent on September 1, 2006 The August 2006 edition of the ISAC Update is now available for your review within the ISAC Publications section of College Zone's e-Library. This version of the monthly electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent to financial aid administrators and business officers in August via College Zone's e-Messaging service.
Topics covered in the August 2006 ISAC Update include:
- 2006-07 MAP Suspension Status Available in MAPnet and MAP/IIA Voucher Distribution Information
(sent August 29, 2006)
- New Awards Announced for 2006-07 Teacher Education Scholarship Programs
(sent August 25, 2006)
- College Zone Outage - Sunday, August 27, 2006
(sent August 24, 2006)
- 2006-07 MAP and IIA Payment Processing Available
(sent August 24, 2006)
- 2006-07 IIA Program Suspension Status Available in MAPnet
(sent August 22, 2006)
- Suspension of 2006-07 MAP Award Announcements
(sent August 22, 2006)
- ISAC Kicks Off Hispanic Heritage Month
(sent August 21, 2006)
- Change in Anticipated 2006-07 MAP/IIA Payment Processing Schedule
(sent August 18, 2006)
- Awards Announced for 2006-07 Teacher Education Scholarship Programs
(sent August 17, 2006)
- 2006-07 ING Grant Announcement Roster Cycle Begins - Data Available at My Zone
(sent August 17, 2006)
- 2006-07 MAP/IIA Payment Processing Anticipated for August 23rd - MAPnet to be Temporarily Unavailable
(sent August 14, 2006)
- Suspension of 2006-07 IIA Program Award Announcements
(sent August 14, 2006)
- Protecting Private Data
(sent August 9, 2006)
- Disposal of IVG CD-ROM's
(sent August 8, 2006)
- Financial Aid 101: Building a Solid Foundation - August 2006 Workshops
(sent August 8, 2006)
- Revised MAP Recompute Formula Successfully Implemented - 2006-07 MAPnet System Available
(sent August 8, 2006)
- Change in Treatment of 529 Prepaid Tuition Plans in Need Analysis
(sent August 3, 2006)
- Latest School DAAR Report Available
(sent August 3, 2006 and August 18, 2006)
- Change to 2006-07 MAP Recompute Formula Approved - Reduction Factor Removed
(sent August 2, 2006)
- Mark Your Calendar for Upcoming Important Dates
(sent August 1, 2006)
- Electronic ISAC Update for July 2006 Available at College Zone
(sent August 1, 2006)
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