Section 2735.30  Program Procedures

a)         An application for a MAP grant must be submitted annually.  An applicant uses the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

b)         Applicants, spouses and the parents of applicants are required to submit financial information on the application that will be kept confidential, regarding income, asset value and non-taxable income.

c)         Priority Deadline Date for Renewing Applicants

No later than September 30, the Commission will annually publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.  In this subsection (c), renewing applicant means a student attending an institution of higher learning who received a MAP grant during the prior academic year. [110 ILCS 947/35]  Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by the published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if the program's eligibility requirements under this Section continue to be met. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the priority deadline date would not disqualify an applicant from receiving a grant if sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that date.

d)         Awards will be announced concurrently, both for students who had not received  a MAP award the previous regular school year and for students who did receive a MAP award during the previous regular school year.  Award announcements will be made concurrently through the date of suspension of award announcements.

e)         If it becomes necessary to suspend the processing of award announcements in order to remain within appropriated funding levels, the suspension will be applied concurrently to students who had not received a MAP award for the previous regular school year and to students who did receive a MAP award the previous regular school year.

f)         Corrections to applications received prior to the final suspension of award announcements will be processed and announced up to 2 months after the final suspension date or until the completion of the processing cycle, whichever comes first.

g)         When an application is incomplete, a notice will be sent to the applicant. The applicant then has an opportunity to furnish the missing information; however, depending on processing schedules, the applicant may be considered only for subsequent term awards.

h)         Applicants are informed that they are MAP recipients on the basis of application data supplied to ISAC.  ISAC will recalculate awards for those applicants whose applications are not in basic agreement with their financial records, after receipt of corrected data.  All announced MAP recipients are subject to verification.

i)          The Commission shall annually establish and publicize guidelines for the release of or increase in MAP awards as additional funds become available.

j)          MAP grants are applicable only toward tuition and mandatory fees.  MAP grants may not exceed the:

1)         maximum award specified at Section 35(c) of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act [110 ILCS 947]; or

2)         institution's tuition and mandatory fee charges on file with ISAC.

k)         The maximum MAP grant available to a recipient attending a public community college is limited to the in-district tuition and mandatory fees.  It is the recipient's responsibility to make arrangements to pay the additional costs incurred as an out-of-district student.

l)          For each credit hour of MAP benefits paid on behalf of the recipient, the recipient will be assessed one MAP paid credit hour toward the maximum usage.  For each credit hour used, payment will be made to the school on behalf of the recipient in an amount equal to ¹/₁₅ of the student's calculated term award amount, with a minimum of 3 hours and a maximum of 15 hours paid per term.

m)        A recipient may receive the equivalent of 135 semester credit hours of MAP benefits paid.  Eligibility may be extended for one additional term if the recipient has accumulated fewer than 135 MAP paid credit hours but does not have enough credit hours of payment remaining for the number of hours for which the recipient is enrolled for the term.

n)         A recipient may use more than 75 MAP paid credit hours while enrolled at the freshman or sophomore level, although doing so may leave the student with insufficient remaining MAP eligibility to apply to all remaining credit hours required for the completion of a baccalaureate degree.

o)         The MAP grant shall not pay for academic programs intended to prepare a student for the high school equivalency certificate or for a high school diploma.

p)         The MAP grant shall not pay for audit courses, credit-by-examination and/or life experience, graduate-level courses leading to a degree above the baccalaureate level, or noncredit course offerings (except qualifying remedial courses).  Remedial courses shall be eligible for MAP payment provided the student has been accepted into an eligible degree/certificate program and is taking the remedial courses as part of that program.  Payment shall not be made for more than the equivalent of one year of remedial course work (i.e., 30 semester hours or 45 quarter hours).

q)         The MAP grant may be used by students repeating previously passed courses for the first time. The MAP grant may not be used for courses that a student has previously passed 2 or more times.

r)          If a recipient withdraws from enrollment after the expiration of the tuition refund/withdrawal adjustment period, the recipient shall receive MAP grant payment for tuition and mandatory fee costs incurred up to the term award provided the institution's tuition refund policy indicates the recipient has incurred charges in the amount of the claim.

s)         MAP paid credit hours are assessed to a recipient whenever MAP funds are disbursed on behalf of the recipient. 

t)          MAP grant payment is subject to the limits of dollars appropriated to ISAC by the General Assembly.

u)         It is the responsibility of MAP recipients to gain admission to approved Illinois institutions of higher learning.  Illinois institutions of higher learning are not obligated to admit MAP recipients.  The institution is obligated to provide MAP recipients the same facilities and instruction, on the same terms, as are provided to other students.

v)         If a recipient's academic program involves out-of-state and/or foreign study, subsection (j) applies and enrollment must be in accordance with the following provisions:

1)         The recipient must be enrolled at the ISAC-approved institution of higher learning, and the out-of-state/foreign study must be applicable to the student's degree or certificate program at the student's institution of record.

2)         The ISAC-approved institution of higher learning must record the course credits on the official academic transcript as institutionally earned credit and not as transfer credit.

3)         An institution shall not request more than 2 semesters/3 quarters of MAP assistance for any one qualified applicant enrolled on a full-time basis, or 4 semesters/6 quarters of MAP for an applicant-enrolled on a half-time basis.

(Source:  Amended at 44 Ill. Reg. 11032, effective July 1, 2020)