Section 2735.40  Institutional Procedures

a)         MAP recipients must report to the institution all additional gift assistance that applies toward tuition and mandatory fees, such as tuition waivers and scholarships.

b)         In order for applicants to receive additional and specific consideration as a dislocated worker, as defined by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the institution shall:

1)         Verify that the applicant indicated on the FAFSA is a dislocated worker; and

2)         Ensure that the applicant certifies to the institution that the applicant is a dislocated worker as defined by the federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

c)         If a MAP recipient receives other assistance targeted specifically for tuition and fees, the combined assistance shall not exceed the total tuition and fee expenses incurred.

d)         If an applicant is eligible for assistance under the Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program or the Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program (23 Ill. Adm. Code 2730 and 2733), the applicant is not eligible for a full MAP grant because ING and IVG must be factored into the financial aid packaging prior to awarding MAP gift assistance.  The institution may request payment of a partial MAP grant to finance fee expenses not covered by the programs listed in this subsection.

e)         If an applicant is eligible to receive tuition or fee benefits through a prepaid or reimbursable tuition plan other than the Illinois Prepaid Tuition Program (23 Ill. Adm. Code 2775), or through a payment to the institution of higher learning by the applicant's employer, the institution of higher learning shall request MAP payment in accordance with this subsection:

1)         A prepaid tuition plan is any program that exempts a student from tuition charges because of a payment to the institution at a time prior to the student's enrollment.  A reimbursable tuition plan is a program that reimburses a student for tuition costs after satisfactory completion of course work.

2)         The institution of higher learning shall recalculate the applicant's MAP eligibility by decreasing the applicant's tuition and fee charges by the amount of benefits the applicant is eligible to receive from the sources in subsection (e)(1).  The institution of higher learning shall report the applicant's reduced grant award on the payment request.

f)         The provisions of this Section shall not apply to benefits derived from the Baccalaureate Savings Act [110 ILCS 920] and 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2771.

g)         Notwithstanding the provisions of other ISAC-administered programs, the total amount of a student's gift assistance may not exceed the cost of attendance.  Any excess gift assistance is considered an overaward and the institution of higher learning is required to reduce the MAP award and/or other gift assistance to prevent such an overaward.  For the purposes of this calculation, federal veterans benefits are not counted as gift assistance.

h)         The institution shall announce MAP eligibility, including the estimated award amount, using ISAC-provided award notification language.  The institution shall also provide notification to affected students of any change in award eligibility that may occur during the academic year.

i)          Institutions of higher learning shall submit payment requests to ISAC.

j)          For any institution of higher learning that has concurrent registration opportunities, the following policy pertains:

1)         The recipient must indicate the institution of record on the MAP application.

2)         The payment of the term award by ISAC will require the institution of record to receive MAP payment on behalf of any other institutions and the institution of record shall distribute the appropriate share of the award to the other institutions.  Payment by ISAC will not be made to more than one institution.

3)         The amount paid cannot exceed the maximum term award for students at the institution of record, or the tuition and mandatory fee costs at the institution of record if the costs are less than the maximum term award.

4)         Concurrent registration is limited to ISAC-approved institutions of higher learning.

5)         The recipient's academic records at the institution of record must document the total number of credit hours for which the student is enrolled.

k)         If an Illinois institution operates an out-of-state center, residents of Illinois enrolled in classes at the out-of-state center may receive MAP benefits in accordance with Section 2735.30(v).

l)          If an announced recipient's credit hour enrollment decreases before the expiration of the tuition refund/withdrawal adjustment period, the institution shall only request payment up to the tuition and mandatory fee amount based on the number of credit hours enrolled.

m)        Upon receipt of a payment request from the institution of record, ISAC remits MAP grant funds to the institution of record on behalf of the recipient.  The institution of record shall credit these funds to the recipient's account.

n)         MAP grants are paid directly to the approved institution of record that certifies to ISAC that the applicant is an eligible recipient.

1)         ISAC will annually establish priority claim dates for the submission of payment requests and inform schools of the required priority dates.

2)         Late payment requests will result in delayed processing of payments. Payment requests are processed in the sequence of receipt by ISAC and as funds are available.

3)         Institutions may submit their payment requests beginning 10 days prior to the start of classes for the term for which they are requesting payment.

o)         Institutional Processing of Payments

1)         Within 30 days after and including the date of receiving payment of any MAP funds claimed or advanced pursuant to this Section, the institution shall credit the MAP funds against the recipients' tuition and mandatory fee charges for the appropriate term.

2)         Within 30 days after the end of an academic term during which MAP funds were credited to recipients' tuition and mandatory fee charges, institutions must reconcile data received from ISAC as a result of payment claim processing against the eligibility status throughout that term for each student for whom payment claims were made. In reconciling the data with student eligibility, an institution must determine whether:

A)        The amount of the claim applied to a student's tuition and mandatory fee charges exceeded the amount that the student was eligible to receive for any reason, including as a result of billing errors or retroactive withdrawals;

B)        The amount of the claim applied to a student's tuition and mandatory fee charges was less than the amount that the student was eligible to receive for any reason, including as a result of billing errors or retroactive withdrawals; or

C)        The amount of the claim applied to a student's tuition and mandatory fee charges equaled the amount that the student was eligible to receive.

3)         Any institution that determines that the amount of a claim applied to a student's tuition and mandatory fee charges either exceeded the amount that the student was eligible to receive or was less than that amount must submit an accounting of all such adjustments to ISAC within 30 days following the end of the applicable term.

4)         For any claims determined to exceed the amount that the student was eligible to receive, the amount in excess paid for the claims shall be remitted to ISAC within 45 days after the end of the institutions regular school year unless the payment is received after the end of the regular school year. If the payment of claims are made after the end of the regular school year, the institution shall have 60 days following receipt of the payment to complete reconciliation and remit any funds due to ISAC.

5)         Award payments made in the name of one recipient cannot be applied to another recipient at the same institution.  A refund of the payment made must be submitted to ISAC, and a supplemental request for payment must be processed for the proper recipient.

6)         To provide sufficient time for processing and vouchering through the State Comptroller's Office in Springfield, all payment requests except for summer term must be received by ISAC no later than July 1.  Summer term payment requests must be received no later than July 31.

7)         Payment requests received after August 1 for the prior academic year will be processed as time and available funds permit; however, final action may require institutions to go to the Illinois Court of Claims to obtain payment for approved claims.  (See the Court of Claims Act [705 ILCS 505].)

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