Section 2746.30  Program Procedures

a)         An application for this scholarship program must be submitted each time the applicant wishes to receive an award, and an applicant must also complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).

b)         All first-time applicants shall complete an application which includes biographical information regarding the eligible displaced energy worker.

c)         Once eligibility in relation to the eligible displaced energy worker and the applicant has been established, it is established for all subsequent applications.  Thereafter, a simplified application will be required from the applicant. Also, the student must indicate the institution to be attended.

d)         The deadline for applications will be October 1 for consideration for all terms, March 1 for consideration for second semester and third quarter and summer term, and June 15 for consideration for summer term only.

e)         If an application is incomplete, notice will be sent to the applicant. The applicant will then have an opportunity to furnish the missing information; however, the application will only be considered for processing as of the date it was completed and received by ISAC.

f)         Scholarships are applicable toward tuition and fees.  A recipient attending a public institution in Illinois shall receive a grant that shall not exceed the cost of tuition and fees at that institution.  This includes the difference between in-district and out-of-district tuition.

g)         Notice of the scholarship award shall be sent to each recipient. Applicants not receiving awards will also be notified.

h)         Scholarship awards are limited to the equivalent of one calendar year of full-time enrollment, including summer, for undergraduate or graduate study.  Summer term is considered the final term of the academic and fiscal year. Recipients may accumulate up to 14 eligibility units.

1)         To determine the amount of eligibility a recipient has used, credit hours (and noncredit hours for which benefits are used) will be converted to eligibility units according to the following table.

2)         Full program benefits may be extended for one additional term if the recipient has accumulated fewer than 14 eligibility units but does not have enough units remaining for the number of hours in which the recipient is enrolled for the term.

i)          A student who receives a scholarship under this program and who is subsequently determined to be ineligible shall repay the institution the total amount of the funds received during the period in which the student was ineligible.

j)          Recipients receive payment through their institution of record.

k)         If a recipient withdraws from enrollment after the expiration of the tuition refund/withdrawal adjustment period, the recipient shall receive a scholarship for costs incurred up to the term award provided, the institution's tuition refund policy indicates the recipient had incurred those charges.

l)          A recipient shall agree to notify ISAC, in writing, within 15 days of any change affecting enrollment status, name or address.

m)        ISAC pays scholarship funds directly to the institution of record in the name of the recipient.

n)         ISAC will disburse scholarship funds in multiple installments, depending upon the number of terms financed by the scholarship, except that multiple disbursements will not be required in cases where the applicant's eligibility is not determined until the final term of the academic year for which the scholarship is being awarded or when a student is attending only one term and the maximum award does not exceed the student's cost of attendance.

o)         Scholarship payment is subject to the limits of dollars appropriated for this program.

p)         In the event that funds are insufficient to make awards to all eligible applicants, ISAC will make award determinations on the basis of the dates that the completed applications were received and the following:

1)         first semester and first quarter awards will be paid, or prorated if funding is insufficient to pay all scholarships in full;

2)         if funds remain after first semester and first quarter awards are paid, then second semester/second and third quarter awards will be paid, or prorated if funds remaining are insufficient to pay all scholarships in full; and

3)         if funds remain after second semester/second and third quarter awards are paid, summer term awards will be paid, or prorated if funding is insufficient to pay all scholarships in full.