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Public Act 098-0967
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| SB3306 Enrolled | LRB098 19694 NHT 55570 b |
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AN ACT concerning education.
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Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
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represented in the General Assembly:
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Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is |
amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
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(110 ILCS 947/35)
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Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
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(a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider |
applications
for grant assistance under this Section. Subject |
to a separate
appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is |
eligible for a grant under
this Section when the Commission |
finds that the applicant:
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(1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or |
permanent resident
of the United States; and
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(2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be |
deterred by
financial considerations from completing an |
educational program at the
qualified institution of his or |
her choice.
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(b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the |
student's application
and upon the Commission's finding that |
the applicant:
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(1) has remained a student in good standing;
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(2) remains a resident of this State; and
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(3) is in a financial situation that continues to |
warrant assistance.
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(c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and |
necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
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amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
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the following amounts:
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(1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year |
2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal |
year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser |
amount as
the Commission finds to be available, during an |
academic year;
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(2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters |
tuition
and other necessary fees required generally by the |
institution of all
full-time undergraduate students; or
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(3) such amount as the Commission finds to be |
appropriate in view of
the applicant's financial |
resources.
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Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for |
students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c) |
must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made |
by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of |
this subsection (c). |
"Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section |
include the
customary charge for instruction and use of |
facilities in general, and the
additional fixed fees charged |
for specified purposes, which are required
generally of |
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nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the |
grant
applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees |
payable only once or
breakage fees and other contingent |
deposits which are refundable in whole or in
part. The |
Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
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Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of |
tuition and other
necessary fees.
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(d) No applicant, including those presently receiving |
scholarship
assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary |
award program
consideration under this Act after receiving a |
baccalaureate degree or
the equivalent of 135 semester credit |
hours of award payments.
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(e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to |
be offered,
shall take into consideration past experience with |
the rate of grant funds
unclaimed by recipients. The Commission |
shall notify applicants that grant
assistance is contingent |
upon the availability of appropriated funds.
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(e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an |
important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate |
access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary |
education immediately following high school and for those who |
pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly |
Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and |
who are seeking to improve their economic position through |
education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the |
Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to |
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the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing |
applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure |
financial assistance even if applying later than the general |
pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall |
include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an |
estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers |
who apply after the Commission initially suspends award |
announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior |
to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of |
this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the |
federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998. |
(f) The Commission may request appropriations for deposit |
into the
Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies deposited |
into the Monetary Award
Program Reserve Fund may be expended |
exclusively for one purpose: to make
Monetary Award Program |
grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in the
Monetary |
Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of the current |
annual
State appropriation for the Monetary Award Program.
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The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is |
to enable the
Commission each year to assure as many students |
as possible of their
eligibility for a Monetary Award Program |
grant and to do so before commencement
of the academic year. |
Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to
enhance |
the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program, |
minimizing
the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of |
adjusting award amounts and ensuring
that the annual Monetary |
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Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.
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(g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and |
make grants to
applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit |
institutions in accordance with the
criteria set forth in this |
Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at
such |
for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
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(1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to |
eligible first-time
freshmen and
first-time transfer |
students who have attained an associate degree.
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(2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to |
eligible freshmen
students,
transfer students who have |
attained an associate degree, and students who
receive a |
grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and |
whose grants
are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
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(3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all |
eligible students.
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(Source: P.A. 95-917, eff. 8-26-08.)
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Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon |
becoming law. |