Section 2734.10  Summary and Purpose

 

a)          The Monetary Award Program Plus (MAP Plus) provides grant assistance when students do not receive a MAP grant and to students whose families' adjusted gross incomes are less than $200,000 in the applicable tax year. Students must be enrolled at an Illinois institution of higher learning approved to participate in the Monetary Award Program in order to receive the grant (23 Ill. Adm. Code 2735).

 

b)         This Part governs the Monetary Award Program Plus. Additional rules and definitions are contained in General Provisions, 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.

 

Section 2734.20  Applicant Eligibility

 

a)         A qualified applicant shall be:

 

1)        a citizen of the United States or eligible noncitizen;

 

2)        a resident of Illinois;

 

3)         enrolled at least half-time in a degree or certificate program (34 CFR 668.8) at the sophomore, junior, or senior class level as determined by the institution;

 

4)         enrolled at a MAP eligible institution;

 

5)         a non-recipient of a MAP grant for any term during the regular school year for which this grant is made available to students;

 

6)         a member of a family with an adjusted gross income of less than $200,000 as listed on the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) for the applicable tax year; and

 

7)         maintaining satisfactory academic progress as determined by the institution.

 

b)         Eligibility is restricted to undergraduate students.

 

1)         MAP Plus recipients must not have received a baccalaureate degree.

 

2)         Graduate students are not eligible for MAP Plus assistance. For purposes of this Part, an institution of higher learning shall classify as a "graduate student" any student who:

 

A)     is enrolled in an academic program or course above the baccalaureate level that leads to any degree above the baccalaureate level; and

 

B)     is not eligible to receive federal financial assistance (34 CFR 674.2, 675.2, 676.2) as an undergraduate student; and

 

C)     has completed the equivalent of at least three years of full-time postsecondary study, either prior to entrance into the academic program or as part of the academic program itself.

 

Section 2734.30  Program Procedures

 

a)          An applicant applies for a MAP Plus grant by using the form that the United States Department of Education (ED) designates as an application form for federal student financial aid.  (See Section 483 of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (20 USC 1070a).)

 

1)         An applicant, spouse and/or parents of the applicant, as applicable, are required to submit financial information on the application regarding income, asset value and non-taxable income (e.g., Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, public aid, veterans' or Social Security benefits). This information shall be kept confidential.

 

2)         A recipient must report to the institution all additional gift assistance, such as tuition waivers and scholarships.

 

3)         An applicant must file his/her application by the MAP Plus deadline date established by ISAC.

 

b)        The application must be complete at the time the grant is awarded.

 

c)         MAP Plus awards are applicable only toward tuition and mandatory fees.

 

d)        The maximum MAP Plus grant available to a qualified applicant is $500 per year.

 

e)          If a recipient withdraws from enrollment after the expiration of the tuition refund/withdrawal period, the recipient shall receive MAP Plus funds to pay for tuition and mandatory fee costs incurred.

 

f)          MAP Plus grant payment is subject to the availability of funds and by the amounts appropriated to ISAC by the General Assembly. If funds are insufficient to pay all claims, grants will be awarded according to the date the completed applications were received, until funds have been expended.

 

g)         It is the responsibility of MAP Plus recipients to gain admission to approved Illinois institutions of higher learning and institutions are not obligated to admit MAP Plus recipients. Illinois institutions of higher learning approved for participation in the Monetary Award Program are eligible to participate in MAP Plus.

 

h)         If a recipient's academic program involves out-of-state and/or foreign study, enrollment must be in accordance with subsection (d) and 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 each semester/quarter in which the funds were or are to be used.

 

3)         An institution shall not request MAP Plus assistance for more than one regular school year for any one qualified applicant enrolled on at least a half-time basis.

 

i)          The MAP Plus grant shall not pay for audit courses, credit-by-examination and/or life experience, or noncredit course offerings (except qualifying remedial courses). Such course work cannot be used to meet the half-time requirement. Remedial courses shall be eligible for MAP Plus payment provided the student has been accepted into an eligible degree/certificate program and is taking the remedial courses as a 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). Repeat courses are eligible for MAP Plus payment.

 

Section 2734.40  Institutional Procedures

 

a)          The MAP Plus grant must not exceed tuition and mandatory fees minus State and federal gift assistance that is restricted to paying tuition and mandatory fees.

 

b)         The institution of record shall submit claims for MAP Plus eligible students. By submitting a payment request, an institution is certifying that the qualified applicants meet the requirements of Section 2734.20, Applicant Eligibility.

 

c)          MAP Plus grants are paid directly to the institution of record in two disbursements consisting of payments in an amount not to exceed $250 each term.

 

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

 

1)      The recipient must indicate his/her institution of record on the MAP Plus application.

 

2)      The payment of the term award by ISAC will require the institution of record to receive MAP Plus 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)      Concurrent registration is limited to ISAC-approved institutions of higher learning.

 

e)          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 Plus benefits in accordance with Section 2734.30(h).

 

f)          If a recipient's enrollment changes for the following term, the institution shall only claim payment for the term for which the amount of tuition and mandatory fee expenses were incurred.

 

g)         MAP Plus grants are paid directly to the approved institution of record that certifies to ISAC that the applicant is an eligible recipient. ISAC will establish priority claim dates for the submission of payment requests and inform the institution of the required priority dates.

 

h)        Institutional Processing of Payments

 

1)      Within 30 days after and including the date of receiving payment of any MAP Plus funds claimed, the institution shall credit the MAP Plus funds against the recipients' tuition and mandatory fee charges for the appropriate terms.

 

2)      Institutions are required to reconcile payments received through MAP Plus and, as applicable, submit all necessary corrections to student records on a timely basis. Any payments received by the institution that are determined in the reconciliation to be refunds payable to ISAC are to be processed and returned to ISAC no later than 60 days following the end of the academic term unless ISAC has already deducted outstanding refunds from institutional payment requests during the applicable fiscal year. Billing errors, retroactive withdrawals and other miscellaneous reasons may cause refunds. Refunds showing as owed to ISAC must be remitted within 30 days after the end of the institution's regular school year. Should the payment arrive after the end of the regular school year, the institution will have 60 days following receipt of payment to complete the reconciliation process and return any refunds due.

 

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

 

4)      Payment requests received after that date for the regular school 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].)