Section 2745.10  Summary and Purpose

 

a)         The Adult Vocational Community College Scholarship Program provides, subject to appropriation, unemployed persons who are over 30 years of age and who have been actively searching for employment, scholarship assistance for training, or a certificate, credential, or associate degree at their local Community College.

 

b)         This Part governs the Adult Vocational Community College Scholarship Program.  Additional rules and definitions are contained in General Provisions, 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.

 

Section 2745.20  Applicant Eligibility

 

a)         A qualified applicant shall:

 

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

 

2)         be a resident of Illinois;

 

3)         be over 30 years of age;

 

4)         have been unemployed and actively searching for employment, including being enrolled on the Department of Employment Security's job-search website for at least 6 months prior to the date the application is submitted by the applicant;

 

5)         be enrolled or accepted for enrollment at the local community college organized under the Public Community College Act;

 

6)         be able to identify:

 

A)        the specific training certificate, credential, or associate degree that is being sought;

 

B)        the specific career that the certificate, credential, or degree will help effectuate; and

 

C)        how long it will take the applicant to complete the educational goal described in subsecton (a)(6)(A). 

 

b)         Applicants may re-apply if they can demonstrate continual progress, in terms of grades and attendance, toward the desired certificate, credential, or degree.

 

Section 2745.30  Program Procedures

 

a)         An applicant must:

 

1)         file a FAFSA by June 1 prior to the academic year for which assistance is being requested; and

 

2)         provide proof that the applicant is unemployed and has been actively searching for employment and that the applicant was enrolled on the Department of Employment Security's job-search website for at least 6 months prior to the date the application is submitted by the applicant.

 

b)         The scholarship shall be sufficient to cover the cost of tuition and fees to attend the community college, but in no event shall the scholarship exceed $2,000 per scholarship recipient per academic year.

 

c)         Scholarship funds are applicable toward 2 semesters of enrollment within an academic year.

 

d)         The total amount of a scholarship awarded by the Commission under this Part to an individual in any given fiscal year, when added to other financial assistance awarded to that individual for that year, shall not exceed the cost of attendance at the community college at which the student is enrolled.

 

e)         The scholarship will be disbursed in installments depending on the number of terms financed by the scholarship.

 

f)         The scholarship payment is subject to the availability of funds and the amounts appropriated to ISAC by the General Assembly.  If funds appropriated for the program are insufficient to provide scholarships to each eligible applicant, the Commission will prioritize the distribution of scholarships based on factors that include an applicant's financial need, duration of unemployment, prior level of educational attainment, and the FAFSA filing date.

 

g)         It is the responsibility of applicants to gain admission to their local approved Illinois community college.  Institutions are not obligated to admit them based upon their participation in the scholarship program.

 

Section 2745.40  Institutional Procedures

 

a)         The institution shall submit eligibility information for qualified applicants in sufficient time for ISAC to make award announcements. 

 

b)         The institution shall submit its request for payment within the time frame requested by ISAC, which shall be no sooner than 30 days unless a more rapid response is necessary to expend appropriated funds prior to the end of the academic year.

 

c)         By submitting a payment request, an institution is certifying that the qualified applicants meet the requirements of Section 2745.20.

 

d)         Funds shall be remitted by ISAC to institutions on behalf of the recipients. 

 

e)         Upon receipt of scholarship funds, the institution shall verify the qualified applicant's enrollment status, the program the student is enrolled in, and the length of time necessary to complete the program.

 

f)         If the applicant is enrolled in a program that meets the eligibility requirements in Section 2745.20, the institution may credit the scholarship funds to the student's account for cost of tuition and fees due and payable.

 

g)         Upon receipt of the scholarship, if the qualified applicant has withdrawn from enrollment for the terms for which the award was intended, the institution shall return the amount of the scholarship payment to ISAC. 

 

h)         Assistance received by a student under this Program must not be reduced by the receipt of other financial aid from any source.  Other aid must be reduced when the total amount of gift assistance received would exceed the cost of attendance used to calculate Title IV aid for that student.

 

i)          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. 

 

j)          Payment requests received after those dates for the award 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].)