Section 2746.10  Summary and Purpose

 

a)         Any natural child, legally adopted child, or stepchild of an eligible displaced energy worker who possesses all necessary entrance requirements shall, upon application and proper proof, be awarded a transition scholarship consisting of the equivalent of one calendar year of full-time enrollment, including summer terms, to the State-supported Illinois institution of higher learning of the child's choice. (Section 10-30 of the Energy Community Reinvestment Act [20 ILCS 735])

 

b)         This Part establishes rules which govern the Displaced Energy Worker Dependent Transition Scholarship Program. Additional rules and definitions are contained in General Provisions, 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700.

 

Section 2746.20  Applicant Eligibility

 

a)         A qualified applicant shall be:

 

1)         the natural child, legally adopted child, or stepchild of an energy worker who has lost employment due to the reduced operation or closure of a fossil fuel power plant or coal mine;

 

2)         a United States citizen or an eligible noncitizen;

 

3)         enrolled or accepted for enrollment, on a full- or part-time basis (at least 3 credit hours) at an Illinois public university or community college; and

 

4)         will be without transition scholarship assistance and deterred by financial considerations from completing an educational program at the Illinois public university or community college of choice, as represented by there being unmet need in the applicant's financial aid package.

 

b)         An applicant must be making satisfactory academic progress toward a degree or certificate.

 

c)         An applicant need not be a resident of Illinois at the time of enrollment; however, the award is limited to the cost of in-district and in-state tuition and fees.

 

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.

 

Number of Hours	Semester Term
12 or more hours	6 units
6 - 11.99 hours	3 units
Number of Hours	Summer Term
3 or more	2 units

 

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.

 

Section 2746.40  Institutional Procedures

 

a)         The institution shall certify the applicant's award amount within the time frame requested by ISAC, which shall be no sooner than 30 days after the day ISAC announces the process is open for institutions to submit requests, unless a more rapid response is necessary to expend appropriated funds prior to the end of the academic year.

 

b)         Institutional Packaging of Assistance:

 

1)         If the recipient receives other assistance targeted specifically for tuition and fees, the combined assistance shall not exceed the total tuition and fee expenses incurred by the student; and if it does, the institution shall reduce one of the awards accordingly.

 

2)         Notwithstanding the provisions of other ISAC-administered programs, the total amount of a student's gift assistance may not exceed the student's cost of attendance for that institution. Any excess gift assistance is considered an overaward, and the institution is required to notify ISAC to reduce this scholarship and/or other gift assistance to prevent such an overaward.

 

3)         If the recipient is eligible for assistance under MAP, the recipient may not be eligible for a full MAP grant because the Displaced Energy Worker Dependent Transition scholarship must be factored into the financial aid package prior to receiving MAP gift assistance. The institution, however, may request a MAP grant to finance tuition and mandatory fee expenses not paid by this program.

 

c)         Institutional Processing of Payments:

 

1)         Within 30 days after and including the date of receiving payment, the institution shall credit the award toward the recipient's tuition and fee charges for the appropriate term.

 

2)         Institutions are required to reconcile payments, both payment data and actual funds, received through the Displaced Energy Worker Dependent Transition Scholarship Program and, as applicable, submit all necessary corrections to ISAC student records on a timely basis.

 

3)         Within 30 days after the end of an academic term during which the Displaced Energy Worker Dependent Transition Scholarship Program funds are credited to the recipient's tuition and 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 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; or

 

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

 

4)         Any institution that determines that the amount of a claim applied to a student's tuition and 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 adjustments to ISAC within 30 days after the end of the applicable term.

 

5)         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 applicable term unless the payment is received after the end of the applicable term. If the payment of claims is made after the end of the applicable term, the institution shall have 60 days after receipt of the payment to complete reconciliation and remit any funds due to ISAC.

 

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

 

7)         If the institution does not submit refunds as required, ISAC will deduct outstanding refunds from subsequent payments to the institution.

 

8)         To provide sufficient time for processing and vouchering through the State Comptroller's Office, 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.