99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2015 and 2016
SB1710

 

Introduced 2/20/2015, by Sen. Chapin Rose

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35
110 ILCS 947/38

    Amends the monetary award program provisions of the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. Provides that if a recipient of a monetary award program grant is not permitted to continue attending a higher education institution because he or she is not earning the minimum grades needed to continue to attend the institution, then that person may not receive a grant during the following academic year; provides for rulemaking. Requires the Illinois Student Assistance Commission to request that the Illinois Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators or a committee designated by this association from among its membership make recommendations on possible changes to how the Commission determines the number of grants to be offered and to whom they are offered. Requires institutions to provide specified information concerning grant recipients to the Commission, if requested, to demonstrate the value of the program and determine where improvements could be made; makes related changes.


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FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB1710LRB099 08608 NHT 28771 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Sections 35 and 38 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/35)
7    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
8    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
9applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
10to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
11eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
12finds that the applicant:
13        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
14    permanent resident of the United States; and
15        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
16    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
17    educational program at the qualified institution of his or
18    her choice.
19    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
20student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
21the applicant:
22        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
23        (2) remains a resident of this State; and

 

 

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1        (3) is in a financial situation that continues to
2    warrant assistance.
3However, if a recipient of a grant under this Section is not
4permitted to continue attending an institution because he or
5she is not earning the minimum grades needed to continue to
6attend the institution, then that person may not receive a
7grant under this Section during the following academic year.
8The Commission may adopt any rules necessary for the
9enforcement of this prohibition.
10    (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
11necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
12amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
13the following amounts:
14        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
15    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal
16    year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser
17    amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an
18    academic year;
19        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters
20    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
21    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
22        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
23    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
24    resources.
25    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
26students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)

 

 

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1must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
2by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of
3this subsection (c).
4    "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
5include the customary charge for instruction and use of
6facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
7for specified purposes, which are required generally of
8nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
9grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
10payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
11deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
12Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
13Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
14tuition and other necessary fees.
15    (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
16scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary
17award program consideration under this Act after receiving a
18baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit
19hours of award payments.
20    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
21be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
22the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission
23shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent
24upon the availability of appropriated funds.
25    The Commission shall request that the Illinois Association
26of Student Financial Aid Administrators, or a committee

 

 

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1designated by this association from among its membership, make
2recommendations on possible changes to how the Commission
3determines the number of grants to be offered and to whom they
4are offered.
5    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an
6important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate
7access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary
8education immediately following high school and for those who
9pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly
10Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and
11who are seeking to improve their economic position through
12education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the
13Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to
14the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing
15applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure
16financial assistance even if applying later than the general
17pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall
18include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an
19estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers
20who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
21announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
22to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of
23this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
24federal Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
25    (f) The Commission may request appropriations for deposit
26into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies deposited

 

 

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1into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund may be expended
2exclusively for one purpose: to make Monetary Award Program
3grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in the Monetary
4Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of the current
5annual State appropriation for the Monetary Award Program.
6    The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is
7to enable the Commission each year to assure as many students
8as possible of their eligibility for a Monetary Award Program
9grant and to do so before commencement of the academic year.
10Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to enhance
11the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program,
12minimizing the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of
13adjusting award amounts and ensuring that the annual Monetary
14Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.
15    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
16make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
17institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
18Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
19for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
20        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
21    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
22    students who have attained an associate degree.
23        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
24    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
25    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
26    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and

 

 

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1    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
2        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
3    eligible students.
4(Source: P.A. 98-967, eff. 8-15-14.)
 
5    (110 ILCS 947/38)
6    Sec. 38. Monetary award program accountability.
7    (a) The Illinois Student Assistance Commission is directed
8to assess the educational persistence of monetary award program
9recipients. An assessment under this Section shall include an
10analysis of such factors as undergraduate educational goals,
11chosen field of study, retention rates, and expected time to
12complete a degree. The assessment also shall include an
13analysis of the academic success of monetary award program
14recipients through a review of measures that are typically
15associated with academic success, such as grade point average,
16satisfactory academic progress, and credit hours earned. Each
17analysis should take into consideration student class level,
18dependency types, and the type of higher education institution
19at which each monetary award program recipient is enrolled. The
20Commission shall report its findings to the General Assembly
21and the Board of Higher Education by February 1, 1999 and at
22least every 2 years thereafter.
23    (b) To demonstrate the value of the monetary award program
24and determine where improvements could be made, institutions
25shall provide information concerning grant recipients to the

 

 

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1Commission if requested, including without limitation the
2following:
3        (1) Completion and graduation rates.
4        (2) Courses attempted versus courses completed.
5        (3) The number of remedial courses undertaken, the
6    names of these courses, and the success rate of these
7    courses.
8        (4) Chosen fields of study.
9        (5) The receipt of institutional financial aid, how
10    much of that aid is merit-only aid, how much is need-based
11    aid, and how this aid dovetails with State and federal
12    financial aid.
13    The Commission may consult with the Illinois Association of
14Student Financial Aid Administrators to develop guidelines for
15the information to be provided under this subsection (b).
16    Each year, the Commission shall compile the information
17provided under this subsection (b) in a report to be submitted
18to the General Assembly and the Governor.
19(Source: P.A. 90-486, eff. 8-17-97; 90-488, eff. 8-17-97.)