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91_HB2087
LRB9101865NTsb
1 AN ACT to amend the Higher Education Student Assistance
2 Act by changing Sections 10 and 35.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act
6 is amended by changing Sections 10 and 35 as follows:
7 (110 ILCS 947/10)
8 Sec. 10. Definitions. In this Act, and except to the
9 extent that any of the following words or phrases is
10 specifically qualified by its context:
11 "Commission" means the Illinois Student Assistance
12 Commission created by this Act.
13 "Enrollment" means the establishment and maintenance of
14 an individual's status as a student in an institution of
15 higher learning, regardless of the terms used at the
16 institution to describe that status.
17 "Approved high school" means any public high school
18 located in this State; and any high school, located in this
19 State or elsewhere (whether designated as a high school,
20 secondary school, academy, preparatory school, or otherwise)
21 which in the judgment of the State Superintendent of
22 Education provides a course of instruction at the secondary
23 level and maintains standards of instruction substantially
24 equivalent to those of the public high schools located in
25 this State.
26 "Institution of higher learning", "qualified
27 institution", or "institution" means an educational
28 organization located in this State which
29 (1) provides at least an organized 2 year program
30 of collegiate grade in the liberal arts or sciences, or
31 both, directly applicable toward the attainment of a
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1 baccalaureate degree or a program in health education
2 directly applicable toward the attainment of a
3 certificate, diploma, or an associate degree;
4 (2) either is
5 (A) operated by this State, or
6 (B) operated publicly or privately, not for
7 profit, or
8 (C) operated for profit, provided such for
9 profit organization
10 (i) offers degree programs which have
11 been approved by the Board of Higher Education
12 for a minimum of 3 years under the Academic
13 Degree Act, and
14 (ii) enrolls a majority of its students
15 in such degree programs, and
16 (iii) maintains an accredited status with
17 the Commission on Institutions of Higher
18 Education of the North Central Association of
19 Colleges and Schools;
20 (3) in the judgment of the Commission meets
21 standards substantially equivalent to those of comparable
22 institutions operated by this State; and
23 (4) if so required by the Commission, uses the
24 State as its primary guarantor of student loans made
25 under the federal Higher Education Act of 1965.
26 For otherwise eligible educational organizations which
27 provide academic programs for incarcerated students, the
28 terms "institution of higher learning", "qualified
29 institutions", and "institution" shall specifically exclude
30 academic programs for incarcerated students.
31 "Academic Year" means a 12 month period of time, normally
32 but not exclusively, from September 1 of any year through
33 August 31 of the ensuing year.
34 "Full-time student" means any undergraduate student
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1 enrolled in 12 or more semester or quarter hours of credit
2 courses in any given semester or quarter or in the equivalent
3 number of units of registration as determined by the
4 Commission.
5 "Part-time student" means any undergraduate student,
6 other than a full-time student, enrolled in 6 or more
7 semester or quarter hours of credit courses in any given
8 semester or quarter or in the equivalent number of units of
9 registration as determined by the Commission. Beginning with
10 fiscal year 1999, the Commission may, on a program by program
11 basis, expand this definition of "part-time student" to
12 include students who enroll in less than 6 semester or
13 quarter hours of credit courses in any given semester or
14 quarter.
15 (Source: P.A. 90-122, eff. 7-17-97.)
16 (110 ILCS 947/35)
17 Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
18 (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and
19 consider applications for grant assistance under this
20 Section. Subject to a separate appropriation for such
21 purposes, an applicant is eligible for a grant under this
22 Section when the Commission finds that the applicant:
23 (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
24 permanent resident of the United States; and
25 (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
26 deterred by financial considerations from completing an
27 educational program at the qualified institution of his
28 or her choice.
29 (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
30 student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
31 the applicant:
32 (1) has remained a student in good standing;
33 (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.
3 (c) All grants shall be applicable only to tuition and
4 necessary fee costs for 2 semesters or 3 quarters in an
5 academic year. Requests for summer term assistance will be
6 made separately and shall be considered on an individual
7 basis according to Commission policy. Subject to a separate
8 appropriation for this purpose beginning with fiscal year
9 2000, each student who is awarded a grant under this Section
10 and is enrolled in summer school classes shall be eligible
11 for a summer school grant. The summer school grant amount
12 shall not exceed the lesser of 50 percent of the maximum
13 annual grant amount authorized by this Section or the actual
14 cost of tuition and fees at the institution at which the
15 student is enrolled at least part-time half-time. For the
16 regular academic year, the Commission shall determine the
17 grant amount for each full-time and part-time student, which
18 shall be the smallest of the following amounts:
19 (1) $4,320 for 2 semesters or 3 quarters of
20 full-time undergraduate enrollment or $2,160 for 2
21 semesters or 3 quarters of part-time undergraduate
22 enrollment, or such lesser amount as the Commission finds
23 to be available; or
24 (2) the amount which equals the 2 semesters or 3
25 quarters tuition and other necessary fees required
26 generally by the institution of all full-time
27 undergraduate students, or in the case of part-time
28 students an amount of tuition and fees for 2 semesters or
29 3 quarters which shall not exceed one-half the amount of
30 tuition and necessary fees generally charged to full-time
31 undergraduate students by the institution; or
32 (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
33 appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
34 resources.
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1 "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
2 include the customary charge for instruction and use of
3 facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
4 for specified purposes, which are required generally of
5 nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
6 grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
7 payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
8 deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
9 Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
10 Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
11 tuition and other necessary fees.
12 (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
13 scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for
14 monetary award program consideration under this Act after
15 receiving a baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 10
16 semesters or 15 quarters of award payments. The Commission
17 shall determine when award payments for part-time enrollment
18 or interim or summer terms shall be counted as a partial
19 semester or quarter of payment.
20 (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants
21 to be offered, shall take into consideration past experience
22 with the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The
23 Commission shall notify applicants that grant assistance is
24 contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds.
25 (f) The Commission may request appropriations for
26 deposit into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund. Monies
27 deposited into the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund may be
28 expended exclusively for one purpose: to make Monetary Award
29 Program grants to eligible students. Amounts on deposit in
30 the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund may not exceed 2% of
31 the current annual State appropriation for the Monetary Award
32 Program.
33 The purpose of the Monetary Award Program Reserve Fund is
34 to enable the Commission each year to assure as many students
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1 as possible of their eligibility for a Monetary Award Program
2 grant and to do so before commencement of the academic year.
3 Moneys deposited in this Reserve Fund are intended to enhance
4 the Commission's management of the Monetary Award Program,
5 minimizing the necessity, magnitude, and frequency of
6 adjusting award amounts and ensuring that the annual Monetary
7 Award Program appropriation can be fully utilized.
8 (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of
9 and make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified
10 for-profit institutions in accordance with the criteria set
11 forth in this Section. The eligibility of applicants
12 enrolled at such for-profit institutions shall be limited as
13 follows:
14 (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
15 eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
16 students who have attained an associate degree.
17 (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
18 eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
19 attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
20 grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
21 whose grants are being renewed for the academic year
22 1998.
23 (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
24 eligible students.
25 (Source: P.A. 89-163, eff. 7-19-95; 89-330, eff. 8-17-95;
26 89-512, eff. 7-11-96; 89-626, eff. 8-9-96; 90-122, eff.
27 7-17-97; 90-647, eff. 7-24-98; 90-769, eff. 8-14-98; revised
28 9-16-98.)
29 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
30 becoming law.