ISAC’s Military Programs · ISAC’s Military Programs Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program and...

ISAC’s Military

Programs

June 28, 2017 Illinois Student Assistance Commission

isac.org

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Agenda

ISAC Update

Illinois Veteran Grant

Program information

Processing

Illinois National Guard Grant

Program information

Processing

Combining Benefits

Resources

Questions/Comments

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Fiscal Year 2017 (FY17)

MAP and ISAC’s other gift assistance programs

are not yet funded for state Fiscal Year (FY17),

which began on July 1, 2016 and ends on

June 30, 2017

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2016-17 MAP Processing

ISAC has queued all claims for processing and subsequent

vouchering

First term requests were due on or before December 16, 2016

Second semester/quarter requests were due May 1, 2017

Third quarter/second semester that begins after February 15 requests were due

June 1, 2017

Once a FY17 appropriation is known, payment requests in queue will

be processed on a schedule that allows for the most efficient

vouchering to the State Comptroller

June 2, 2017 was the last day that 2016-17 ISIRs were accepted for

MAP

Initial payment requests and adjustments/corrections to previously-

submitted claims are not currently being accepted

Should an appropriation be made available, we will allow for

adjustments/corrections to be submitted after initial claims in queue

have been processed

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MAP Paid Credit Hours (MPCHs)

MPCHs displaying in GAP Access for both 2016-17 and 2017-18

award years are based on the number of MPCHs used as of the end

of the 2015-16 award year

MPCHs will not

be updated until

claims are

processed

Students using

the Student Portal

to monitor MPCHs

will also see data

based on the end of the 2015-16 award year

Students will not be charged with MPCH usage for 2016-17 unless

ISAC receives appropriation and processes the claims

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MAP Awarding

Schools are required to:

Announce MAP award eligibility in their award letter and identify them as

State of IL MAP Grant (Est)

Provide the required award letter language, which explains that MAP is

subject to appropriation.

Schools are also required to notify students if anything changes with

their eligibility status

While ISAC rules don’t specify lack of an appropriation as a condition

about which you must communicate to students, it’s recommended that

you clearly communicate to students if you replace their MAP award with

another type of financial aid

If ISAC does receive an appropriation and student claims are subsequently

processed, you would need to update award information and clearly identify it

as a MAP award on their account

Also keep in mind that additional adjustments could be necessary if

appropriations are not sufficient to cover all claims 6

Fiscal Year 2018 (FY18)

A budget has not yet been passed for FY18

For General Assembly schedules/information:

www.ilga.gov/

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http://www.ilga.gov/

Questions/Comments?

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ISAC’s Military Programs

Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program and Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program Entitlement programs

Awarded to all eligible applicants regardless of funding level

Specified by Illinois statute Chapter 110, Higher Education Student

Assistance Act

Assistance to be granted as long as federal government provides educational benefits to veterans

Available at all four-year public universities and public community colleges

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IVG and ING Grant Eligibility Units

Students receive 120 units of eligibility*

Equivalent to four academic years of full-time enrollment

Units are based on the enrolled hours for a term:

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# of Hours Semester School

Quarter School

12 or more 12 units 8 units

9 – 11.99 9 units 6 units



0 – 2.99 1 unit 1 unit

* Members of the Illinois National Guard who have served at least 10

years in the Guard may be eligible to receive up to 180 units (6 years) of

eligibility for the ING Grant.

IVG Benefits

Covers tuition and mandatory fees

Students attending out-of-district community colleges

receive in-district rates and are not responsible for the

difference

No minimum enrollment requirement

Available to undergraduate and graduate

students

Academic year begins with summer term

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IVG Eligibility Requirements

Served at least one year federal active duty in the Armed Forces of the United States Includes the Illinois National Guard and Reserve

component of the Armed Forces

If less than one year, veteran may qualify if: Service was in a foreign country in a time of hostilities in that

country

Separation was for medical reasons directly connected to such service

Service was prior to August 11, 1967

Separation characterized as honorable If still in the Armed Forces, veteran must verify

continued eligibility upon discharge 12

IVG Eligibility Requirements

Student must meet one of these: was a resident of Illinois at the time of entering

federal active duty or within six months prior

was a student at an Illinois public university or community college at the time of entering federal active duty service

AND one of these: established or plans to establish Illinois residency

within six months after separation from the Armed Forces

established Illinois residency within six months after spouse was separated from military service

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Applying for IVG

ISAC application available at isac.org

Can be submitted anytime during academic year

Only need to submit one time

Applicants must also submit a copy of their

Department of Defense Certificate of Release or

Discharge from Active Duty (DD214 Member 4

copy) or its equivalent for all periods of active

service

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Applying for IVG

An applicant who is a member of the Armed Forces at the time of application must submit a letter from the commanding officer indicating:

that the applicant is a member of the Armed Forces

character of service

applicant’s home of record at the time of enlistment

length of time in each period of federal active duty

expiration date of current enlistment

The student will be subject to verification of continued eligibility after each period of federal active duty service.

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IVG Application

ISAC will launch an online version this summer

It will be accessible through the ISAC Student Portal

Edit checks have been built into the application

Will present required questions based on answers provided

Provides the ability to submit electronic copies of

DD214s

Acceptable formats are PDF, JPEG, DOC, DOCX files

If an electronic copy is not available, the applicant can mail the

supporting documentation to ISAC

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IVG Application

The paper application will remain available at

isac.org as well It has been revised to match the enhancements made to the

online application

ISAC will continue to accept previous versions, however we

ask you to discard any older paper versions

The current version has the date of 6/17 in the footer

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IVG Notification

Student receives Notice of Eligibility from ISAC

Applicant must notify school of his/her eligibility no

later than the last day of classes for the term for which

the grant is requested

Schools can access eligibility data and benefit

history online in ISAC system

Currently, in My Zone

Will transition to GAP Access for 2017-18

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IVG Benefit Request Process

Schools complete the benefit request (claim) process

online

Previously in My Zone

Will use GAP Access for 2017-18

Deadline dates for submission are:

September 15 – summer term

January 15 – first term

May 25 – second semester/second and third quarter

July 31 – all claims, including supplemental claims

Requests can also be submitted using the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) process See the Electronic Tools page in the E-Library at isac.org

Contact School Services for set up information

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From Chapter 2 (Views) of the IVG

Online User Manual, page 2-28:

Crediting Student Accounts and

Tracking Benefit Usage

Compliance reminders

Be consistent

Ensure that the amounts reported on student account is

consistent with data reported to ISAC

Dollar amounts

Enrollment hours

Report benefit usage correctly

Report actual number of enrollment hours

Be sure to make all necessary adjustments

Do not include or combine institutional or other waiver

programs with IVG benefit amounts on student or

institution records 41

Other Reminders …

The introduction of an online IVG application is a

good time to review the content and links on

your school site

Update text and links

Ensure that links are going to the most current

application information

Explain that electronic copies of the DD214s will be

needed for the online application process

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ING Grant Benefits

No minimum enrollment requirement

Academic year begins with fall term

Pays “tuition and certain fees” Fees specifically included in statute:

Registration

Graduation

General Activity

Matriculation

Typically charged only to new students when they have been both admitted and enrolled

Term

Students are not responsible for out-of-district or out-of-state tuition charges

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ING Grant Benefits

A student who withdraws after a school’s refund date

can receive the grant for costs incurred up to the term

award.

If a recipient ceases to be an active member of the

Guard during a term, benefits cease and the student is

responsible for costs attributed to the remainder of the

term.

If a recipient becomes eligible during a term, benefits

will be prorated for the remainder of the term

Proration calculation: total tuition cost divided by total

instructional days = cost per day x days of eligibility = total

proration 44

ING Grant Eligibility

Must have served at least one year with the Illinois National Guard

Must be in active status

Available to any enlisted member or officer

Must maintain an acceptable grade point

average

As determined by the institution

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Applying for ING Grant

Online application process at isac.org

Application deadlines dates:

October 1 — first term

March 1 — second semester, second and/or third quarter

June 15 — summer term

Students will receive a confirmation page upon

completing the application

Student must re-apply each year

Application process involves certification from the

Illinois Department of Military Affairs

Qualified applicants receive a notice of eligibility from ISAC by mail 46

ING Grant Award Notification

Qualified student applicants receive a Notice of Eligibility from ISAC Ineligible applicants also receive written notification

Schools receive eligibility information in the ING Grant system in GAP Access When a student submits an ING Grant application to ISAC, a

record is added to the school’s database in the ING system Only the school listed on the student application receives the information

Data will be added whenever there is a new or updated eligible

record for the school

It is recommended that schools check GAP Access at least once

a week for new data that may have been posted for the award

year

Can use online data to verify eligibility rather than requiring the

student’s Notice of Eligibility

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Accessing the ING Grant System

ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) is the portal

through which the Illinois National Guard Grant program

is administered

A secure authentication process is required to access

the ING Grant system via GAP Access

Each school 's GAP Access Primary Administrator is

responsible for authorizing GAP Access users

Refer to the GAP Access User Guide for general questions, user

name and password maintenance, and technical information

about GAP Access

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Accessing the ING Grant System

To access the ING Grant system:

Log in to the GAP Access system and select the ING tab at the top of the screen

The GAP Access system is accessible at https://isacportal.isac.org/

Select the academic year

The system is available each day from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. (CT)

To access functions within the ING Grant system, select the appropriate tab based on sorting and viewing needs and preferences

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https://isacportal.isac.org/

Student Detail: Eligibility Screen

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Lastname, Firstname

000-00-0000

ING Grant Benefit Request Process

The required benefit request process for the ING Grant is

completed using GAP Access

Even when ISAC does not receive appropriation to

reimburse schools, the benefit request process must still

take place so that benefit usage can be tracked and

accurately assessed to students' accounts

Schools must report enrollment hours and benefit dollar

amounts for initial, supplemental (adjustments), in-district

and out-of-district claims

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ING Grant Benefit Request Process

The benefit request process involves two distinct steps:

Creating the request, which involves identifying student records

for benefit usage and indicating their enrollment hours/status

Submitting the request, which sends the identified records to

ISAC for processing

Generally, the process starts from the Student Benefit List: View

screen, where you can begin the process of creating benefit

requests in one of two ways:

In batches, or groups, of students together online.

Individually, by student

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Creating Benefit Requests in Batches

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Creating Benefit Requests in Batches

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Creating Benefit Requests Individually

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Submitting Benefit Requests

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ING Benefit Processing Results

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ING Benefit Processing Results

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Crediting Student Accounts and

Tracking Benefit Usage

Compliance reminders

Be consistent

Ensure that the amounts reported on student account is

consistent with data reported in GAP Access

Dollar amounts

Enrollment hours

Report benefit usage correctly

Report actual number of enrollment hours

Be sure to make all necessary adjustments

Do not include or combine institutional or other waiver

programs with ING Grant benefit amounts on student

or institution records 68

Other Reminders …

A cumulative list of benefit request records is available for the entire

fiscal year

New data for students eligible for benefits will be available whenever

there is a new or updated eligible record for the college

It is recommended that colleges check GAP Access at least once a

week for new student data that may have been posted for the current

award year

The ING Grant system at GAP Access is available each day from 7

a.m. until 10 p.m. (CT)

Students can access their eligibility information and benefit history

through the ISAC Student Portal

Must create an account and login to access their data

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Combining

Education Benefits

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When Veterans Are Eligible for

Multiple ISAC Programs

Students eligible for MAP and IVG or ING must use IVG or ING

benefits instead of MAP

A student cannot decline IVG or ING to use MAP

Students eligible for IVG and ING can choose which program they

would like to use

Students can use IVG and ING together

The same amount of eligibility units will be charged to each program

regardless of the amount of benefits paid

Students can decline IVG, ING and/or MAP to use federal benefits

that also provide tuition and fee benefits

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Combining Post-9/11 GI Bill Program

with State Benefits

For veterans who are eligible for Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits at

less than 100% and who use those benefits with the IVG or

ING Grant programs in the same term, the Post-9/11 GI Bill

benefits should be applied first (VA will be first payer), and

any remaining eligible tuition and fee charges would be

covered by the IVG and/or ING Grant

The amount of IVG and ING Grant benefits used will be

prorated based on the percentage of the charges that are

covered by the ISAC programs

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Reporting IVG Benefits for Chapter 33 Recipients

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In the In-Dist Amt Req field, schools should

enter the amount of tuition and

mandatory fees being covered by IVG after

Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits have

been applied by the school.

A drop down list includes percentage values to report an IVG recipient’s

eligibility level for Post-9/11 GI Bill, ranging from 40% to 90% • Schools should select the Post-9/11 GI Bill eligibility level confirmed by the VA

• For ISAC purposes, this is only used to determine the percentage for the IVG

proration calculation to determine the number of IVG eligibility units being used

when combining benefits with the Post-9/11 GI Bill

Prorating IVG or ING Units When

Combined with Post-9/11 GI Bill

When the IVG or ING Grant is used with the Post-9/11 GI Bill and can be the

“last payer,” ISAC will prorate eligibility units used based on the percentage

of IVG or ING Grant benefits that are needed to cover remaining tuition and

mandatory fees

To calculate, ISAC will multiply the number of credit hours the student is enrolled

in by the percentage that the IVG or ING Grant is covering (after Post-9/11 GI Bill

benefits have been applied) and the result will be converted to eligibility units

using the units chart found in the program rules

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Sample Scenarios

Enrollment status of 12 credit hours for a semester and tuition & fees are $10,000

Post-9/11 GI Bill, 80% and IVG

Post-9/11 GI Bill, 40% and ING Grant

$10,000 x .80 = $8,000 paid by

Post-9/11 GI Bill

$2,000 (20%) covered by IVG

.20 x 12 credit hours = 2.4%

2.4 converts to 1 unit

Student would use 1 IVG unit and

4 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits

(Prior to the rule change, the student

would have used 12 IVG units and 4

months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits)

$10,000 x .40 = $4,000 paid by Post-9/11

GI Bill

$6,000 (60%) covered by ING Grant

.60 x 12 credit hours = 7.2%

7.2 converts to 6 units

Student would use 6 ING Grant units and

4 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits

(Prior to the rule change, the student

would have used 12 ING Grant units and

4 months of Post-9/11 GI Bill benefits)

Resources

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isac.org

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studentportal.isac.org

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Program News …

Illinois Veteran Grant

2016-17

Spring term benefit request claims were due by May 25

All benefit request claims and adjustments should be completed by July 1

2017-18

The interactive online application will be launched during the summer of 2017

Eligibility information and benefit processing will transition from My Zone to GAP Access for the 2017-18 award year

Illinois National Guard Grant

2016-17

Spring term benefit request claims were due by April 1

Application deadline date for summer term was June 15

All benefit request claims for summer term and adjustments for all terms should be completed by July 1

2017-18

The online application process for the 2017-18 award year is currently available 80

ISAC Contact Information

Student and Parent Services

Phone: 800-899-4722

E-mail: [email protected]

School Services

Phone: 866-247-2172


Kim Eck, Training Services

Phone: 217-785-7139


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mailto:[email protected]



Questions/Comments?

Thank you for participating today!

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ISAC’s Military Programs · ISAC’s Military Programs Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program and...

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