 Welcome to the FAA Zone
At your fingertips, Financial Aid Administrators, Business Officers, and other school personnel have access to a centralized source of information and financial aid guidance concerning ISAC's programs, processes, and resources.
FAA Message Board
The FAA Message Board is updated each week. New messages for the week are identified by the  Items under the More section, located toward the bottom of the page, provide links to information on topics that were recently listed on this Message Board.
A March 4, 2010 e-Message provides information regarding the Monetary Award Program (MAP) and the Silas Purnell Illinois Incentive for Access (IIA) Program for the 2010-11 academic year. Included is: a reminder that no IIA Program award information appears on the 2010-11 acknowledgement letters sent to students by ISAC; required MAP award letter language; links to online resources (including an updated MAPnet User Guide); and, details regarding 2010-11 budget packets (anticipated to be available to retrieve online by April 1, 2010).
Remind your students that if estimated income data was used when completing the 2010-11 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA), they need to compare the income portion of the Student Aid Report (SAR) with information from completed 2009 tax returns, and make corrections as necessary.
A February 2010 Dear Colleague Letter
(DCL GEN-10-01) announces the approval of the Private Education Loan Applicant Self-Certification form, for use by institutions and private educational loan lenders. Institutions are required to provide the Self-Certification form, and the information needed to complete the form, to an enrolled or admitted applicant (or to the parent applicant of an enrolled or admitted student) upon the applicant's request.
A February 23, 2010 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) announces the beginning of quarterly customer satisfaction surveys, regarding the four new federal loan servicers, for the period of January - March 2010. Effective March 1, independent vendors are conducting telephone surveys of borrower and college customers. The surveys are designed to take no more than 10 minutes to complete, and are being administered in a manner that ensures the anonymity of all respondents.
A March 4, 2010 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides an update on U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices, with regard to the submission of Immigration Status/Document Verification Requests (G-845 forms). For Illinois, these documents should be mailed to the Immigration Status Verification Unit located in Buffalo, New York (the address can be obtained via a link in the electronic announcement).
A March 2, 2010 electronic announcement from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) provides an updated version of the September 15, 2008 listing of colleges that have been approved as "TEACH Grant Eligible Institutions."
Be sure to stop by and visit ISAC staff at our booth during the 2010 ILASFAA Annual Conference (Making Connections: u r ILASFAA), which will take place March 24 through March 26 at the Crowne Plaza in Springfield. A tentative conference agenda is available at the ILASFAA Conference mini-site. We look forward to seeing you!
April 1, 2010 is the 2009-10 Monetary Award Program (MAP) claim deadline for second semester/quarter. As was indicated in a February 1st e-Message, colleges are encouraged to submit 2009-10 MAP payment requests for applicants whose initial Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) receipt dates were on or before
June 4, 2009. ISAC will continue to monitor the volume of payment requests received, along with the level of available funding, in order to determine whether a second partial release of suspended MAP records can be scheduled. Further details regarding MAP payment procedures are provided in the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area.
The 2009-10 College Savings Bond Bonus Incentive Grant (BIG) Program application is currently available to download and print. ISAC will continue to accept applications until funds have been depleted. Details regarding the application process are provided in a February 16th e-Message.
Remind your returning students that, if they have not already done so, they should complete the 2010-11 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) as early as possible. Encourage your students to check out the College Zone Outreach Calendar for a listing of outreach events in Illinois. College Awareness & Preparation (CAP) and College Goal Sunday (CGS) events - including FAFSA completion seminars - that have been scheduled across the State of Illinois. You can find details regarding the application cycle within the 2010-11 FAFSA Completion section of the e-Library.
2009-10 winter/spring term Certification of Enrollment for Payment rosters for the Grant Programs for Dependents of Police/Fire/Correctional Officers (PFC) are due back to ISAC on or before Friday, March 12th. A sample roster and cover letter, with instructions on how to complete the roster, can be accessed from the PFC Payment Procedures page within the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs section.
ISAC invites you to attend the National College Access Network (NCAN) regional meeting at the University of Illinois - Chicago on Wednesday, March 17, 2010. Details are provided in a February 11th e-Message.
Beginning in April 2010, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) will process and disburse all federal funds through the Department of Treasury (rather than through the Federal Reserve). In order to be ready for this transition, all colleges must register their Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) with the federal government’s Central Contractor Registration (CCR) database by March 31, 2010. Specific details are provided in a January 28, 2010 electronic announcement.
More
2010-11 State Scholars
State Legislative Update
2009-10 ISAC Administrative Rules
Outreach Calendar/Events
List of ISAC's Participating Lenders
FAFSA Completion Information
Important Reminders calendar
Most Recent ISAC Update:
February 2010
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