By Illinois Radio Network
SPRINGFIELD – Students who get a Monetary Award Program grant this fall will have more security, although the state program will likely have far more students who apply for the grants than there is money to fund them.
Illinois is, for the first time ever, guaranteeing MAP grants for four years. The grants, which don’t have to be repaid, are awarded based on financial need. But they are first come, first serve.
State Representative Dan Brady said the additional $25 million in the new state budget, added to the nearly $350 million already available, likely won’t change that. He noted the four-year guarantee will make things easier on students.
“That’s $25 million that we found within the state budget,” Brady said. “And with a match from the universities, that’s going to mean a four-year stability for students who receive MAP grants.”
Brady said lawmakers focused in the new state budget on helping colleges and universities in Illinois. He adds they didn’t want to just throw money at schools for administrative costs.
“There are several things that were done for the universities and the students,” Brady said. “We’re not talking about just giving more money for general operations. We’re trying to say, ‘How do we help those students, and how do we keep those students here in Illinois?'”
To that point, the new state budget includes $50 million for AIM HIGH scholarships, a program Brady said was designed to encourage Illinois students to go to Illinois universities.
Tim Hardy, a spokesman for the University of Illinois, said the programs will help the students and university by providing predictability and reliability. During the more than two-year state budget stalemate, MAP students weren’t sure if they would get money from the state. Some universities fronted students the money and waited for reimbursement from the state, other schools couldn’t afford to do so.
“Students and their parents who depend on MAP were being whipsawed by the crises of the past several years, and universities were left holding the bag for essentially an unfunded mandate. This gets us back to normalcy,” Hardy said in a statement Tuesday. “The AIM matching funds scholarship plan will help universities in Illinois stem the outbound tide of students enrolling in other states.”
Governor Bruce Rauner signed the state budget Monday, which takes effect July 1.
