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Public Libraries and the Illinois Student Assistance Commission: Connecting Families to Financial Aid Information More than 40 years ago, state lawmakers created the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) to ensure that financial considerations did not prevent Illinois students from realizing their postsecondary educational goals. Since then, the number of students we assist and the number of programs we administer has increased steadily, as has the scope of the services provided to support those programs. Today, as in 1957, out priority continues to be making post-secondary education accessible for the students and families of Illinois. To better service its clients, ISAC has evolved into a one-stop financial aid center, offering a comprehensive array of programs and services. At every stage of the financial aid process, ISAC is there, acting as a centralized source of information and guidance. In Illinois, we administer most of the key state and federal grant, scholarship and loan programs available in excess of $989 million to more than 326,000 qualified applicants. As a one-stop center, we strive not only to broaden access to post-secondary education, but to simplify the process of reaching that goal. ISAC At Your Service! For the past two years, ISAC has partnered with regional library systems and public libraries across the state to help assure that Illinois residents have information about post-secondary financial aid available to students and their families. We know that there is no better place for families to get information than their local library. Since financial aid is often the key to a student's access to higher education and college choice, ISAC can be an important "easy to use" resource for public library patrons. All ISAC materials are helpful year-round for presenting information on college choice and financial aid. And all of our services and materials are free — just call, fax or write and let us know what you need! In the past, the partnering efforts of ISAC and public libraries focused on providing financial aid information to communities through the distribution of printed materials, videos and workshops. Now we are looking for NEW CONNECTIONS to the library through the exciting use of technology. ISAC'S Internet Initiatives — Surfin's Never Looked So Good! Due to the increasing popularity of the Internet, students and their families are taking advantage of the cyber-resource as a means of gathering information on planning for college and the financial aid process. To support families as well as schools in the process. ISAC has undertaken the following Internet initiatives. ISAC OnLine: www.isac-online.org To help Web surfers find the information they need from ISAC's various Internet sites, we developed a master home page — ISAC OnLine — through which Internet users can access all ISAC Web sites. OnLine will connect you to The ISAC INFO Cafe, ISAC InfoNet, Mapping Your Future and all future ISAC Internet initiatives. Web browsers and serious searchers alike now need only remember one address to make their connection to any or all of the ISAC sites. Our Web site has something for everyone.
* Bernice Bloom, Special Assistant for State Relations — Early Awareness, Illinois Student Assistance Commission, Deerfield. 46
• adults starting their post-secondary education or returning for a degree; and It's all available through one click of your mouse. Internet users can also visit ISAC Web sites directly. The ISAC INFO CAFE: www.isacl.org The ISAC INFO Cafe is the first place to visit for college planning — from a young family looking for saving options to a returning adult in pursuit of their higher education. This is the site where students and families looking for financial aid can get accurate up-to-date information on what Illinois resources are available through our state agency and how they can apply. This Web site caters primarily to students and parents, although there is Cook's Corner for high school counselors and financial aid professionals.
The ISAC INFO Cafe features include:
Mapping Your Future: Mapping Your Future is a public service Web site that provides information for students on career planning, academic preparation for college, admission procedures and standardized tests, college selection and financial aid options. This is a national site and ISAC is one of its sponsors. Each section of the site provides a 10-step "tour" through each subject matter, with many available side road visits to sites of interest. In addition, there is a "tour" specifically for middle and high school students. Eighth through twelfth graders can walk through "Ten Steps to Planning for Your Future." The "tour" takes a checklist approach to suggested activities during each grade. Many students and parents do not have ready access to the Internet. Libraries can be a valuable connection to help college-bound students and their families learn about the resources that Illinois provides through the many financial aid programs ISAC administers by linking to our Web site and adding us to financial aid and college planning Web site lists provided to your patrons. While schools, lenders and other educational organizations are using the Internet to provide a wealth of information to assist students in their preparation for post-secondary education, only ISAC's Web site is tailored to give Illinois residents the most up-to-date information about financial aid resources that are available to assist them in paying for a post-secondary education. OUTREACH ISAC's outreach activities emphasize that college is possible for all students. We encourage young families to plan and save for college. When students are still in their college selection process, we help them and their families navigate through the numerous and often confusing steps of the financial aid delivery process. Each year, ISAC staff offers assistance to more than 500,000 students and other clients who call the agency's various telephone support units, and we reach an additional 75,000 to 100,000 families at college fairs, workshops and other outreach events. In response to requests for written materials, ISAC annually distributes approximately 1.5 million copies of our various brochures covering a wide range of topics — from early awareness on planning and saving for college to repayment of student loans. Here is a sample listing of our most popular financial aid publications. • Our Challenges and Dreams (CD) series of four brochures:
47 Just What You Need... information to help college students manage their financial resources. • Means to the Dream.. .information students and families need to know about the financial aid programs administered by ISAC. • Surf's Up.. .our new brochure that explains how to use the Internet to plan for college. HIGHER-EDNET — The First Step in Locating Financial Aid Sources ISAC sponsors a financial aid location service, known as Higher-EdNet, which provides users with access to an electronic database that includes nationwide information on public, private, institutional and corporate financial assistance programs. This is a service all college-bound students will want to use. Applicants complete a Student Profile Form that is matched against the Higher-EdNet database to identify sources of financial aid for which they may be eligible and choose to pursue. Student Profile Forms can be submitted by paper for a $10 fee or electronically at no cost through participating high schools and colleges. ISAC can provide to libraries, at no cost, this software to transmit Higher-EdNet data to save students and families hours and hours of research time had they done this on their own. Student Profile Forms can be obtained at high schools, colleges, libraries or ISAC. For further information please contact Julie Winterbauer at 217/785-0713. CD-ROM Beginning this fall, we also will provide a new CD-ROM, an engaging, interactive resource that will provide easy access for high school students, parents and guidance counselors looking for information on planing for college and financial aid. This unique, user-friendly resource will provide an index of important financial aid topics, several of which are also found on our Web site. The CD-ROM will run on both Windows 95 and Macintosh platforms. ISAC's CD-ROM will be available at no cost to high schools and libraries. PROGRAMS When libraries partner with ISAC through technology and through the distribution of financial aid and college selection printed material, they provide an important community link for students, families, and returning adults to get the most up-to-date information about the many programs offered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. Few states offer as comprehensive an array of programs as Illinois does through ISAC. Among these programs are state and federal grants and scholarships, federal and alternative educational loans, and college savings and investment options. GRANTS AND SCHOLARSHIPS ISAC offers Illinois residents a variety of grant and scholarship programs, eligibility for which is based on factors such as financial need, academic achievement, chosen field of study or military service. These are called gift aid programs since the financial aid received does not need to be repaid. At the heart of these programs is ISAC's need-based Monetary Award Program (MAP). MAP is the second largest program of its kind in the United States, annually awarding more than a quarter of a billion dollars in grants more than 127,000 undergraduates who demonstrate financial need for such assistance. Grants awarded through MAP can be used to cover tuition and fees at eligible Illinois colleges and universities. For some of the neediest MAP applicants, ISAC provides additional aid. Illinois Incentive for Access grants are available to freshman students who are determined to have no financial resources of their own to pay for college. The remaining gift aid programs offered by ISAC are more targeted in nature. They range in focus from those that recognize academic achievement or chosen field of study/profession to those that reward military service. Collectively, these targeted scholarship and grant programs award more than $30 million in gift aid to qualified applicants each year. EDUCATIONAL LOAN PROGRAMS ISAC offers an array of low-interest educational loan programs with reasonable and manageable repayment terms. The most widely used is the Federal Family Education Loan Program (FFELP). Under this program individuals can apply for subsidized and unsubsidized Stafford (student) loans, and PLUS (parent) loans. Since 1966, ISAC has guaranteed more than $9 billion in federally reinsured FFELP loans for qualified students and parents. COLLEGE SAVINGS AND INVESTMENT PROGRAMS Ultimately, the primary responsibility for paying for college rests with the family, and an increasing number of families are beginning to appreciate the importance of planning ahead for such costs. To help make higher education more affordable and accessible to Illinois residents, ISAC offers programs to help families save.
• Illinois College Accounts Network (ICAN) — A savings program that offers families several affordable college investment options that emphasize long-term, systematic savings. 48
• College Bonds — Subject to availability, Illinois College Savings Bonds are issued once a year — in the fall. This program is an easy and secure way for families to purchase bonds for the purpose of planning and saving for a college education. College Savings Bonds are structured as zero coupon bonds meaning the bonds can be bought at a deep discount. Interest is paid on the date the bonds reach maturity. Bond proceeds are exempt from federal and Illinois income tax. The Illinois Bureau of the Budget administers this program. A COMMITMENT TO SERVICE We understand that students and families need more than financial aid dollars to access college. That's why the Illinois Student Assistance Commission provides an extraordinary array of support services to students, their families, and the institutions it serves. Please utilize our one-stop service center as a resource to connect public library patrons to written and Internet sources of financial aid and college selection information. TOGETHER WE CAN WORK TO ASSURE ILLINOIS STUDENTS ACCESS AND CHOICE IN POST-SECONDARY EDUCATION. For more information on ISAC programs, or to order material, please contact:
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Before You Know It...
information on saving and planning for parents with young children;
Choices.. information to help students in grades 5-8 identify their strengths and plan for the future;
