101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
SB3539

 

Introduced 2/14/2020, by Sen. Chapin Rose

 

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:
 
110 ILCS 947/35

    Amends the Higher Education Student Assistance Act. With regard to the Monetary Award Program, provides that, in addition to other eligibility requirements for applicants of the grant program enrolled at a qualified for-profit institution, the following shall apply to the qualified for-profit institution in which the applicant is enrolled: (i) beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, a qualified for-profit institution may not exceed a 15% national 3-year student loan cohort default rate, as published by the U.S. Department of Education, and (ii) beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, a qualified for-profit institution must maintain an 80% student success rate; defines "student success rate". Provides that a for-profit institution's failure to meet those eligibility requirements shall result in a probationary academic year during which the institution is required to notify all current and prospective students eligible for Monetary Award Program grants of the student's possibility of losing that eligibility. Provides that if the institution fails to meet the for-profit institution eligibility requirements for 2 consecutive academic years, an applicant enrolled at the institution must lose Monetary Award Program grant eligibility and for a student to regain Monetary Award Program grant eligibility at that institution, the institution must meet the for-profit institution eligibility requirements for at least 2 consecutive academic years. Effective immediately.


LRB101 20129 CMG 70299 b

 

 

A BILL FOR

 

SB3539LRB101 20129 CMG 70299 b

1    AN ACT concerning education.
 
2    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3represented in the General Assembly:
 
4    Section 5. The Higher Education Student Assistance Act is
5amended by changing Section 35 as follows:
 
6    (110 ILCS 947/35)
7    Sec. 35. Monetary award program.
8    (a) The Commission shall, each year, receive and consider
9applications for grant assistance under this Section. Subject
10to a separate appropriation for such purposes, an applicant is
11eligible for a grant under this Section when the Commission
12finds that the applicant:
13        (1) is a resident of this State and a citizen or
14    permanent resident of the United States; and
15        (2) in the absence of grant assistance, will be
16    deterred by financial considerations from completing an
17    educational program at the qualified institution of his or
18    her choice.
19    (b) The Commission shall award renewals only upon the
20student's application and upon the Commission's finding that
21the applicant:
22        (1) has remained a student in good standing;
23        (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
4necessary fee costs. The Commission shall determine the grant
5amount for each student, which shall not exceed the smallest of
6the following amounts:
7        (1) subject to appropriation, $5,468 for fiscal year
8    2009, $5,968 for fiscal year 2010, and $6,468 for fiscal
9    year 2011 and each fiscal year thereafter, or such lesser
10    amount as the Commission finds to be available, during an
11    academic year;
12        (2) the amount which equals 2 semesters or 3 quarters
13    tuition and other necessary fees required generally by the
14    institution of all full-time undergraduate students; or
15        (3) such amount as the Commission finds to be
16    appropriate in view of the applicant's financial
17    resources.
18    Subject to appropriation, the maximum grant amount for
19students not subject to subdivision (1) of this subsection (c)
20must be increased by the same percentage as any increase made
21by law to the maximum grant amount under subdivision (1) of
22this subsection (c).
23    "Tuition and other necessary fees" as used in this Section
24include the customary charge for instruction and use of
25facilities in general, and the additional fixed fees charged
26for specified purposes, which are required generally of

 

 

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1nongrant recipients for each academic period for which the
2grant applicant actually enrolls, but do not include fees
3payable only once or breakage fees and other contingent
4deposits which are refundable in whole or in part. The
5Commission may prescribe, by rule not inconsistent with this
6Section, detailed provisions concerning the computation of
7tuition and other necessary fees.
8    (d) No applicant, including those presently receiving
9scholarship assistance under this Act, is eligible for monetary
10award program consideration under this Act after receiving a
11baccalaureate degree or the equivalent of 135 semester credit
12hours of award payments.
13    (d-5) In this subsection (d-5), "renewing applicant" means
14a student attending an institution of higher learning who
15received a Monetary Award Program grant during the prior
16academic year. Beginning with the processing of applications
17for the 2020-2021 academic year, the Commission shall annually
18publish a priority deadline date for renewing applicants.
19Subject to appropriation, a renewing applicant who files by the
20published priority deadline date shall receive a grant if he or
21she continues to meet the eligibility requirements under this
22Section. A renewing applicant's failure to apply by the
23priority deadline date established under this subsection (d-5)
24shall not disqualify him or her from receiving a grant if
25sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that
26date.

 

 

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1    (e) The Commission, in determining the number of grants to
2be offered, shall take into consideration past experience with
3the rate of grant funds unclaimed by recipients. The Commission
4shall notify applicants that grant assistance is contingent
5upon the availability of appropriated funds.
6    (e-5) The General Assembly finds and declares that it is an
7important purpose of the Monetary Award Program to facilitate
8access to college both for students who pursue postsecondary
9education immediately following high school and for those who
10pursue postsecondary education later in life, particularly
11Illinoisans who are dislocated workers with financial need and
12who are seeking to improve their economic position through
13education. For the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 academic years, the
14Commission shall give additional and specific consideration to
15the needs of dislocated workers with the intent of allowing
16applicants who are dislocated workers an opportunity to secure
17financial assistance even if applying later than the general
18pool of applicants. The Commission's consideration shall
19include, in determining the number of grants to be offered, an
20estimate of the resources needed to serve dislocated workers
21who apply after the Commission initially suspends award
22announcements for the upcoming regular academic year, but prior
23to the beginning of that academic year. For the purposes of
24this subsection (e-5), a dislocated worker is defined as in the
25federal Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.
26    (f) (Blank).

 

 

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1    (g) The Commission shall determine the eligibility of and
2make grants to applicants enrolled at qualified for-profit
3institutions in accordance with the criteria set forth in this
4Section. The eligibility of applicants enrolled at such
5for-profit institutions shall be limited as follows:
6        (1) Beginning with the academic year 1997, only to
7    eligible first-time freshmen and first-time transfer
8    students who have attained an associate degree.
9        (2) Beginning with the academic year 1998, only to
10    eligible freshmen students, transfer students who have
11    attained an associate degree, and students who receive a
12    grant under paragraph (1) for the academic year 1997 and
13    whose grants are being renewed for the academic year 1998.
14        (3) Beginning with the academic year 1999, to all
15    eligible students.
16    (g-5) In addition to the eligibility requirements set forth
17in subsection (g) for applicants enrolled at a qualified
18for-profit institution, both of the following shall apply to
19the qualified for-profit institution in which the applicant is
20enrolled:
21        (1) Beginning with the 2020-2021 academic year, a
22    qualified for-profit institution may not exceed a 15%
23    national 3-year student loan cohort default rate, as
24    published by the U.S. Department of Education.
25        (2) Beginning with the 2021-2022 academic year, a
26    qualified for-profit institution must maintain an 80%

 

 

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1    student success rate. For purposes of this paragraph,
2    "student success rate" means the percentage of students who
3    complete their program of study or those with subsequent
4    enrollment within 4 and one-half years after entering the
5    qualified for-profit institution.
6    A for-profit institution's failure to meet the eligibility
7requirements under paragraph (1) or (2) shall result in a
8probationary academic year during which the institution is
9required to notify all current and prospective students
10eligible for Monetary Award Program grants of the student's
11possibility of losing that eligibility. If the institution
12fails to meet the for-profit institution eligibility
13requirements under this subsection for 2 consecutive academic
14years, an applicant enrolled at the institution must lose
15Monetary Award Program grant eligibility. For a student to
16regain Monetary Award Program grant eligibility at that
17institution, the institution must meet the for-profit
18institution eligibility requirements under this subsection for
19at least 2 consecutive academic years.
20    (h) The Commission may adopt rules to implement this
21Section.
22(Source: P.A. 100-477, eff. 9-8-17; 100-621, eff. 7-20-18;
23100-823, eff. 8-13-18; 101-81, eff. 7-12-19.)
 
24    Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
25becoming law.