HJ0032 LRB095 11362 NHT 32131 r

1
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The Monetary Award Program, also known as "MAP",
3 which is administered by the Illinois Student Assistance
4 Commission, is among the premiere state-funded, need-based,
5 postsecondary grant programs in the United States; and
 
6     WHEREAS, MAP grants are intended to provide funding for all
7 Illinois students seeking postsecondary degrees who
8 demonstrate financial need, providing $347 million in grants to
9 146,853 students in 2006; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The profile of students attending Illinois
11 colleges and universities has undergone dramatic changes in the
12 past decade, as increasing numbers of students are older,
13 married, parents, or working; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Those students defined as independent, meaning
15 those who are 24 years of age or older, those who are married,
16 those with dependents, and those who have been in the military,
17 are often the most financially challenged in their endeavors to
18 pursue a postsecondary education; and
 
19     WHEREAS, As more working adults seek to return to school,
20 they face a federal financial aid system designed primarily for
21 traditional students; and
 

 

 

HJ0032 - 2 - LRB095 11362 NHT 32131 r

1     WHEREAS, Low-income working adults are often expected to
2 contribute an unrealistic proportion of their income to college
3 costs; therefore, be it
 
4     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
5 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE
6 SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Student Assistance
7 Commission, in cooperation with the Board of Higher Education,
8 Women Employed, the Federation of Independent Illinois
9 Colleges & Universities, and other concerned parties, document
10 the overall financial need of independent students in Illinois
11 and the degree to which they are served by the Monetary Award
12 Program in a report to be delivered to the General Assembly no
13 later than December 31, 2007; and be it further
 
14     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15 delivered to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission.