As we have been preparing for the new school year here at Northeastern, a storm is brewing downstate that will come to a head in the next few weeks. For the current school year, the Illinois Monetary Award Program (MAP) has been cut in half by the Governor and the Illinois legislature. This has dire consequences for Northeastern and all of Illinois higher education. The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC), the agency that administers the MAP awards, allocated all available MAP funds to cover student needs for the fall semester, leaving nothing for the spring. Because there is a chance that the state legislature will restore funding for the MAP program in October, it is crucial that all of us become active in the political process. We need the Governor and legislature to hear us and, in particular, we need them to hear the voices of our students.
To give you context, let me share some facts about MAP grants with you. Since the 1970s, the state has funded the Monetary Award Program (MAP) to help reduce the disparity in educational attainment between students who can afford college educations and those who cannot. MAP grants are used by students at Illinois community colleges, public universities, and private colleges and universities. Only Illinois residents are able to receive MAP grants. At Northeastern, over 2,000 students, close to one-third of our undergraduate students, receive some aid from MAP, with the average award being about $2,600 for the academic year.
As I mentioned above, currently eligible MAP recipients, under the current funding levels, will not receive MAP funding in spring 2010. Furthermore, on a statewide basis there has been a 30 percent increase in financial aid applications. Because of the funding shortfall, the eligibility deadline was moved up with very little notice for students. This meant that more than 130,000 Illinois students with financial need were denied MAP funding in the fall semester of 2009.
What does this mean for you? If you are one of the thousands of students who suddenly don’t have the resources to pay for college costs, you may need to take out a loan (or a second loan), work extra hours, take fewer classes, or just take a semester off. However, research shows that three out of four students who drop out of college will never return to complete their degree. We believe the state of Illinois cannot afford to lose a generation of college students. Even if you are not receiving MAP funding, you likely will still be affected. Fewer students taking fewer classes means that there could be cuts to the number of classes offered or cuts to student services. Lost tuition revenue to the University due to MAP cuts could be as much as $4 million, which is nearly 5 percent of the University’s budget, which in turn might mean fewer funds for new academic programs and fewer resources for improving the academic programs we already offer. So, even if you do not receive this aid personally, as a member of the University community you will be affected if the funds are not restored.Now that I’ve painted this fairly gloomy picture of how things could be, let’s talk about what we can do together to help prevent this from happening. Legislators want to hear from students. They hear from administrators all the time and often from faculty, and it’s sometimes hard for us to get their attention. But you, as students, have the power to capture the attention of the Governor and members of the legislature and change the path that we are on. Please consider joining together in a campaign to let Springfield know that by cutting MAP grants, your education will be directly affected.
Timing is critical. Full MAP funding must be restored by November 1st so that continuing students can re-enroll for the spring semester. For that reason, I am asking you to take the following steps: Before October 6th, please write a letter or an email to your state senator and your state representative. Call their offices and let them know that their decision not to fully fund the MAP program affects your future. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper (whether that’s a small suburban neighborhood paper or the Tribune!). You can find out who your legislators are and see a sample letter at the website www.saveillinoismapgrants.org (click on the “Students” tab). Please consider getting together with your friends and classmates to make a difference in the future of your education.Personally, I have joined a coalition of presidents and chancellors from public and private colleges and universities, community colleges presidents, and representatives from the Illinois Student Assistance Commission and the Illinois Board of Higher Education. This coalition is lobbying the Governor directly, and has been meeting with the editorial boards of the major newspapers throughout the state. On September 29th, there will be a rally in downtown Chicago calling for MAP grant funding to be restored. On October 15th, I will travel to Springfield with a group of our students to rally at the capital and lobby the legislature to restore MAP funding. In the next week or so, there will be information sent to the University community about these two rallies and how interested students can participate. In the meantime, check www.saveillinoismapgrants.org for updates about efforts to restore this critically important funding.
The Governor and the legislature need to know that supporting college students with financial need is a high priority for the state of Illinois and its future, and appropriately funding MAP grants is the key to assuring that everyone has an equal chance to go to college. Thank you for getting involved with this effort.
If you have any questions or comments about this column or its content, please write to me at PresColumn@neiu.edu. Until next time …