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| Task Force Meets to Discuss the MAP |
(IRN)-People looking for ways to shake loose more financial aid are coming up with ideas to give to the Illinois Board of Higher Education at a task force meeting Thursday to discuss MAP, the Monetary Awards Program. It's a $400 million program, and the task force is trying to find another $100 million. "One hundred million dollars in bonds would be issued over each of the next five years for five hundred million dollars in bonds," said Tom Schmidt, the chairman of the task force.
Under the proposal, however, the bonds would only be issued if the $403 million currently allotted for the MAP grant continues. The work in progress proposal, drafted by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, plans to track MAP recipients at community colleges and set aside their income taxes to fund the bonds. The allotment of dollars would not see any increase for those individuals, but would simply ensure that certain targeted groups could be identified and money set aside prior to making its way into the General Fund.
"The community college students emerged out of this thing because there's a more documented history of community college students going through the system and remaining in the state of Illinois," said Schmidt.
But Illinois Community College Trustees Association State President David Harby isn’t on board with this plan. "We think to separate them out and track their earnings to repay the bonds are not fair for the students in their future income tax paying and their future tracking," said Harby. "And we feel like higher education should totally share in the funding of ISAC and the MAP grants."
The task force will meet on Friday February 4 to discuss whether Harby's concerns will be addressed. It's still possible that all MAP recipients' taxes would be funneled to the bond repayment, but so far only community college students' taxes have been seriously discussed. The task force will deliver their findings to the Illinois Board of Higher Education who will meet to discuss the idea on February 15.
(Source: Illinois Radio Network) |
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| 01 28 11 by Newsroom |
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