NB.10.01

Resolution on Restoring State Funding for
Monetary Award Program (MAP) for Illinois Students

WHEREAS,     the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was founded under the auspices of the Morrill Act, designed to provide Illinois residents with access to higher education, and

WHEREAS      the original Morrill Act document, signed by Abraham Lincoln, will be exhibited and celebrated on campus throughout the month of October, and

WHEREAS      the Illinois Public Agenda, the State’s road map for higher education over the next decade, aims to eliminate achievement gaps by socioeconomic status and to reduce the percent of family income required to pay the cost of education for low- and middle-income families, and

WHEREAS,     the Monetary Award Program (MAP) administered by the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) offers need-based financial aid to Illinois students, and

WHEREAS,     138,000 students across the state are eligible to receive MAP funds for the academic year 2009-2010, and

WHEREAS      6,037 students attending the Urbana-Champaign campus of the University of Illinois received $25,803,600 in MAP grants for the 2008-2009 academic year, and

WHEREAS,     the State’s FY 2010 budget has reduced by half funding for ISAC, resulting in no MAP funding for the Spring 2010 semester, and

WHEREAS,     loss of the MAP program will seriously jeopardize the ability of low-income Illinois students to pursue and complete their education due to their inability to enroll for the Spring 2010 semester, and

WHEREAS      students not enrolled in school will lose other educational financial aid they may have been eligible to receive, and

WHEREAS      appropriations for the Monetary Award Program are established by the Illinois General Assembly and the Governor, and

WHEREAS      the Academic Senate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is the sole elected body representing faculty and students on the campus

THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Academic Senate of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign calls upon Governor Quinn and the Illinois General Assembly to fully restore MAP funding to ISAC for the Spring 2010 semester and thereafter in a timely manner, in order to allow eligible students to enroll in their courses without delay and complications.