•March 4, 2020•
By Capitol News Illinois

STUDENT ASSISTANCE FUNDING: The state commission that oversees higher education grants for low-income students detailed the diminishing buying power of state financial aid Thursday, Feb. 27, during a budget request hearing.
Eric Zarnikow, executive director of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission, spent much of his testimony before a Senate appropriations committee breaking down the state’s Monetary Award Program grants, which apply to tuition and fees. The grants are available to eligible Illinois residents who demonstrate financial need and attend approved Illinois colleges, and they do not need to be repaid.
“MAP really does meet today’s low-income Illinois students where they are and it gets aid to the people that need it the most,” Zarnikow said, later noting that MAP recipients graduate at about the same rate as other students enrolled at the same university.
This year, 54 percent of MAP recipients have no parent who graduated college, and 53 percent come from families that are judged by the federal government as having no money to contribute to the cost of higher education.     Login or Subscribe to read the rest of this story.