Section 2744.10  Summary and Purpose

 

a)         The Police Training Academy Job Training Scholarship Program (the Scholarship Program) provides scholarships to pay for tuition and mandatory fees at Illinois public institutions of higher learning to individuals enrolled in those institutions and who have successfully completed the police training academy job training program established under Section 22-83 of the School Code [105 ILCS 5]. The Commission shall, each year, beginning with the 2018-2019 academic year, receive and consider applications for scholarships under this Section.

 

b)         Scholarships are limited based on funding levels appropriated by the Illinois General Assembly from the Police Training Academy Job Training Program and Scholarship Fund.

 

c)         This Part establishes rules which govern the Scholarship Program. Additional rules and definitions are contained in General Provisions, 23 Ill. Adm. Code 2700 (General Provisions).

 

Section 2744.20  Applicant Eligibility

 

a)         A qualified applicant:

 

1)         shall be a resident of Illinois;

 

2)         shall be enrolled or accepted for enrollment on at least a half-time basis at an Illinois public institution of higher learning; and

 

3)         must have successfully completed the police training academy job training program established under Section 22-83 of the School Code.

 

b)         A qualified renewal applicant shall meet all the requirements of subsection (a) of this Section and be:

 

1)         making satisfactory academic progress at the public institution of higher learning, as determined by the institution.

 

2)         eligible for up to four years of full-time enrollment.

 

Section 2744.30  Program Procedures

 

a)         Applicants shall annually file an ISAC application for the Scholarship Program and provide all documentation requested in the application.

 

1)         Contingent upon adequate funding, scholarship applications will be available at ISAC's web site and, ISAC's Springfield, Deerfield and Chicago offices.

 

2)         All first-time applicants shall certify that they have successfully completed the Police Training Academy Job Training Program and shall provide other information and documentation requested in the application.

 

3)         If the application is incomplete, ISAC will notify the applicant, who will have an opportunity to furnish the missing information. The application will only be considered for processing after all necessary information is received by ISAC.

 

b)         Benefits are limited to tuition and mandatory fees for 2 semesters in an academic year for up to four years of full-time enrollment.

 

c)         ISAC shall select the recipients from among those who have submitted complete applications, including qualified new applicants and those who filed timely renewal applications for to up to four years of full-time enrollment and have supplied information required.

 

d)         The total number of scholarships awarded in a given fiscal year is contingent upon available funding. If funding is insufficient to pay all eligible applicants, awarding will be based on the date the completed application is received in ISAC's Deerfield office. Preference may be given to renewal applicants, provided that the recipient continues to meet the eligibility requirements.

 

Section 2744.40 Institutional Procedures

 

a)         The institution shall certify the applicant's award amount within the time frame requested by ISAC, which shall be no sooner than 30 days unless a more rapid response is necessary to expend appropriated funds prior to the end of the academic year.

 

b)         Institutional Packaging of Assistance

 

1)         If the recipient receives other assistance targeted specifically for tuition and fees, the combined assistance shall not exceed the total tuition and fee expenses incurred by the student.  If it does, the institution shall reduce one of the awards accordingly.

 

2)         Notwithstanding the provisions of other ISAC-administered programs, the total amount of a student's gift assistance may not exceed the student's cost of attendance for that institution. Any excess gift assistance is considered an overaward, and the institution is required to notify ISAC to reduce this grant and/or other gift assistance to prevent the overaward.

 

3)         If the recipient is eligible for assistance under MAP, the Scholarship Program must be factored into the financial aid package prior to receiving MAP gift assistance. The institution, however, may request a MAP grant to finance tuition and mandatory fee expenses not paid by the Scholarship Program.

 

c)         Institutional Processing of Payments

 

1)         Within 30 days after, and including the date of, receiving payment, the institution shall credit the award toward the recipient's tuition and mandatory fee charges for the appropriate term.

 

2)         Institutions are required to reconcile payments, both payment data and actual funds, received through the Scholarship Program and, as applicable, submit all necessary corrections to student records on a timely basis.

 

3)         Within 30 days after the end of an academic term during which Scholarship Program funds are credited to recipient's tuition and eligible fee charges, institutions must reconcile data received from ISAC as a result of payment claim processing against the eligibility status throughout that term for each student for whom payment claims were made. In reconciling the data with student eligibility, an institution must determine whether:

 

A)        The amount of the claim applied to a student's tuition and eligible fee charges exceeded the amount that the student was eligible to receive for any reason, including as a result of billing errors or retroactive withdrawals;

 

B)        The amount of the claim applied to a student's tuition and eligible fee charges was less than the amount that the student was eligible to receive for any reason, including as a result of billing errors or retroactive withdrawals; or

 

C)        The amount of the claim applied to a student's tuition and eligible fee charges equaled the amount that the student was eligible to receive.

 

4)         Any institution that determines that the amount of a claim applied to a student's tuition and mandatory fee charges either exceeded the amount that the student was eligible to receive or was less than that amount must submit an accounting of all adjustments to ISAC within 30 days following the end of the applicable term.

 

5)         For any claims determined to exceed the amount that the student was eligible to receive, the amount in excess paid for the claims shall be remitted to ISAC within 45 days after the end of the applicable term unless the payment is received after the end of the applicable term. If the payment of claims is made after the end of the applicable term, the institution shall have 60 days following receipt of the payment to complete reconciliation and remit any funds due to ISAC.

 

6)         Award payments made in the name of one recipient cannot be applied to another recipient at the same institution. A refund of the payment must be submitted to ISAC and a supplemental request must be made and processed for the proper recipient.

 

7)         If the institution does not submit refunds as required, ISAC will deduct outstanding refunds from subsequent payments to the institution.

 

8)         To provide sufficient time for processing and vouchering through the State Comptroller's Office in Springfield, all payment requests except for summer term must be received by ISAC no later than July 1. Summer term payment requests must be received no later than July 31.