ISAC Student PortalISAC Update
VOL. 43, NO. 2F
August 2025
| Messages sent to: | Multiple Subscription Groups |
| ISAC Update |
Welcome to the August 2025 ISAC Update for financial aid administrators and business officers. This version of the electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent through ISAC's e-Messaging service throughout August.
The articles in this Update have been organized according to the FAA subscription groups to which the messages were distributed.
Questions?
Questions regarding information in this ISAC Update can be directed to Partner Services by calling 866.247.2172 or sending an email message to [email protected]. On occasion, you may be directed to a specific contact person or area; when this occurs, we will provide the appropriate information in the individual article or message.
2025-26 ECACE Scholarship Awarding
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, and ECACE Administrators on August 28, 2025.
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is sharing information to assist colleges in the administration of the Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program.
Awarding Has Been Completed
Awarding has taken place for 2025-26 ECACE Scholarship Program applicants based on certification records that were completed by the colleges before August 28. Renewal and new applicants were awarded and award notifications are being delivered to those students by ISAC. Colleges may access 2025-26 eligible award information, including funded or unfunded status, using the ECACE system. Award results may be viewed on the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen.
2025-26 MAP Payment Implementation
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, MAP Users, and Business Officers on August 21, 2025.
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) is sharing the following information to assist colleges in the administration of the Monetary Award Program (MAP).
The 2025-26 MAP payment cycle has begun, allowing first-term claims to be submitted.
- Colleges can submit first-term claims by accessing the MAP system, as well as by File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
- First-term payment requests will be processed on a nightly basis as they are received from colleges, and then submitted to the State Comptroller for payment per standard operating procedures.
- The fall-term claim deadline will be announced once determined.
Program Reminders
- When submitting claims, remember that ISAC has suspended the announcement of 2025-26 MAP grants for all students whose initial FAFSA is received by the federal processor, or whose initial Alternative Application is received by ISAC, after June 5, 2025.
- A Payment Result Summary and Invoice Detail Report can be viewed or printed by selecting the Report tab in the MAP system the day after a payment request has been processed.
- The report includes Payment Results, Payment Exceptions and Invoice Detail about the payment claim.
- Be sure to review the report to see which requests, if any, did not process as expected.
- Any 2025-26 payment requests that were submitted via FTP prior to today (August 21, 2025) will not be processed, and will need to be resubmitted by the college.
- In order to prevent having to resubmit data in the future, never submit payment requests via FTP until after ISAC announces it is accepting the data for that academic year.
- Because Payment Offset and Reconciliation procedures apply to MAP, refund checks should not be sent for cancellations/adjustments made throughout the award year.
- Funds should only be returned to ISAC after a final reconciliation has been completed at the end of the regular school year.
Online Resources
More information regarding the payment process is available via:
- the "Payment" chapter of the MAP User Guide, which has been updated to reflect the 2025-26 payment cycle and is located in the MAP Electronic Processing section of the Financial Aid Administrators Processes area, and
- the MAP Payment section of the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs area.
Submit 2025-26 IVG & ING Grant Benefit Usage Data
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, and Business Officers on August 21, 2025.
Unless otherwise noted, links in this message are to corresponding pages at the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website (isac.org).
This message provides information regarding the benefit usage reporting cycle for the 2025-26 Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) and Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant programs.
IVG and ING Grant Benefit Usage Data Being Accepted
ISAC is accepting benefit usage data for the 2025-26 IVG summer and fall terms and the 2025-26 ING Grant fall term.
In order to be considered timely:
- IVG benefit usage data for the summer term must be submitted on or before Tuesday, September 30, 2025;
- IVG benefit usage data for the fall term must be submitted on or before Wednesday, December 31, 2025; and,
- ING Grant benefit usage data for the fall term must be submitted on or before Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
Reminders
- Benefit usage data for the IVG and ING Grant programs is submitted to ISAC by colleges via the benefit usage functionality within each program's system.
- Colleges report enrollment hours and dollar amounts for initial, in-district and out-of-district benefit usage by students, as well as adjustments to previously-submitted data.
- Even though ISAC may not be able to fully reimburse institutions for 2025-26 IVG or ING Grant awards, reporting of benefits used must still take place so that usage can be accurately reflected on students' accounts.
- As announced in a June 23 e-Message, fiscal year 2026 funds have been appropriated for ISAC to reimburse public universities for some of the tuition and fees that they waive on behalf of eligible veterans and Illinois National Guard members.
- Details regarding the disbursement of these funds will be provided once they have been determined.
- As announced in a June 23 e-Message, fiscal year 2026 funds have been appropriated for ISAC to reimburse public universities for some of the tuition and fees that they waive on behalf of eligible veterans and Illinois National Guard members.
- Colleges are encouraged to regularly check their Benefits Results report for each program.
- 160-byte specifications for the 2025-26 IVG and ING Grant programs, describing the file layout to be used to send data for each program to ISAC via File Transfer Protocol (FTP), are available within the Electronic Tools section of the e-Library for Partners.
- Any benefit usage data submitted via FTP prior to August 4, 2025 (the first day on which 2025-26 IVG data was accepted for the summer term) will not be processed, and must be resubmitted by the college.
- In order to prevent having to resubmit data in the future, never submit benefit usage data via FTP until after ISAC announces it is accepting the data for that academic year.
Resources Available Online
- IVG
- ING Grant
System Reminders
- Please verify that the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access Administrator at your college has established the appropriate program system (IVG and/or ING Grant) access level for all impacted staff.
- Instructions for establishing access to the appropriate system(s) may be found on the GAP Access page.
- The IVG and ING Grant systems are available each day between 7 a.m. and 10 p.m. (CT).
- The two-factor authentication process requires a valid user ID, password and single-use verification code each time a user logs in to the GAP Access portal.
- A valid GAP Access user ID and password are required in order to submit files via ISAC's Secure File Transfer System (located at https://transfer.isac.org/), making encryption (password protection) of files unnecessary.
- Additional information and instructions are provided in the FTP Process Using GAP Access Credentials Guide.
Watch for Future Updates
Future updates regarding these programs will be shared via our usual means of communication: the FAA Message Board; the IVG and ING Grant "Program News" pages; and/or this e-Messaging system.
August Webinars for FAAs
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, MAP Users, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on August 1, 2025.
The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will offer the following webinars for financial aid administrators during the month of August.
- Tuesday, August 12, 10 a.m. – Monetary Award Program (MAP) Policies & Procedures
- Wednesday, August 27, 2 p.m. – Monthly Program & Operational Update
To participate, visit the Partner Training page in the e-Library on the day of the event to access the webinar link and presentation materials.
July 2025 Electronic ISAC Update
Sent on August 1, 2025.
The July 2025 edition of the ISAC Update is now available for your review, and may be accessed via the Partner e-Messages & Newsletters section of the e-Library for Partners at isac.org. This version of the electronic ISAC Update is a compilation of e-Messages sent to financial aid administrators and business officers via ISAC's e-Messaging service over the past month.
Topics covered in the July 2025 ISAC Update include:
- Secure Your Spot – CCE Conference
(sent July 9, 2025) - July Webinars for FAAs
(sent July 3, 2025) - Register Today – CCE Conference
(sent July 1, 2025) - June 2025 Electronic ISAC Update
(sent July 1, 2025)
