ISAC Update

VOL. 43, NO. 6F
December 2025

Messages sent to: Multiple Subscription Groups
  ISAC Update

Welcome to the December 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 December.

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.

MULTIPLE SUBSCRIPTION GROUPS

2025-26 PFC Processing via GAP Access
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, and Business Officers on December 30, 2025.

Links in this message are to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website (isac.org) unless otherwise noted.

Starting with the 2025-26 academic year, all Grant Programs for Dependents of Police, Fire, or Correctional Officers (PFC) processing takes place through the PFC system within the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal.

Effective immediately, 2025-26 PFC records – including the Student List and award status – may be viewed and first-term payment requests (claims) may be submitted by colleges.

Financial aid staff must have the appropriate level of access to view applicant records or submit payment requests. The school's GAP Access primary administrator or a designated administrator is responsible for authorizing access levels.

Student List Available

  • View a listing of 2025-26 PFC records by accessing the PFC system and selecting the Student tab to display the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen.
  • Records will display for all applicants who listed the institution on their applications and whose applications have been reviewed by ISAC staff for completeness.
  • Regularly check the PFC system for new data, because additional records may appear on the Student List as applications are reviewed.

Awarding Has Begun

The 2025-26 PFC awarding cycle has begun and notifications will be sent to awarded students by ISAC. You may access 2025-26 award information, including funded or unfunded status, using the "Student List Eligibility: View" screen within the PFC system.

First-Term Claims Being Accepted

Initial payment request records are now available via the PFC system, allowing colleges to submit 2025-26 PFC first-term (fall) claims.

In order to be considered timely, 2025-26 PFC first-term claims must be submitted on or before Friday, January 23, 2026. You are encouraged to submit claims as soon as you are able to do so.

Important Payment Information

  • By submitting a PFC payment request, you are certifying that the recipient is enrolled and continues to meet all eligibility requirements.
    • If not submitting a payment request, you must report the reason for the student's ineligibility.
  • Submitting PFC payment requests is a two-step process, which involves generating the request and then submitting the request.
  • Payment functionality is available each day between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. (CT).
    • Claims submitted by 7:00 p.m. (CT) will be included in that night's processing, with payment results available the next business day.
    • Results for claims submitted after 7:00 p.m. (CT) will be included in the following night's processing.
  • Results for claims received are provided via the PFC system.
    • The Payment Result Summary and Invoice Detail Report can be viewed or printed by selecting the Report tab in the PFC 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.
  • The disbursement of funds is processed by the State of Illinois Comptroller's Office.
  • Because Payment Offset and Reconciliation procedures apply to this program, 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.

Resources Available Online

Visit the pages listed below for more information about PFC processing.

Future Updates

Watch for future program updates via the PFC Program News page, the FAA Message Board, and this e-Messaging system.

Highlights from December 4 Commission Meeting
Sent to Financial Aid Directors and Financial Aid Administrators on December 11, 2025.

The following actions were taken at the December 4, 2025 meeting of the Illinois Student Assistance Commission. You can find a listing of all agenda items in the December 4, 2025 agenda book, which can be accessed via the ISAC's Governing Board: The Commission area of our website (isac.org).

2025-26 Proposed Administrative Program Rules and Amendments Approved – Agenda Item 4

The Commission accepted 2025-26 proposed administrative program rules and amendments for the seven Parts listed below, for submission to the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR).

  • Part 2743: Grant Program for Exonerees
  • Part 2749: Nursing Education Scholarships
  • Part 2750: Illinois Graduate and Retain our Workforce (iGROW) Tech Scholarship Program
  • Part 2752: Human Services Professional Loan Repayment Program
  • Part 2753: Community Behavioral Health Care Professional Loan Repayment Program
  • Part 2755: Journalism Student Scholarship Program
  • Part 2776: Workforce Development Through Charitable Loan Repayment Program

Barring any unresolved objection by JCAR or material modification, the program rules will be adopted as written and amended. Once this has happened, the 2025-26 rules will be posted in the ISAC Administrative Rules section at isac.org. In addition, corresponding areas of the ISAC website will be updated to reflect the adopted rules.

Details regarding the proposed rules and amendments are provided in the November 12, 2025 "ISAC Administrative Rules Update" e-Message.

FY27 Appropriated Funds Budget Request Approved – Agenda Item 5

The Commission approved a fiscal year 2027 (FY27) budget request totaling just under $1.01 billion, including a requested increase for Monetary Award Program (MAP) grants of $72.2 million. Details regarding the FY27 budget recommended by ISAC staff are provided in Table 1 of Agenda Item 5.

This budget request will now go to the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) to be incorporated into the larger education budget and to the Governor's Office of Management and Budget (GOMB). The governor's FY27 budget address is scheduled for February 18, 2026.

Additional Items

Other agenda items at the meeting included:

  • College Illinois!® Prepaid Tuition Program Updates – Agenda Item 6
  • Outreach Update – Agenda Item 7

    Throughout the fall, ISAC's Outreach staff members partnered with Illinois high schools to offer over 1,100 Financial Aid Application Workshops, which were attended by more than 11,000 students in nearly 300 cities and towns across the state. Over 100 additional workshops will be offered at various locations between now and the end of June 2026.

    In addition, an effort is underway to recruit new ISACorps™ members, especially in the southern portion of Illinois. These recent college graduates serve as an important resource for college-bound high school students.
  • Website Update – Agenda Item 8

    The Commission received an update on the progress of ISAC's website redesign project. The new website will have a fresh design and architecture and streamlined content to make it easier to navigate and more directly access content to meet the needs of each audience.

Next Meeting

The next Commission meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 2026.

2025-26 Claims and Benefit Usage Data Updates and Reminders
Sent to Financial Aid Directors, Financial Aid Administrators, Public Schools – Participating in the ING Grant and IVG Programs, Business Officers, ECACE Administrators, and NES Schools on December 3, 2025.

Links in this message go to the Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) website (isac.org) unless otherwise noted.

This message provides important reminders regarding the submission of 2025-26 payment requests (claims) and benefit usage data for the first term (fall semester or quarter). Submission of first-term claims and data is done via the ISAC Gift Assistance Programs (GAP) Access portal, which includes the electronic processing systems for the ISAC programs discussed below. You are encouraged to submit 2025-26 first-term claims and/or benefit usage data for your students as soon as possible.

You may scroll through this message, or click on a link to go to a specific section.

Priority Claim Deadline: December 31

Early Childhood Access Consortium for Equity (ECACE) Scholarship Program

Golden Apple Scholars of Illinois Program

Nursing Education Scholarship (NES) Program

Post-Master of Social Work School Social Work Professional Educator License Scholarship (Social Work Scholarship) Program

Reminders for Submitting Claims

Benefit Usage Data Deadline: December 31

Illinois National Guard (ING) Grant Program

Illinois Veteran Grant (IVG) Program

ECACE Scholarships

Golden Apple Scholars

NES

  • ISAC is accepting 2025-26 NES claims for the first term.
    • The first-term NES priority claim deadline date is Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
  • Colleges may submit claims by accessing the NES system.
  • More information regarding NES payment functionality, including detailed instructions, is available at the following locations:

Social Work Scholarships

Reminders for Submitting Claims

  • Colleges are always encouraged to submit claims as soon as they are able to do so.
    • Regularly check the "Payment List" for each program's system (within the GAP Access portal) to identify newly-added records that are available for payment.
    • The timely submission of claims and cancellations/adjustments allows ISAC staff to monitor remaining funds and award other students, as applicable.
  • By submitting a claim for an ISAC-administered gift assistance program, the institution is confirming that the student is enrolled and continues to meet all eligibility requirements for the program.
    • If not submitting a claim, the institution reports the reason for the student's ineligibility.
  • Submitting claims is a two-step process, which involves generating the request (either individually or in a batch) and then submitting the request.
  • Payment results are available in the program's corresponding component in GAP Access on a daily basis.
    • Colleges are encouraged to always review the Payment Results/Exceptions report, which is available the day after claims are processed.
  • The disbursement of funds is processed by the State Comptroller's Office.
  • Because Payment Offset and Reconciliation procedures apply to each of the programs referenced above, 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.

ING Grant

  • ISAC continues to accept fall-term benefit usage data for the 2025-26 ING Grant Program.
    • In order to be considered timely, fall-term ING Grant benefit usage data must be submitted on or before Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
  • ING Grant benefit usage data is submitted to ISAC by colleges via the benefit usage functionality within the ING Grant 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 ING Grant awards, reporting of benefits used must still take place so that usage can be accurately reflected on students' accounts.
  • Colleges are encouraged to regularly check their Benefits Results report for this program.
  • More information, including detailed instructions, is available at the following locations:

IVG

  • ISAC continues to accept fall-term benefit usage data for the 2025-26 IVG Program.
    • In order to be considered timely, fall-term IVG benefit usage data must be submitted on or before Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
  • Although the September 30, 2025 summer-term deadline date has passed, colleges are still encouraged to submit IVG benefit usage data for the summer term as soon as possible.
  • IVG benefit usage data is submitted to ISAC by colleges via the benefit usage functionality within the IVG 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 awards, reporting of benefits used must still take place so that usage can be accurately reflected on students' accounts.
  • Colleges are encouraged to regularly check their Benefits Results report for this program.
  • More information, including detailed instructions, is available at the following locations:

Watch for Future Updates

Any future program updates will be shared with colleges via ISAC's standard methods of communication, including: the "Program News" area for each program; the FAA Message Board; and, ISAC's e-Messaging service.

ISAC Monthly 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 December 2, 2025.

The Illinois Student Assistance Commission (ISAC) will provide "Monthly Program & Operational Update" webinars for financial aid administrators at 2:00 p.m. (CT) on the following dates.

  • Wednesday, December 17, 2025*
  • Wednesday, January 28, 2026
  • Wednesday, February 25, 2026

* Webinar earlier in month than usual to accommodate holiday schedules.

Registration is not required for these webinars. Participate by accessing the webinar link and presentation materials at the Partner Training page in the e-Library on the day of the event.

Requests for specific topics or questions you would like an upcoming webinar to address may be submitted by sending an email to Partner Services at [email protected].

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ISAC UPDATE

November 2025 Electronic ISAC Update
Sent on December 1, 2025.

The November 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 November 2025 ISAC Update include:

  • Commission Meeting Thursday, December 4 – Executive Briefing Friday, December 5
    (sent November 25, 2025)
  • 2025-26 MAP First-Term Claims Due December 5
    (sent November 21, 2025)
  • Correction: ISAC Administrative Rules Update
    (sent November 17, 2025)
  • ISAC Administrative Rules Update
    (sent November 12, 2025)
  • Register Now – Success Network Conference
    (sent November 5, 2025)
  • Training Opportunities for FAAs
    (sent November 3, 2025)
  • October 2025 Electronic ISAC Update
    (sent November 3, 2025)

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