ISAC Student PortalMonetary Award Program (MAP)
Program News
(last updated June 2, 2026)
Suspension of 2026-27 Award Announcements
2026-27 Start-Up Implementation
2026-27 File Layout Specifications
2026-27 Award Announcements
2026-27 Start-Up Formula
2025-26 Program Funding
Second Limited Release of 2025-26 Awards in Suspense
First Limited Release of 2025-26 Awards in Suspense
2025-26 Payment
2025-26 Recompute Formula
Initial Suspension of 2025-26 Award Announcements
2025-26 Start-up Formula Revision
2025-26 Start-up Implementation
2025-26 Award Announcements
2025-26 File Layout Specifications
2025-26 Start-up Formula
Additional MAP References
2026-27
Suspension of Award Announcements
ISAC is suspending the announcement of 2026-27 MAP award announcements for all students whose initial 2026-27 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) is received by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS), or whose initial Alternative Application for Illinois Financial is received by ISAC, after Thursday, April 23, 2026. This page will be updated when the suspension of MAP award announcements are reflected on the appropriate screens and reports of the MAP system, as well as in the MAP Eligibility File Extraction (anticipated late April).
Operational information can be found in the April 20 e-Message and on the Suspension of MAP Award Announcements page.
Start-Up Implementation
The 2026-27 FAFSA and Alternative Application (English and Spanish) are now available.
An October 17 e-Message announces that the 2026-27 MAP processing cycle has begun and eligibility information is available. 2026-27 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and Alternative Application Student Records received by ISAC through (including) Thursday, October 16, 2025 have been processed, and results are available for colleges to access via the MAP system. Daily processing of 2026-27 ISIR, Alternative Application, and eligibility status information has commenced.
The date by which returning MAP recipients are to submit their 2026-27 FAFSA or 2026-27 Alternative Application in order to receive priority access to appropriated funds is March 1, 2026 (through and including). Returning recipients are students who received MAP funds during the previous academic year (i.e., for 2026-27, students who received 2025-26 MAP funds). All MAP eligibility requirements must continue to be met. As a reminder, a returning applicant's failure to complete the FAFSA or Alternative Application by the announced priority date does not disqualify any applicant from receiving a grant if sufficient funding is available to provide awards after that date. MAP dollars are awarded equitably to qualified applicants, based on the formula, regardless of their returning status. ISAC is obligated by legislative action to set and announce a priority date, but that date is not a deadline date for FAFSA or Alternative Application completion.
File Layout Specifications
The 2026-27 MAP 160-Byte File Layout Specifications document is available via the Electronic Tools page within the e-Library. The file specifications are pertinent to schools that utilize the file extraction features of the MAP system or send MAP payment requests to ISAC via File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
Award Announcements
Colleges are required to announce MAP awards to eligible students enrolled at their institutions. Refer to the MAP Award Announcements area for details regarding college requirements, including the 2026-27 Required School-Issued Award Notification Language.
The Required School-Issued Award Notification Language has been updated for the 2026-27 year.
Start-Up Formula
On September 18, 2025, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission approved the 2026-27 (FY27) MAP start-up formula, which follows the FY26 recompute formula. See the 2026-27 MAP Formula page for specific details.
More information – including the 2026-27 Start-up Hand Calculation Forms and information about related file layout specifications – will be posted at this website as it becomes available.
2025-26
Program Funding
The 2026 fiscal year (July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026) appropriation for the Monetary Award Program (MAP) is $721,566,200.
Second Limited Release of 2025-26 Awards in Suspense
As announced in an April 7 e-Message, and based on the latest analysis of application and claim data, ISAC has released from suspense the 2025–26 MAP award announcements for students who submitted an initial FAFSA or an Alternative Application from July 2, 2025, through and including July 30, 2025. These released records became available to view in the MAP system starting on April 7, 2026. Announcements of 2025-26 MAP grants remain in suspense status for all eligible students with initial FAFSA or Alternative Application receipt dates on or after July 31, 2025.
The deadline date for submitting first- and second-term claims for these records was April 28, 2026. The third-term claim deadline was Friday, May 8, 2026.
Refer to the MAP Suspense page for information on how to identify records in a suspension status in the MAP system. The 2025-26 MAP Applicant Award Status Chart provides an overview of categories for students based on the initial application (FAFSA or Alternative Application) receipt date.
First Limited Release of 2025-26 Awards in Suspense
As announced in a January 30 e-Message, based on analysis of claim rates, ISAC released from suspense the 2025–26 MAP award announcements for students who submitted an initial FAFSA or an Alternative Application from June 6, 2025, through and including July 1, 2025. ISAC bases its awarding on the application receipt date recorded in the initial FAFSA and Alternative Application records. These released records were made available to view in the MAP system starting on January 30, 2026.
Refer to the MAP Suspense page for information on how to identify records in a suspension status or released from suspension in the MAP system. The 2025-26 MAP Applicant Award Status Chart provides an overview of categories for students based on the initial application (FAFSA) receipt date.
Payment
Important dates and reminders for 2025-26 MAP payment processing:
- A June 2 e-Message provides 2025-26 year-end updates:
- Friday, June 5, 2026 will be the last date on which:
- 2025-26 Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) data will be received from the FAFSA Processing System (FPS) and reflected in the MAP system; and,
- the 2025-26 Alternative Application for Illinois Financial Aid will be available for students to complete and submit to ISAC.
- Although the payment request deadline dates for all terms of the 2025-26 academic year have passed, ISAC will continue to accept and hold 2025-26 MAP initial claims and increases to previously submitted claims for all terms through (including) Wednesday, July 1, 2026.
- Payment has been approved for first, second, and third-term initial payment requests (claims) and increases to previously submitted claims that were received through (including) May 20, 2026.
- Schools should regularly monitor the MAP system to review payment results for initial claims and increases as we continue to monitor available funding and may release more claims.
- Colleges are encouraged to continue the process of reconciling 2025-26 MAP data, which assists ISAC staff in determining whether sufficient funds will be available to pay additional late claims.
- Adjustments to cancel or reduce previously submitted MAP claims will continue to be accepted for all terms through (including) Thursday, July 30, 2026.
- Effective Friday, July 31, 2026, 2025-26 data in the MAP system will become available for historical view only.
- Friday, June 5, 2026 will be the last date on which:
- When submitting claims, remember that ISAC has suspended the announcement of 2025-26 MAP grants for all students whose initial FAFSA or Alternative Application was submitted after July 30, 2025.
- Any initial claims submitted after a term's claim deadline date will be considered late and will only be paid if funds remain after paying all timely claims.
- 2025-26 payment requests that were submitted via FTP prior to August 21, 2025 will not be processed, and will need to be resubmitted by the college.
- In order to prevent having to resubmit data, 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, cancellations of prior payments will be deducted from any future payments until the end of the academic year.
- Funds should only be returned to ISAC after a final reconciliation has been completed at the end of the regular school year.
- All schools with an outstanding amount owed to ISAC at the end of the school year will receive a notice indicating the total amount to be returned.
Claims are submitted by accessing the MAP system, as well as by File Transfer Protocol (FTP). Payment requests are processed on a nightly basis as they are received from colleges, and then submitted to the State Comptroller for payment per standard operating procedures
Further details are available on the 2025-26 MAP Payment page, as well as in the “Payment” chapter of the MAP User Guide.
Recompute Formula
At its June 26, 2025 meeting, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission approved a recompute formula that is essentially the 2025-26 start-up formula, including the 4 percent reduction factor that was implemented in the spring.
The approved 2025-26 recompute formula is outlined in Table Four of Agenda Item 5 from the June 26 meeting, as well as on the 2025-26 MAP Formula page. Also available within this MAP section are the corresponding hand calculation forms, information regarding calculating a term award for both semester and quarter schools, guidance for rounding, and access to information about MAP electronic processing.
Because the recompute formula mirrors the start-up formula, no changes are required in the MAP system and daily processing of ISIR data continues as usual.
Initial Suspension of Award Announcements
ISAC first suspended the announcement of 2025-26 MAP award announcements for all students whose initial 2025-26 Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA®) was received by the FAFSA Processing System (FPS), or whose initial Alternative Application for Illinois Financial was received by ISAC, after Thursday, June 5, 2025. The initial suspension of MAP award announcements is reflected on the appropriate screens and reports of the MAP system, as well as in the MAP Eligibility File Extraction. Operational information can be found in the June 2 e-Message and on the Suspension of MAP Award Announcements page.
Start-up Formula Revision
Based on ongoing data analysis, the 2025-26 (FY26) MAP start-up formula will be adjusted to remain at the current FY25 level (announced in December for 2024-25), maintaining the FY25 4 percent reduction factor. Thus, FY26 annual MAP awards will be calculated with a 4 percent reduction factor. The effective maximum annual award for 2025-26 will be reduced from $8,400 to $8,064.
Further details are provided in a March 12 e-Message, and at the 2025-26 MAP Formula page.
Start-up Implementation
The 2025-26 FAFSA and Alternative Application (English and Spanish) are now available.
A December 30 e-Message announces that the 2025-26 MAP processing cycle has begun and eligibility information is available. 2025-26 Institutional Student Information Records (ISIRs) and Alternative Application Student Records received by ISAC through (including) Friday, December 27, 2024 have been processed, and results are available for colleges to access via the MAP system. Daily processing of 2025-26 ISIR, Alternative Application, and eligibility status information has commenced.
To comply with MAP administrative rules, ISAC must annually publish a priority filing date for renewing applicants (which are those who received a MAP grant in the previous award year). In years when the FAFSA becomes available on October 1, the priority date has historically been December 1. However, since the 2025-26 FAFSA did not become available for all students until November 21, 2024, the priority date will be March 1, 2025 for the 2025-26 award year. This date simply means that renewing applicants who file a 2025-26 FAFSA or 2025-26 Alternative Application by March 1 may receive priority access to MAP funding if they continue to meet the program's eligibility requirements. This date is not a deadline date for FAFSA or Alternative Application completion. A new or renewing applicant who does not apply by the priority date may still be eligible to receive the grant. MAP grants are announced equitably to all qualified applicants, based on application receipt date, as long as projections indicate that sufficient funding will be available to pay eligible applicants. The more important date for students and colleges to be aware of is when ISAC announces a suspense date, which is when applications received are placed in award announcement suspension in order to remain within appropriated funding levels. This action is applied concurrently to all applicants.
Award Announcements
Colleges are required to announce MAP awards to eligible students enrolled at their institutions. Refer to the MAP Award Announcements area for details regarding college requirements, including the 2025-26 Required School-Issued Award Notification Language.
File Layout Specifications
Effective November 20, 2024, the 2025-26 MAP 160-Byte File Layout Specifications document is available via the Electronic Tools page within the e-Library. The file specifications are pertinent to schools that utilize the file extraction features of the MAP system or send MAP payment requests to ISAC via File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
Start-up Formula
On September 19, 2024, the Illinois Student Assistance Commission approved the 2025-26 (FY26) MAP start-up formula, which follows the FY25 recompute formula. See the 2025-26 MAP Formula page for specific details. The 2025-26 Start-up Hand Calculation Forms are available via the MAP Hand Calculation Forms page.
More information – including details about related file layout specifications – will be posted at this website as it becomes available.
Additional MAP References
To access general information about the MAP program, click on one of the links in the right-hand menu. To access the page within the MAP section that addresses the topics listed below, click on the topic.
